Bike-ause I Can

The great thing about being head of household is that one can decide that riding a bike on an October 75 degree day has more intrinsic value than mowing one's lawn.  Today was my first solo (non-racing ride) since I can remember (and possibly ever).  It took a fair amount of gumption to get out there on a course where obstacles weren't controlled by volunteers and I had a few observations:

• leisurely riding is fun
• kids on bikes are wildcards
• kids on BMX bikes are greater wildcards
• leaves, while pretty, can be slippery 
• have good posture; you might see your spin teacher
• beware of rocket scientists - they build items of mobile transport that look like a combination of a skateboard, bike, unicycle with wide turning radii
• it's a friendly town and people want to say hi.  Use ventriloquist-like skills to do this without opening your mouth.  Leisure riding on nice trails = bugs (and lots of people who want to say hi)
• have the best best posture ever because you might pass your yoga teacher (shoulder blades down)
• dogs on a taut leash > dogs on a loose leash

Above all, give up chores for outdoor play.  

So InKlined

Autumn begins for me when I start to hear the local high school band drum core in the evenings, when I want to run outside again after the breathless heat of summer, and when my reading lists shift to biographies instead of quick reads.  This evening I checked all three fall items.

For those reading along, our October read is The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline.    Ms. Kline will also make an appearance at the Southern Festival of Books on October 10th if you're in the area.

Falling a Bit

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is next in my queue.  I'm stealing away a few moments each night to learn her story.  As summer moves into August and fall routines start to creep in, my book list is getting longer.

Please Stand By

The scheduled Saturday blogging has been interrupted by a seventy degree day in November, party baking, and early evening perusing for airline tickets.  The normal programming schedule will resume Monday.

Hope a nice weekend!

Fall In Again

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

- F Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

A reminder that this month's GBC read is The Great Gatsby.  Hope your weekend was fall fabulous.

One Smile at a Time

It's amazing what eight hours of consecutive sleep can do for a person's spirit.  Even when awakened unexpectedly  (at 6:30) by the neighbor who has a voice like Brad Garrett, I still smiled.

With a wonderful (cooler) day ahead,  I plan to step outside and find a familiar bridge.  I know this will make me smile too.

Hope your Saturday finds ways to make you smile and lift your spirit.  I think we all could use a bit of that.

Toss-n-Turn

If I had known that I was going to enter a sleepless night season, I would have taken a longer nap yesterday.  I also would have more heavily pondered sleeping on the plane (but reading was just too tempting).

This morning in my coffee craving haze, I'm trying to find the upside.  I took a bit of inspiration from Beth Orton in her interview with Tim Adams published in The Guardian that her sleeplessness (from motherhood) allowed her to "make connections that I maybe wouldn't normally make."  The article also contains a great quote about limitations which might just become my Monday mantra.

Ms. Orton played the Belcourt in Nashville last week and from accounts I've read from those who were able to attend, the show was most excellent.

Fall In

Last night's dreams were particularly crazy.  I wonder if it is the change in season or being back in a place that felt for such a long time like home.  I think best not to delve too much into the human psyche before a latte.

The GBC meeting this week was particularly grand so I'll again borrow GBC P@1ge's description of the evening.  I wish I could have joined.  Book club > budgets.  [Names modified to protect the knights of the reading water.}

We could have not asked for a more perfect evening for our last meeting of the summer season. With the official start of fall only a few days away, we certainly got a preview of the coming season with crisp air, a cool breeze and dishes made from K1m and T1m's share of the season's harvest. Baba ganoush, goat cheese and K1m's homemade red pepper jelly got things off to an incredible start, and that was followed by an assortment of salads featuring cabbage in one, black beans in the other, whole wheat orzo in another selection, and finally a leafy green medley. All delicious. I know my description does not do them justice...you'll have to follow up with our wonderful hosts for more details. And last, but not least, there was an apple crisp made by our always-charming host E! The greek yogurt and fresh nutmeg were the perfect touches for this yummy dessert.

Now to the book...The Sea The Sea. As Bob wrote earlier, it wasn't necessarily a pleasant read, and our protagonist was not exactly a lovable guy, but we all agreed that Ms. Murdoch has a wonderful way with words. And, as always, inability to finish the book in no way impeded our ability to discuss the book. Not an easy book to get through for most folks, but Mr. H managed to read it in two days. He said that rainy weather helped. Perhaps it made him feel as if he was at the sea the sea.

I agree that rainy weather helps my reading save the first day of the week.  Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.  (Cue The Carpenters.)

Falling

If I owned a hammock, I would have slept outdoors tonight. For the first time, it felt like autumn has arrived.

Observe the wonders as they occur around you.

Don't claim them.

Feel the artistry moving through, and be silent.

- Rumi

Not Falling Flat

I've long believed that my books find me when I am ready to read them. In my typical "Oh, I'm flying tomorrow and should find a suitable book" state just before midnight last Wednesday, I discovered Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. The novel was a completely random purchase aided by high reviews and the magic of Amazon 1-Click. [At least one of the book's characters would have calculated the odds in this selection. As a math nerd, I'd go with 1:250 based on my search methodology.]

As I mentioned Tuesday, the intro had me hooked. Add to this initial pull, the following Labor Day weekend details:

• my trip would include Boston (the book's setting)
• a car journey that was saved thanks, in part, to Dunkin Donuts (Starbucks, Maine has you out-ranked.)
• the weekend company involved two math geeks
• I was requested to provide an explanation of Facebook vs Twitter, and
• at least one of the GBC members had a hangover like the protagonist (though without the embarrassing call just before crashing).

If any of those items connect with you, you will probably find more than a thread in the story to keep you reading. The characters are quirky and the story oscillates between moments of "slightly off" to "wow, I was just as awkward" with an undertone of sadness that lingers momentarily like an autumn breeze after the leaves have disappeared. It has a touch of the hopeless romantic with the wit of a science geek. The book is a quick read and pairs nicely with back to school weather and memories of your first college years.

I won't address the particulars of the story line so that you can enjoy it in the same manner as I did, clueless about the background and (if you're lucky) 30,000 feet in the air.

Pondering

"To be awake is to be alive."

- Henry David Thoreau from Walden

As I did my laps around the pond this morning (and fought the gnats), I thought of autumn days passed in quiet places, of lakes and benches, and of falling leaves. I thought of living deliberately and of Walden.

"Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star." - HDT

Cycle of Reading

The last two days I have not read anything which was not delivered to my telephone or work inbox. I have not checked my mailbox, I have not read personal email unless it made the priority inbox (thanks Google!) and I am not up to date in all current events unless it has hit my Twitter stream. I would say that I feel as though I had checked out, except that I am so "checked in" to a few work projects at the moment. It is the last day of the month and as we move forward into months that actually begin to feel like autumn, schedules will continue to be packed and the number of books that I am reading may likely decrease like the number of leaves on a nearby maple tree. Okay, that was a bit too dramatic. With the travel schedule increasing, I am certain the tarmac will provide endless opportunities for reading.

Moon Struck

Last night was a moon-watching, listening to old bands, staring up at a night sky to wish kind of night.

I hope you have a weekend where old finds new, cool finds heat, and a long forgotten memory creeps up to make you smile. And maybe you will find time to pause, turn your head toward a night sky and sigh, and listen to Neil Young.

Happy harvest.

september remember

fall days
football haze
mountain skies
late peach pies

driving late
no due date
musical selection
a window convection

coffee steam
love supreme
sunshine stars
mason jars

long walk around
green grass abound
crisp air chill
this is my thrill

First of November

As I type, the sun is setting into golden hues, providing a nice autumnal backdrop for the first day of November. My friends and family are beginning to ask about holiday plans and the next few weeks have the potential to rush by in a blur.

One coping mechanism for the stress of the season: David Sedaris. This week I received a copy of Holidays on Ice from a dear friend, and I am already looking forward to that aptly timed moment where I will escape to the "SantaLand Diaries" for a bit of comic relief.

Squash

The content of my mailbox advises me of a change in the air: Holiday catalogs. Crate and Barrel wants me to think of Christmas, Pottery Barn reminds me of Thanksgiving, and Heifer International wants me to consider being an "Ark Angel" (I am not kidding). My alma maters are also reminding me to donate prior to year end.

Perhaps some of you have already made your holiday plans and are on the verge of gift preparations. These catalogs were my first prompts to even consider the holidays, but I feel it is too early. I want to enjoy an autumn day, think about pumpkins and squash, go for walks on crunchy leaves before I make a transition into a festive world of red, gold and green. The last quarter of the year seems to go all too quickly, and right now I am content pondering the number of layers I will need for the day.

Full of October

I turned to poetry this weekend for company during my short travels. My bi-lingual edition of Isla Negra by Pablo Neruda includes an English translation by Alastair Reid. Although the collection of poems are autobiographical and likely should be read consecutively, I enjoyed randomly selecting a work and testing the memory of my Spanish before reviewing the translation in my native tongue. Love, war, friendships, places, emotions and observations are wrapped in a melody of words that captured my attention on a cool autumn day. One of my favorites from yesterday's read was Pleno octubre (October Fullness).

Pablo Neruda was the 1971 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature; his Nobel Lecture as well as other bibliographical information can be found here.

What to Read Next?

After spending a day outside in cool fall weather, I have accepted the new season. Now I am in search of the next read to keep me company with a cup of tea. I have a list of books just waiting to be selected like the old toys once stored in our gigantic plastic elephant toy box with the rosy red cheeks (or maybe that was just me). Should I choose a classic? Newly published? Randomly selected by the book's jacket from the library? From my list or off the list? I'm open to suggestions.

October Grays

My plane read yesterday was courtesy of F.L. Right and our September GBC informal book swap/lend. I chose the book based on size and density (like a good engineer), and if you travel frequently, you know this is key for optimal mobility. One of the great things about being in either a book club or a circle of readers is that you will be exposed to books that you would otherwise miss.

I was not familiar with Christoper Rice but I picked up his A Density of Souls for my next travel read. The book was published in 2000 and follows the interactions of four friends as they begin that period of hardship and discovery that we call high school. (Though I haven't checked, I am certain this book made a challenged list somewhere.) The story is somber with a hint at mystery. Moreso, though, it reminded me of those interactions we have in the South where you know that something troubling has happened in a person's past, but you are not certain what that "something" is. Rice does not leave you wondering as you move through the book, and the revelations are generally quite painful. After completing it, I was left with the more general question of whether or not a novel set in New Orleans could ever be cheerful when copious amounts of alcohol and general geography tend to cast a dark shadow. (This link to a January Magazine interview with Rice is also worth a read as Mr. Buchsbaum poses an interesting question regarding Manning which was released around the same time.)

To continue our gray theme for today, I also wanted to share this link to an NPR interview by Terry Gross with Michael Greenberg author of Hurry Down Sunshine: A Father's Story of Love and Madness which was released in paperback last month. One of the quotes which struck me during the broadcast was his "I have diabetes. I have cancer, but I am schizophrenic" referring to identity and illness. I have added this book to my list.

Shelf Space Anyone?

Luckily today, we will have missed the rush.

October 1st was purported as "Super Thursday" in the UK as 800 titles were released for sale. The goal is to maximize distribution during this peak purchase time before the holidays. Imagine the new titles which may (or may not) make our reading lists. Look for an increase in book reviews from all your favorite sources and have a super Saturday.