My summer reading recommendations have books for every taste: spellbinding stories, mystery, memoir, humor, and a walking guide. FICTION The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout Strout’s latest novel is one of her best: the [...]
Pat Taub
This year’s WOW summer book picks feature novelists who never fail to transport me, along with absorbing nonfiction selections on the climate crisis, racism, and mysticism. FICTION Oh William! Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel is short enough to complete on a plane or train ride. It’s the compelling tale of Lucy Barton’s ex-husband, [...]
Pat Taub
Key West Lucky me, I’m still enjoying my Key West break from Maine’s crappy winter punctuated by icy roads and sidewalks. Last week my youngest son paid a brief visit. We walked a lot, beached a little and ate like the locals, feasting on Cuban sandwiches, conch fritters and the ubiquitous Key Lime pie. After sampling a few pies, we [...]
Pat Taub
Key West Vacation I feel very fortunate to have escaped the tundra for a few months to land in Key West. Because Florida is very lackadaisical about masks, thanks to Gov. DeSantis, I’m mostly laying low in my rental, and taking daily walks in the sun to restore my spirits. Here are a few Key West images, which capture the spirit of this [...]
Pat Taub
Growing up before iPhones and the Internet were around, books were central to my life. Summers free of school meant I could read non-stop. When I read I could forget about my teenage insecurities, losing myself in Jane Austen’s world, the clever shenanigans of Hercule Poirot, or steamy sex scenes when I confiscated my father’s John O’Hara’s [...]
Pat Taub
Thanksgiving Catch-Up Since I haven’t published a Short Takes for two weeks, I’m sharing a Thanksgiving dinner photo of yours truly flanked by my two handsome sons, David (with moustache), and Jonathan and grandson, Max. Absent are my daughter-in-law who took the photo and my granddaughter, Jane. Max was my sous chef producing mashed [...]
Pat Taub