July 12, 2002 (2^nd Friday)
Indie bookstores are oases but not edens (COMMENTARY)
Somewhere, where the sun always shines but there's never a drought, where peace reigns but no one is bored, the perfect bookstore awaits. Its doors open 24/7, its shelves lined with glistening new books all priced under a dollar...

August 16, 2002
For good or ill, a reeling `Pedro Infante' stretches truth (REVIEW)
¡Ay! ¡Dios mio! Grab your zapatos and zoom through life with Denise Chavez's latest protagonista, Teresa "La Tere" Avila...

September 20, 2002
Discover the fun of talking about what you're reading (SPECIAL)
Is your reading in a rut? Do you suffer from literary myopia? Do you gravitate to the same authors even though you've read their books 20 times before? Don't fret...

October 18, 2002
Santa Fe party has mystery, romance, everything between the covers - of books
If literature loosens your imagination, if poetry propels your passion, if mysteries matter and romances rate, there's only one place to be...

November 15, 2002
Just wanted to say thank you for the luxury of the literary (COMMENTARY)
It's that time of year again, when we turn our collective heads in gratitude for turkey and tofu, for an extra dollop of whipped cream or the extra pound not gained...

December 20, 2002
Writers' grit sustains them on long road to publication (COMMENTARY)
A few years ago, after my 50th rejection letter, I started wondering why novelists bother to write...

January 17, 2003
Small-time publishers struggle in a world of bigger dinosaurs
What's the first thing you do when you open a book? Do you savor the feel of it? Do you look at the copyright info? Or do you dive in, swishing past...

February 21, 2003
It's time to stop scoffing: Give (gasp!) romance novels a chance (COMMENTARY)
By now, the long-stemmed roses have wilted. Chocolate hearts have morphed into love handles. The bubbly is flat.Valentines rest in...

February 21, 2003 (SPECIAL)
Slave narratives help set tone for absorbing a slice of history (REVIEW)
The challenge of making history relevant has been faced by historians and teachers for years. The reduction of important events into simple one-sentence summaries and memorized dates hasn't helped. We all know that slavery in North America is much more than the story of the Civil War or President Lincoln. Conveying the true meaning of slavery, especially to children, can be difficult...

March 21, 2003
Web site allows book lovers to follow path of donated texts (COMMENTARY)
I like to think books have secret lives. Westerns yearn for shoot-outs. Pulp fiction aches for strong cigarettes and rough scotch...

April 18, 2003
What makes a poem? Tell me the ways (COMMENTARY)
It was lunchtime on a Wednesday. I was in sixth grade and had forgotten to complete my homework for English class - write a poem. With the cockiness and brilliance of a truly desperate student...

May 16, 2003
Librarians seek to hook new readers during kids' summer vacation (COMMENTARY)
Before the crossing guards hang up their hand-held stop signs and the flashing lights relinquish their cautions, there's a buildup, a kind of frenzy of possibility. It stems from the collective anticipation of...

June 20, 2003
Author in luxury's lap? What a story that'd be (COMMENTARY)
When it comes to the book biz, there's some great fiction - much of it about the business itself. Fairy tale success stories bubble...

July 18, 2003
They're words on paper, more than that on screen (COMMENTARY)
Underneath the glamour of Hollywood's illusions - the blockbusters and indie films, the sitcoms and miniseries - lie...

August 15, 2003
Sci-fi's blend of politics, fantasy beams us into heady territory (COMMENTARY)
As a kid, I loved fairy tales with their magic and anything-might-happen freedom. When Mom bought our first television, the shows that kept my squiggling in check were Twilight Zone, Lost in Space and Star Trek...

September 19, 2003
We can't allow our freedom to read to fall (COMMENTARY)
Saturday begins Banned Book Week, an annual observance by the American Library Association (ALA). It's a good time to think about mental democracy in our country...

October 17, 2003
Obituaries tell stories of life, and tears are OK (COMMENTARY)
During October, when grasses begin to glisten with frost and jack-o'-lanterns cast their eerie glow, I'm reminded of my own mortality...

November 21, 2003
Your mother had it write: A thank-you note means the world
This time of year, it's natural to think of the things that make us grateful - loving family, good health, fresh pumpkin pie. Parties and presents, bizcochitos and Hanukkah gelt are as common as...

December 19, 2003
Short, sudden fiction offers quick-hit lit (COMMENTARY)
During the holiday season, minutes can compress into little bullets of anxiety - so many presents to buy, so many parties to give, so many cards to get into the mail. Who has time for...

January 16, 2004
Group helps writers reach goals
So, you wanna be a writer? The new year brings reams of resolutions and good intentions as plentiful as words in an epic. If you've dreamed...

February 20, 2004
Many dollars later, we learn mouths are best sales gimmicks (COMMENTARY)
When was the last time you read or bought a book? Why'd you do it? Most readers have no idea how much effort - and how many people - are involved in making...

March 19, 2004
Successful ads tell a story but do it in a hurry
Um, excuse me, I'd like to write about something really annoying. Advertisements. Believe it or not, they're...

May 21, 2004
Cricket, other bugs a beacon for outstanding kids' reading
What do spiders, ladybugs and cicadas have to do with kids and reading? Quite a bit, actually. These creepy crawlers have lent their names to some of the best-known...

June 18, 2004
Technically speaking, creativity is still the key (COMMENTARY)
What do you think when you read the words, "technical writing"? I bet creativity doesn't come to mind. Chances are, those two words evoke images of long, boring sentences spiced only with zillions of commas and mathematical hieroglyphics...

July 16, 2004
Photo captions can suck in or repel readers (COMMENTARY)
In Tony Hillerman's compelling new nonfiction book "Kilroy Was There: A GI's War in Photographs," photos taken by the late Frank Kessler illustrate Kessler's tour of duty during World War II. A series of three photos, for example, show men digging trenches for emaciated bodies. United States soldiers watch them but you can't quite see their faces. The words below the photo, however, fill in the blanks: "Civilians bury the dead as stunned GIs look on. April 1945." "Stunned." That single word demands a similar reaction from...

August 20, 2004
Freelancing might not be all that freeing
Imagine the perfect writing job...

September 17, 2004
We should worry about review space (COMMENTARY)
A recent article ... bemoaned the decrease of book review space in print publications. So what? Over on the Internet, Web sites, listservs and blogs post thousands of critiques. Even booksellers have gotten into the opinion business. From the often-anonymous ditties on Amazon.com, to staff recommendations from indie bookstores, book reviews abound. Who cares about those shrinking inches on paper?
 
I do.
 
Last year, approximately 175,000 books were published in the United States. How can a reader find diamonds in all that coal? Book reviews, right? Sure. But be warned, O, Reader...

October 15, 2004
Front page? It's the spice of life
A1 isn't just a steak sauce. It's how many journalists refer to newspaper front pages. But jumbling a condiment and journalism together isn't that far-fetched. Both need the right ingredients, in the right proportions...

November 19, 2004
Co-op in mall helps New Mexico authors market their books
There's a lot of grumbling going on and it's not related to the election...