Blink Book Review #12: History Repeating Itself? Three podcasts and a book, “Against the Tide by Harriet Keyserling” Reba Campbell Posted 9/22/23By Reba CampbellThis book and the recommended podcast episodes should be required reading/listening for anyone who is or was a lobbyist, legislator, page, staffer, reporter or anyone who is...
Blink Book Review #9: “Pops: Learning to be a Son and Father” by Craig Melvin
Blink Book Review #9: "Pops: Learning to be a Son and Father" by Craig Melvin Reba Campbell Posted 8/10/23By Reba CampbellStories of local folks who’ve found national acclaim always interest me. And if they’re in the world of journalism or politics even more so. That’s part of the reason I...
Blink Book Review #8: “The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Blink Book Review #8: "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray Reba Campbell Posted 8/2/23By Reba Campbell“The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray was such a delightful surprise. Historical fiction isn’t normally my top reading choice, but to stay true to one of my...
Blink Book Review #5: “Newsroom Confidential – Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life” by Margaret Sullivan
Blink Book Review #5: “Newsroom Confidential – Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life” by Margaret Sullivan Reba Campbell Posted 6/30/23 By Reba Campbell As a lifelong news nerd, I love reading about the machinations of a newsroom – How do news stories actually get to the front page? Who...
Bonus Blink Book Review: “Grace Will Lead Us Home” by Jennifer Berry Hawes
Bonus Blink Book Review: “Grace Will Lead Us Home” by Jennifer Berry Hawes Reba Campbell Posted 6/29/23By Reba CampbellRarely does a book appeal to all my “reading” senses – beautifully written, important message, compelling story and human connections. “Grace Will Lead Us Home” about the shootings at Mother Emanuel A.M.E....
Blink Book Review #4: “Our Best Intentions” by Vibhuti Jain
Blink Book Review #4: "Our Best Intentions" by Vibhuti Jain Reba Campbell Posted 6/28/23By Reba Campbell"Our Best Intentions” by Vibhuti Jain revolves around an Indian immigrant family living in a small, well-to-do New York suburb. The father, Barbur Singh, is raising his teen-aged daughter, Angela, alone after his wife abandons...
Blink Book Review #3: “Daisy Jones and the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Blink Book Review #3: “Daisy Jones and the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid Reba Campbell Posted 6/26/23By Reba CampbellMy dream has long been to quit life and join the band. While I’ve taken up music lessons in recent years, this book allowed me to vicariously live out that dream without...
Blink Book Review #2: “Life in Five Senses” by Gretchen Rubin
Blink Book Review #2: “Life in Five Senses” by Gretchen Rubin Reba Campbell Posted 6/21/23By Reba CampbellIs there anything that we take for granted more than the power of our five senses? Gretchen Rubin’s new book, “Life in Five Senses, How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head...
Blink Book Review #1: “The Art of Calm” by Roger Hutchison
Blink Book Review #1: "The Art of Calm" by Roger Hutchison Reba Campbell Posted 6/1/23By Reba CampbellRoger Hutchison’s recently released book “The Art of Calm” is the perfect mix of thought-provoking, immensely readable, practical and insightful helping bring new awareness to our daily lives.The book is structured around Roger’s journey...
20 Lessons Learned: From Diploma to Today
20 Lessons Learned: From Diploma to Today Reba Campbell Posted 5/10/23 By Reba Campbell ‘Tis the season for college graduations. USC’s recent graduation weekend makes me realize I walked across the Carolina Coliseum stage 40 years ago to pick up my Journalism degree. Several days later, I packed my car...
Blink Book Review: “It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs” by Mary Louise Kelly
Blink Book Review#13: “It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs” by Mary Louise Kelly Reba Campbell Posted 5/2/23By Reba CampbellThe books I enjoy the most typically sit unfinished with one chapter to go. They deliciously hang out in my reading stack or on my audiobook list the same...
The magic and mess of a blank page
The magic and mess of a blank page Reba Campbell Posted 3/21/23By Reba CampbellI started the year trying to resume the discipline of keeping a handwritten journal. This process of deliberately writing by hand has reminded me how it so often results in a flow that’s very different from writing...
Practice over Perfect
Practice over Perfect Reba Campbell Posted Feb. 28, 2023By Reba Campbell“Practice makes perfect.” Surely a mantra we all heard as children…whether it was in sports, spelling, music or math. This was a standard line repeated by grown-ups who were just trying to help us learn. Practice is a good thing…right?...
A dozen ideas to get reading more in 2023
A dozen ideas to get reading more in 2023 Reba Campbell 1/19/23By Reba CampbellReading has always been a delight for me. I loved the library’s summer reading clubs when I was a kid. Browsing bookstores is a favorite pastime when I travel. Countless books on writers and writing are scattered...
The Gift of Christmas “Presence”
The Gift of Christmas “Presence” Reba Campbell Posted December 20, 2022By Reba CampbellWe’ve just returned from a glorious two-week adventure in Germany, Austria and Hungary - most of it spent travelling with friends we’ve known since our young adult days in DC. During the trip, I posted photos of the...
An election gratitude reflection
An election gratitude reflection Reba Campbell Posted November 2, 2022By Reba CampbellFor anyone who has worked in campaigns, the week leading up to the election is like no other experience. It’s a blinding minute-by-minute chaos of decisions on the fly, anticipating every possibility that could stand in the way of...
Blink Book Review #12: In the Shadow of the White House by Jo Haldeman
Blink Book Review #12: In the Shadow of the White House by Jo Haldeman Reba Campbell Posted August 24, 2022By Reba CampbellThe 50th anniversary of Watergate this summer struck a real chord with me bringing back snippets of news stories from the summer I was eleven and heading into the...
Blink Book Review #11: A Double Dose – “Enough Already” by Valerie Bertinelli and “Back to the Prairie” by Melissa Gilbert
Blink Book Review #11: A Double Dose - “Enough Already” by Valerie Bertinelli and “Back to the Prairie” by Melissa Gilbert Reba Campbell Posted August 17, 2022By Reba CampbellMy recent beach reading consisted of memoirs by two actresses from my childhood – Valerie Bertinelli (Barbara on “One Day at a...
Blink Book Review #10: “The Splendid Beauty … A Dog and His People” by Rick Bragg
Blink Book Review #10: “The Splendid Beauty … A Dog and His People” by Rick Bragg Reba Campbell Posted August 11, 2022By Reba CampbellA young friend recently asked me to choose my favorite dog book. I had to think really hard on that one. I’ve read a whole lot of...
Blink Book Review #9: “These Precious Days” by Ann Patchett
Blink Book Review #9: “These Precious Days” by Ann Patchett Reba Campbell Posted August 3, 2022By Reba CampbellThis summer’s reading list has included books beyond the best-seller fiction I usually favor. Ann Patchett’s “These Precious Days” is one of those. This collection of 24 essays hits on topics ranging from...