I Capture the Castle: Cassandra Mortmain’s Literary Pluck
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June 20, 2011

Dodie Smith’s novel is just like any other charming British novel set in the countryside in the 1930s: the landscape is glorious, the cupboard is bare, and the characters eccentric. I Capture the Castle opens with the wonderful line “I am sitting in the kitchen sink as I write this.” The “I” is Cassandra Mortmain, the 17-year old narrator of the novel (which is, in… [Read More]

Friendship Bread reviewed by Angel Lawrence
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June 6, 2011

My friend Robin gave me a starter bag to make Amish Friendship Bread; sweet bread that tastes like a moist cake. For the first five days I opened the gallon sized bag to release the air and then seal it and smash the contents in the bag. On the sixth day, I added a cup each of flour, sugar and milk. Then I sealed the… [Read More]

Summertime is for reading good books
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June 5, 2011

We begin the season of soaking up the sun and relaxing with a good book. Here at Swenson Book Development, LLC, I am not the only one who is reading books worth sharing with other readers. Over the coming weeks look here for guest bloggers who will review what they’re reading. There are a half dozen books I find myself reading simultaneously. I look forward… [Read More]

Q & A How Local Politics Threaten the Global Economy
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April 29, 2011

Fresh from the press, my new copy of Risk Rules: How Local Politics Threaten the Local Economy arrived and it is really a study of unintended consequences. Authors Marvin Zonis, Dan Lefkovitz, Sam Wilkin and Joseph Yackley offer a new way to understand the global political economy. Here are seven questions posed about the current state of affairs and the author’s answers. 1) Obviously, there’s… [Read More]

The Power of the Past
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April 20, 2011

The past never goes anywhere. It is with us always. In the culture of the “now” we risk losing out on the transformative power of recollecting that which has passed away. Reflecting upon personal gains and losses through the lenses of accumulated experience and knowledge guides one towards a more meaningful life. Ignoring the past is folly. Know where you’ve been to get where you’re… [Read More]

Risk Rules
by,
April 4, 2011

Pick Hall 213. No nameplate on the wooden door along the dark concrete hallway. I knocked. And waited. I could hear low level conversation going on behind the door and the rustling of papers. I knocked again. I could hear footsteps approach the door. “Can I help you?” asked the head of a graduate student peering out the door opened only a crack. “I’m looking… [Read More]