Tag: writing

• Book Review: Food for Thought by Alton Brown

  I’ve been watching Alton Brown cooking shows since way back when Good Eats first came on the air. I loved the combination of science and food, and how Alton made the how and why as important as the taste of the final dish. My younger daughter and I watched many an episode together, loving his…

  michardillo

  October 9, 2025

  books

  Alton Brown, book-review, books, cookbook, cooking, essays, food, Food for Thought, Gallery Books, Good Eats, Iron Chef America, reading, social media, Southern, writing

• Nothing Gold Can Stay

  Yesterday, September 24, 2025, my last aunt passed away. I only had three to start with and the last one living, my dad’s baby sister, died yesterday at the age of 88. She was seven years younger than my dad, and she grew up in my hometown. She graduated from high school the year I…

  michardillo

  September 25, 2025

  Essay

  death, family, funeral, life, loss, love, memories, Nothing Gold Can Stay, poem, poetry, reading, Robert Frost, writing

• Book Review: The Accidental Rewrite by Milly Johnson

  First of all, since this was an offering on NetGalley I assumed this was a brand new, yet to be published book, perhaps by a debut author. Silly me, wrong on all accounts. The Accidental Rewrite was first published in February of 2024 in the UK under the title The Happiest Ever After. And, Milly…

  michardillo

  September 12, 2025

  books

  ARC, author, BBC, book-review, book-reviews, books, Britain, British, cat, debut novel, England, fiction, Fredrik Backman, Goodreads, Harper Muse, literature, Milly Johnson, My Friends, NetGalley, novel, PBS, publishing, reading, The Accidental Rewrite, The Daily Trumpet, The Happiest Ever After, UK, writer, writing, Yorkshire Cat Rescue

• Book Review—Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy by Christopher White

  As an American and a Catholic, did I ever, in my wildest dreams, imagine an American pope? Absolutely not. But, on Thursday, May 8, 2025, that is exactly what happened. My husband and I were both home (freshly retired) and were having lunch at our kitchen counter. After we finished eating, my husband was cleaning…

  michardillo

  September 5, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic school, Christopher White, Conclave, Confirmation, Councils, Italy, Jesuits, Kindle, Loyola Press, Mass, NetGalley, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Pope John XXIII, Pope Leo XIV, social media, Society of Jesus, St. Monica, Synod, Vatican, Vatican II, writer, writing

• My August Reads!

  Another month with travel which meant fewer books read. But I did a lot of writing: 17 essays and/or book reviews! Onward to September! No travel, so I hope to read a lot more!

  michardillo

  August 31, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, reading, writing

• Pharrell Taught Me Well

  What positive emotion do you feel most often? The lyrics of the 2013 hit “Happy” by Pharrell Williams really do answer this question for me. Clap along if you feel like a room without a roofClap along if you feel like happiness is the truthClap along if you know what happiness is to youClap along…

  michardillo

  August 17, 2025

  Essay

  classroom, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2032, findthejoy, happiness, Happy, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Pharrell Williams, reading, school, social media, teacher, teaching, writing

• Teachers: Those Who Can’t Teach? Not On Your Life!

  What profession do you admire most and why? Full disclosure, I am a teacher. I taught full time from 2007 to 2020, middle school English and literature. Then covid hit and I sat out (per doctor’s orders) the 2020-2021 school year since I wasn’t old enough for the vaccine yet. A shift in administration created…

  michardillo

  August 11, 2025

  Essay

  Catholic school, certification, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2027, education, English, essays, grad school, language arts, library, literature, middle school, reading, retirement, secondary education, teacher, teaching, writer, writing

• 30? Could be 3,000!

  List 30 things that make you happy. In no particular order except for #1 Edited to say that my husband noted I didn’t list CHEESE. Well, I did say it could be 3,000!

  michardillo

  August 4, 2025

  Essay

  30 things that make you happy, dailyprompt, dailyprompt-2020, Jetpack, self-care, Wordpress, writing

• Book Review: Sugar and Spite, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton with R. W. Green

  Mystery is by far my favorite genre, and within that genre I tend to gravitate toward cozy mysteries. Add to that a Scottish author and, well, I’m all in. Everyone has a guilty pleasure when it comes to their reading life, and for me, the Agatha Raisin mystery series falls squarely in that court. With…

  michardillo

  August 1, 2025

  books

  Agatha Raisin, ARC, book-review, books, British, cozy mystery, death, England, fiction, food, Hamish MacBeth, M. C. Beaton, Macmillan Publishers, mystery, NetGalley, novel, R. W. Green, Ray Bradbury, reading, Sugar and Spite, The Homemade God, The Quiche of Death, The White Octopus Hotel, writer, writing

• Book Review: The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce

  The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce was recently published on July 8, 2025 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Random House. I was offered this ARC by the publisher because of my interest in and book reviews of several other books published by Random House, such as Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, one of…

  michardillo

  July 21, 2025

  books

  Ann Napolitano, ARC, art, Artist, book-review, books, debut novel, family, fiction, hello-beautiful, Italy, Kindle, Lake Orta, literature, London, Maggie O’Farrell, mystery, NetGalley, novel, painting, Rachel Joyce, Random House, reading, The Homemade God, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, writer, writing