Reading Newspapers

Reading newspapers sounds like an anachronism in this age of apps for your smart phones and tablets that allow you to read, see and hear the news on the go.  But there is still something very quaint and comforting about grabbing a cup of coffee, hunkering down over a table and spreading out a newspaper for reading.

As the editor and feature writer of A Woman Reading – The Blog it gives me great pleasure to introduce my very own newspaper curated from the Twitter feeds that I follow.  I may not be able to replicate the experience of offering an ink and paper product, but I can give  you the next best thing:  my online version of all that is interesting on the internet.

It’s an interesting concept that Paper.Li has created.  You name your paper, plug in your Twitter or Facebook feeds and voila, you have a daily refreshed newspaper that contains news, images and video from the people you follow.

In the case of A Woman Reading – The Newspaper, I have created a newspaper that features articles on American expats living abroad, travel in France and Italy, gourmet foodie topics, coffee, wine and books, all of the subjects of which I enjoy reading and writing.

If you like my blog, you’ll love my newspaper.  You can check it out daily or even subscribe to it and read fresh content by people I think you should know.  Some are experts in their fields, while others are simply enthusiasts with a passion they share with the world.

Either way, check out the paper and tell me what you think.   I believe you will be enriched for the experience.

Is Rihanna The New Face Of Girl Power?

Rihanna’s latest music video Man Down immediately became controversial upon its premier on television.  Why is a music video, any music video so polarizing?  Music videos and music are after all art and by its very nature expressive and open to interpretation. This particular video portrays the titan-haired singer as a young, coy island girl who shoots the man who rapes her after they shared a flirtation at a  dance hall.  Various groups are up in arms because they believe the Barbadian pop singer is promoting vigilante justice for her impressionable female teen audience.  If we can agree that music and music videos are art, then it follows that Rihanna’s video is not to be taken literally.

Cleopatra – A Biography

Oh no, not another biography about the infamous Queen of the Nile!  Oh yes, Dear Readers…only this time Duane W. Roller’s well researched profile of the Egyptian Queen covers the real Cleopatra, not the one her enemies wanted you to know.

If you care to read about the interesting parallels I found in Cleopatra’s lifetime with today’s contemporary female politicians and their struggle for equality, read on.

Southern Fried Delicious

I love to travel.  Love to try new foods, meet new people and experience new cultures.  The one thing that surprises me, the one constant when I am globe-trotting around the world is that I will eventually miss the home cooking of my youth.  I am originally from North Carolina (in the Southern part of the U.S.A) and I find that though I love Italian food with a passion, have developed a taste for several Japanese and Chinese dishes and find French food a sensual delight, there is nothing quite like the deep-fried comforting food my mother made for me and my family.