“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hand unclean.From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.&quot; -Romeo &amp; Juliet,  Shakespeare“It&apos;s so simple, in a way, I mean, two young people fall in love, because it is love. And they don&apos;t get that you&apos;re not supposed to do that. You&apos;re not supposed to cross the floor and fall in love. But it&apos;s love. Love does not understand that. And so, my whole life I have struggled with this notion of that love transcends differences.”<a href='https://www.josephkertes.com/'>Joseph Kertes</a> is an award winning author.  His most recent book is <a href='https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/607666/last-impressions-by-joseph-kertes/9780735238213'>Last Impressions.</a>  Among his awards are: Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour,  the Canadian Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. He founded the creative writing and comedy programs at Humber College.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hand unclean.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.&amp;quot;&lt;br/&gt;-Romeo &amp;amp; Juliet,  Shakespeare&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“It&amp;apos;s so simple, in a way, I mean, two young people fall in love, because it is love. And they don&amp;apos;t get that you&amp;apos;re not supposed to do that. You&amp;apos;re not supposed to cross the floor and fall in love. But it&amp;apos;s love. Love does not understand that. And so, my whole life I have struggled with this notion of that love transcends differences.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='https://www.josephkertes.com/'&gt;Joseph Kertes&lt;/a&gt; is an award winning author.  His most recent book is &lt;a href='https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/607666/last-impressions-by-joseph-kertes/9780735238213'&gt;&lt;em&gt;Last Impressions.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;  &lt;/em&gt;Among his awards are: &lt;em&gt;Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour,  the Canadian Jewish Book Award &lt;/em&gt;and the U.S. &lt;em&gt;National Jewish Book Award for Fiction&lt;/em&gt;. He founded the creative writing and comedy programs at Humber College.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hand unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life." -Romeo &amp; Juliet,  Shakespeare “It's so simple, in a way, I mean, two young people fall in love, because it is love. And they don't get that you're not supposed to do that. You're not supposed to cross the floor and fall in love. ...

Romeo and Juliet

&quot;Live like a hero.  That is what the classics teach us.  Be a main character.  Otherwise, what is life for?&quot;  - J.M. Coetzee  Jenn Weinheimer says these lines &quot;remind me that we can&apos;t just passively check the boxes in life and consider that a life.  Elizabeth imploring Paul to &quot;live [his] life so that someone might want to put [him] in a book&quot; is a reminder not of WHICH choices we need to make but that we need to live with intention.  My experience teaching this novel has shown me that these lines have a similar effect on my students.  When they might think that they are just waiting for &quot;real life&quot; (life after high school or after college) to start, it can be tempting to think that one is merely following a script, but Elizabeth Costello reminds Paul (and by extension the readers of the novel) that it&apos;s all real--and it&apos;s short--and we have to do something so that our lives aren&apos;t just resumes--they are stories. &quot;Jenn Weinheimer spent 20 years in independent secondary-school education as an English teacher, Dean, Department Chair and now Head of Upper School at Cincinnati Country Day School.  While  not a rebellious sort, she hopes &quot;I&apos;m living my life like a main character and creating some good plot twists along the way.&quot;

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt; &amp;quot;Live like a hero.  That is what the classics teach us.  Be a main character.  Otherwise, what is life for?&amp;quot;  - J.M. Coetzee  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Jenn Weinheimer says these lines &amp;quot;remind me that we can&amp;apos;t just passively check the boxes in life and consider that a life.  Elizabeth imploring Paul to &amp;quot;live [his] life so that someone might&lt;em&gt; want&lt;/em&gt; to put [him] in a book&amp;quot; is a reminder not of WHICH choices we need to make but that we need to live with intention.  My experience teaching this novel has shown me that these lines have a similar effect on my students.  When they might think that they are just waiting for &amp;quot;real life&amp;quot; (life after high school or after college) to start, it can be tempting to think that one is merely following a script, but Elizabeth Costello reminds Paul (and by extension the readers of the novel) that it&amp;apos;s all real--and it&amp;apos;s short--and we have to do something so that our lives aren&amp;apos;t just resumes--they are stories. &amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jenn Weinheimer spent 20 years in independent secondary-school education as an English teacher, Dean, Department Chair and now Head of Upper School at Cincinnati Country Day School.  While  not a rebellious sort, she hopes &amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m living my life like a main character and creating some good plot twists along the way.&amp;quot; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

 "Live like a hero.  That is what the classics teach us.  Be a main character.  Otherwise, what is life for?"  - J.M. Coetzee    Jenn Weinheimer says these lines "remind me that we can't just passively check the boxes in life and consider that a life.  Elizabeth imploring Paul to "live [his] life so that someone might want to put [him] in a book" is a reminder not of WHICH choices we need to make but that we need to live with intention.  My experience t...

Slow Man

&quot;Please follow your heart, win or lose.&quot;- J.D. SalingerWhen Robert Graham was in his early 20s, he read J.D. Salinger&apos;s novella “Seymour: An Introduction” and felt compelled to copy down a few lines on a notepad. He then folded up that piece of paper and stuck it in his wallet, where it’s been for the past 30 years.As a classically trained musician, Graham had some reservations when it came to composing his own music, but he would recall Salinger’s lines as a call to action, reminding him of what was truly important. Here are a few other lines from the novel that Robert tries to live by.“Do you know what you will be asked when you die? …. I&apos;m so sure you&apos;ll get asked only two questions.  Were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out?”

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;quot;Please follow your heart, win or lose.&amp;quot;- J.D. Salinger&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When Robert Graham was in his early 20s, he read J.D. Salinger&amp;apos;s novella “Seymour: An Introduction” and felt compelled to copy down a few lines on a notepad. He then folded up that piece of paper and stuck it in his wallet, where it’s been for the past 30 years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a classically trained musician, Graham had some reservations when it came to composing his own music, but he would recall Salinger’s lines as a call to action, reminding him of what was truly important. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are a few other lines from the novel that Robert tries to live by.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;“Do you know what you will be asked when you die? …. I&amp;apos;m so sure you&amp;apos;ll get asked only two questions.  Were most of your stars out? Were you busy writing your heart out?”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

"Please follow your heart, win or lose."- J.D. Salinger When Robert Graham was in his early 20s, he read J.D. Salinger's novella “Seymour: An Introduction” and felt compelled to copy down a few lines on a notepad. He then folded up that piece of paper and stuck it in his wallet, where it’s been for the past 30 years. As a classically trained musician, Graham had some reservations when it came to composing his own music, but he would recall Salinger’s lines as a call to action, reminding him o...

Seymour: An Introduction

&quot;You become responsible forever for what you&apos;ve tamed.&quot;  - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry&quot;This line jumped out at me when I read The Little Prince for the first time in French and again, when I read the English translation. The beauty of the line and the lesson from the fox has continued to resonate with me throughout my life. - Mei Ling Mei is a lifelong reader who enjoys books that teach her something new, books that amuse or entertain her, and most of all, books that tell a good story. Storytelling also plays a role in her professional life in corporate communications and media relations.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;quot;You become responsible forever for what you&amp;apos;ve tamed.&amp;quot;  - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;This line jumped out at me when I read &lt;em&gt;The Little Prince&lt;/em&gt; for the first time in French&lt;br/&gt; and again, when I read the English translation. The beauty of the line and the lesson&lt;br/&gt;from the fox has continued to resonate with me throughout my life. - Mei Ling &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mei is a lifelong reader who enjoys books that teach her something new, books that amuse or entertain her, and most of all, books that tell a good story. Storytelling also plays a role in her professional life in corporate communications and media relations. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

"You become responsible forever for what you've tamed."  - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry "This line jumped out at me when I read The Little Prince for the first time in French  and again, when I read the English translation. The beauty of the line and the lesson from the fox has continued to resonate with me throughout my life. - Mei Ling  Mei is a lifelong reader who enjoys books that teach her something new, books that amuse or entertain her, and most of all, books that tell a good sto...

The Little Prince

&quot;No one can love you the way a mother can.  No one can hurt you the way a mother can.&quot; - T Kira Madden &quot;Has this book changed the way I look at motherhood? I would say, absolutely, 100%, and that&apos;s probably one of the reasons I like it so much.&quot; - Michelle Leung As a librarian with a talent for reading an entire book in a few hours,  Michelle says T Kira Madden&apos;s memoir is one of the best books she&apos;s ever read in the genre.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;quot;No one can love you the way a mother can.  No one can hurt you the way a mother can.&amp;quot;&lt;br/&gt;- T Kira Madden&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&amp;quot;Has this book changed the way I look at motherhood? I would say, absolutely, 100%, and that&amp;apos;s probably one of the reasons I like it so much.&amp;quot; - Michelle Leung&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;As a librarian with a talent for reading an entire book in a few hours,  Michelle says T Kira Madden&amp;apos;s memoir is one of the best books she&amp;apos;s ever read in the genre. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

"No one can love you the way a mother can.  No one can hurt you the way a mother can." - T Kira Madden  "Has this book changed the way I look at motherhood? I would say, absolutely, 100%, and that's probably one of the reasons I like it so much." - Michelle Leung  As a librarian with a talent for reading an entire book in a few hours,  Michelle says T Kira Madden's memoir is one of the best books she's ever read in the genre.    

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls: A Memoir

A line or two … that changed everything. Ever read something so profound that it stays with you even to this day? This podcast is where readers share the passages they most treasure and why. 

Once Upon a Line

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