Daniela Pifferrer
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Bookworms and Book Dragons: On How to Become a Better Reader
I am not a bookworm. I am a book dragon. I read anything and everything that goes through my fingers; be it a Shakespeare or a cereal box. I can’t help it. If it has got writing on it, I must read it. It wasn’t always like this. Although I am a daughter to a…
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The Darcy Myth: On the Concept of Women and Romance Novels
I am a sucker for a good love story. As a writer and a reader, romance books were my first introduction to the genre. I am unashamed to say that I own more Nora Roberts novels than I can count; albeit not because I chose to collect them, but rather because they, in some way…
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Ray Bradbury, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut: A Pleasure to Burn
Anybody with a high school diploma has probably, by now, heard the famous line. “It was a pleasure to burn.” So opens Bradbury his novel about the condemnation of books and the destruction of ideas. Its protagonist, Guy Montag, a firefighter with a dry home life, no children, a distant wife. Montag’s job is to…
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By Women, About Women
This past year I read 104 books. No, I’m not bragging. Yes, I know, I’m demented. A lot of those books were written by women, a rich tapestry that combined Medusa-like personalities, Medea-like traits, humor, wits, and lots of empowerment. Many times, I enjoyed the representation of women in fiction. Others I wanted to chuck…
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Paul Auster: On Writing About Failure
This past year I have been developing a taste for author memoirs. I’ve slowly but surely been walking my way through countless authors, from Joan Didion to Annie Ernaux, from Stephen King to Isabelle Allende… Point is, somewhere along the line, I landed in Paul Auster’s Hand to Mouth. It is not a secret. It…
Booked, For Life 