It's a long one...

so I'm still working on The Poisonwood Bible. I wish I was getting through it faster but I've been pretty busy lately. So I'm falling a little behind on my reading spree, but it's ok. I should catch up later when all I have to do is read in the beautiful sunshine of Colorado.

The book is about a Baptist preacher who takes his wife and four young daughters to the Congo on a missionary trip. It is written from the point of view of the mother and four girls, each chapter written by one of them. In one chapter, one of the girls is talking about what the people in their village wear and how there is a man who wears a woman's sweater but doesn't seem to notice.

"But if you think about it, how would he or anyone here ever know it's a lady's sweater? How do I even know? Because of the styling, though it's nothing you could plainly describe. So is it even a lady's sweater, here in the Congo? I wonder."

This quote struck me as something very enlightened. Perhaps something only someone living in a very different world would notice. It's very interesting the things we take for granted or don't even think about but when put in a foreign environment, surrounded by people with different backgrounds and cultural experiences becomes strange and unfamiliar.

It's a great book so far and I look forward to enjoying the rest. Keep you posted.

AN UNUSUAL BEDTIME

I am not an "in bed" reader like Kathy and Christie. I can never get comfortable and I am not able to see clearly enough to read... must be 'old' age. I have however had several rather late nights lately because I have been reading books I couldn't bring myself to put down! Last night, well actually at 2:30 this morning, I managed to drag myself away from the latest Kristin Hannah book that has had me sleepless in Tunbridge.

The first one I read was 'Winter Garden'. I chose it because it was about a Russian woman who had married an American and had 2 daughters with him. Now, he has passed away and she is left,at 80+, to fulfill a promise to complete telling the fairy tale she never finished telling their daughters when they were young. Her children, now in their 40's, never had a close or loving relationship their mother, but they had also made a promise, to get to know her better and to take care of her. The journey that they take together is awesome and interesting. I had trouble putting the book down and it left me hungry for more from this author.

I just blindly picked the next one from Amazon.com's list. "The Things We Do for Love" was again about a relationship that grows and changes between a childless unhappy woman and a motherless (more or less) teenage girl. It was as good as the first one was, full of love and joy and growing, including all the pain that can involve. Again, there were more late nights.

Now I am on the prowl for yet another one....

Nabbed from Karen's blog

I think we all can relate to this!

See Karen's blog here.

Clearing the Nightstand

Like Christie, I go to bed to read and end up reading two or three pages and then I'm out cold. No wonder it is taking me so long to finish anything! Last week I decided my goal was to clear my nightstand, once and for all. I still have about 10 pages of Still Meadow......honestly, I should be ashamed. That book was so enjoyable and it's taking me months to finish. Ridiculous.

I'm also reading Julia Cameron's memoir. Gotta finish it. Jane asked if I've read it yet (she let me borrow the book). I love J.C.'s writing--I've read almost every book she has ever written and they have been life changing. I'll create another post soon so we can talk about life changing books.

The book "I Thought it was Just Me" about shame is half done. I haven't decided if I will finish or if I will give myself permission to remove it from the pile. It has been thought provoking and I have gained some insight into why I feel some of the ways that I do.

I did finish a book called "Creating Time and Space" about making time in your life for art. The book featured several artists and their methods for organizing their life in such a way that they have time to create. I took away a couple of interesting thoughts. First, all of them agreed that a clean house isn't necessary. EEEK! I don't think I can handle that idea. But I also recognize that I will find all kinds of excuses to avoid making something. The second idea was that the creative mind is always thinking--often we obsess about things that we cannot control . Oh boy, is that me! I'm constantly thinking. I have felt I should escape it somehow. Instead the author suggests we replace obessive thoughts with creative ones--like instead of worrying about whether I will die an early death or whether Karen will find the job of her dreams, I need to be thinking about my next art project. I like this idea!

As I finish the books I will give myself a star. I have so many good things to read. Maybe I need to go to bed sooner at night or something.

One more day, one more book...

Turns out, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a very short book. I finished it yesterday without even knowing. I thought it was the end of the book but I wasn't at the end of the physical book. Turns out the rest of it is a few short stories by Truman Capote. So...that was easy. It was good. A cute story.

I was in Kyle's room yesterday and spotted The Poisonwood Bible on his bookshelf so I snatched it. I don't really know anything about it except I've heard good things. So I'll be starting that today. I suspect this one will take a little longer than a day...I'll keep you posted.

Too fast for my own good.

So, I started The Lost Symbol on Saturday and by Wednesday I was a little more than half way through. Well, I am an easy target for Dan Brown's books apparently because I got home Wednesday and got in bed and read for the entire night until I was finished. I would say it was at least 200 pages. Needless to say, I was not as bored with it as Grama was. I do think he did a lot of historical explanations, even more than usual. So it seemed to drag on at points. But I'm a sucker for the way he sets up the chapters so you're left with a cliffhanger at almost every turn. It sucks me right in, just as it is intended to. The story is set in Washington, DC, based around Masonic tradition and involves the CIA and the relationship between science and religion. It definitely took a more religious turn in the end than I would have expected. I wouldn't say it lives up to The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons but I still enjoyed it.

Well, I got through that so fast, I didn't even think about what would be next. It's a gloomy, rainy day today and I had nothing so I caught Paige before she went to work and she gave me Breakfast at Tiffany's so I'll give that a go today. It should be another quick one.

Slow.

My current book (The Naked and The Dead) is going very slowly, though not for lack of interest. It seems like every time I go to bed to read, I end up with the book dropping to the covers because I've dozed off. I'm actually really enjoying the book, so I'm hoping to carve out some time to read that doesn't involve laying down under comfy blankets. Hopefully I'll have it finished before the end of March so I can stay on track!

A "time-ly" quote

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you”

Carl Sandberg (read in “one Simple Act” by Debbie Macomber on 3-2-2010)

a wee post from Mom, Grama, Barbara