Category Archives: Ruminations

English Language Pronunciations

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Over dinner one night during a three-day Girl Scout (Troop 1096) reunion in Ohio, we ten or so attendees had a rousing interaction about mispronounced words in the English language. Among our pet peeves–and there were so many–were mispronunciations of … Continue reading →

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Book Marketing, Part 3 (and a Rant)

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Over a July 4 holiday visit to the East Coast, my sister had the opportunity to visit the Strand Bookstore in New York City, about which she raved to me in a recent communique. Once I got over my intense … Continue reading →

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Progress on First Novel, Part 1

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Have I mentioned that I’m writing a novel? I didn’t think so. Maybe I’ve harbored a fear that I might jinx the process if I say something. But I can’t think of a good reason not to let you, dear … Continue reading →

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Face-to-Face Time in Old-Style Publishing

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

My posting on June 1 was titled “Good Feelings from Groups.” Soon after posting it, while searching for a document on a wholly different subject, I unearthed a business plan I’d written in the late 1990s for my publishing company … Continue reading →

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Compulsory Voting

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Have you ever heard of this concept of compulsory voting? I never had. It took a chance meeting and conversation in the gardens at the Palace of Versailles with a couple from Australia to educate me on this one. (Don’t … Continue reading →

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Life-Changing Books Redux / Eating Animals

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

About thirty years ago, I swore off veal. I had read a one-page consciousness-raising ad about how calves are treated from birth to death to make them good sources of veal. Imagine my shock the other day when I saw … Continue reading →

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Spirituality Yea or Nay … or Whatever

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

When I see a book trailer that intrigues me, and especially if it’s on a topic I may have reservations about, I Google the title to see who published it and what may have been written about the book already. … Continue reading →

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What’s Your Life-Changing Book?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

It was Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams that set Salvadore Dali on his life-changing path when he read it in 1925 while attending art school. I learned this from one of the instructional plaques in the Salvadore Dali Museum … Continue reading →

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Good Feelings from Groups

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Funny the stories that stick with you over the years. Have any of you read West of Eden by Harry Harrison? That’s WEST of Eden. Published by Bantam in 1984, it’s a marvelous piece of science fiction set in the … Continue reading →

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Paris Bound

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Meredith Ann Rutter

Hubby and I head for Paris tomorrow! It has been the only “place” on my bucket list for years. I’m not promising I won’t feel free to add another “place” upon our return. But for years, it’s been Paris, a … Continue reading →

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