A Deep Reading Habit and 3 Books I Like

  As many of you know, I love reading.

 I bought "Laugh Like a Kid Again" when I thought of the author Phil Callaway. He was the key note speaker at a Christian writers conference I attended, and got me to laugh and to think. His light hearted true stories in this book include a prodigal dog and Callaway's unexpected afternoon in a prison. 

 Above is "An Enchanted April" by Elizabeth Von Arnim, one of my all time favorite novels. This edition is only $10 for paperback and $1.99 on Kindle. Four English ladies meet via a newspaper ad to rent a villa in Italy. Each is desperate in her own way to have a peaceful interlude in her life.

The two books I suggest above are easy to read and An Enchanted April is a wonderful story with a bit of romance in it. I recently read an article about how to get good reading habits and you can find the article at A Deep Reading Habit

Can you tell I am a librarian and a writer? I wrote two books with a traditional publisher and I also wrote 1,000 or more articles and magazine columns. Yup, reading and writing, I love em.

The article has tips to help us enjoy reading; two tips are to read physical books and to read for at least 30 minutes. Of course ebooks are also favorites of mine, and sometimes I read for just a couple of  minutes. I think the key is to find books you like! If you tell me in a comment or email what kind of topics or books you like I will recommend some to you that might suit you. 

Above shows a page in a book a friend gave me recently, titled 100 Illustrated Bible Verses, by Workman Publishing. As Jesus says in John 15:12 "Love one another, just as I have loved you."

Flames in the Greek restaurant

 

Yes, my family went out to celebrate a birthday for one son and a work anniversary for the other son, at our favorite Greek restaurant. We love the flaming Greek appetizer called Saganaki and order it often. It is Kasseri cheese and brandy and they light it on fire at our table. It is so dramatic, delicious and adds to the fun. The flames reached perhaps four feet in height.

We arrived at 4:30 and the diners all sat at tables far from each other. Another group had the flaming cheese too. In other years they had Greek musicians play in the restaurant, and some evenings the owner, who is from Greece, would throw plates to the floor and break them, in dramatic manner, while calling out "opa". I am sure he used old chipped plates. He would also when inspired (and perhaps drinking some ouzo) carry a small table in his teeth, while dancing. This is a festive place to eat and we love Greek food. So fun to go to a restaurant to eat after such a long pandemic. As the Greeks say, Opa.

Oh, and thinking of Greek food, I must brag a bit and tell you that I got a marriage proposal based on the baklava I baked. This was years ago, at a potluck where I didn't know most of the people, I baked baklava and a man called out across the room, "Who baked this? I want to marry her." I guess that means he loved it. I had to tell him I was already married. Nice story though.

Mystery photo

 

Do you know what the above photo shows?

It is my newest fun acquisition. A tongue drum. I decided to add beautiful notes of music to my day. 

It is a drum made of titanium steel and I don't need to study to learn how to play it. You can hit one note with the mallet and it rings out in a calm musical sound. I play it to lighten my mood, also before I pray, and some people say the notes vibrate in a healing way. I found a book I may buy which has Christian hymns for tongue drum. You can also play it with your hands and with finger tip covers that they include. I bought this drum a few days ago and am almost addicted to it. The sounds are so melodic.

I only heard of the tongue drum a week ago and bought it rather on a whim, after I listened to a video of the beautiful mystical sounds it gives. People often use these drums for African and Caribbean music, and for meditation and prayer.

Being a senior citizen I like trying new things, it might keep me young, and my drum means I have added music to my day.

In response to some of your comments, you can buy these drums at local music stores, or local drum stores, and online in places like walmart.com Mine has 11 notes and is about 12 inches across. Children love these tongue drums and they are a great introduction to playing and enjoying music. Some drums are only 6 inches across and a great size for children and travel. Mine came with a nylon travel case and strap and I am going to take mine to outdoor meetings with friends to show them and let them try it.

Flowers in my garden, fun in an egg, full moon

 

I love the rose petals on the ground under my Julia Child rose. They seem to be dusting the ground like snow.

 I think I shared the above photo with you before; it shows how large the clematis flowers are.

When I cut into the hard boiled egg today and saw these hearts I laughed.

Above I am trying to catch the full moon one evening recently. The moon is so small in the photo and so big when I looked at it.

Gentleman in Moscow, Wow, other novels, petunias and Winston Churchill

 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is the best, most brilliant novel I have read this year. 

I think that Towles created a work of genius, a book for today and for the future. I am very drawn to Count Rostov, a man of nobility, grace and wit. A young man at the time of the Russian Revolution, the Count was safely in Paris, but he undertook the arduous journey to return to his family estate in Russia to rescue his beloved grandmother and he sent her to safety in Europe. 

The Count was arrested for the crime of being an aristocrat and narrowly escaped a death sentence, when his life was spared by a poem he had written. Yes, a poem saved his life. He got the bizarre sentence of house arrest for life, to be served in the grand hotel where he had an apartment. The Count was swiftly moved to a tiny room in the attic. He gathers friends and we see his new life being formed. A passionate love affair, a young girl needing help, a tormented poet and friend in danger, a party official who admires Rostov, Communist officials who hate Rostov and much more. 

The craziness of the Bolsheviks is shown by them having the labels removed from all the wine bottles in the hotel wine cellar, to stop elitism. On the larger scale Stalin caused the death of millions of peasants when farms were violently taken from them. Yet the Count lived on, following his grandfather’s dictum, “Master your circumstances.”

I am glad I have a paper copy so I can lend it to local friends who want to read it. What novel are you pushing today? 

Petunias on my patio, just for fun. I have 4 pots of petunias and pick off about 20 faded blossoms each day, to keep them on their toes and blooming.

I donated 15 books to a Little Free Library and got 3 novels I couldn't resist.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Clock Dance by Anne Tyler and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Do you recommend any of these? Happy reading, until we meet again. Thanks to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans for their song "Happy trails to you til we meet again."

Visit Church Explorer for an interesting post by Billy Blue Eyes about the final resting place of Winston Churchill, a hero of mine. Billy shares many excellent photos of the church and its stained glass windows, etc.

 

Heart ice cubes, coffee shop,Bounce,patio

 

Fun for ice tea, this is a heart ice cube tray which I like to use.

Above is me at Shrine Coffee, plenty of room for social distancing, the ocean is across the street, and the gardens are extensive. Here you see my pandemic long hair, no hair cut for over a year. After this photo was taken I did dare to go in for my first hair cut in eons.

Above is Bounce getting a sun bath on my patio, you can glimpse my 5 foot tall pink rose bush in the background, and below are petunias on the patio.

Just wanted to share a few things from my summer days. How is your summer going? I know my friends in Australia and Africa are enjoying cooler months now as the year there cools down.

"All Along You Were Blooming" poems and my pitiful left knee

 I just happened to find and buy a poetry book by Morgan Harper Nichols. The book looked like it would be a treat and a spirit lifter, and it is. I read that she has 2,000,000 social media followers and she is admired for her poetry and her art. The book I bought is her "All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living" and I am very pleased with it.

Above is the young lady who is the gifted poet. Here is her book cover:

Here is one of her poems that is very meaningful to me.

In case it is hard for you to read: There will be days when you do not feel fearless, and you choose to get up and go out to sea anyway.

And my friend, let me tell you, that is what it means to be brave.

It is that gentle shove toward the water that says "I will go, and I will go afraid."

It is not a feeling. It is not a thought. It is that inward wind that pulls you out of sleep and says "I will go forth with all I have now: a breath, a dozen steps, and a pocket full of fears,

but no matter what tries to pull me back, I will find the strength to be here." 

This is a nice size smaller hardback, maybe six inches tall, full of Nichols' art and poems. It would make a nice gift book for anyone or for you; you deserve a treat too.

 

Poor poor pitiful me! On June 8 I took Bounce on a leisurely walk and came home and was standing in front of the closet when my left knee went out. Terrible pain. I think this is connected with growing so old. I was not moving. My knee just went! I could only hobble, three inches at a time, saying ouch with each step. What a night. All the next week my knee has been healing, aided by rest and my answered prayers.  That night and all the next day Bounce stayed close by, looking worried as I moaned and limped. He is a true companion. Be well my friends. 

Update on June 25: I got 4 x-rays of my knee and it shows arthritis. They say this is pretty common in people 65+. I am going to sign up for physical therapy.  One thing I will say about my insurance (Medicare plus Supplemental Insurance) is that all this is paid for, here in the USA.