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October 26, 2026

I’ve been on a bit of a kick this year to read more books from arguably the most fascinating decade of the 20th century, the 1920s. José Ortega y Gasset (Decline of the Novel…

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June 29, 2026  


I’m still of the mind that reaching the halfway point of the year is a good time to reflect on the books that have influenced, shaped, and highlighted the past twenty-six weeks. This is my…

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June 1, 2026  

There was a time, not necessarily a happier or better-informed one, when music journalism was a thing. The halcyon days, when there was a trusted, blind-bake relationship among musicians and listeners, and the writer was…

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March 30, 2026

Occam’s Razor

it’s terrible when the knick isn’t mutual,  
and the left won’t get on a plane and stay  
out of sight, out of mind, out of time in  
a place where leaving is an…

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March 23, 2026

An American Reader

520 Chestnut Street
 (exterior park bench)
Philadelphia, PA 19106 

23 March 2026

Mr. George Orwell
Barnhill
Isle of Jura
Argyll, PA60 7TW  
Scotland

Dear Mr. Orwell,


Many thanks in advance for reading…

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January 19, 2026  

I was fortunate to have been taught sentence diagramming from an early age, not realizing at the time that music, another language I had just begun to explore, could be analyzed in a similar way…

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December 29, 2025

Part 4 in reading order from July 1st to December 29, 2025

84. The Comfort of Strangers  by Ian McEwan
McEwan’s early, fast-paced, dark novella introduces a young English couple, Colin and Mary, on…

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December 22, 2025  

Reaching the end of the year is a good time to reflect on the books that have influenced, shaped, and highlighted the past fifty-two weeks. This is only my second year doing this, and it’s…

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December 15, 2025  

People start blogs for many personal, creative, and professional reasons, often driven by the desire to express themselves, share their experiences, or connect with like-minded communities. Some do it to discuss topics they care about…

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July 7, 2025

Part two of two in reading order from April 1 to July 1, 2025.    

29. Time of the Child by Niall Williams
 Dr. Jack Troy and his eldest, unmarried daughter Ronnie, find their world turned…

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June 30th, 2025

Reaching the halfway point of the year is a good time to reflect on the books that have influenced, shaped, and highlighted the past twenty-six weeks. This is only my second year doing this, and…

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June 16, 2025

Happy Bloomsday!    

Dr. Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach, a renowned book collector from Philadelphia, acquired the manuscript of James Joyce's Ulysses in 1924. The manuscript had initially been sold by Joyce to John Quinn, a New…

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April 21, 2025

In his delightfully thoughtful review of my ‘Kernow’ album for A Closer Listen in 2024, Samuel Rogers noted at its outset that I am “a musician who monitors the turn of the seasons,” and…

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April 7, 2025

I’ve been ruminating lately on my favorite question: Why? It seems odd to have a hierarchical order for questions, just as it does to have a favorite among them. Does one question prove more…