Wednesday, October 31, 2012

In Which I Consult with Mother Teresa in an Attempt to Counter the Effects of the Unremitting Busy-ness of Life

The words of truth are always paradoxical.


Here's my great truth, my crazy paradoxical truth:   I've been so busy lately, so busy doing book-ish things---going to the Texas Book Festival...preparing for an upcoming book fair...getting everything done for our school's author visit...the thirty-two classes I see each week as a school librarian...frantically trying to locate the hundred books I'll be reading for the Cybils---that I have not had time to blog or review books or even read. 


Let me say that again, so I can really think about it:


I have not had time to blog or review books or even read.


And why?


Because I have been too busy doing book-ish things.



Inspiration. I need inspiration. Mother Teresa? Can you advise me?


“We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.” 
― Mother Teresa



Yes, of course. True, if not exactly inspiring. I think I need a little more, Mother Teresa.


"The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway."
― Mother Teresa


Okay. I will try. Anything else to add?


"We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love."
― Mother Teresa


Better. Thanks, Mother Teresa.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Top Ten Favorite Strong and Brave Heroines



I want to be as strong and brave as these ladies:



The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything - Halloween Books for Kids
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

Scary pants and shirts and shoes try to frighten her,
but this little old lady isn't afraid.



Julie of the Wolves

Julie escapes from a cruel husband, gets lost in the wilderness,
and survives by befriending a pack of wolves.
Strong. Brave.



Island of the Blue Dolphins

A twelve-year-old girl is alone on an island
for eighteen years. Now that's strong and brave.



Eleanor, Quiet No More

Eleanor, strong and brave Eleanor, who said,
"We gain strength and courage and confidence by each experience
in which we really stop and look fear in the face....We must do that
which we think we cannot."



Parvana's Journey

Parvana is a young girl who sets off, alone,
across war-torn Afghanistan to find her family.
Very brave. And strong.



Reading Lolita in Tehran

How brave and strong Azar Nafisi was to organize and lead
a book club for women in Tehran!



A Thousand Splendid Suns

Two strong and brave women in Afghanistan.




Bon Appetit!

Strong, brave Julia Child remakes her life.




The Hunger Games

What kind of blogger would I be if I left off strong, brave Katniss?



What book heroines do you admire for their strength and bravery?



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Monday, October 29, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?!

                 
               


What I Finished Last Week

Oh dear. 
Nothing.






What I'm Reading Now


The End of Your Life Book Club
by Will Schwalbe


Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
by Jim Al-Khalili




 
What Came in the Mail Last Week

The Household Guide to Dying
by Debra Adelaide

Nutcracker
by E. T. A. Hoffmann
and illustrated by Maurice Sendak


                                                                                                      





What are you reading today?!


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Top Ten Books To Get In The Halloween Spirit


Mind you, I don't like scary books,
so if are a Scary Book Person,
these will strike you as lame, I'm sure.

Here are the scariest books I've read:




Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Yes, these are children's stories, but
trust me on this...
these stories are SCARY. VERY SCARY.



The Lottery




We Need to Talk About Kevin
Horrifying. Horrifying in its ordinariness.





Last Night at the Lobster
The deep wretchedness of ordinary American life. 






Nothing
That title is apt. 
This book is about a person who has lost all connection to life.
Very, very sad.



We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families





The Trick is to Keep Breathing
Depression.
It just goes on and on.



These are the scary books I've read.
What about you?



Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Monday, October 22, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?!

                 
               


What I Finished Last Week

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani
 So surprised at how much I enjoyed this simple story.


Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan






What I'm Reading Now


The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
A son spontaneously forms a two-person book club
with his dying mother.



One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
"Eucharisteo"




 
What I Got in the Mail Last Week

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver


Paradox: The Nine Greatest Enigmas in Physics
by Jim Al-Khalili


                                                                                                      





What are you reading today?!


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Top Ten Favorite Travel Writers


In no particular order:

Bill Bryson
A Walk in the Woods, 
In a Sunburnt Country, 
Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe



Paul Theroux
Dark Star Safari,
Ghost Train to the Eastern Star,
Riding the Iron Rooster



Jeffrey Tayler
Glory in a Camel's Eye;
Angry Wind: Through Muslim Black Africa by Truck, Bus, Boat and Camel


Peter Mayle
A Year in Provence,
Toujours Provence, 
Encore Provence



Tony Horwitz
A Voyage Long and Strange: On the Trail of
Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America;
Baghdad without a Map and Other Misadventures in Arabia;
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before;
One for the Road



Polly Evans
It's Not About the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels;
Fried Eggs with Chopsticks;
On a Hoof and a Prayer



George Orwell
Homage to Catalonia;
Down and Out in Paris;
Burmese Days





Pico Iyer
The Lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto;
Video Night in Kathmandu



Colin Thubron
The Lost Heart of Asia;
In Siberia;
Shadow of the Silk Road



Mark Twain
Roughing It;
The Innocents Abroad


I know I'm leaving people out.
Who are your favorite travel writers?




Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Monday, October 15, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?!

                 
               



What I Finished Last Week


















Can you tell I did a readathon this week??






What I'm Reading Now

Search Inside Yourself:
The Unexpected Path to Achieving
Success, Happiness, and World Peace
by Google's Chade-Meng Tan


The Shoemaker's Wife
by Adriana Trigiani




 

What Arrived in the Mail This Week

The Thankful Book
by Todd Parr

The Spindlers
by Lauren Oliver


                                                                                                      





What are you reading today?!


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Journey loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. Book Journey offers a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling BJ how many you visited.
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