BW26: Halfway Down

Artist Ernest Shepard - Halfway Down

Halfway Down

By 

A. A. Milne

Halfway down the stairs

Is a stair

Where I sit.

There isn't any

Other stair

Quite like

It.

I'm not at the bottom,

I'm not at the top;

So this is the stair

Where

I always

Stop.

Halfway up the stairs

Isn't up

And it isn't down.

It isn't in the nursery,

It isn't in town.

And all sorts of funny thoughts

Run round my head.

It isn't really

Anywhere!

It's somewhere else

Instead!

**************************************************************

Link to your reviews. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.

BW25: June Solstice

Happy Father's day to all our dads. The June Solstice is upon us as of the 21st and we are celebrating the beginning of Summer or Winter depending on your location.  

What do you look forward to doing during summertime or wintertime?  Summer makes me think of lazing about by the pool or a beach or maybe hanging out on the patio.  Perhaps imbibing in a cocktail or a cold glass of ice tea.  During Wintertime - bundling up, brisk walks, sports, roasting coffee beans and fireplaces.  And of course, reading:  I'm in the mood to revisit some old friends, learn something new, do a bit of armchair traveling,  maybe experiment with new recipes, and follow a few rabbit trails. 

Read a book set on a beach such as Roxanne St. Claire's Barefoot Bay series or with a beach on the cover.  Better yet, read a book set on an island for 52 Books bingo.   Cozy up for some wintertime reads, put on your snowshoes for a trip through the Arctic, or pretend to go skiing.  

Read a book with summer in the title such as Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer or Ben Aaronvitch's Foxglove Summer  or winter in the title such as Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale or Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler. 

Whip up a summer or winter cocktail and learn about mixology, discover a new to you recipe, or get ready and fire up your grill.  Discover the delights in roasting your own coffee or becoming a tea aficionado. 

Put on your garden gloves and get ready to dig in the dirt with The 10 Books Every Gardener Should Read or The Best Vegetable Gardening Books.  

Our Brit Trip armchair travels are taking us to Suffolk this week. Suffolk has been the home to many noted British artists and composers – Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, and Benjamin Britten.

Rabbit trails: Rendlesham Forest Incident (The UK’s Roswell),  Mid-Suffolk Light Railway, Kentwell Hall, and  House in the Clouds

Join me in a bit of Summer and/or Wintertime reading fun! 

***********************************

Link to your reviews. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.

BW24: 52 Books Bingo - exploring the 17th Century

One of our 52 Book's Bingo categories is the 17th Century. You may read a book written by an author or about the era or in which the story took place in the 17th Century. 

Dive into 17th Century Belguim, the Dutch Golden Age or Luxembourg,  or take a look at Stuff You Missed in History Class as well as go back in time to England. 

The 17th Century began with the Jacobean era in England and led into the Caroline,  Interregnum, and Restoration periods.  We had the emergence of John Milton, John Dryen, and John Bunyan as well as Daniel Defoe plus metaphysical poets such as Englishmen John Donne, John Cleveland,  Andrew Marvel, and Abraham Crowley.  The female writers of the time were Anne Bradstreet, Aphra Behn,  Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Mary Astell,  and  Madame de La Fayette.

While you are meandering through the 17th century, explore History of the Rise of the Novel in the 17th Century, Historical Survey of Children's literature, English Literature's reflection of 17th Century Society, as well as Goodread's Best Books of the 17th Century, and Popular Historical Fiction 17th Century.  

Our Brit Trip is taking us to Essex this week, so dip into Wellcome Library's Local History: East Anglia and Essex for local family and individuals to read about.  Also check out Goodread's Essex, England,  Essex Life's Literary Inspirations and the Author who put Colchester on the Crime Writing Map.

Essex is located between London and the North Sea and when it united with the other Anglian and Saxon Kingdoms it created the single country that is now England. It is home to the oldest recorded town in England, Colchester (Camulodunum).

Rabbit trails: Hedingham Castle  Audley End House  Hylands House  Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall

Have fun armchair traveling as you travel through the 17th Century or following rabbit trails on the Rebels bus or exploring Essex on the Detective Bus.

*******************************

Link to your reviews. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.

BW23: June sojourn by bike and barge

Purple Tulip by Ozugun 

Welcome to our June sojourn by bike and barge through the western Europe's low countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.  We are going to take our time and explore literary landmarks in Amsterdam, literary treasures in Belgium, and the voices and literature of writers in Luxembourg.  Plus cycle in the footsteps of Georges Simenon's fictional detective Jules Maigret and look into the heads of characters with Renate Dorrestein who recently passed away on May 4th.

We missed the beginning of the 49th Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. However, we'll begin our literary adventures in Trompenburg Gardens for the last day listening to the poetry of Joost Baars and more.  Jump on your bike and check out  Expatica's Guide to Dutch Literature, Owlcation's Belgian Literature: Some Classic Authors and Works You Might Wish to Know, Literary Institutions of Luxembourg, as well as Goodread's Best Dutch Literature,  Popular Belgian authors, and Around the World in 80 Day's Books set in Luxembourg discussion.  

Our Blossom Bookology flower of the month are Tulips which are the national flower of the Netherlands. There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge.    Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author.  Yes, you can mix it up.  You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover.  Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower.  The choices are unlimited.

Our Brit Trip on  Ichnield Way is taking us to Hertfordshire.  Some fun literary tie-ins to Hertforshire include: Pride and Prejudice, Howards End, and Animal Farm.  

Not Hertfordshire specific but an interesting article on famous houses inspiring literary works. 

Have fun armchair traveling and following rabbit trails as you travel through the low  countries on the Rebels bus or Hertfordshire if you are on the Detective Bus.

*************************************

Link to your reviews. In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post. If you don't have a blog, leave a comment telling us what you have been reading.