Read the California 2009 Civic Health Index: "Hunkering Down: Volunteering and Civic Engagement During Turbulent Economic Times". Full Article at Sacramento Bee

Writer and historian Wallace Stegner called our national parks "the best idea we ever had." That was the theme of the recent Ken Burns television series that aired on PBS (www.pbs.org/nationalparks). Full Article at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Your guide to author and literary events in Western North Carolina, Nov. 8-14: SHORT STORY MASTERS: Award-winning authors Mary Akers and Clifford Garstang present their collection of short stories, respectively, Women up on Blocks and An Uncharted... Full Article at The Asheville Citizen-Times

"Soylent Green is PEEEEOPLE!!!" Actually that has no relevance here. Just thought I'd drop it in. Full Article at San Francisco Bay Guardian

In Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety, the book I wrote about here the other day, the narrator (Larry Morgan) is describing settling into his new job at the University of Wisconsin, where he is to share an office with William Ellery Leonard, 'the... Full Article at normblog