Expansion

I am not a fan of what is delivered inside grocery store paperbacks: mysteries, thrillers, romance. I don’t mean to be a literary snob. I am from the suburbs of Minneapolis and educated strictly Midwest. Still, I lean toward literary novels, Pulitzers, Bookers or foreign novels that expand my perspective. A habit fostered in elementary school, when books took me on far off adventures, far away from the tyranny of fifth grade drama. Warren Smith, chalking the answer to the most complicated math problem I had ever seen. Grinning his sweet, shy smile, white teeth contrasting his face, so black.