Julia Sneden
Julia Sneden was a writer, friend, wife, mother, Grandmother, care-giver and Senior Women Web's Resident Observer. Her career included editorial work for Sunset Magazine, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios as well as teaching. Julia was a passionate opponent of this country’s educational system, which she felt was floundering. She will be greatly missed as the heart of this website and this editor's friend of fifty years.
Julia Sneden's archive of articles.
Culture Watch Book Reviews: The Smartest Kids in the World & Shut Up, You're Welcome
Amanda Ripley gives us a detailed, separate report on the experiences of each American child she followed who had studied abroad, including each one’s "take" on what made school in those countries so successful. The youngster’s comparisons are forthright and fascinating. So are Ms. Ripley’s conclusions and descriptions in The Smartest Kids in the World. Annie Choi’s wit is pointed but not savage. She uses humor in Shut Up You’re Welcome to underscore the essential, sustained importance of family, the collective umbilical cord that binds. more »
CultureWatch Reviews: Hilary Mantle's Bring Up the Bodies and Rowling's (a.k.a. Galbraith) The Cuckoo's Calling
Fraught with danger and intrigue, Ms. Mantel gives us a view into the complex, brilliant mind of Thomas Cromwell, and deftly enables us to follow his reasoning and machinations as he strives to do his master’s work, that of Henry VIII. If you have not read Ms. Mantel’s earlier book, Wolf Hall, you will benefit greatly from tackling it before moving on to Bring up the Bodies. When J. K. Rowling delivers the mystery series in the future based on The Cuckoo's Calling characters, it will provide readers with some very satisfying hours — or, as a friend says about her love of crime fiction, some delectable "comfort food of the mind." So, after selling more than half a billion volumes of Harry Potter, does Rowling deserve our attention in her new literary adventure? No question about it, she does. more »
The Blues and Red Blues
Julia Sneden writes: The last time I crossed from a red to a blue state, I don’t seem to recall a discernible difference. Oh, the license plates were different, but the language was the same (even if the accent was not), and the federal government was still in charge. In both states I saw churches of every denomination, as well as temples and mosques, and in speaking with citizens of both states, I witnessed wide differences of political opinions (the latter within one family, never mind within one state). more »
A Grandmother by Any Other Name
Julia Sneden writes: The name Grandabbie was my own invention. Before she came to live with us, my mother’s mother lived next door to a lively band of six nieces and nephews who called her Aunt Abbie. One day I referred to my Grandmother as Aunt Abbie, whereat several of them pounced on me. "She’s not your aunt. You can’t call her Aunt Abbie," said another. I remember feeling crushed, but I don’t remember how I came up with the solution of combining Grandmother and Abbie into what was to become her label for life. She used to tell me: "All my life, I looked forward to being called Grandmother. It’s a beautiful word. But then," she would sigh, "I hadn’t reckoned with you." more »