A question I am fond of asking friends or strangers is, “So, what are you reading?” This is a great source for future reading, often taking me down trails I would otherwise not have ventured upon to discover hitherto unknown regions in literature. January is traditionally a good month to get some reading in, though… Read More So Far This Year
As I write, the temperatures in Virginia rival the bitter winters of the far north. My children and I just finished reading a book about a hero of those brutal, wintry regions. Canada values the feat of courage and fortitude displayed by one of her pioneers so much that a statue stands on the bank… Read More Winter Inspiration for the Entire Family
In the long, long story in which we are characters, the turning of a new year is like the opening of a new chapter in the story of our lives. Only a reader knows the thrill of excitement opening the cover and turning to the first page of an unread book brings. The book itself may be new or… Read More New Books, New Friends, and a New Year
The year has flown. It seems just a month ago I was posting my 2014 reading list. All the major milestones of life, the three great celebrations as Thomas Lynch puts it, have occurred this past year: a wedding of a daughter, the birth of a grandchild, and death of a sister. Life has brought great moments, merrymaking, and… Read More My Year in Books
From the comments I received on last week’s blog, I appear to have hit a nerve. This encourages me to add a few further remarks. My observation was that it is easier to form a habit of not reading than not eating, but that both are detrimental to our well-being, one to our physical health, the other to… Read More Our Daily Bread
Skipping meals is not my habit. I love to eat too much for that. Yet, there I was last Friday evening listening to my daughter’s piano professor’s performance of Bach’s Golberg variations, the audience rapt and silent, when my stomach noisily protested its neglected condition. Was it possible I had been so busy I’d forgotten to eat supper? It’s a… Read More Skipping Meals
I recently found my eleven year old son on his bed after his exhausting day of painting and yard work. “What are you up to?” I asked. “Reading.” Surprised, because reading is not usually his choice for relaxing, I curiously asked, “What book?” “The Kid Who Only Hit Homers.” Just in time I restrained myself from commenting.… Read More On the Rereading of Books
For most of us, Labor Day, a holiday for workers, marks a shift from summer’s leisurely pace back to the routine of the school year. Though we love the fun and freedom of summer, somewhere deep inside, we also relish getting back to work. Work is a gift. After all, if we were always at play, the world… Read More Work and Play
It must be true that the older you get, the more vivid the childhood memories. At this time of year, I can easily recapture all my young feelings and experiences of summer. Can anything equal that delirious thrill of exploding out of the school building doors on that last day of school? Behind me were the confines of the… Read More The Summer Stretch
With the celebration of Mother’s Day, my thoughts naturally turn to my own mother who died a year and a half ago. The gifts a mother gives are impossible to sum up, or gratitude for them properly to e express, and, whatever the shortcomings, inadequacies, or failures our mothers have, it is indisputable that we owe them our life… Read More A Mother’s Gift