I don’t remember when I first heard someone say never to judge someone for mispronouncing a word because they probably learned that word from reading. But it has stuck with me. Here’s the thing – English is hard. It’s, quite honestly, a mistake. It’s what happens when you take German people and French Latin peopleContinue reading “chah-muh-lee-on”
Author Archives: AmiMaxine
First Friday Rec: Fly Girl
Title: Fly GirlAuthor: Ann HoodGenre: MemoirPages: 288Publication Date: Apr 4, 2023StoryGraph* Moods: informative, adventurous, reflectiveHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: I honestly don’t remember where I first saw this book – I don’t think it was a verbal recommendation from anyone. But I read it as research for a story I’m working on.Other Books byContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Fly Girl”
AFT: Cover Reveal
They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but let’s be real, the cover is what gets us to pick the book off the shelf in the first place. The city of Chicago is practically a character in All Falling Things, becoming the wonderland in which my characters attempt to find themselves, so itContinue reading “AFT: Cover Reveal”
Tangible Goods
These days, the days of streaming TV shows and films and music, of ebooks, of endless scrolling on your social media platform of choice – it seems like there is very little in the way of tangible goods anymore (when it comes to the arts – there are still box stores full of…stuff). Which, whenContinue reading “Tangible Goods”
Forty-Eight Times
I’m about to stand up in front of a classroom again for the first time. Well, the first time for these particular classes. It’s actually going to be my 204th time. I gathered some teaching data recently and discovered that I had taught my 200th course in the spring of this year. (And the 201st,Continue reading “Forty-Eight Times”
First Friday Rec: Raising Hare
Title: Raising HareAuthor: Chloe DaltonGenre: Memoir, NaturePages: 304Publication Date: Mar 4, 2025StoryGraph* Moods: Informative, Reflective, InspiringHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: The woman that runs one of my book clubs (and owns my fav bookshop) recommended it. Other Books by this author: They are currently working on their second book.*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description:Continue reading “First Friday Rec: Raising Hare”
The Alice Trail
A few months ago, I wrote about a trip I took with my bezzie mate to Liverpool. On that trip, we also took a side quest to Dublin and drove through north Wales. When we were in the planning stages of the trip, I mentioned it to a friend of mine – who told meContinue reading “The Alice Trail”
Da Bears
On January 26, 1986, wee little me watched the super bowl with my family where the Chicago Bears went on to defeat the New England Patriots 46-10. This was the heyday for the team with the likes of Jim McMahon and William “The Refrigerator” Payton and Mike Singletary – not to mention Walter “Sweetness” Payton.Continue reading “Da Bears”
They’re BAAaaack
The same year that @m@zon hung up it’s “Yes, we sell books, too!” banner, there were about 5500 independent bookstores with 7K locations in the U.S. Just two years later, the owner of that online juggernaut hand delivered it’s millionth book order. Having already been battered by chain bookstores, these indie shops struggled even moreContinue reading “They’re BAAaaack”
Who doesn’t want more busywork?
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of generative AI. I can feel my colleagues’ eyes rolling before the words “but the copyright infringement and environmental impact” slip from my lips yet again. (Well, not all my colleagues. Some are staunchly anti-GenAI, as well.) I have no interest in using it to “make myContinue reading “Who doesn’t want more busywork?”
Ami Maxine 