Bill Bryson's Newest Book

I've often been told that senior year is supposed to be spent at a slightly slower pace compared to the years before, and that one must embrace the (now less than 100) days left until graduation. Well, that sounds nice and all, but I’ve never been good at relaxing, and having too much free time gives me panic attacks. In any case, a disdain for boredom, over-enthusiasm for the English department, and perhaps a little bit of stupidity caused me to sign up for a staggering four English courses in my final Stonehill semester. Needless to say, my leisure time reading is a bit lacking currently. But not to worry—I have always found time to fit in a few pages of a new book when I can. I now spend my Sunday afternoon shift at the library almost exclusively reading Bill Bryson’s newest addition: At Home: A Short History of Private Life. I have yet to encounter a Bryson book that I do not like, and this one is no exception. Bryson takes us through his Yorkshire rectory-made-home, one room at a time, using a bit of his typical hilarity as well as fascinating historical anecdotes. Bryson writes non-fiction with a charisma that I admire. He is, perhaps, my favorite modern day writer for his ability to be insightful, witty, cutting, comical, endearing, and probably most importantly—his ability to have run-ins with the most overwhelming specimens of human beings. To quote my first Bill Bryson love (A Walk in the Woods): “I have long known that it is part of God's plan for me to spend a little time with each of the most stupid people on earth."


By Ashley Savard

Poem: Taking and Forsaking

Editors' Note: Kristen sent us this poem she wrote for a class... it's an great look at the economic and cultural structure of our society. Just think: What can we do to fix the way our culture values resources?

Taking and Forsaking

Is it money for the making or resources for the taking?
Right now I am sure that the resources are worth more
But it is money they wish to be making.
The poor are left without a choice, they also lack a truly heard voice,
Unto them this business is forsaking.
The prices are high and the pesticides strong—there is something so wrong
For our economy is truly flaking.
The more that business takes—the fewer land, streams and lakes
And the future sees insufficient supplies for our baking.
Of this I am certain; we must draw down this power-surged curtain
For the health of our land is truly aching.
With our nation divided sustainers must stay united to defend this great land for its own 
   sake at hand
For the future is ours for remaking.
Despite property rights and gritty monetary fights
The land is not ours to keep staking.
With a broader horizon our country must wizen
To prevent this catastrophe from waking.
Preservation is vital so let us quit feeling entitled;
Living more simply is the true answer to our ecological breaking.
And so this is my ode to the start of a new economic code:
We have but one planet—now do you see what you’re taking?

By Kristen Kennedy