Looking for some summer books? Suggestions from my recent reading.
(1) In Other Words – Jhumpa Lahiri
(2) Liar Temptress Soldier Spy – Karen Abbott
14 Saturday May 2016
Looking for some summer books? Suggestions from my recent reading.
(1) In Other Words – Jhumpa Lahiri
(2) Liar Temptress Soldier Spy – Karen Abbott
31 Monday Dec 2012
Posted books
in≈ Comments Off on Do What You Want, and Say What You Feel in 2013
As 2013 knocks on the door, I find myself again reflecting on a passing year and setting expectations for myself in the coming year. I shy away from “resolutions” that cannot be kept and are soon forgotten.
However, I do find value in setting goals for myself to accomplish throughout the year. One of those goals this year is to follow the wise words of Dr. Seuss. Each day of 2013, I will strive to:
Always do what [I] want and say what [I] feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.
It is so true and I wish sometimes I had started implementing the life lessons shared by Theodor Seuss Geisel when I first enjoyed his books as a child – it would have saved me a lot of guilt and worry. But, better late than never! For more stellar adages from Dr. Seuss go here.
I wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that you will follow my journeys on NC & Beyond in 2013!
16 Sunday Sep 2012
As I spread the thank you’s around this week it would not be fitting if I did not spend a post thanking one of the greatest teachers EVER. J. spent countless hours reviewing my term papers and giving feedback — he helped me to develop both my voice as a writer and a life long love of literature.
In recent years, as I became a teacher myself he because a mentor and friend to swap stories with of the funny happenings that only another teacher would truly appreciate and offer his advice as I struggled through the first several years in the classroom.
My all time favorite piece of advice that he shared, not just with me but with all his students on the first day of class was to not be wordy in your writing, REVISE REVISE REVISE before you turned it in because he had a pile of books sitting in his office so high that it was not possible he was going to get to them all before he died. By his calculations for each student, if they only used 2 more words than necessary it would create a great and horrible impact on his goal to finish those books. So in closing, another big thank you to a teacher’s teacher (and I really really hope this was not wordy).
14 Friday Sep 2012
My top three picks from my summer 2012 travel related reading. Ready. Set. Go . . .
(1) Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It
I came across this gem while perusing the shelves of one my favorite D.C. book stores and was hooked instantly. Geoff Dyer has to be one of the funniest writers ever (and I don’t say that lightly). As you move from chapter to chapter he takes you through his off the beaten path travels through Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
Utterly unclassifiable. If Hunter S. Thompson, Roland Barthes, Paul Theroux and Sylvia Plath all went on holiday together in the same body, perhaps they could come up with something like it. This is the funniest book I have read in a very long time.” – William Sutcliffe, Independent on Sunday
Blessed to call her a friend (so I am slightly biased here . . . fact: her encouragement is 85% the reason you are reading this blog right now), J. Yinka Thomas’s book is a wonderful read. A world traveler herself, she has lived, worked and/or vacationed in each place that her main character Remi’s adventures take her to – Geneva, San Francisco, Sydney, Dakar, and Tokyo. You better hurry and get How Not to Save the World read because her sequel is coming soon. You can check out her website here or follow her on Facebook here.
(3) Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India
If you love understanding other cultures, religions and the perspective of the individuals that belong to those faiths this is an amazing book for you. William Dalrymple travels across India, listening to the the stories of people from Mataji who became a Jain nun against her family’s wishes to Srikanda Stpathy whose Brahmin family have been idol makers for nearly 700 years (now that is a family business!). Each chapter takes you to a different region and shows you the place and the religion through the eyes of not Dalrymple, but the story teller.
Have any great book recommendations? Comment away!