Barbara Kingsolver on the Power of Literature

In Flight Behavior Kingsolver does, once again, what she does best. She looks at an issue from multiple points of view, empathizing with characters who disagree with each other, turning a question over and over like a pebble in a tumbler until the hard edges are worn away and the result is something you want to carry around in your pocket,

When a body reading in Indonesia just isn’t enough

There had been many times in my travels when stepping outside my comfort zone had made me feel younger, but this was the first time that I looked it, too. Here’s a link to the San Francisco Chronicle article in which I inadvertently entertain the neighborhood in...

Author Reading Saturday, June 9th

I dared to taste-test “luwak coffee” (brewed from the excrement of a small mammal) on a recent trip to Bali, and lived to write about it. Come to the book launch party on June 9th and hear about the adventure!

Eat, Pray, Scrub

“I don’t normally swallow mysterious pills from strangers, but in Ubud I made an exception. This small-but-lively city is the health capital of Bali, and I couldn’t resist tracking down Wayan Nuriasih, one of the star healers from the book Eat, Pray, Love,...

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Literary Cookbook

Love Elizabeth Gilbert? Read on to discover the recipe you can prepare using a piece of Daddy’s discarded shirt, the old-fashioned secret to making orange marmalade, and what Gilbert is working on now.

Magical Beans

The world’s most expensive coffee is made from coffee beans that have been eaten, partially digested, and excreted by a small Southeast Asian creature called the luwak. Come along as I explore Bali, track down the paradoxical creature that produces Indonesian Kopi Luwak, and learn its secrets.