A Balanced Weekend

The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing by Kenneth S. Cohen is a great accompaniment to my current Qigong class. Qi (氣) means "life energy," and the text provides a fascinating introduction to Chinese models of energy. Though many of the exercises are estimated to be between two and three thousand years old, qigong was prohibited during the Chinese Cultural Revolution from 1966-1976, with a revived interest including a number of clinical studies since that time. As well as providing practice background, the book is a gentle introduction to breath awareness and a number of qigong meditative positions.

I Need to Shelve this Issue

As with so many things these days, it began with a Tweet, grew into a little research, and culminated in a bookclub conversation with GBC Kim. The subject: book catalogs. The obvious favorite for Mac Users (in the GBC realm), with an extremely fun name, is Delicious Library. It works by using iSight to scan barcodes into the program with a backup option of having your husband (GBC Tim) type in any title which might have difficulty scanning. [Husband not included.] There is a third option for data entry which would require the purchase of a Wireless Laser Barcode Scanner for those of us, I mean you, who tend to be a bit more on the gadgety-geeky side. All titles get neatly shelved for reference and showing off to your friends.

For PC users, MediaMan might be another option, however the reviews seem to be mixed. Digital Hoard also may be worth a look. The price point for each of these options is around $40.

Finally, one could go with an old school option of recording titles directly into a spreadsheet with column headings such as: Genre, Title, Author/Publisher, First Edition check box, Type (Hardback, paperback,etc), Additional Comments, and Purchase Price. We would not however know anyone who might select this option...

February Feast

[Note: Publish date was updated to correlate to actual publish date rather than date drafted. Yes, I am anal about these things.]

Friday night festivities, a full house, and fabulous fare made this month’s GBC meeting another fantastic one! (Too much caffeine = too much alliteration.) Everyone seemed to be in high spirits at the end of the week and we were all wondering if Friday would be the night that our youngest member of the book club might join. It was not, which might have been to the good of all attending and he who has not yet been publicly named since none of us have had formal medical training.

One of our newest members, GBC Marcia ushered in the appetizers with homemade pimento cheese and water crackers on the side. It was delicious, flanking hummus and accompanied by a glass of reading water. The old adage “a watched pot never boils” was found to be true for a small while, giving time for conversations to bubble throughout the house on books, life, careers, and a host of other random items. We all had news to share. GBC Susan prepared a lovely dinner of pasta with Beef Bolognese sauce, a mixed green salad with pear, and our locally sourced bread. A key lime pie with whipped cream was the finishing touch.

Hardly anyone managed to make much progress in the book due to timing, the rich language, or various other of life’s distractions which seem to creep in at the beginning of the year. The conversation started with the book and moved into shared stories of our first memories of significant tragedies, perhaps inspired by last week’s news in Austin. We have taken to the habit of having our book discussion post-dinner and sitting in a circle. It seems to work and each person often takes a turn offering an opinion of the read. The warm mood, the interesting talks, and perhaps the reading water caused the evening to run a bit later than normal, and all were happy as we tumbled out of GBC Susan’s home into the cool night.

Throw the Book at Me

A couple of near 60 degree days and a long afternoon nap have left me a bit negligent in my daily reading. The last two days were the kind that leave you longing for a spring which we know will be delayed by at least a few more below 0 C days. The average last day of frost in the area is typically in April so enjoying these warm days was a pleasure not to be denied.

With the day now behind me and a lack of internet access at home this evening, I was reminded by a former roommate of the obvious, "there is always a book." Logic: it cannot be denied.

One Thing Led to Another

I thought I might delay the reading of my next book after finishing Shantaram. Wednesday night, however found me with The Way of Qigong: The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing having decided the best way to get over the book (like some relationships) was to move to a new one. My interest with Tai Chi began in Shanghai a few years ago when I found the motivation to attend a few 6:00 a.m. classes in the park with my fellow travelers. From there I was hooked and have been interested to find a local class. My local search for Tai Chi has led me to Qigong. When I received a background sheet that included the sections "Purpose" and "Assumptions," my engineering mind was hooked and I wanted to learn more. My assumption is that you will want to know too, so look a review in the coming weeks.

Slum-Bear-Millionaire

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts was a challenging book to read; I was not quite sure how to pace myself. On one hand, I was eager to go through the lengthy novel and absorb the story line. On the other hand, I wanted to savour the text, remembering the words of a friend who said she was jealous that I was reading Shantaram for the first time and that when she finished the book, she was sad it was over. In the end, I took a mix of the two approaches. There were times I had to leave the book to walk away and think about the author's words, and there were times I could not bear to stop reading, sacrificing a few household chores along the way just to learn what was next.

The story was told through the eyes of a fugitive and was a mix of action, philosophy, and introspection. The novel explores loss, love, freedom, and the idea of redemption. "Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons" is a frequent theme. The main character is a likeable fellow, and the reader can empathize with his sentiments of love, anger, pity, and elation, though perhaps not the actions which may have driven those emotions (unless some of you are involved in organized crime). I saw a hard side to the characters as it pertained to business and honour, and a soft side as those characters dealt with others in a gentle dignity and love. There are even a few moments when one cannot help but laugh as several characters deal with a bear at various points along the way. Through the book, we receive a glimpse of counterfeiting, currency exchange, arms movement, and a life in the slum. Fate and choice is discussed in a barroom conversation and grief is expressed in the ability to avoid it, sometimes with the help of a drug. Friends are made and lost, and the book finishes with a paragraph that might seem hokey if read alone, but after having read Shantaram seems the appropriate ending to the story told before.

So I am done with Linbaba's tale for now, but think it is a book I would revisit again to pick up those subtleties I missed on the first read. (In fact, I have already done so as I reread the beginning this morning.) With a deeper understanding of my friend's words, I might also be envious of you when you read it for the first time.

Eye of the Tiger

This last weekend marked the entry of the Year of the Tiger with a strong Metal element. What does this mean for all of us? There are a host of websites and books which give an indication of what the year may hold, but I am sticking with the prediction of GBC Kate's partner that "2010 is the year we get rich." (My question is still upper or lower case "R".)

I have spent some time today reading about my sign, the Ox, and smiled at some of the descriptive traits which hold a little more truth than I tend to admit. The outlook for the Ox according to one site is that two months will be good and the other ten not as favourable. I think I will be a tad more optimistic that this (rising up to the challenge of our rival). Regardless of what is ahead, it is always nice to think about beginning things anew.

I will leave you with an (alleged since About.com is not a primary source) Chinese proverb for your New Year's greeting: "When you want to test the depths of a stream, don't use both feet."

Lookin' for Love

As I am still engrossed in Shantaram (and enjoying the fact that the book can remain open due to its own weight without losing my place), I searched my shelves for something new to pass along which might convey a lovely tone.

The results:

• Scandinavian Folk & Fairy Tales edited by Claire Booss - One of my favourite sections is entitled "Weird Tales from Northern Seas (Told by Norwegians about Finns)
• Times to Remember An Autobiography by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy - my copy once resided in the "Biographica" section G, Shelf 9
• Dolly, My Life and Other Unfinished Business by Dolly Parton - inspired by the other Dolly this week. Chapter 6 has a killer opening line
• The New Hudson Shakespeare printing of Romeo & Juliet - my copy has penciled notes in the margin such as "test material" and "plot begins"
• The Path to Love by Deepak Chopra - not sure how I ended up with this book.
• The Broken Heart by John Ford - one of my "little books" measuring in at about 4 x 2 1/2"

So perhaps you too can search your shelves and find a book (or six) that you have not yet managed to read which may or may not put a little love in your heart.

What's Love Got to Do with it?

For likely the first time in my life, I was unconcerned about the waiting time for emissions testing. I had the forethought to bring Shantaram and knew it was extremely unlikely that the line could outwait the book.

In the on deck circle (it will soon be that time) is The Way of Qigong: the Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing by Kenneth S. Cohen. My reading order this year has quite frequently been dictated by the timing of another person's reading habits. (The library hold system: I could probably write an entire entry devoted to this if I had a more philosophical background.)

I have also for the first time requested a book to be purchased by the library. (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, book three in the Millennium series - set for release May 2010). As an aside, this was #41 in this recent post by Urbanverse tweeted by a friend which confirmed that I am currently living the life of an unemployed architect, except for the bit about drawing a tree.

As a reminder, book club is next week so you may wish to pick up the pace on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Hint: if you do not have time to finish it, at least familiarize yourself with the photos by Walker Evans and you can speak to these during our discussion.

Finally, in answer to the question posed above: nothing. I have just been on a song title kick lately.

I Will Always Love You

I was looking for inspiration for today's entry. It is that month of hearts and things red, and I wondered if I should refer you to a list of books which might be complimentary reading. In the end, my google search confirmed gut instinct not to suggest these types of reads, and a completely new topic emerged courtesy of Powell's Books. Holding a position at #12 in the list of Bestsellers was Possum Living: How to Live Well without a Job and with (Almost) No Money by Dolly Freed. Relevant topic + a girl named Dolly = I needed to explore further.

This hardback title was originally published in the 1970s by this eighteen year old girl who was taken out of school (as opposed to dropped out as clarified in the documentary) in seventh grade. The "About the Author" section of the Powell's review (NASA?) confirmed that this book would be added to my spreadsheet of reads and library holds. I also spent time watching a short documentary by Nancy Schreiber, Possum Living available on YouTube (in three parts). It was fascinating (and included some nice banjo work). Everyone should add a little Dolly to their lives, don't you think?

International National

I am still moving along with Shantaram and gained new insight today on the title. I was fortunate to have an hour of leisure reading after my breakfast of pancakes and coffee. This book is going to go on for some time so let's work with the assumption I am still reading unless I tell you otherwise.

My latest periodical was delivered to my front door along with a few groceries when I was feeling under the weather Friday. I am fairly certain it is the first National Enquirer that I have ever had as my "own". I had a hearty laugh as I unpacked the goods and it was pretty awesome to flip through the pages while recovering. [If you are taking care of a sick one, I would recommend delivery of N.E. as a spirit lifter.] I had no idea my mind wanted to know.

Istanbul was Constantinople

I have not yet been to India but Roberts' description of Bombay in the first hundred pages of the novel include a few sides to the city that I was not aware existed. Though a work of fiction, Roberts spent significant time in Bombay and Shantaram's main character Lin (a name picked up soon after arrival into the city) was no doubt influenced by the author's experiences.

The book weighs one and a half pounds and includes over 900 pages of text. (My recommending friend's comment was that it is a hard book to read in bed. I agree.) In the acknowledgements, the author mentions the first two drafts were ruined in prison. I am impressed he pushed for the third version which after thirteen years would be the finished text. The charm? We will see.

Bend It Like Beckerman

Love, Loss, and What I Wore is not a long read. The anecdotes with each item are short, sweet and sometimes sad with Ilene Beckerman saying just enough to generate a feeling or the spirit of the ensemble, but leaves quite a bit to the imagination of the reader. As I read through her clothing descriptions, I realized I also had shared several similar items, though perhaps many years later than she did (and I am not quite certain they were in style when I wore them).

As I flipped through the pages, I recalled several of my favorite items and exactly where I was or why I wore them. My mom, like Ms. Beckerman's mother, frequently made a lot of clothes for my sister and me, including some of the those special occasion outfits. A few of my standouts: the matching Easter dresses (mine in green and my sister's in pink), the yellow jersey pants with matching shirt, belt, earrings and shoes (yep, a bit too much yellow and why I thought appropriate for Field Day I will never know - actually, yes I do), the A-line skirts Mom made, the white shirt with blue polka dots which really was not pretty but I wore it anyway because my best friend gave it to me, the shirt I wore backwards due to the neckline (like the author), the blue sequined prom gown my senior year of high school, the little black number that was a bit too tight and perhaps too short...and on the list goes.

A Crime of Fashion

I made the trek yesterday to the library in the snow uphill one way. (Google pegs this trip to be 1.5 miles each direction, but this story might grow to five miles in the presence of children ten years from now.) It was a bit slower going than I anticipated, and I feel I must acknowledge the driver of the pickup truck for the mini shower that you unexpectedly provided. (My dry cleaner thanks you.)

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I did not have to pay a fine for my day of delinquency thanks to the weather and the kindness of NPL to offer an additional grace period. So as I said goodbye to an unfinished Agee, I also said hello to Gregory David Roberts. One of my yogi friends had recently read Shantaram and suggested I also add the title to my reading list. The author is robber turned fugitive turned free clinic opener in the Bombay slums turned mafioso turned media man. (The only words I have from a five minute peruse of his website are "far out".)

Having temporarily forgotten that I was walking, I decided I should also pick up another title from my book list and found Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman on the third floor. This book is quite possibly the antithesis of the aforementioned novel as the author has sketched pieces of her favorite items of clothing and provided a brief description of the memory associated with the item. Incidentally, this book is the inspiration for an off-Broadway show which is running through the end of March if you happen to be in the area of the Apple.