Do you ever look back on your less-positive experiences and discover they set you on the path to something great or at least better? Hindsight is a gift for reflecting on closed doors and seeing the windows that opened instead. I’m beginning to see the plot twist more regularly.
These are the strangest of times, with no end in sight. Covid-19 quarantine. Explosive racial unrest and social justice marches (over-riding quarantines). Political division and discord in a presidential election year. In some ways, my reading reflects the times.
Randomly, I came across a reference to "Jonathan Livingston Seagull." I searched out Neil Diamond singing “Be” on iTunes. Sure took me back, to the time Dad gave me that book. He knew I was different from other kids, struggling to fit in; the book was his surefire way to tell me it’s okay to be who we are, that loners can be leaders….that I would “be” who I would be.
What is a nice, privileged white woman like me supposed to think, feel, write when police officers torture a man for eight minutes, hearing him scream until he dies?
I don’t feel 60. I don’t know what 60 is supposed to feel like, but how can I have been alive six decades? It sounds a bit old to me, though my definition of “old” has certainly changed as the hill got closer. That hill.
Okay…so monthly updates on books I’ve read seems a little much. As in, too much pressure. So, I’m going to wrap up February and March, then switch to quarterly summaries. And let me just say, February and March have been odd months; I don’t know how non-readers survive. More to come on that but thank goodness I keep a stack of unread books.
Remember to be kinder to each other and to ourselves. Remember the heroes are those on the front lines: nurses, lab techs, grocery cashiers, restaurant workers, baristas. Remember this sense of caring for our community. May we remember to extend grace.
“I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” --Anna Quindlen
I’ve never been great at tracking the books I read – and I’ve been known to question whether I’ve already read a book that appeals to me. Rebecca and I tend to share books, so she’s the person I can say “you know that one about ….” And she actually does know.
It’s hard to pick favorite books, and I won’t even include the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling on my list. Harry’s story is an epic tale of the power of love, friendship, loss, and the triumph of good over evil. Though categorized as “young adult,” I read them in my 40’s (when they came out). The series defies age limits and would be consistent on all my lists. But here are some favorites for different age groups, as well as 2019 favorites.