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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.  

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!

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?

OM is where the ART is

GBC P@1ge recommended Where in the OM Am I by Sara DiVello for my booklist.  I always take her suggestions anyway, but as an added bonus this book was published the same day I decided to learn to water ski.  (I think I uttered similar words after taking a header into the lake on my first try.)  I especially like the odd coincidence and the few things I expect to have in common with Ms DiVello based on the book description so this read will be next up in the queue.  

Short and Sweet

I really liked this essay on the Kindle Single published today in The Guardian.  I'd missed this Amazon launch (to which my vacation account is probably grateful).  According to the article, the format is geared toward items of 5,000-30,000 words in length, perfect for that weekend jaunt or an evening in.  Several writers are adopting the format, including Howard Jacobson and Margaret Atwood.  Look out, 1-Click!

Eight is Enough (Legs)

One of my favorite things to do is to talk about books.  I like to hear what others are reading and attempt to sufficiently describe what I'm reading as to entice the other person to give it a chance.  During my recent travels, I finished Feynman and although I had planned to jump into another story, a discussion about books led to a book loan/gift (the best kind really), This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong. (Wong is actually a pseudonym but since he wanted to keep his personal and online lives separate, we can do that too.) 

I'm not particularly keen on the arachnid family and this morning's walk through a spider web made me jump a little more than usual after having read more of the book last night.  Nevertheless, I'm hooked (and keeping a vigilant eye for unexpected movement).    

Sunsets with No Internet

A Friday photo a few days late....

Hope you have had a story-worthy weekend.

Santa Monica
August 2013

California Dreaming

Sunny skies. 

Peach pies.

Letterpress.

Ramen best.

A long weekend with friends, reading water, and just the right amount of time to read. 

Feynman is pretty phun-y.

DC / AC

After chastisement by a chemist, my next read had to be Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (Adventures of a Curious Character) by Richard P. Feynman.  I've managed the first chapter and already know I'll like it.  "He fixes radios by thinking!"

Hope your week is off to a fine tuned start.

Empire State of Mind

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok was one of the books downloaded for last month's holiday but not started until my return.  Yesterday's luxury was two cafe con leches and a morning dedicated to Kimberly Chang's journey.  A young girl and her mom who leave Hong Kong for Brooklyn in search of a better way of life.  It sounds like a line from a movie trailer but the story is much richer than your typical Hollywood survival.  Long hours in a sweatshop factory with sealed windows, a debt to family who is willing to give an opportunity to move to the US but not to provide adequate living conditions, and a girl who is more brilliant that she allows herself credit through her school years, except for one powerful scene with her headmaster.

There were a number of things I liked about this book.  Kimberly and her mom faced the challenges in a day to day manner.  At the advice of a friend during a challenging period, I adopted this approach and found that days somehow managed to string into weeks and months and you one day find you've survived something you never thought possible when thinking about it in years.  I liked the measurement of items by the number of skirts.  I liked the direct translation of an expression into English.  I liked the characters, and I admired Kimberly's choices.  I'd like to give her mom a hug but perhaps a bow might be more suitable.  Ms. Kwok did a fantastic job of capturing my attention and reminding me of daily gratitude.

I hope you had a great weekend and found a bit of time to read, relax and be grateful.  

In Plaid Sight

Because I seem to be on a rabbit hole toward darker topics this week, I've yet to find a bad review of this children's book, Duck, Death, and the Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch.  It was introduced by The Strand, hooked by The Guardian, and secured with Gecko Press.

I do love tulips.

Not Exactly Drawn Out

Anders Nilsen was a new name to me this morning.  I clicked this Guardian article, Anders Nilsen: drawing through grief, by Emma Brockes due to its title and to the fact that I identified with working through grief by doodling (though my drawings never saw light outside a 6x6 foot room with a semi-comfy green faux leather chair).  The article was powerful and something I wish I had read on the weekend so I'd have more time to mull it over before jumping into my day.  Once starting, there was no return so I now sit with a cold cup of coffee and three of his books in my Amazon cart.  It's the least I could do.

Paying the Piper

Somehow I managed to isolate myself from advertising enough to not know that:

1) the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black was set in a women's prison
2) the series is based on a book of the same name by Piper Kerman

GBC P@1ge filled me in 1) last week and NPR's most emailed stories clued in me on 2) this morning.

Sometimes books make my list in the strangest ways.

A Bunch of Hot Air

Today was the coolest day on record since 1948. I am certain that some will soon be pining for long summer nights.  Before the cool temperatures start to creep in more steadily, here's one more reminder to have a ball.

Decatur, AL
May 2013

Pet-ty Thief

I'm not quite sure how I managed 6 out of 10 on this "Pets in Literature Quiz" featured in the Guardian.  

A glass of reading water for guessing fortitude?  I'll take it.