Election Day outside of big cities is different. For one thing, there are so few people in my town that each individual vote really does matter, and several local races have been decided by as many votes as you can count on one hand. Susan Orlean bigcitycount share on social
Who on earth is going to use 'utilize' in a text message, a whopping seven characters including the always-hard-to-type 'z,' when you can say the exact same thing in three characters? I can't think of a sentence in which 'use' can't replace 'utilize.' Susan Orlean characterearthexact share on social
I was never any good at remembering dates, but now I hardly have to. When the first bulb catalogs get delivered and the hens start laying again, that's all the notice I'll need to know that winter has passed. Susan Orlean bulbcatalogdate share on social
Here's a habit I never thought I'd develop: I gravitate to anything online that's marked 'most popular' or 'most e-mailed.' And I hate myself a little bit every time I do. Susan Orlean bitedevelopgravitate Change image and share on social
You could go crazy thinking of how unprivate our lives really are - the omnipresent security cameras, the tracking data on our very smart phones, the porous state of our Internet selves, the trail of electronic crumbs we leave every day. Susan Orlean cameracrazycrumb share on social
I am dismayed to realize that much of the advice I used to parcel out to aspiring writers has passed its sell-by date. Susan Orlean adviceaspiredate Change image and share on social
When I was a kid, Halloween was strictly a starchy-vegetable-only holiday, with pumpkins and Indian corn on the front stoop; there was nothing electric, nothing inflatable, nothing with latex membranes or strobes. Susan Orlean cornelectricfront share on social
I teach a non-fiction writing class at New York University, and one of my great pleasures is deciding on the syllabus. Susan Orlean classdecidefiction Change image and share on social
They will be given as gifts; books that are especially pretty or visual will be bought as hard copies; books that are collectible will continue to be collected; people with lots of bookshelves will keep stocking them; and anyone who likes to make notes in books will keep buying books with margins to fill. Susan Orlean bookbookshelfbuy share on social
The genius of a folk melody or story is not the feeling that it's original but quite the opposite - the feeling that it has existed all along. Susan Orlean existfeltfolk Change image and share on social