Category: Reading - A Cottage by the Sea

Reading is a constant

7/16/2019

One of the constants in my life is reading. Constant when silence, solitude, and simplicity are interrupted in small or big ways, and constant when all is calm. There is always a book on the table. Of the books i took out the other day on Touch a Truck Day, I’ve read two, discarded two, kept one, and taken out another. For me this is easy joy because I live across from the library. But wherever I might live in town, it would be an easy drive. Not so in the city; carrying five or six books home on public transportation would be a challenge.
Then there is the beautiful truth that libraries are free. I’m aware that my library habit doesn’t support the economy the way that book buying does, but with all these freedoms, I read more .
Retreat into a book and you’ll always have a hold on silence, solitude, and simplicity.

Books and trucks and the library

7/10/2019

What a surprise to see that this is my first post of the month. It’s been busy here at Camp Fisher but now things are back to our usual silent, solitary, and simple routine. July 4th festivities and company have departed. All good. In fact they make this quiet time more precious and appreciated. I definitely like a change of pace.
   Earlier this morning, from our open widows, I could hear the whistle of the little train at Truck Day over at the library. Well, when we took our grandkids it was called “Truck Day,” but now it’s “Touch a Truck Day.”
    I just went over; took a few pictures outside, and a few books from inside--random books from the stacks. New books don’t seem to appeal to me these days. Maybe it’s because the characters are younger than me—younger by many, many years. Maybe I want stories set back when I was younger. Regardless, I wanted a good novel so I pulled a book from the shelf, read the dust cover, and made a choice. I came home with five.
      I’m very grateful for libraries and that I live within hearing and seeing distance of one.

Reading and silence

5/6/2019

I’m still reading, but not with the fevered pitch of a few years ago. I’m up to 23 books on my 2019 Goodreads Challenge, just 57 to read my birthday goal of 80. I’ll get there, and if I don’t, who cares? I don’t, Goodreads doesn’t, and certain you don’t!
At the moment I have four books going:
• The Overstory, by Richard Powers (502 pages of deep reading)
• Power and Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior, by Stephen R. Hawkins (reading slowly, chapter by chapter)
• The Book of Dreams, by Nina George (good read at the end of the day)
• Kushner, Inc.: Greed, Ambition, Corruption, by Vicky Ward (the news speaks for itself).

Some books (the last two) I can ready while watching Boston sports teams. Tonight the Sox, Bruins, and Celtics are all paying at the same time, so flipping the channels may slow down my reading. ‘Mute’ will be my setting of choice, which is my little way of staying in solitude.

Librarians' Choice

1/28/2019

Right across the street at the library I’ve discovered a new source of ready-to-read reading selections: the books on the Librarians’ Choice shelf. Librarians and readers have a built in basis for friendship, and what do readers do? They share book suggestions. The shelf is another way of doing this.

Reading, 2018

1/1/2019

Here are the most memorable books that I read in 2018: six nonfiction, seven fiction, listed in alphabetical order by author.
    Choosing is not hard. During the year I highlight any book that I think might make the list, and when I gather them together, there they are.
      I didn’t reach my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 78 (my age), coming up short by 5. Last year’s goal was 100 and I was 10 over. Why the difference? Maybe I spent more time listening to the news and watching the Red Sox.
     My 79th birthday was two days ago, so I’m picking 80 books to accompany me this year.. I’m not obsessed with reaching the goal, although unlike my age, I do have some control over it.

NONFICTION
• Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
• Irving, Debby, Waking Up White: Finding Myself in the Story of Race
• Jeffs, Rachel, Breaking Free
• Orlean, Susan, The Library Book
• Smart, Elizabeth, Where There’s Hope
• Stevenson, Bryan, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

FICTION
• Backman, Fredrik, Us Against You
• Carroll, James, The Cloister
• Honeyman, Gail, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
• Olsson, Linda, A Sister in My House
• Picoult, Jodi, Small Great Things
• Shakfak, Elif, Three Daughters of Eve
• Beha, Christopher R., What Happened to Sophie Wilder

Life is good--Wheaties, Vermont and books

8/5/2018

      Oh, the lazy days of summer. A slow pace for this blog. Here’s a little catch up.
     Most important is Wheaties. Thank you thank you to the several friends who have bought me a box or two. For now, the shelves have been replenished, although with the old design. I have not idea what to expect when these are consumed. And, how long will that take? Which gets me wondering how long those little wheat flakes sit in a box—months? Years?
     Last week my husband and I spent two night in Vermont, and this weekend we return for a family reunion. Thankfully the three and a half hour drive is primarily along winding roads through idyllic New England towns.
     Some friends just sent me long lists of books they are reading, so tonight, as I listen to the Red Sox beat the Yankees for the fourth time in a row, I will go on line and see what books I can get from inter-library loan.
     Life is good and for that, I am very grateful.

Simple and profound

7/11/2018

     I’ve had a few days of relative solitude since the active July 4th week. For me, I don’t crave solitude because I need to get away from it all, although that is sometimes an added benefit. I need solitude because it restores me so I can get back into it all. Too much of a good thing, be it time alone or time in community, and it becomes not a good thing.
     What I’ve just written sound simplistic, you might say, and I might agree. Nevertheless, I seem to need to clarify that for myself, and so I do, here in public. Sometime I can’t tell the difference between my simple thoughts and ones that might be profound.
     Back to my reading, both simple and profound.

Summer reading

7/6/2018

       June was a productive reading month; thirteen books, bringing the count to 43 for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I’m over half way to my goal of 78, may age.
       July so far as been a little slow, but now that the 4th is behind us, I can pick up. We had about forty people watching the parade and enjoying a cookout. Folks brought delicious salads and dessert, my son-in-law was a masterful grill chef, my daughter did whatever was needed, and my husband was head gardener, but there’s still a great deal of work preparing and cleaning up.
      And now for a reading day, and once again the power of reading washes over me as I sit outside with my books. Contentment, release of fear, trust in human beings, affirming that life is purposeful, and letting go of judgments, are some of the feelings that settle deep within me. I am aware I am privileged with the gift of time to read; with that goes challenge to offer something back to the universe. Reading time is not something to hoard.

Give yourself a "My Day"

3/16/2018

A quiet day for me here, a day that is turning out to be a “My Day,” at least until we meet friends for dinner. I want everyone, those of us who like silence, solitude and simplicity, and those who always like to be with others, to have a day like this once in a while. On a ‘My Day” there are no outside obligations or commitments. I figure out what to do as the day enfolds.
Per usual, I’m staying home, satisfying my typical pleasures of reading, writing, meditating, walking, and, I must confess, keep an eye on the news. To my surprise, I realize I have just spent a couple of hours reading “Bernini: His Life and His Rome,” by Franco Mormando, purusing “Bernini and the Art of Architecture,” by T.A. Marder, and planning the four days I’ll be in Rome in April, which seems to be shaping into a Bernini visit.

For the love of reading~

12/31/2017

On the table, read to read.

her    On this New Year’s Eve afternoon, as I watch the New England Patriots win again, I’m organizing my 2017 Goodreads Challenge and deciding what it should be for 2018. I challenged myself to read 52 books, but as of this minute, I’ve read 102. Wow.
    I read for compassion and to keep from getting too involved in the daily drama of politics. I don’t read to compete with anyone, and certainly not with myself. Putting my list on Goodreads is a great way to keep track of what I’ve read.
    Last January 1st I never imagined that I would read 100 books. Thinking I could to so again might encourage me to slip into a competitive mood, rather than read for compassion. 52 books still feels like a calming number, calming and attainable. I read for the love of reading. Besides, who knows what 2018 will bring.
    You can see my list of favorites for 2017 here