Mostly I just putter.

Doctoral student, amateur cook, beginning sewer.

Mostly I just putter.





Monday, October 29, 2007

What I'm Reading

Read all of Janet Evanovich's 12 Sharp and The Secret Life of Bees this weekend. I'm back!

The Secret Life of Bees

Just a few goodies from an excellent book:

"Every human being on the face of the earth has a steel plate in his head, but if you lie down now and then and get still as you can, it will slide open like elevator doors, letting in all the secret thoughts that have been standing around so patiently, pushing the button for a ride to the top. The real troubles in life happen when those hidden doors stay closed for too long. But that's just my opinion." (p. 170)

"'I wish you could've seen the Daughters of Mary the first time they laid eyes on this label. You know why? Because when they looked at her, it occurred to them for the first time in their lives that what's divine can come in dark skin. You see, everybody needs a God who looks like them, Lily." (p. 141)

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Still Not Reading

Argh! Got home last night and only wanted Martha. Fine. Read the Martha. I'm going to see Little Sister this weekend and I'm confident of two things: 1. There will be no Martha and 2. I will have a book with me. Whether I read it or not remains to be seen.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Structure

I looked at the calendar the other day and realized we will be out of town for four of the next five weekends. How did that happen? What crazy fool set up that schedule? After taking a good hard look at what I've read so far and what I can reasonably accomplish before December 31st, I need to reevaluate. My goals:

1. Read for pleasure, first and foremost. Quit evaluating books by how thick they are and how long it would take to finish them. This challenge was never to quash my love of reading, just to make me more thoughtful about how I spent my time.

2. Reserve the Marthas (and other magazines) for times when I only have a few minutes to read. Stop reading them in large blocks of time. They'll last longer that way and I won't feel strangely guilty about them.

3. Check out new books from the library. Quit looking at the current stack and feel obligated to read them because they're there. Same for free books from friends.

4. Read. Quit thinking, talking, writing, feeling guilty, and avoiding it, and just READ!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I'm A Slacker

The only reading I've done of late has been a large stack of FREE Martha Stewart magazines. Who can resist the pull of the pretty, pretty pictures?

Monday, October 15, 2007

Books I've Read

Finished Zora's book...simply amazing. More on that another time, I think.

Read another Sue Grafton novel this weekend. Started Friday night, finished Saturday afternoon. That's why I love her books--practically instant gratification.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Still Homesick

Why? I want to buy books and I'm 1200 miles from the nearest Powell's, the best book store ev-ah! It's so big, when you walk in the front door they give you a map. Portland readers can go there today and hear Garrison Keillor. It's also very near Chinatown so you can get good grub to go with your book purchases. Sigh...

Monday, October 8, 2007

Friday, October 5, 2007

Swappin' Readin'

I am hosting a book swap today at work. All of those books that I loved but will never read again? The books I couldn't bear to just take to Goodwill to give to a complete stranger? They're going to a new home to be read by someone I hope will love them as much as I did.

Books I'm swapping:

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Denver Banned Books

Denver Public Library's list of books that have been recently challenged.

Not sure what's so offensive about a farting dog that you'd want it banned.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Banned Books Week

In honor of Banned Books Week, I picked up a novel by an author I've long wanted to read but never got around to. Their Eyes Were Watching God is quite possibly one of the most amazing and beautifully constructed novels I've ever read. Actually, still reading. It's one of the few books that makes me want to copy down passages in my journal to mull over later. Only about 1/4 of the way into it, but I know it's one that I'll be thinking about months from now.