Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Commonwealth Books (Boston) & the book I had to buy

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Walking around Boston one afternoon before a concert in 2024, Mike and I stumbled into a used bookstore on a sidestreet. It was one of those...
Friday, August 14, 2026

What I bought at ll Libraccio (Firenze)

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There are many fine bookstores in Florence but Il Libraccio is particularly helpful when you're looking for hard-to-find and possibly o...
Thursday, July 16, 2026

Ask your library to buy THIS DARKNESS WILL NEVER END

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Did you know you could ask your public library to buy a book that you'd like to read? Yes! (See UPDATE below) And that book could be Th...
Saturday, July 04, 2026

Re-discovering New Haven for CNN Travel

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I got to visit New Haven on the company dime and I enjoyed every minute of it. Now you can, too -- here's my story . It's part of a ...
Wednesday, June 24, 2026

“Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945”

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I write letters to the editor of The New York Times but only occasionally are they accepted. This one below was not but I remain fascinated...
Wednesday, June 17, 2026

“When You Listen to This Song: On Memory, Loss, and Writing” (Lola Lafon)

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I've reviewed a short nonfiction book for World Literature Today  called  When You Listen to This Song: On Memory, Loss, and Writing , b...
Monday, June 01, 2026

The 20th anniversary of my blog!

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Two decades ago, I sought a method to log the ways Italy had seduced me, and the activities I pursued so that the language of Dante would re...
2 comments:
Thursday, May 14, 2026

Memories of the House of the Dead (Luciana Nissim Momogliano)

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File under: What I'm reading I read a very short book on the train to NYC in February by a woman who was deported with Primo Levi: Lucia...
2 comments:
Friday, May 08, 2026

The Four Seasons Hotel in Florence

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The boy whose Fiorentina soccer team shirt reads 'Nato Perfetto' ("born perfect") gets around.  This is a photo of Leo , a...
Saturday, April 25, 2026

What I bought at I AM Books in Boston (2026)

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Last year, I gave a talk  about my translation, This Darkness Will Never End , at the Italian bookstore in Boston. It was wonderful to spea...
Tuesday, April 07, 2026

Book giveaway -- my translation turns one!

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UPDATED --  (see below): To celebrate the one-year anniversary of my translation,  This Darkness Will Never End , I'd like to give away ...
Thursday, April 02, 2026

'This Darkness Will Never End' turns one!

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Once upon a time, I'd never heard of the phrase "book birthday." And now my translation, This Darkness Will Never End , is tur...
Wednesday, April 01, 2026

Giardino Bardini in Florence is delightful

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You can thank my friend, Laurie, that this photo I took in one of the most beautiful places in Florence has finally made it onto the blog. I...
Monday, March 30, 2026

'This Darkness Will Never End' is 'powerful,' @Assoc. of Jewish Libraries

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A reviewer writing in the newsletter of the Association of Jewish Libraries highly recommends my translation, This Darkness Will Never End ...
Wednesday, March 04, 2026

Nieman: Most Americans don’t pay for news & don’t think they need to

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This isn't a blog about the profession that's helped me pay the bills. It's quite the opposite -- a blog to my passions, the on...
Sunday, February 22, 2026

Jeanne journals

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I don't like it when the word 'journal' is used as a verb.  Let's journal about this. OR: She spent the afternoon journalin...
Sunday, February 15, 2026

What I'm Reading: Nobody's Girl

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Reviewing books is one of many tasks I've taken on since dedicating myself to writing more than a decade ago.  But I typically review I...
Thursday, February 12, 2026

My lecture on Edith Bruck & 'This Darkness Will Never End'

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Some of my readings have been sparsely attended (ahem!) but each one has brought me great joy because I have had the chance to meet face-to...
Friday, February 06, 2026

The best magazine you've never read (unless you're 12)

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When “The Week Junior”  arrives in the mail, my 12-year-old son sits down immediately to read it cover to cover. One quick look at its smart...
Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Edith Bruck & International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27)

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Unfortunately, I won’t make it to NYC today where outside of the Italian Consulate the names of all of the Italian victims of the Nazis will...