From Heartburn to Soul Food
In addition to the 24 books I read for the 2018 Read Harder Challenge, I've also been reading a wide-ranging selection of other books. Twenty-six at last count. The year isn't over yet so I'll probably get another four or five books in before New Years. I think I can safely say I've never read this many books in a single year.
It's been an eclectic year in the reading department, and the Read Harder Challenge certainly contributed. My additional reading has included a small number of books from my own shelves but the bulk have been borrowed from the local library system.
Twenty-six is a lot of books to do in a single blog post so I figured I'd just do a handful of them today. I'm staying home today because we're doing a blood curve check on our diabetic cat Smokey. It's a way of checking his blood sugar levels, which were not good this morning. I have been neglecting these checks so I'm dedicated today to Smokey. I'm writing this blog in-between blood tests.
Around the New Year I watched the Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep movie Heartburn based on Nora Ephron's book and screenplay by the same name. Nora Ephron wrote screenplays for such classics as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed. She also wrote and directed Julie and Julia, which is one of my all-time favorite movies.
After watching Heartburn, I quickly gathered up three of Ephron's book from the library and read Heartburn, I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, and I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections in the first few weeks of the year. She writes very honestly about aging and her life as an artist. Oddly enough I've been a lot more vigilant this year with putting sunblock on my upper chest and cream on my neck after reading I Feel Bad About My Neck. You'll understand what I mean if you read the book.
Last month was a pretty busy travel month for me. We went to England for a week in early October to visit friends and do some touring around Yorkshire. I also traveled back to the States where I attended a course in Washington DC and then visited family in Omaha. It was a lot of fun but a bit hectic. I wanted to keep the reading light so I returned to David Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter series, which kept me company during our move in 2017. I blogged about David's books last year. Click here if you want to check it out.
In the month of October I read Dog Tags, One Dog Night, and Leader of the Pack. Just like the other Andy Carpenter books, these were easy, enjoyable reads -- great for plane travel! Keeping with the dog theme, I'm adding in Dana Perino's book Let Me Tell You About Jasper, which I read in May. I saw an interview of Dana Perino talking about the book and decided to check it out. Jasper seems like a really special dog and I enjoyed reading about him and Dana's first Vizsla, Henry. I have my own Henry so I'm a bit partial. Henry ACD and I now follow Jasper on Perino's Instagram page.
I've mentioned before that one of my favorite authors to hear talk about books is Anne Patchett. In her interviews she often mentions book recommendations. I usually save anything she recommends in my Amazon "Wish List" for future reference and possible reading. I read two of her recommendations this year: Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Roz Chast's Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
What I remember most about Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is the structure and style of the book. The book is "written" by the daughter who is trying to uncover the whereabouts of her mother. She does this largely through e-mail correspondence her mother sent before her disappearance. Bernadette's personal breakthrough is worth the read. I REALLY enjoyed this book.
Can't We Talk... is a non-fiction graphic novel about Chast's complicated relationship with her elderly parents and having to go through the very difficult process of moving them into assisted living, cleaning out a lifetime of possessions, and then caring for them up until their deaths. Doing all this as an only child. I read my first graphic novels this year due to the Read Harder Challenge and while I didn't read this one for the challenge I'm really glad I included it this year. If you are working through the process of helping aging parents who are nearing the end of their lives this book would be a good companion.
In addition to reading Patchett's recommendations, I also finally read one of her fiction books. Up to this point I'd only read her nonfiction work. Her award-winning book Bel Canto has been on my bookshelf for a couple years now and I finally picked it up a few weeks ago after getting home from my October travel.
Early in the book you know how it all ends for the hostage takers -- not well. But, despite that bit of foreshadowing, the book unfolds beautifully with a depth of humanity and love for both sides of the hostage situation. There is a final, surprising twist in the book's last paragraph. Glad I've never been one of those people that skips forward to read the end of the book. Bel Canto is truly a very special book.
To wrap up this particular post, three more books from my personal bookshelf: Anne Lamott's Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith, John O'Donohue's The Invisible Embrace -- Beauty, and Gordon MacDonald's Restoring your Spiritual Passion.
Last year I read Lamott's book Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith. Between the two Plan B would be my favorite. The Invisible Embrace -- Beauty was a slow read. Taking many months. It was bedside reading where sometimes I'd read a whole chapter while other nights maybe a page. Restoring Your Spiritual Passion was another bedside read so it took a while to finish as well. I often have soul-feeding, spirit-filling books on my bedside table. I find it nourishing to read stuff like this at the end of the day. Serves as a spiritual fill up.
I'll end with a brief section from O'Donohue's chapter "Where Does Beauty Dwell?" He writes, "When we devote no time to the inner life, we lose the habit of soul. We become accustomed to keeping things at surface level. The deeper questions about who we are and what we are here for visit us less and less. If we allow time for soul, we will come to sense its dark and luminous depth. If we fail to acquaint ourselves with soul, we will remain strangers in our own lives."
Devotion to inner life probably comes in many form. I like to think that for me one of those forms is reading.
It's been an eclectic year in the reading department, and the Read Harder Challenge certainly contributed. My additional reading has included a small number of books from my own shelves but the bulk have been borrowed from the local library system.
Twenty-six is a lot of books to do in a single blog post so I figured I'd just do a handful of them today. I'm staying home today because we're doing a blood curve check on our diabetic cat Smokey. It's a way of checking his blood sugar levels, which were not good this morning. I have been neglecting these checks so I'm dedicated today to Smokey. I'm writing this blog in-between blood tests.
Around the New Year I watched the Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep movie Heartburn based on Nora Ephron's book and screenplay by the same name. Nora Ephron wrote screenplays for such classics as When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle, which she also directed. She also wrote and directed Julie and Julia, which is one of my all-time favorite movies.
After watching Heartburn, I quickly gathered up three of Ephron's book from the library and read Heartburn, I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, and I Remember Nothing and Other Reflections in the first few weeks of the year. She writes very honestly about aging and her life as an artist. Oddly enough I've been a lot more vigilant this year with putting sunblock on my upper chest and cream on my neck after reading I Feel Bad About My Neck. You'll understand what I mean if you read the book.
Last month was a pretty busy travel month for me. We went to England for a week in early October to visit friends and do some touring around Yorkshire. I also traveled back to the States where I attended a course in Washington DC and then visited family in Omaha. It was a lot of fun but a bit hectic. I wanted to keep the reading light so I returned to David Rosenfelt and his Andy Carpenter series, which kept me company during our move in 2017. I blogged about David's books last year. Click here if you want to check it out.
In the month of October I read Dog Tags, One Dog Night, and Leader of the Pack. Just like the other Andy Carpenter books, these were easy, enjoyable reads -- great for plane travel! Keeping with the dog theme, I'm adding in Dana Perino's book Let Me Tell You About Jasper, which I read in May. I saw an interview of Dana Perino talking about the book and decided to check it out. Jasper seems like a really special dog and I enjoyed reading about him and Dana's first Vizsla, Henry. I have my own Henry so I'm a bit partial. Henry ACD and I now follow Jasper on Perino's Instagram page.
I've mentioned before that one of my favorite authors to hear talk about books is Anne Patchett. In her interviews she often mentions book recommendations. I usually save anything she recommends in my Amazon "Wish List" for future reference and possible reading. I read two of her recommendations this year: Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Roz Chast's Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
What I remember most about Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is the structure and style of the book. The book is "written" by the daughter who is trying to uncover the whereabouts of her mother. She does this largely through e-mail correspondence her mother sent before her disappearance. Bernadette's personal breakthrough is worth the read. I REALLY enjoyed this book.
Can't We Talk... is a non-fiction graphic novel about Chast's complicated relationship with her elderly parents and having to go through the very difficult process of moving them into assisted living, cleaning out a lifetime of possessions, and then caring for them up until their deaths. Doing all this as an only child. I read my first graphic novels this year due to the Read Harder Challenge and while I didn't read this one for the challenge I'm really glad I included it this year. If you are working through the process of helping aging parents who are nearing the end of their lives this book would be a good companion.
In addition to reading Patchett's recommendations, I also finally read one of her fiction books. Up to this point I'd only read her nonfiction work. Her award-winning book Bel Canto has been on my bookshelf for a couple years now and I finally picked it up a few weeks ago after getting home from my October travel.
Early in the book you know how it all ends for the hostage takers -- not well. But, despite that bit of foreshadowing, the book unfolds beautifully with a depth of humanity and love for both sides of the hostage situation. There is a final, surprising twist in the book's last paragraph. Glad I've never been one of those people that skips forward to read the end of the book. Bel Canto is truly a very special book.
To wrap up this particular post, three more books from my personal bookshelf: Anne Lamott's Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith, John O'Donohue's The Invisible Embrace -- Beauty, and Gordon MacDonald's Restoring your Spiritual Passion.
Last year I read Lamott's book Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith. Between the two Plan B would be my favorite. The Invisible Embrace -- Beauty was a slow read. Taking many months. It was bedside reading where sometimes I'd read a whole chapter while other nights maybe a page. Restoring Your Spiritual Passion was another bedside read so it took a while to finish as well. I often have soul-feeding, spirit-filling books on my bedside table. I find it nourishing to read stuff like this at the end of the day. Serves as a spiritual fill up.
I'll end with a brief section from O'Donohue's chapter "Where Does Beauty Dwell?" He writes, "When we devote no time to the inner life, we lose the habit of soul. We become accustomed to keeping things at surface level. The deeper questions about who we are and what we are here for visit us less and less. If we allow time for soul, we will come to sense its dark and luminous depth. If we fail to acquaint ourselves with soul, we will remain strangers in our own lives."
Devotion to inner life probably comes in many form. I like to think that for me one of those forms is reading.
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