Evan Handler is not only a fine actor, he’s a damn good writer. It’s Only Temporary is wise and funny and as righteously indignant as it is endearingly self-effacing. In what may be a literary first, the book actually left me wanting more. Meghan Daum More Quotes by Meghan Daum More Quotes From Meghan Daum Checking email every 45 seconds is not only compulsive, it's presumptuous. It suggests a belief that anyone who sends us a message needs us to read it immediately, even if the message is from SkyMall telling us our Bigfoot Garden Yeti statue has shipped. Meghan Daum statue message us garden The point of essays is the point of writing anything. It's not to tell people what they already think or to give them more of what they already believe; it's to challenge people, and it's to suggest alternate ways of thinking about things. Meghan Daum challenge believe people thinking I always tell writers that it's good to have an area of expertise. It's a really practical answer, I know, but know about science or about sports or about medicine, so you can work as a science writer or a sports writer. Don't just know about yourself. Meghan Daum good work sports science Confessions are not processed or analysed; they're told in a moment of desperation to a priest or to somebody interrogating you about a crime. Meghan Daum somebody moment you crime As with 'feminism,' not to mention 'liberalism' and 'conservatism,' 'political correctness' tends to mean what you want it to mean, which also pretty much amounts to utter meaninglessness. Meghan Daum pretty you political want People have always taken photos of themselves, either with camera timers or by handing their Nikons over to strangers in foreign countries and then paying large sums to get them back. Meghan Daum strangers camera back people We don't want privacy so much as privacy settings. Meghan Daum much settings privacy want As a mentor and an advocate, I've seen no end to the ways that childless people can contribute to the lives and well-being of kids - and adults, for that matter. Meghan Daum end mentor matter people I never sit down to write anything personal unless I know the subject is going to go beyond my own experience and address something larger and more universal. Meghan Daum down never my-own experience To me, having 'material' for an essay means not only having something to write about but also having something interesting and original to say about whatever that might be. Meghan Daum say something me interesting I have bougainvillea and a magnolia tree outside my window. Not that anything will ever beat the view I had from my desk window in my little farmhouse in Nebraska. Just a dirt road stretching out as far as you could see, with prairie grass on either side. Meghan Daum road you tree window People who choose not to have kids do so because they respect the job of parenting so much that they know not to take it on if they know it's not something that they're up for, and I don't know what to be a bigger tribute to parenting than that. Meghan Daum job parenting respect people Writers are the ones who figure out how to put their observations into words. Meghan Daum words out how who I think people seem to want to read pieces that are shorter but not as short as the pieces they can read in small bites on the Internet. It may be that the sort of long essays are hitting a sweet spot between the tiny morsels online and the full-length book. Meghan Daum internet sweet long people I love the essay. It's my favorite genre to work in. Meghan Daum essay favorite work love Our culture is so obsessed with the idea that you're going to go through a crisis or some difficult event and come out the other side a changed or improved person, and I just think that if you're honest, that often does not happen, and in fact, it shouldn't happen. Meghan Daum person think you culture If you do the things you enjoy and are good at, I really have a feeling that that will lead to having a fulfilling life, and people with fulfilling lives are able to be 'good people.' Meghan Daum good you life people
