Linda the Librarian

Autumn is the season to find contentment at home by paying attention to what we already have. ~Unknown

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again. ~Maya Angelou

This morning my husband stumbled out of bed as I was getting ready to start my exercise routine.  He gave me a bleary eyed look and said, "I feel like you.  I stayed up too late last night because I wanted to finish the book I was reading in one sitting."  Why thank you!  I take that as a great compliment!

Yes, I did read another mind candy book.  Do I feel guilty?  Um, maybe a little bit.  I have a heftier line up to follow the four mind candy books I shared with you.  I really did need the break.  I've loved what I've read so far this year, but I was tired from all of the thinking.  The best way that I can describe how these volumes of light fare reading have served me is to say, "think of taking a really great nap."  You know when you're over-tired or feeling unwell and you take a nap and wake up feeling like you can take on the world....or at least the laundry pile?  That's how I feel now.  I have a book on joy and another about the history of leadership in the US.  I'm also part way through The Confessions of St. Augustine.  As you can see, meatier fare is on the way. About this book, it takes place in Michigan in the late 1800's.  A widowed lighthouse keeper with a young son rescues a woman when the steamboat she's a passenger on sinks.

Why?  Because I had some lovely lazy time this Saturday morning and I needed to know what happened next!  I enjoyed this light, breezy story just as much as I did the first book in the series.  Because there weren't any major surprises, I found it very restful reading.  I'm finding great value in rest right now since both of us are struggling with colds and the lack of energy that goes with them.  I can absolutely recommend this book to you.  Enjoy! Until next time...

I just finished this book yesterday.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but I must say that I enjoyed Mrs. Gifford's book.  The book's beginnings are rooted in a trip she and her late husband took to Israel with Ray Vander Laan.  Some of you may be familiar with his videos in the That the World May Know series.  He takes tour groups to Israel and explains people, places, and events recorded in Scripture within their historical and cultural context to give more understanding to the participants.  Mrs. Gifford's book seeks to give that historical and cultural understanding to her readers as well as share how this knowledge changed her and grew her understanding. I loved that the chapters were short.  This would be a great book to use as part of a daily reading habit.  It's also great if you're like me and take a book with you to make the wait in line at the grocery store more pleasant!!  I enjoyed being reminded of what I already knew

Are any of you runners?  I don't mean fitness runners, I mean marathon runners?  There's an expression used by marathon runners "hitting the wall."  It means when they get to that point in the race when their body says, "no, I can't go any further" and they have to talk themselves into completing the course.  I've felt lately like I've hit a literary wall of sorts.  My goal for the year is to read two books a week so that I will have read 104 books at the close of 2018.  I'm a librarian for crying out loud, this should be a piece of cake, right?!  I'm not sorry that I set the goal.  So far this year I've read more books than I read all of last year (in 2017 I read between 60 and 70 books, in 2018 I've read 72 so far), but I'm four books behind if I'm going to meet my goal.  I've read a number of stretching books.  They've stretched my thought life spiritually, culturally, and emotionally and I'm thankful.

It was a long week.  A. really. long. week.  By Sunday I was exhausted.  I limped home after church and took a great nap.  The rest of my afternoon and evening consisted of drinking tea and reading this book, Across the Blue by Carrie Turansky. It was just what the doctor ordered.  It was pleasant and breezy.  There weren't any major surprises.  It was a restful way to spend my Sunday afternoon.  The story revolves around the race to be the first aviator to fly across the English Channel.  A newspaper has offered a financial reward to the first pilot to complete the task.  Of course the newspaper owner has a daughter who falls in love with one of the pilots!  Would we have it any other way? The one thing I did learn (actually it was more that I was reminded of it) was how few years there were between the beginnings of aviation and World War I.  Airplanes were in their infancy when war broke out.  It's a little surprising to me that both sides chose to use planes for the

If you talk about it, it's a dream, if you envision it, it's possible, but if you schedule it, it's real. Tony Robbins

When I was working at the library the other day, a patron returned this book.  It perfectly described my mood for that day.  All I wanted was to put my jammies on, have a big cup of tea, and curl up with a good book.  In short, my attitude was, leave. me. alone.  When has a book described your feelings?

I admit out loud that until now I have never read an Agatha Christie novel.  Ever.  It wasn't because I had anything against her or her writing, I had just never got around to reading her work.  I'm glad for the push that the reading challenge gave me to read a classic novel.  I had debated about rereading a Jane Austen novel, but decided instead that I needed to branch out.  I still need to read a book that I've read before as part of the challenge, so Ms. Austen isn't out of the running yet! I really enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express.  It's different from other "whodunnits" I've read before.  The story is really all about the events and the dialogue.  If you want to know what color dress someone was wearing and whether or not there was lace, you'll be disappointed.  I didn't see the ending coming (I was blinded by my belief about who committed the crime).  I can also say that I will be reading more Agatha Christie novels.   I'm o

I always get to where I'm going by walking away from where I have been.  ~Winnie the Pooh

C.S. Lewis' Little Book of Wisdom I've probably told you before, and just a warning I'll probably tell you again, that one of the great things about working at a library is that when people return books I often run across titles that I must check out for myself and end up enjoying them immensely.  This one came across my desk last week and being a lover of C.S. Lewis, I needed to read it.   This is simply a book of quotes from Mr. Lewis' various books and articles.  They're divided into sections on friendship, love, Aslan's country, etc.  It would make a great Christmas, graduation, Mother's/Father's Day, birthday, or any other occasion gift for someone who loves Mr. Lewis' writings.  I read a section or two before bed each night, which gave me something to ponder as I drifted off to sleep. I'll leave you with a quote from the section Aslan's Country: But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it

My favorite poem is the one that starts "Thirty days hath September" because it actually tells you something. ~Groucho Marx