family life

Beginning when Gus and his twin brother were born and continuing to the present, Newman shares her sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always insightful and upbeat recollections of their lives. She touches on many of the issues with autism, but To Siri With Love is not a "how to" book. It is a positive, yet honest look into one family's journey with autism, and among others, how technology, especially Siri, is helpful to Gus. Most helpful is Siri's ability to talk with Gus ad nauseam about whatever he is interested in at the time, be it trains and train schedules, erosion, or climate change

Steven Universe is everything I never knew I wanted in a show.

I was initially put off by the animation.  The character designs just struck me as weird and more than a little doofy.  Still, I'd heard a lot of good things about it, and I figured it couldn't hurt to try—each episode is only about eleven minutes, after all.  Plus, it's created by Rebecca Sugar, best known for her work on Adventure Time.

I was instantly captivated.  The titular character is extremely doofy in the most charming ways imaginable.  Steven is the kindest, most loving and generous soul you could imagine, while still

Single mom Jess is having a hard time of it. Working by day as a cleaner and by night as a barmaid, she is doing her best to support her young daughter, Tanzie, and stepson, Nicky—not to mention Norman the dog. But it’s not just making ends meet that is the problem. Jess’ husband, Marty, is living with his mother while recovering from a breakdown and seems to have forgotten that he has a family to support. One of Jess’ cleaning clients, Ed, is a software genius running his own company with pal Ronan.  But Ed has just made the biggest mistake of his career, a mistake that is threatening to send

I’m not sure why I picked up this book, but I’m glad I did.  It is quite compatibly a mystery, a reflection on old-age, and a commentary on contemporary standards of usefulness, whether of people, institutions, or buildings. The prologue opens with an ending and a question, and the chapters that follow delve into the intricacies of the human condition, albeit with a light hand.  Frank Allcroft, a television news anchor, is dealing with loss—the hit-and-run death of his long-time friend and predecessor at the news, and the systematic demolition of  his architect  father’s postwar buildings