BW17: Notes on the Art of Poetry

As we wind up April and National Poetry Month, I'll leave you with a couple more tidbits.

Notes on the Art of Poetry

by Dylan Thomas

I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on

in the world between the covers of books,

such sandstorms and ice blasts of words,

such staggering peace, such enormous laughter,

such and so many blinding bright lights,

splashing all over the pages

in a million bits and pieces

all of which were words, words, words,

and each of which were alive forever

in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.

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Book Lover

by Robert William Service 

I keep collecting books I know

I'll never, never read;

My wife and daughter tell me so,

And yet I never head.

"Please make me," says some wistful tome,

"A wee bit of yourself."

And so I take my treasure home,

And tuck it in a shelf.

And now my very shelves complain;

They jam and over-spill.

They say: "Why don't you ease our strain?"

"some day," I say, "I will."

So book by book they plead and sigh;

I pick and dip and scan;

Then put them back, distrest that I

Am such a busy man.

Now, there's my Boswell and my Sterne,

my Gibbon and Defoe;

To savour Swift I'll never learn,

Montaigne I may not know.

On Bacon I will never sup,

For Shakespeare I've no time;

Because I'm busy making up

These jingly bits of rhyme.

Chekov is caviare to me,

While Stendhal makes me snore;

Poor Proust is not my cup of tea,

And Balzac is a bore.

I have their books, I love their names,

And yet alas! they head,

With Lawrence, Joyce and Henry James,

My Roster of Unread.

I think it would be very well

If I commit a crime,

And get put in a prison cell

And not allowed to rhyme;

Yet given all these worthy books

According to my need,

I now caress with loving looks,

But never, never read.

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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, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW16: Bookish Potpourri

Hello my lovelies. Did you know today is World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day? How about just a plain old planting day. When I met my husband 28 years ago, he had two huge Hawaiian Schefflera plants growing in his shop and by the time we moved the business last October to our new building, it was still alive (barely) root bound, a messy clump of limbs and leaves, with its fair share of aphids, that none of us wanted to move. He saved a clipping and low and behold, roots began to grow and the plant lives on. I think it's time to repot, dontcha think?



Ramadan is coming up on the 20th and April 22nd is Earth Day and Arbor Day on the 24th. I think I jumped the gun on National Zucchini Bread day on April 25th because I baked a couple loaves of zucchini bread this past week of which we have devoured one loaf and the other is in the freezer for later. 

So get to planting and cooking while listening to some great audiobooks or bookish podcasts.

Also consider reading a book which was written 50 years ago in 1970, 75 years ago in 1945, or maybe a 100 years ago in 1920, plus learn about 30 Newsworthy Anniversaries in April 2020.

Cuddle Up With the 25 Best New Books Coming Out in April 2020

We have several anniversaries of well known authors birthdays this week including William Shakespeare, Charlotte Bronte, Henry Fielding, Halldor Laxness, Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh, Daniel Defoe, and Anthony Trollope to name a few.

It's National Library Week and many libraries are providing online services.

Please also support your independent bookshops and help them stay afloat.

Don't forget it is still National Poetry Month. Bustle provides an interesting list of reads, and poets are taking open mic nights and readings online during April. Plus learn to write your own poems as well.

HOPE WAITS

I'm here, she says

Lean on me. Wait, don't go.

I have much to teach,

We have far to row.

I'll do my best for tomorrow

There is hope in my sorrow

We look, we listen, we wait.

We do our best to bear the hands of fate.

We are saved. I am here.

No more pain, no more fear.

Yes, I'll wait.

Stand tall, it's not too late. 

Hope waits, hope gives,

Sorrow passes, hope lives. 

Don't worry, don't hate

Sorrow walks alone through the gate.

Remember, no matter what

The door will not shut.

Nothing is beyond my reach. 

I have much to teach. 

Don't worry yourself so.

Save the tears for tomorrow.

Hope tells the tale, 

blessings prevail.

Hope waits.

Blessings and good thoughts winging your way for a bright tomorrow! 

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

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, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW15: 52 Books Bingo - Transformative and Mysterious

Butterfly from adult coloring book

Happy Easter to all who celebrate. I have to admit we are all experiencing a time in which the people of the world are in the midst of a huge change. At the end of this pandemic we will all come out the other side, transformed, changed for the better I hope. We have more time to look inside ourselves and think about the who and the what and the why. We are in the midst of the mysterious and the transformative which are two of our 52 books bingo categories. Apropos, huh? From the serious to the humorous to the quirky to the scientific to the religious, there are a number of ways to go. You can go with the literal, symbolic, synonyms, or something inferred.

Transformative: That causes transformation.  To change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose; to change in condition, nature, or character; convert; to change into another substance; transmute.

Literature in and of itself is transformative.

Transformative books - literature to change your lives

8 Transformative Philosophy Books That Will Change How You Think

17 of the Best Christian Books that will leave you inspired

45 Best Personal Transformation Books of All Time

Mysterious:  Full of, characterized by, or involving mystery; implying or suggesting a mystery;  of obscure nature, meaning, origin, etc.; puzzling; inexplicable.

5 Most Mysterious Books Ever Written

The 100 Most Popular Mysteries and Thrillers on Goodreads

Works of Nonfiction to Rival Any Great Thriller Novel

Mysterious short stories to read online.

7 Mysterious Libraries in Literature

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.

 It is the life of all art and science.” ~ Albert Einstein

Have fun following rabbit trails!

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

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, then check the privacy box and click enter.

BW14: Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring

This week we start our read of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

"In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose."

Take your time. Read it fast or slow, by yourself or aloud with your family. We have the whole quarter, April through June to read it.

Redditor Finds Rare 1st Edition Copy of The Fellowship of The Ring…in a Doritos Box

Owlcations discussion questions and perhaps try out the scone recipe.

Consider watching the movie or if you've already seen it, rewatch it with an eye to the differences with the book.

Gorge of the Rings: Eat your way through the book or movies.

George R.R. Martin talks about Lord of the Rings

Youtube audiobook narrated by Steven Garnett or listen to Audible's Rob Inglis

Happy Reading!

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Please share your book reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week.

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, then check the privacy box and click enter.