Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Dans ses mots

Normally, I'd send a note to GBC C@r0le King (not the singer) to ask her permission to re-quote but I've had a glass of reading water and found her description of the last GBC Meet impossible to resist.  Names have been edited for privacy but otherwise the text is hers...beautiful and leaving me homesick for book club and Paris in a short dress and high heels:

Edith Piaf was singing as we entered. The table was already laid, a pile of fresh spinach on each place, and then an array of dishes kept appearing — quartered tomatoes, sliced boiled eggs, goat cheese, tuna, potatoes and so much more — to be combined into a delicious, divine Nicoise. The wine flowed freely. That E--, she sure knows how to set the scene, doesn’t she?

And so began our evening "inside a pearl," picking over Edmund White’s gossipy memoir of his years in Paris. Some liked it; others found his descriptions a bit much, as in TMI (too much information!). But it was a lively discussion over many glasses of wine. (K-- and I thank you, M--, for bring the German with you. We’d like to meet that one again!)

And you know how we are, we even took the conversation on a tangent or two (or 3 or 4). We missed those of you who couldn’t make it and look forward to seeing you next month. Is this when we are finally discussing The Goldfinch? Get ready for a really good discussion, folks. I made notes (complete with page numbers on the back of the VISA bill envelope) and I know many of you have done the same, so it should be a rousing evening of opinions, insights, confessions and book-loving nerdiness as only the GBC can bring!

So let me end with dessert since E-- sent us on our way with such sweet remembrances…

Picture a decadent flourless chocolate torte. With your choice (try them all!) of fragrant strawberries, vanilla ice cream, juicy tart cherries and blueberries. Am I remembering this right, fellow bookies?* Did I miss anything? It was a lovely, lovely evening… a trip courtesy of the book and our generous, thoughtful hostess.

Thank you, E--, for filling our souls.

*This is how I think of us. Sort of like Trekkies, but we don’t do costumes. (Except, of course, when the occasion calls for Black Tie and the accessories are just too tempting to resist.)

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Namaste

"The right means are just as important as the end in view."
- B.K.S. Iyengar Light on Yoga

Ten years ago I walked into a room with no concept of yoga and was introduced to the Iyengar style and methods.  I would be hard pressed to express in just a few lines how grateful I am for that class and that moment of pause during a time of storm.  Rest well, Mr. Iyengar.  Thank you.

Monday, August 18, 2014

It's a Buoy!

Just a reminder about our August book if you're reading along at home: Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris by Edmund White.  My pearl from the day was an Ironman athlete and former instructor in the next swim lane who looked at me and said, "I didn't know you were swimming now!"

Here's to keeping this week afloat and to Paris in the summer.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

A Novel Idea

You're still working on that 700 page novel (and it's really good) but you didn't want to carry it into your business meeting.  You innocently pack it in your carry-on knowing it will be with you.  You don't anticipate the following:

1) downtown traffic
2) airport traffic
3) the immigration kiosk queue (though you FINALLY took a decent photo)
4) the immigration line (you knew you should have enrolled in Global Entry)
5) the security queue (which you are entering precisely 30 minutes before your flight should depart)
6) running in heels (my personal fave)
7) making the flight (yay!)
8) the desperate gate-checked bag (yay again!)
9) settling into your window seat only to remember...

the book's in your other bag.

At least there was music.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Starry Night II

This morning I awakened a bit earlier than norm (not much because the alarm did start with a four) so I could stand outside and try to see the Perseids.  My backyard is a little sheltered from light pollution; the morning was cool and the sky dark.  My neck crane was rewarded and as I spun around gently under a cover of stars, I was reminded that this is an amazing universe.

Hope you have a great Wednesday.  

Sunday, August 10, 2014

No Crossing the Lines

The cover caught my eye, so I asked GBC P@1ge about it.  Her side table book was The Interestings by Meg Worlitzer.  It's always fun to know what she's reading because frequently her books end up on my reading list (pending her review).

Hope you've had a great weekend full of music, books, and friends that make you happy.  

Friday, August 8, 2014

A Fly By

"It is a lovely language,but it takes a very long time to say anything in it,unless it is worth taking a long time to say,and to listen to." - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Towers from a Cab
Toronto, July 2014
Hope your Friday is a great one!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

25 is Alive

I really like this list of 25 Books to Read Before you Die (though I'm not crazy about the title) by Powell's Bookstore.  One of my favorites, Geek Love, made the list and GBC P@1ge would be pleased for a little Margaret Atwood.  The HHGTTG is there and so is Zinn's A People's History of the US.  (Every adult should go back and read this every few decades.)  Two of the titles sit side by side on my bookshelf:  Gilead and Never Let me Go, and there are a few that I am not familiar with at all.  I might suggest A Confederacy of Dunces as an addition to the list.  Any you think are missing?