BW9: March Author of the Month - Douglas Adams

 

Happy Sunday!  It's time to say goodbye to February and hello to March. March is Irish American Heritage month, as well as Nation Peanut Month, National Craft Month, and National Women's History Month.  Hmm, let's see. Read something historical by an Irish American Woman while knitting and eating peanuts. *grin* 

This week we have February 26th which is Carpe Diem day, the 27th is No Brainer Day, the 28th is National Chili Day,  March 1st  is World Compliment Day, the 2nd is Old Stuff Day, the 3rd is I want You to be Happy Day, and the 4th is Huge a GI Day.  So be sure to seize the day, eat chili, compliment at least three people, do something different, make someone happy, and show some appreciation for the men and women in our armed forces.  

Plus our March author of the month is Douglas Adams, whose birthday is March 11, 1952.  He is best known for his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.  My brother introduced me to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy way back in the 1980's and once I read it, went on to consume The Restaurant at the End of the Universe;  Life, The Universe and Everything; So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish; and Mostly Harmless.  Plus his other books Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, and Douglas Adam's Starship Titanic by Terry Jones.  I'm looking forward to reading them all over again. 

This week our post is sponsored by the Letter I.  How fortuitous as I stands for Irish, industrious, Iambic, Innuendo,  Irony, and Imagination. 

Happy reading! 

 Please share your thoughts and reviews. 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. 

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BW8: Storytelling

 

Happy Sunday!  Growing up, my brother was the one who told the most magnificent stories, whether he was retelling a Monty Python skit, relating an event that happened, or telling us about a book he'd read. We would hang on his words, groaning or laughing as he told a tale, astonished by the details, even if he'd only read or heard something once. I was never great at oral storytelling, maybe because it was difficult to get an word in edgewise with my large talkative family.  Today, the role has been taken over by my husband and son, both who have Eidetic memories,  remembering everything that's ever happened in their lives. Which can be great, unless it's something stupid you wish they'd forget. LOL!    I prefer writing, taking my time to remember, exploring thoughts and phrases, seeing the words on the page. 

Who is or was the Storyteller in your family?

 
Which brings us to our 52 Books Bingo quest for this week - Storyteller and all those lovely books they have created for our pleasure: narratives, myths, memoirs, drama, poetry as well as the world of fiction. From the classics to the contemporary writers of today there is a wide variety to choose from.  

Who do you think are the best storytellers of the past and present?   

50 Greatest Storytellers Of All Time

Masterful Storytelling: 10 Novels Worth Savoring

20 Best Storytelling Books of All Time

The Best Books On Storytelling

This week, our post is brought to you by the letter H.  Big h, little h, what begins with H. Why Homer and Horatio and Heyer as well as  Hemingway and Hosseini and Herbert to name a few. 

Happy reading! 

*****

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BW7: Ode to Common Things to Pablo Neruda

Wishing you the happiest of days, the happiest of weeks as we celebrate Super Bowl Sunday, Galentine's Day, Valentine's Day, Singles Awareness Day, Do a Grouch a Favor day, Random Acts of Kindness Day, and of course, National Drink Wine day. 

As I was meandering about the internet I came across Meanderings and Muses (Don't you love that name) Odes to Common things. And wouldn't you just know it, I fell down a rabbit hole.  Found The Examined Life's article on Pablo Neruda's Sublime Poetic Wonder at Meaning and Utility in Everyday Things.   Then stumbled upon Interludes where his poetry inspired  The Music of Poetry - Pablo Neruda: Odes to Common Things.   Yes, he even penned An Ode to a Book, but I liked his Common Things better.  

Shall we should all write an ode to our books, our lives, our loves?   Have an adventure and read a book of Odes, offbeat odes, an ode to stardust, or An Ode to Snow. 

Ode to Common Things 

By 

Pablo  Neruda

I have a crazy,

crazy love of things.

I like pliers,

and scissors.

I love

cups,

rings,

and bowls –

not to speak, of course,

of hats.

I love

all things,

not just

the grandest,

also

the

infinite-

ly

small –

thimbles,

spurs,

plates,

and flower vases.

 Oh yes,

the planet

is sublime!

It’s full of

pipes

weaving

hand-held

through tobacco smoke,

and keys

and salt shakers –

everything,

I mean,

that is made

by the hand of man, every little thing :

shapely shoes,

and fabric,

and each new

bloodless birth

of gold,

eyeglasses,

carpenter’s nails,

brushes,

clocks, compasses,

coins, and the so-soft

softness of chairs.

 Mankind has

built

oh so many

perfect

things!

Built them of wool

and of wood,

of glass and

of rope :

remarkable

tables,

ships, and stairways.

 

I love

all

things,

not because they are

passionate

or sweet smelling

but because,

I don’t know,

because

this ocean is yours,

and mine :

these buttons

and wheels

and little

forgotten

treasures,

fans upon

whose feathers

love has scattered

its blossoms,

glasses, knives and

scissors –

all bear

the trace

of someone’s fingers

on their handle or surface,

the trace of a distant hand

lost

in the depths of forgetfulness.

 I pause in houses,

streets and

elevators,

touching things,

identifying objects

that I secretly covet :

this one because it rings,

that one because

it’s as soft

as the softness of a woman’s hip,

that one there for its deep-sea color,

and that one for its velvet feel.

 

O irrevocable

river

of things :

no one can say

that I loved

only

fish,

or the plants of the jungle and the field,

that I loved

only

those things that leap and climb, desire, and survive.

It’s not true :

many things conspired

to tell me the whole story.

Not only did they touch me,

or my hand touched them :

they were

so close

that they were a part

of my being,

they were so alive with me

that they lived half my life

and will die half my death.

Our post is sponsored by the letter G this week: Genres full of gorgeous, gregarious, generous, or gallant characters who gadabout.

Happy Reading!  

******

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BW6: 52 Books Bingo - Sleuths

 

Happy Sunday! Our next 52 Books Bingo category - sleuths - fits in nicely with our Agatha Christie read this month.  We have different varieties of sleuths from the amateur sleuth, to the hardboiled private eye to the religious investigator, to the kid, teen, and female sleuths to the cozy amateur or police detectives.  Below are just a few links for your perusal. 

Top 12 New Best Cozy Mysteries Featuring Amateur Sleuths

A Recipe for Hard Boiled Fiction

Divine Mysteries: 10 Great Clerical Sleuths

Middle Grade Mystery and Detective books 

10 YA Books That Prove That Teens Are the Best Detectives

Classic Teen Detectives

The Best Female Detectives in Fiction Written by Women

Tap Into Your Inner Sleuth With These Dazzling Detective Novels

Our post is brought to you by the letter F this week. From the feisty fiends to the felonious forger to the foxy fed, follow the footprints to find the facts. 

Have fun! 

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Please share your thoughts and reviews. 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.