Usually, I like to write a separate post on each book I enjoy and want to recommend…but I’ve been reading so much lately, partly due to being on vacation and because we have been using our motorhome a lot, I’ve gotten way behind on my posts. So I need to tell you about several books right now to get caught up! Hopefully you didn’t miss my last post on the best book I read on vacation.
Continue readingCategory: Reading Lifestyle (Page 2 of 3)
I’m back with some vacation and book recommendations after traveling to the East Coast during early July.
Earlier this year, we purchased an RV (motorhome) for travel and fun. It has been one of the best decision we’ve made, and even during the pandemic we have still been comfortable traveling because we can keep to ourselves both on the road and at campsites.
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I recently found myself drawn towards this book:
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
by Marie Kondo
by Marie KondoI have watched a couple of episodes of her show on Netflix and knew I was included in her target audience…
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A family friend “Fred” often recorded his reflections in the back of his books. “MY BOOK, MY NOTES” he announced before noting reflections, disagreements, favorite paragraphs etc. I do this with a dog-ear to a page and on this blog but not to Fred’s detail.
Fred and my dad would exchange books, several at once. My friends do this too. Recently, my parents passed me a book of Fred’s they found while cleaning out shelves. They thought I might enjoy reading Fred’s notes in the back of The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son before I was to pass it along to Fred’s daughter. Fred had also noted in the front of the book that it had been a gift from her, Christmas ’13.
And yes I did enjoy Fred’s notes in the back – so much so that I ended up reading the book itself. I loved this book. How Conroy writes about both the horror and humor of his dysfunctional family is completely fascinating.
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The 91st Academy Awards will be televised on Sunday, February 24. This gives us a few weeks to watch the movies that will be honored.
Keep reading to find out how to see all the nominees for best picture.
Unless you go to the movie theater regularly, seeing all the films nominated for “best picture” can be a challenge. By the time the nominees are announced, some movies are already out of theaters and may have entered a blackout period where they are not yet available through other providers.
Luckily, this year with some careful planning we can have access to all the movies in time for the awards show. Not many are available for rent yet so you will have to purchase some of them, but keep in mind that $15 is still cheaper than two people going to the theater!
Although the list of nominations is by no means a complete list of all the movies worth seeing from the year, I have found this project a good way to see a diverse group of movies, many of which I would not have seen otherwise.
Below is my guide for how you can see all the movies before Feb. 24. I will be filling in my thoughts about all as I work through the list myself.
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SUMMER CONCERTS & A BOOK SIGNING
I need to cover a few events in one post; this must mean I had a great summer!!
Though it may seem strange to lump concerts and book signings together, last year I realized they have many similarities for me and sometimes book signings are even better!
Both types of events support the artists we love and allow us to enjoy their work in a different experience – outside of our headphones and off of our couches!
On the Road
I love the freedom and excitement written in this book: the open road, the jazz, the late nights, every day as an adventure. This is a lifestyle I never could have lived (in my more nervous reality), but I have loved living it through Kerouac and the other beat writers I have been fascinated by, especially Neal Cassady who inspired many other works of literature and drove the Merry Pranksters bus.
So while visiting San Francisco, I had to visit the Beat Museum. I actually didn’t know this museum existed until I saw it listed on a Kerouac bookmark I picked up at the American Writers Museum, another great literary stop.
A second legendary attraction in San Francisco that had been calling to me for many years is the City Lights Bookstore, which comes up time and time again in the stories of beat culture and more recently in my Writer’s Almanac emails.
I hate that it took Tom Wolfe’s death today for me to break out my tattered copy of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Though this book hasn’t been out of my shelf in a few years…(In it I found a menu for ordering fresh fruit on my honeymoon – 2007 – and 2 ticket stubs to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum – from 2013 – which is a funny place to have this book LOL!!??), this book contains a passage I think of often and fondly…
This memorable and favorite passage is on finding the meaning of life, on finding this meaning when in a certain “state of mind.” I hadn’t read this passage in several years but today I did…
The last time I left a book signing, I felt invigorated, inspired, and more excited about the artist’s work. It was like how I feel after a concert!!
This got me thinking about how book signings and concerts are similar…and in some ways, book signings are even better!
Most books signings – at least the ones I have been to — follow a simple format: The author gives a short talk, takes questions from the audience, then he or she goes to a table and waits for a line of people to come through with their books.
I went to two book events last year — Viet Thanh Nguyen and Jamie Ford – and they were both awesome.I ended up liking the authors (in person) even more than I expected. They were both funny and truly entertaining.
Here are some reasons I think book signings/events may be even better than concerts:
During my recent trip to Chicago, I checked out the new American Writers Museum.
I highly recommend this experience to all fans and beneficiaries of American literature (and if you are reading my blog I’m assuming you are both of these!!). I found it interesting, inspiring, and even emotional.
This museum just opened in May, and I think the word is still getting out about it. I am excited to tell you more!