(humming:) "The weather outside is frightful...."
It's the perfect time of year for curling up with a good book. Except of course for all the holiday festivities, family gatherings, gift shopping and increased commute time due to snowy and slushy roads. Harumph!!
As for me I've finally dug into Per Petterson's "Out Stealing Horses" and am loving it. Definitely a gripping read. And next on my table is Gregory Maguire's latest, "What the dickens," a story about a rogue tooth fairy. Maguire is as you probably know, the author of "Wicked" - a book that was turned into a musical with a COMPLETELY different, and very happy ending. Blech!! Well, okay - the singing was pretty darn good.
So are you finding time to take sanctuary in a good book? Is the season of darkness finding you reading more soulful, or spiritual books? Or are you trying to find works that fill you with an inner light? I have many friends who are right now re-reading "His Dark Materials" in anticipation of the release of "The Golden Compass" in movie theaters.
Whatever you're doing, take some time to breathe deep, relax, and daydream a little while sipping your beverage of choice. It's the holidays, gosh darn it - take advantage of them, rather than letting them take advantage of you!
Peace!
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Comments: 16
BTW J Wright, I love Gone with The Wind, I read that book about every 10 years and have been since I was 12and its almost time to read it again!! One thing bout getting older, you read the same book twice and its like the first time!!
Doing a book review on "Have You Found Her" for Random House- it also is a must read.
Carol H
I don't need to daydream and sip a beverage. I do need to breathe deeply, relax and work.
In this time of war, in all times of war, I say peace.
THOMAS MERTON
---Thoughts in Solitude
Abbey of Gethsemani
The only other book by Petterson I could track down is about a young girl's loss of her parents during World War II, In Siberia. Amazon has a copy available for $149.99. I hope with Petterson's high profile these days (Out Stealing Horses made it on the NYTimes best 10 novels of 2007) they will reprint it. I am in love with this man's writing. It is clean, clear, sparse and riveting.
Now I am reading for our book club "the Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie. (short stories that were the basis for the movie "Smoke Signals") Another really fine read. Is it true that he wrote the stories when he was only 19? Remarkable!
I have on my bedstand Eloisa James' (Mary Bly) latest romance novel (bodice ripper, you say?) "An Affair Before Christmas" Just for fun. fun. fun.
It's not a feel-good Christmas book, that's for sure. But it is really interesting. As they say, truth is often stranger than fiction...
Whew. Time for something a bit more uplifting...
We think of Thee, worship Thee, bow to thee as the Creator of this Universe; we seek refuge in Thee, the Truth, our only support. Thou art the Ruler, the barge in this ocean of endless births and deaths.
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations. Give us wisdom that we may know each other and not despise all things. We shall abide by thy Peace. And, we shall remember the servants of God are those who walk on this earth in humility and, when we address them, we shall say Peace unto us all.
PRAYERS FOR PEACE, Published by Gaphis, Inc. 307 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
My commuting book is What Is The What by Dave Eggers, and my bedtime book is A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon.
What Is The What is very eye-opening and humbling; it's a Sudanese refugee's story of escaping the war. A Spot Of Bother is a realistic look at a British family in modern times and the events that separate them and bring them together.
I'm also in the middle of Ralph Steadman's The Joke's Over (his memoir of his adventures with Hunter S. Thompson). It's a more coherent look at HST and the relationships he forged during his career.
OK, so I have three books started with the intention to finish all three at some point.