Author: Kate Gukeisen

  • Istria, Croatia

    Istria, Croatia

    While we enjoyed everything about our little visit, our greatest unexpected pleasure was the amazing food and wine we encountered in the little corner of Istria we visited.

  • November Writing: 31 Days 

    Anyone else want to write with me? For the past six years, I’ve participated in posting 31 Days of November Thankful Thoughts on Facebook. The first year I did it, I was looking for an easy way to focus on the good things happening in my life at a time when I was feeling completely…

  • Reader Response: Thank You For Your Service

    Reader Response: Thank You For Your Service

    “Thank You For Your Service” was not optimistic or pessimistic, angry or trite. It was simply, overwhelmingly honest. Like, two boxes of tissues honest.

  • The Half-Pint Award: What’s in a Name?

    The Half-Pint Award: What’s in a Name?

    I am instead suggesting we have continued conversations as a reading community about building the best collections we can that include characters and stories that have the potential to connect with each of us in a way that makes us all better and that increases our understanding of our society, our history, and our connectedness.

  • Reader Response: War and Peace

    Reader Response: War and Peace

    I loved War and Peace from the moment Pierre bumbled into scheming Anna Pavlovna’s party and proceeded to horrify everyone by fawning over Napoleon.

  • Book Review: Ulysses

    Book Review: Ulysses

    I appreciate Joyce’s technique and experiments with style. I found his echoes of, and connections to, other literary works rather fun. I, in turns, enjoyed Joyce’s cleverness and found that cleverness eye-rollingly overdone.

  • Reader Response: Ulysses

    Reader Response: Ulysses

    I look forward to doing a book review for Ulysses next, but a Reader Response based on my margin notes felt more appropriate given the nature of the work.  Okay so this may not be as bad as I remember I mean it’s just some dudes eating breakfast and borrowing money from each other and then…

  • Too Many Fridays: Our Military Move

    Too Many Fridays: Our Military Move

    He cannot give me any sort of expected delivery window, which is all I really want…just a window so that I don’t feel powerless, with my schedule held hostage by the unknown. He hopes I have a great weekend. I hope he does not enjoy his weekend at all…

  • This Year is Different

    This Year is Different

    We need to stop working from the assumption that people who express different opinions than ours are Super Bad Other Guys.

  • Censorship, Selection & Banned Books

    Censorship, Selection & Banned Books

    Banned Books Week kicked off yesterday. I love Banned Books Week. It is a whole week dedicated to awesome stuff like celebrating our freedom to read and highlighting our right to access diverse material of our own choosing at our school and public libraries. And, equally as awesome, it is a reminder of the guarantee…