What a Difference

It's amazing to me what a little time off can do to clear one's mind. As you already knew, I'd taken a hiatus from writing here a few weeks back. Even so, it wasn't enough. Maybe there were deeper issues brewing, nefarious elements troubling my mental waters. 

Regardless, last weekend I took off reading and all attempts to write, even in my private journal. My head felt like it couldn't endure in another word, entering or leaving.  Then it happened. Wednesday I came down with the flu going around here. 

Soon my head was literally filled with something nasty. So much so that my mind had trouble keeping up with images on TV. Printed matter looked like so many squiggles on a piece of paper. 

Now, however, the flue is gone. All that remains is cleaning out the residue. One of the delightful side effects though is that my mind is clear, creative, and itching to have it's say. It didn't pick back up where I left off. It began where it would have been had I never stopped. As you might imagine, I'm really behind. 

Having said all that, I have 4 new posts brewing. Given the timeliness nature of it, my next one will be a bit about something Roger Ebert said in a past interview.  

As always, thanks for reading,

And until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.

Page Fright

If this is not already a condition, it is now. Analogous to stage fright, I'm having page fright. I say this because for the last few weeks, I've told interested e-mailers that I'm struggling with writer's block. Obviously, that's not true. I have lots to say, much I want to write about, but none of which I'd want to make public. Maybe I'm just discovering why writers and significant, and not so significant, thinkers of the past kept a journal (or diary), publishing only what they wanted the general reading public to see or know. All I can deduce from all this is that I have things I need to write about, but don't want to share with the world. So, at 53, I've finally come to the calculated realization which every 12 year old girl knows instinctively. Oh, well, call me slow . . . but hand me that cool yellow diary . . . yes, and the key so I can lock it.  

Speaking of slow, the school system, in it's credentialed wisdom, has given their students off this week for spring break. Of course, it began snowing yesterday (Monday) and hasn't stopped yet (it's Tuesday morning now). This no longer surprises me. This is the same school system which will send out letters threatening truancy charges for unexcused absences while giving the children a day off nearly every other week! Seriously, I can't recall the last time they went three consecutive full weeks. Seldom have they gone back to back weeks without at least a half day thrown in to drive parents crazy. They even closed school for President's day. No one takes off for that except banks and the Federal government. Did we miss ground hog's day? Don't give them any ideas!

So, here we sit, bored, staring out the windows, watching the snow which has fallen in insufficient amounts to give them something to play with or in. Here we sit watching the squirrel pillage the bird feeder outside our window. Cabin fever doesn't begin to express what's building up inside. I guess we're in for a long, boring 'spring break'. 

until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries (but not the school system, unless there are no loaded fire arms in the house), and remember to breathe.

On Regrets

The man who has no regrets

Didn't do something quite right.

But the man who has only regrets

Did something terribly wrong.

Home!

This will likely cause those who know me best to adopt wildly divergent interpretations. 

It should.

It's meant to. 

Pages

To whom it may concern:

In addition to being a certified book addict, I've also done my fair share of collecting recommended reading lists. You know the kind, lists of books one should read before this, that, or the other thing. Many are just general recommendations. Others, on the other hand, contain the canon of literature on a given topic. Ask a long time sci-fi fan what are the essential books to get up to speed on the genre and you'll likely get a list. 

Having said that, I hate to admit it, but I even have a book of book lists. Yep, even spent real money on it. It's a listing of all the reading lists from major colleges and universities in the US (and maybe a few in Canada). As one might expect, there's a ton of over lap. 80% will make every list. I suppose it's that 20% which keeps me searching for the next sleeper in the stack. 

Regardless, I'm going to post some of the more interesting ones I've found or read from. Then, for ease of reference, I'll post them in a page in my side bar. 

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.

Book it!

To whom it may concern:

It's becoming obvious to me that my main interest here is shifting to the discuss books. This should stand to reason given I spend several hours per day reading them. To this end, I've begun placing links to reading and book oriented blogs in my side bar. At present, I have only one linked. However, the one I have linked has a couple of dozen related blogs linked for your perusal until I have time to view them all myself. Eventually, I'll link to the ones I like best or visit frequently. 

I mention this only to say that I'll likely spend most of my writing time discussing books I'm either currently reading, or have recently finished. My goal won't be to review these works in a proper or technical sense. Rather, I'll give my thoughts, feelings, and impressions along the way - much like I did with Henry James in my last post. In these posts you'll quickly discover that I have a love/hate relationship with almost ever book I consume. So there will likely be something for everyone who loves a good read or wants to avoid a bad one. Few will get all my praise, but few will reap all my venom.

Of course, as other topics strike me as witty, clever, or important, I'll post on that too. I did see one blog linked which was about books and bicycles. That's a combination I'd love to cover myself - except that my bike, not to mention my body, needs an over haul. Maybe one day I'll get back on the road and share my adventures with you. Until then, maybe I'll include some of my adventures over the chess and checker board.

Until next time,

Contemplate the mysteries, and remember to breathe.