Wowtcha Reading?

Monday 6 July 2009

I've just got home from a great art therapy session at the end of a great weekend. It's going to get down to a chilly 4 degrees tonight (39F) and I'm tired and happy, so what better to do but snuggle down into Keanu and do some reading? On my bookcase is an area set apart for books that I have started or am about to start to read. Looking from here with my poor old astigmatised eyes I estimate there are about 30 books sitting there. It's patently untenable and patently ridiculous.

I received two new-old books in the mail today. They should go on the bookcase unread until I've finished all my other books like a good little girl. But that feels too much like having to eat your peas before dessert so fuck it - what's another two books gonna do when it's already untenable? Therefore I'm going off to read Dreams and Inward Journeys: A Reader for Writers by Marjorie Ford and Jon Ford and The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo (and yes, Tess, both of those books I got because of online recommendations or readings). On the go from the library I also have the monumental tome Oscar & Lucinda by Peter Carey.

Mmm, yummy - reading. Might crack open the Milo tin & eat out of it with a spoon while I'm there with a noice cuppa tea, aye what.

How about you, my most beloved, adored and revered-by-thineself reader? What are you reading at the moment?

15 comments

  1. Milo! Wow - there's a blast from the past, Sue. I'd all but forgotten Milo (it's nearly impossible to find in the UK these days) but I grew up on it. It was my (very) Australian Nana's favourite drink...

    I'm reading Francis, the Journey and the Dream by Murray Bodo, and The Wisdom of St Isaac the Syrian trs. Sebastian Brock. No surprises there then ;-)

    I do have a copy of The Wild Flower Key on my bedside chest too, though! The main farmer around these parts went organic a few years back, and all the old-time corn flowers are creeping back into the fields, Bugloss and Corn Marigold and things. Some I'd only read about, never seen for real :D

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  2. I'm re-reading the Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, of course, the Bible, The Tao Teh Ching, and a book called The Way of the Samurai by Tsunetomo Yamamoto. Also, I've been reading a book on natural cures.

    Yep, I read more than one book at a time, too! :)

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  3. What is in process right at this moment?

    The Bookseller of Kabul
    The Physic Book of Deliverance Dane
    The Van Gogh Blues
    The Silmarillion

    But don't even tell me about a chilly 39 degree low in the dead of winter. Our HIGHS are less than that for 2 months of the year. :)

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  4. Glad you're continuing this new tradition of online recommendations!

    I've just started Sara Maitland's short stories A Book of Spells, and am continuing The Wisdom of Yoga by Stephen Cope, as part of Blisschick's reading thingy. And do art books count as reading? I'm working through a few, trying out different techniques.

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  5. well, the true lucy spirit is coming out...tess...wasn't i the original recommender of "book of awakening"?? if not, it's another one of those wonderful synchronicity moments because it has long been one of my faithful standbys when i need a bit of encouragement. ok, that said...enjoy! you've picked a great one :-)

    i am reading multiple books..."the ames girls" the story of 40 year friendships; "art therapy and spirituality" love it!!; and i'm about to e
    indulge in some plain old beach reading, but haven't landed on the perfect "fluff" level just read. i am toggling between stephenie meyers of "twilight" fame and a good old jodi picoult.

    happy reading all!!!

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  6. Dear lucy spirit, you may well have been the original recommender of book of awakening, but it isn't one I've read (yet) - Sue's referring to a general discussion about online recommendations, not saying I put her on to this one. Now go lie on the beach and read your Meyers ;-)

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  7. milo and tea
    now there's an interesting combination!

    I currently have active bookmarks in:

    Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love by Stephanie Dowrick

    Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

    Prescriptions for Living by Bernie Siegel

    Eternal Echoes by John O'Donohue

    there's a few, but it is winter and there's nothing like curling up in front of the fire with a good book

    except perhaps a cup of tea and some milo....gotta try that one....

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  8. Wow, I'm so glad I managed to get through responding to your interesting comments without clicking "buy" once!! Wheeee :)

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  9. Mike - what a delightful comment. I'm not sure why, but reading about bugloss and corn marigold creeping back into the fields just made my heart soar :) I resisted clicking "buy now" on the Francis book :)

    Sabre - that's a nice eclectic mix you've got going there. I've been wanting to read the Tao Teh Ching for some time now. I think I shall. The Silmarillion - got that in my bookshelf here but haven't been able to find an entry point yet.

    Erin - oooh, the deliverance dane one sounds fascinating :) Resisted the urge to click "buy" on that one too. You're reading the Silmarillion as well. How fascinating that both you and Sabre are both reading it. And yeah, I thought you'd criticise my "cold" weather :) But hey, extra blankets on the bed, socks on the feet, and being woken up in the middle of the night with my funny nerve in my toe - it's cold to me! :)

    Tess - I certainly think art books count as reading - maybe even the best kind, the dreamy kind, the kind that doesn't have words :) I resisted clicking "buy" etc etc on Sarah Maitland. Fairytales for grown-ups. Now we're talkin' :)

    Lucy - It was you who caused me to buy the Book of Awakening but it was from a poem by Mark Nepo you posted - it was you, wasn't it? Anyway, yes, I have you to thank for this one. Thanks! :) The only reason I resisted clicking "buy" on the art therapy and spirituality one is because there were none secondhand, and I am a cheapskate :) Haven't read any jodi picoult yet but she's sure popular. Enjoy your beach reading and thanks for the recommendation :)

    Tyler - well, there's also something to be said for NOT reading anything ;)

    Kel - well, not so much having the milo and the tea right together. more a few spoons of milo and then a nice cup of tea :) What a great combo of books. MUST click "buy" sometime soon on one of Mr O'Donoghue's books. That Siegel sounds fascinating. The whole mind-body link always is. Enjoy :)

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  10. I am reading Kathleen Norris' book Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life. What I should be reading is a book on cat care. I'll be out again in a few minutes shopping for a few items.

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  11. Barbara - Acedia & Me looks like an awesome read. Do share any tasty tidbits. I'm so happy about your kittehs :)

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  12. I am reading "The orthodox heretic and other impossible tales" by Peter Rollins.

    Surprised by hope :rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church by N.T. Wright.

    The Apochrypha

    I am re-reading "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami

    And I am also reading several other books that I can't remember right now. Let's see, there is also "How to Write a Damn Good Novel II" by James N. Frey.

    I just finished listening to "The Crystal City: The Tales of Alvin Maker, Volume 6" by Orson Scott Card

    Now I am listening to "Finding God beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas" by Kelly Monroe Kullberg

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  13. Sue, great comment on Barbara's blog, btw. You were spot on. (as usual)

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  14. Gary - wow, what a great combo of books there, especially the Apocrypha :) There's some great stuff in the Gospel of Thomas. Really MUST get onto some of that Murukami! :)

    Thanks about the comment. I don't know how usually spot on I am. Sometimes I can feel that I am, you know? It's like something wiser speaking through me. Other times I could just be talking out my own arse. Who can say? :)

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