Now to take a deep breath. Since I’m not quite ready to immerse myself in Pride and Prejudice, for my reading pleasure I am returning to my love of all things Italian, particularly Florentine. My reading choice is Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered, by Dianne Hales, copyright 2014.
My Jane Austen project is coming along, although more slowly than I had anticipated. I have finished reading Sense and Sensibility, listened to the audio on CD and watched the 1995 movie on DVD. The movie component of this project adds nothing as far as plot is concerned; in fact, it could detract if I choose to be upset that it isn’t true the story. I do, however, appreciate the scenery, architecture and costumes.
Now to take a deep breath. Since I’m not quite ready to immerse myself in Pride and Prejudice, for my reading pleasure I am returning to my love of all things Italian, particularly Florentine. My reading choice is Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered, by Dianne Hales, copyright 2014.
0 Comments
It’s been a challenge to blog ever other day. It’s all about writing, and I’ve been immersed in preparing the final draft of “Very Grateful”, my memoir about Mom. Tomorrow is the day it goes in the mail to my editor, so she can begin work on it next week. I appreciate a deadline and work well with one. But this is also about Carolyn, who has to plan her life as well. She can’t meet her deadline for my manuscript, if I can’t meet mine first. Sounds complicated but it’s really rather simple. Back to write. I just completed a 1000 piece puzzle of a library scene, aptly named “Sanctuary of Knowledge”. The picture reminds me of a university library of old, undoubtedly in England, with stacks receding into infinity. In the foreground is an elderly couple and a young boy and girl. Perhaps we are seeing grandparents and grandchildren reading together, the women and children sitting in over-stuffed chairs, the grandfather standing with book in hand by the fireplace. They are surrounded by several cats, books stacked on tables and an array of collectables acquired over the years. Angels fly in from the nearby stacks. This comforting scene, with its moment of silence, solitude and simplicity, is worth a dream. I like to imagine that in the next minute someone will comment on what they are reading. Or, one of the cats, looking for affection and a comfy place to snooze, will jump into a welcoming lap. Here’s what’s new from my silent, solitary and simple home. Thank goodness my husband and I fit well with this. We both like it. 1) I love my new washing machine, but am also delighted with my old dryer. I had ordered a new one to go along with my new washer, but cancelled the purchase when it wouldn’t fit in the door. I can’t believe that I was sucked into thinking that washers and dryers have to be bought and discarded as a team. After all, they don’t die at the same time! My twenty year old dryer is still tossing the clothes around, and since I hang most of my laundry out to dry, I figure it should last my life time—even if I live to be 101 like my mom. 2) Speaking of Mom, the memoir is about ready to be mailed to my friend Carolyn for developmental editing. Next there’s the copy editing, cover design, formatting for print copy on demand and for e-book, and then the launch of Very Grateful on Amazon—hopefully by the end of the year. 3) The Jane Austen project has slowed down a bit because I just received an annotated edition of Sense and Sensibility from interlibrary loan. 400 pages of text, notes, photographs and paintings. So I’m rereading but I haven’t given up the e-book, which I must say is an extremely different experience. All good—including the audio edition in 10 compact discs. Here’s an update on my Jane Austin project. I’m still living with Sense and Sensibility and the Dashwoods. I’m taking it slowly, savoring, reading only a couple of chapters a day—am up to Chapter 17. I purchased all of Jane’s (we’re on a first name basis) works for $.99 cents for my Kindle. It’s the simple way to go for this kind of reading. I just click on and am right at the page where I left off. Spending less than a dollar satisfies another one of my criteria for simplicity—be intentional about how I spend my money. The CDs just arrived from inter-library load, so I’m getting ready to listen, always at least a few chapters behind my reading. The characters are forming more and more clearly in my mind. Although each conforms to the times in which Jane lived and wrote about, each personality is distinctive. I’m reminded of my family, of all families. Am I Elinor, Marianne, Margaret? Definitely not any of the other women I’ve met so far. I’ll have to ask my sisters who they’d pick for themselves. I wouldn’t be surprise if we’re all variation of Elinor. Living a simple life is no easy task. We say that our electrical appliances are here to simplify our lives. Well, yes and no. My computer, for example, not only simplifies my writing, but makes any writing I do, after I’ve scribble away in my journal, possible. Drafts, final copies, publishing, and of course blogging. I'm about to begin a little Jane Austen project. I'm planning to reread her works, as well as listen to them on tape; not simultaneously but more or less in parallel. Then I'll watch the DVD. As I begin, I’m in awe of what Jane (note how I consider her a personal friend) accomplished in her rather short life. She didn’t have a computer, not even a simple one. Imagining how a computer might have simplified her writing, is a rather useless exercise. What is important is her intense desire to write. I’m not certain why I’ve taken on this Jane Austen project, but it feels comforting. All of Jane's heroines were homebodies, which is what I am this fall for the first time in quite a few years. I’m not in Italy. I’m home writing, on my computer of course. Jane is my heroine. (At the moment I am reading Sense and Sensibility on my Kindle. More simple than “The Modern Library” print copy.) Self-discipline and perseverance. I’m going to wrap these up into one post. I have them both, at least for some of the things I do—the ones I care about. But isn’t that the life’s way? When I wrote Joyful Learning, I’d get up at 4:45 every morning and tap away at the computer until it was time to go to go off to teach. And now I’m feeling the same determination. My editor from my Heinemann days has agreed to be the developmental editor for Very Grateful. Need I tell you how very grateful I am to her? With self-discipline and perseverance I will get the manuscript to her by mid-September. All Dugard’s traits, curiosity, hope, passion, courage, independence, self-discipline, and perseverance, are coming together. Hope, the second on Martin Dugard’s list of traits (curiosity, hope, passion, courage, independence, self-discipline, and perseverance) necessary to meet the challenges of life (see previous posts), may well be my strongest. Things will work out, that is what I hope for, and they do. My hopes aren’t specific. As Paul suggests in his letter to the Romans, “Hope that is seen is not hope.” Those specific ‘hopes’ so easily visualized, I consider wishes… I wish the weather would improve… I wish I could find dishes to match those blue napkins… I wish my car would pass inspection for another year. Really, wishes, not hope? Hope is singular. Hope, which has to do with the big picture that I long for, always includes mystery. Hope is believing in the good. Hope is already present, its form yet to be revealed. It has to do with optimism and faith, not in figuring out a good plan. Things will work out for the best, we optimistic people say, and with that, we move forward. Things are working out for the best, we hopeful people say, and with that live in the present. Hope is timeless. I spent the morning finishing the eighth draft of “Very Grateful”, the memoir I’m writing about my mom. Tomorrow I’ll begin the introduction and epilogue. What about getting it published? I don’t want to spend the time and energy looking for a traditional publisher, only to be told that no one is interested. Heinnemann published my books for teachers but it only publishes educational material. So, self-publishing is the way to go: e-book and hard copy on demand. I’m a neophyte on all of this so if any of you blog readers have suggestions, please email me. I’d welcome any thoughts of the follow, and anything else you have to offer: • Companies you recommend • Pros and cons of self-publishing • Articles on the topic • Expenses worth pursuing; expenses worth avoiding • A live person who has self-published and who would be willing to talk with me. I would deeply appreciate that! • Other random, and not so random ideas. <bobbifisher.mac@mac.com> |
Contact me: bobbifisher.mac@mac.com
Categories
All
Archives
September 2023
|