As summer comes to an end, the temperature drops, and skies become brilliant blue when not covered by fog and clouds. Color touches the trees, presaging the bareness of winter, and I feel called to wake up after a somewhat dreamy time. What do I want to carry into the cold season, out of the … Continue reading Month in Review: September 2021
Hello! It's so nice to be back to blogging, after a busy month of teaching English on italki. Things slowed down there after the first couple of weeks, and now I have a manageable number of students and can imagine doing something else with my spare time. It's a good thing, because one of my … Continue reading Month in Review: August 2021
As I mentioned in my monthly review post yesterday, I've just started teaching English on italki. I'm actually getting quite a lot of lesson requests, which is fantastic, but it's taking up much of the time I usually have to spend on blogging! Until I settle into a workable rhythm, I'm going to take a … Continue reading Blog break
I'll tell you up front that my gallbladder surgery went well and I'm doing fine. With some care about my diet, the prognosis looks good. Thanks for all the good wishes! Literature With surgery on my plate this month, I tried not to stress about reading projects or anything else. I dropped my intention to … Continue reading Month in Review: July 2021
I did not read a lot of books this month, but they were good ones! Otherwise, it's been a rather unsettling time, with me deciding to have surgery, bizarre summer hailstorms, and a flood that did a lot of damage in our town though it left our house untouched. Let's hope things are going to … Continue reading Month in Review: June 2021
This month brought quite a bounty of reading delights. On spiritual topics, I finished Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating, which I've been reading in my ongoing study of Centering Prayer, as well as another book by Richard Rohr, and a memoir suggested by Rohr's emails, The Choice by Holocaust survivor Edith Eger. An … Continue reading Month in Review: May 2021
My reading this month was a little dissatisfying. I've been going through the Uncle Fred books by P.G. Wodehouse, which are amusing, but not my favorites of his, and become repetitive and self-referential by the end. And I tried an Agatha Christie for vacation reading, but did not get on with it -- sorry Christie … Continue reading Month in Review: April 2021
March was my month for Reading the Theatre. See my wrap-up post for all the details about that! Interspersed with theatrical reads were some other terrific titles, including my first Richard Rohr (why did I wait so long?) and Hidden Valley Road, my review of which is coming soon to Shiny New Books. I'm pleased … Continue reading Month in Review: March 2021
It's the last day of March, and I've personally had an amazing time with my "Reading the Theatre" project. I read books and plays, I watched filmed versions of plays, and I enjoyed thinking about and discussing all of these. I started out with The story so far: my earlier posts on the theme.I shared … Continue reading Reading the Theatre Wrap-up Post
In these uncertain times, I've given myself permission to just wander the shelves at will and pick up whatever strikes my interest, one thing often leading to another. This month, that meant reading everything from a classic consideration of gnosticism vs. orthodoxy to an in-depth presidential biography to light fiction set in the Swiss Alps … Continue reading Month in Review: February 2021
