CategoryTwo-minute Reads

Fake Books Are a Trend

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When I enter someone’s home for the first time I look for the bookshelves, and if I discover bookshelves full of books, I’ve found my conversation starter. If I don’t see any books or bookshelves, I’m disappointed, even concerned. I admittedly jump to conclusions about my host, although I shouldn’t be in such a rush to judgment. You can imagine my reaction when I read a New York Times article...

Man vs. Dog: A Brief Encounter

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The first ten seconds Riding U.S. Route 41 North, about 30 miles into a 42-mile ride around Lake Skaneateles, we’re cresting a long and tiring climb, with a sweet downhill about to unfold before us. Steve is pulling away ahead of me. John bringing up the rear flank. I don’t know what I’m thinking about, just pedaling, breathing. It’s a two-lane highway, well-paved, with a wide shoulder. On...

Have You Checked Out the New Thruway Rest Stops?

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I’m coming right out and saying it: The new rest areas on the New York State Thruway SUCK! I happened to stop in one of the newly opened rest areas on my way to Buffalo the other day. It felt ridiculously tight. There was only one double door at the entrance, and people were coming in and out and getting in each other’s way. The old rest areas had at least two sets of double doors. But I supposed...

The Finish Line is 13.1 Miles Away

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This morning I’m standing at the starting line of the Helderberg-to-Hudson Half Marathon and asking myself the question I always do at the beginning of a race: What the hell am I doing here? I want to blame Harriet, who back in December said she was signing up to run a half and I should too. But I hadn’t run a race in ten years. I hadn’t run longer than five miles at a time. My toes are...

Did Bob Have a Midlife Crisis?

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On this day in 1972, my father turned 45 years old. This was the year he’d been promoted to an executive position at the pharmaceutical company where he worked, and the year he moved his family of seven from a small and crowded house to a much larger house on a quiet avenue in North Buffalo. Was it also the year he began to suffer a midlife crisis? Or was he simply expressing himself? Like many...

This is the Golden Age of Television

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The golden age of television is considered to be the 1950s, the era when the production of many new shows ramped up, and series like I Love Lucy, The Twilight Zone, and Leave it to Beaver ruled the tube. In reality, this is the golden age of television, if you add streaming to the mix. There are so many quality shows right now that people who don’t spend hours every day watching (that would be...

Literature Readers are Part of a Resistance

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One of the benefits of living where I do is that the New York State Writer’s Institute is located here. Last night I got to see the acclaimed novelist Jennifer Egan, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for A Visit From the Good Squad (my review), and was here to talk about her most recent novel, The Candy House (my review). Goon Squad has a secure place on the list of “The Most Important Novels in...

This Solemn Form of Joy

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Sometimes I read a passage that strikes so close to me that it answers the question: Why do I read? In the novel, Trust, by Hernan Diaz, a young woman, Helen, walks from a European villa where she is staying into a nearby town, 1920s: The dry echo of her shoes on the cobblestones was all she could hear in the empty streets. Every few steps, she gently dragged a foot, just to feel the skin on her...

“The Last of Us”

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I’m not one to gravitate toward a television series based on a video game, but I’ve looked over Owen’s shoulder a few times while he played “The Last of Us,” got absorbed in that story world, and then became interested in checking out the HBO series by the same time. I’m glad I did. Set in a post-apocalyptic world mostly destroyed by zombie-like humans who have been infected with a...

The Feast of St. David is Upon Us

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I was born on Christmas, December 25. My brother, Peter, three years older than me, was also born on Christmas. So right from the start I’m sharing my birthday with both my brother AND baby Jesus. If that wasn’t enough to dilute my birthday, Christmas was a big deal in my family. There was the tree to acquire, the Advent calendar to hang, the decorations to bring out. Every Christmas Eve we’d...

Welcome to the Sunshine State

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I was fortunate to get away for a long weekend to Florida with Harriet to visit her mom in Sarasota. There are benefits to sunshine and warm temps. There is joy in biking, tennis, swimming, walking on the beach, and seeing loved ones. There is calm in putting aside work and responsibilities for a few days. But about Florida, I’m conflicted. Beautiful beaches—yes. Fine weather—for the winter...

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

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I’m a generation too far removed to have embraced video games. The extent of my game knowledge comes from occasionally looking over Owen’s shoulder to see what’s on the screen and asking questions about the characters and game objectives. Then I picked up the bestselling novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. This easy-to-read and well-crafted story centers on Sadie and...

Paying Attention in Two Worlds

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I didn’t tell you what happened on my winter hike the other day. How when you’re fatigued and disoriented, your mind can play tricks. Earlier, when starting out, I was tuned to the environment. The trails were marked with colored disks, and the surface was packed snow and ice. I breathed in the cold air, the freshness of the outdoors. I took in the trail and bare trees and snowy terrain, the...

Artificial Intelligence Wrote this Post

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You might have heard that artificial intelligence (AI) is taking over the world. Or my world, anyway. There are now dozens of AI tools that will write for you. Writing may be my profession and my passion, but if AI can write better than I can, I may be looking for a new line of work. The AI I tried is called Rytr. I think that word is pronounced “Writer.” Very clever. I had to do some...

The Upside of Artists Dying

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Not to be mean-hearted to the grieving or entirely self-serving, but I’ve discovered an upside when I hear about artists’ deaths. Recently, the American novelist Russell Banks died. Some years back I read one of his novels, The Sweet Hereafter, and found it compelling and intelligent. When I heard of his death, I remembered that his novel, Affliction, was sitting on my bookshelf. I don’t...

David Klein

Published novelist, creative writer, journalist, avid reader, discriminating screen watcher.

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