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Tattoos on the Heart, by Gregory Boyle

2/27/2017

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Beyond compassion. A world apart, yet my country, my citizens, my fellow humans. This book has erased more of my judgmental self, and given me a few molecules of humility.


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Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent

2/25/2017

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Another to add to my best-ever list.
I identified with the good and the bad in each character; we all have both. Hope that with tragedy comes redemption.
Compassion for the circumstances that form us.


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The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

2/20/2017

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     I’ll keep thinking about this book. What happened? Did it really happen?
     Compassion for what we remember and what we forget; for ways we remember the good things, and, let go of those not-so-good moments. In the long run, we remain loyal because of what goes well. At death we may cling to loved ones, but then, we say goodbye with gratitude and journey on peacefully alone.


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Upstream, by Mary Oliver

2/18/2017

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Compassion for nature, for nature lovers, for nature writers.


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Conclave, by Robert Harris

2/16/2017

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The next time the Conclave meets in Rome to choose a pope I’ll understand the process better. I’ll picture the cardinals politicking, conversing, eating, and praying together at St. Martha’s Residence, and then stepping into a van to drive them around the rear of St. Peter’s to the Sistine Chapel. I’ll have a visual for how the voting goes.
I must say I enjoyed learning this through Harris’s novel, which also gave me compassion for the priests who have risen high enough up the Catholic hierarchy to work in the Vatican. How hard it must be to remain faithful and humble!


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Letters from Rifka, by Karen Hess

2/13/2017

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Compassion for immigrants. I think of my grandfather who immigrated from Scotland. I never knew him, but I heard stories of how brave he was to make it to Ellis Island and then to Brooklyn.


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The Street Sweeper, by Elliott Perlman

2/9/2017

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The Street Sweeper, by Elliott Perlman
This book is going to be on my list of top ten favorite books ever. A marvelously woven story of blacks and Jews struggling to be heard during the events of the twentieth century. I am humbled and my heart is open. Compassion for humanity.


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The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah

2/3/2017

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Another (All the Light We Cannot See) engaging story set it World War II France. Compassion for everyone in war, and I mean everyone. We do the best we can, and carry on after the war is over; OR, we die. How much are we in charge of our lives? Why are some born to commit atrocities, while others live to defend themselves? Always more questions than answers.


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Astrid and Veronika, by Linda Olsson

2/1/2017

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Astrid and Veronika, by Linda Olsson
     Best book I read this month. It renewed my love of living in solitude for extended periods of time. I was struck by the way both women listened allowing for spaces of silence. Friendships between the young and the old evolve without planning. I am reminded of A Walk on the Beach, Joan Anderson’s telling of her friendship with Joan Erikson.
     Compassion for friendships between generations.


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    Author

        Compassionate Reading may sound strange, but that’s my purpose in joining the Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge. A book a week seems like a reasonable goal. Maybe I’ll read 52, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll read 32, but probably not 520.
         Number goals appeal to me, especially ones connected with the calendar. As a teacher, I loved the definitive school year. There is nothing like a Monday morning every seven days to give me another jump start. The first of every month I take delight in turning the page of my wall calendar. I like numbers.
         However, this reading goal isn’t about adding books to a list. My goal is understand lives different from mine. Up until now I have read through the lens of my own life, one of ease, privilege, freedom and advantage; they never promised a rose garden, but I was given one. Now I want to wear the lens of the authors and their characters. I want to step into their feelings and experiences without comparing them to mine. I want to observe without judging. I want to appreciate the nuances rather than put everything into categories. I want to I want to read with my heart more than my head.
         My plan is to post how each book opened my heart to compassion.

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