Exaugural Post

Exactly six years ago today, I sat at a small white table in a room with bamboo floors and tapped out a few lines.  I was likely still in a euphoric state from a GBC book club discussion with no inclination that I would still manage a few vignettes here and there in 2015.

Today, as I sit outdoors at a small black table at a coffee shop on the West Coast, I'm reflecting on my Germantown years and am grateful for the many books discussed and glasses of reading water shared over novels, nuisances, and noteworthy news.  The friendships solidified over healthy plot twist debates and quiet whispers of "I didn't finish the book, did you?" are as treasured as any first edition.

Thanks for peeking in from time to time to give comments or share a laugh.  It's been a fun ride.

6 Days Back. 6 Days Forward.

Race

Race

Rest

Tough

Tender 

Test

Hill

Ridge

Dew

Concrete

Beach

View

Pin the Tale

"Mapping Emotions in Victorian London" ranks near the top of recent internet finds.  This project is a child of the Stanford Literary Lab and used crowd-sourcing to give emotional context to varied passages citing London places.

Books + data + visualization = you could lose yourself for hours (well, not technically, since there's a map...but I think you get my point).

Mighty Pen

Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish made a number of the "Best of 2014" lists but I've only discovered it this morning via a news peruse as Mr. Lish has just won the 2015 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.  The Guardian has a nice write-up as well for this debut novel.  It looks like a good title for your summer reading list.

Sky in Spring

Before sunrise, glimpse of lunar eclipse.
Post sunset, a long look at the ISS.

Hope you got to enjoy your space this Saturday.

Women, Grammar, Brothers, and Commas

I loved everything about this NYT piece by Sarah Lyall.*  Mary Norris' Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen will need to find a place beside some of the other unique grammar titles on my shelf after its release next Monday.

Last night during dinner conversation, I asked a friend if she was the "oldest child".  She responded that indeed she was the "eldest child" (with slight emphasis on the adjective) of her family.

I wonder what Ms. Norris would have to say about that.

*especially the bit about pet peeves

Out Like a Lion

A visit to the neighborhood is not complete until you ask and answer, "So what are you reading?"  I always enjoy thumbing through the books that GBC P@1ge has on her kitchen table.

Next up for the GBC is My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  I'll try to squeeze in The Secret History of Wonder Woman for April as well.

Better to Have Loved

I was in my home away from home Sunday evening (O'Hare) and decided I was ready to start Surviving Death:  What Loss Taught Me about Love, Joy and Meaning by Kate O'Neill.  I would finish the book the same night.  Twice, I had to stop, close the e-reader, breathe, remember I was in O'Hare, and have a few sips of water before beginning again.

I could talk about how I liked the style and structure of the book, the transitions, or the beautiful way she paints scenes so the reader feels like she is peeking in with permission from an unseen corner. I could talk about how there were thoughts that I would never be able to articulate (a section on prayer, for example) but as I read her words, I silently whispered "yes".  I could mention that the quotations were apt intros.

But I'd rather talk about how I felt when I read it.

It's taken me a few days to even be able to articulate these few clumsy words.  My heart ached while reading the book.  I had not only a personal connection to process, but this book conjured up my own losses (and not just deaths) in many different ways.  I thought about the times where people (or events) took a slow, heavy toll and other moments where very suddenly, well, things were just going to be different.

I had an hour and a half delay on the tarmac so I finished the book about fifteen minutes into the flight, leaving me another hour or so with my thoughts and a bumpy ride.  That's when an achy heart turned hopeful and somewhere between 28,000 and 10,000 feet, I let a few things fall.  The weight lost while landing gave me a desire to hug strangers in the airport.  (I didn't of course as people who like to build rockets aren't always huggers.)

Kate's right: "Love wins."

Holidazed and Confused

I've missed Friday the 13th, pi day, and the Ides.  I did however see a sliver of the moon this morning on my walk home from the gym.

All my reading this month has to date been deferred to finish a baby blanket.  I'm in the final spring to see who will arrive first.  (In a recent video call, I was described as "aggressively knitting*.")

I hope you are enjoying this week's sunshine and have finished A Passage to India in time for this month's GBC.

*I'm not sure there is such a thing.

Tuesday Cafe

Calendar coordination
Footnote explanation

Project nearly complete
Tackling a new feat

Espresso,my dear old friend
Hope our love affair does not end.

Birthday, Baptism, Balloon and a Barn

It was a travel weekend where the most memorable items started with "b" (including the presents).  Hope you enjoyed the sunshine as much as I did.

Ice Ice Baby Too

Concrete, Ice, Concrete, Fence
March 2015

Hope the winter blues don't have you down. Next up for March GBC reading:  A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.

Training, Train, Plane

It's a weekend of a long run, sand between the toes, and guilty pleasures reading.  To this end, I've downloaded the last of the Divergent series books by Veronica Roth.  I finished the first one over three airports and two flights and the second one last weekend between two panels of knitting.  [Obviously, the knitting knocks me out of the target audience group.]

Both titles were quick reads and the stories were easy to fall into.  It will be interesting to see what Allegiant holds (though I am betting on Tris to do something solo and irrational). Ms. Roth's blog says she likes puns, trains, and Chicago.  That's a trilogy after my own heart.

Seasons of Love

With vegetation again visible beneath the melting snow, it seems especially appropriate to highlight one of neighborhood's own book releases this week.  Kate O'Neill's Surviving Death: What Loss Taught Me about Love, Joy, and Meaning is now available on Amazon,  Kate is an optimist, a linguist, and a host of other "ist"s that fall on the side of characteristics of people you are happy you know.  She has a beautiful writing style that works well in media ranging from a 140 character limit to long blog posts.  Of course I've added this title to my reading list.

Thanks for being courageous, Kate.  I hope your story touches and helps a host of others.  Much love to you.

Will Do

Some of the books I read are stalked for months and purchased when the price hits a sweet spot that I can no longer resist.  (I'm sorry authors; I know this isn't what you want to read, but I do work on a budget.)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes was one such novel on my list.  Last weekend's flight schedules gave me ample opportunity for a three-day read.  This title was a NYT best seller and well-rated so I didn't feel I could go wrong with a $2.99 investment.  As I joked earlier, perhaps it was the sunny weather and the thought of a day off, but I lost myself in this book quickly.  I missed safety demos, in-flight announcements and the beverage cart.  Clark was an unlikely companion for Will.  In fact, the intro of our main character completely threw me off (which likely attributed to the "hook" of the story).

With a twinge of Fault in our Stars fated love, I read through the ending with long exhales and deep sighs.  Love, messy and forgiving, which occurs more often in print than in direct experience.  [At least the forgiving part; the messy is usually easy.] We all have limits with love and I've spent a fair bit of time thinking about that this weekend as a result.  (I've also made a mental note about triathletes that will make more sense if you read the book.)

This is a great book to purchase now and save for a spring or summer read if lighter material fits your fare.

Big Sky

I read two and half books this last week.

I think it's the weather.

Somewhere between Tucson and Phoenix
February 2015

Next Reads

If you've managed to stay on schedule with the GBC, you should have recently finished Stones for Ibarra and should be working your way down into Deep Down Dark by Hector Tobar.  Morning Edition recently featured Mr. Tobar here as part of the Morning Edition Reads book club (which likely differs from ours in the reading water category).  Nashville's own Ann Patchett selected this title as the club's first read.  I'm looking forward to venturing in.

Hope you had a good weekend and happy reading.

Wires Crossed

Somewhere on the coast of New Brunswick
September 2011

A friend of mine and I went on a journey into New Brunswick from Maine and had it in our minds to find a lighthouse inspired by a little blue sign and an arrow.  As it turned out, we never found the lighthouse, but we had a really interesting drive along the coast and a lot of fun buying ice cream at a tiny gas station in a town whose name I can't remember.

Sometimes it's a good idea to bring a map.

Sometimes it's just good to have the ice cream.

Mockingbird Serenade

In a city four hours south of me, an 88 year old woman made an announcement that rattled the world. [Okay, so technically her publisher made the announcement through various media sources but it's much more romantic to imagine that it happened in Monroeville. Also, was it necessary for the news channels to mention her hearing and eyesight?  Is that really relevant?]   I scrolled through twenty pages of Google results on the book title and found the name Harper Lee on each one.  Set to be released July 14, 2015, I would imagine first day sales will rival a Ms. Rowling opener.  Amazon could do a little more work on it's book promotion with:

A wonderful new novel from one of America's bestselling authors. Exploring the tensions between a local culture and a changing national political agenda; family arguments and love: an instant classic.

but I suppose they have a little time.

I haven't yet read if she's taken the title from Isaiah 21:6 but I think it's also fitting:

For thus the Lord said to me:  "Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees."

Shiny Tree-ts

Sometimes life with no filter is extremely colorful and a little blurry.  Still it makes me smile.

O'Hare through the Windshield
Pre-Christmas 2014