Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

This is by far my favorite poem by Mary Oliver, and perhaps my favorite poem. 

It's so deeply transformative, and it does what only poetry can do... it gives voice to that thing that deeply calls to us- the power of acceptance. Read it slowly and let it sink in.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

Rest Well Jenny ♥️

 

Oh Jenny...

Your death is a stark reminder of how short this life is. What a kind, compassionate, engaging, intelligent woman you were. Your warmth and enthusiasm for classics and history will live in the hearts of so many of us. 

You are gone, but most definitely not forgotten my dear. 

Rest well Jenny. We will miss you. ♥️ 

Virginia Woolf Made Me Keep Kindle Unlimited

I am loving this so far

 

It's rare to be spoken to from the grave, but I could hear Virginia whispering, "Either buy my diary, or keep Kindle Unlimited to finish it."

Okay, that's a stretch, but it was a late night with a decaf coffee when I realized that I like having an array of books to scroll through when the mood hits. Sure I'd love to save the money and perhaps put it towards owning a book, but I don't collect books like many others do, so that isn't a huge incentive.

Every time I think of cancelling Kindle Unlimited, something like this comes across my recommendations, and I reconsider keeping it. 

My membership expires in less than 7 days, so I will just renew it. I think the price is egregious, but I have spent money on things that mean less.

People discuss the "lack of quality" of the books on KU, but in truth, there are gems on there. Lots of nonfiction (which I love), and most all of the classics.

Thanks Virginia, I think I'll keep it for now and see exactly what you were thinking and feeling up to your death. 

mary oliver: a thousand mornings: the gardener (poetry)

 

The Gardener

Have I lived enough?

Have I loved enough?

Have I considered Right Action enough, 

have I come to any conclusion?

Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?

Have I endured loneliness with grace?

I say this, or perhaps I'm just thinking it.

Actually, I probably think too much.

Then I step out into the garden,

where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,

is tending his children, the roses.

silent sunday : bashō

second oatmilk coffee at home

Sitting quietly,

doing nothing,

Spring comes,

and the grass grows, by itself. 

Bashō

.10 category romance between medical appointments

Late icy drive ride to the hospital for a medical appointment for my daughter. It's that time of year that just makes you feel a little bit sad.

When I am feeling too overwhelmed, I scroll through my kindle and grab one of my category romances.

This week I have extra cups of pour over with my new locally roasted single origin and read any and everything that I feel that calls to me. 

I'm having some problems sleeping and I just grab a romance or lighter read in the nighttime (Hello Barbara Pym :).

cw: anxiety, panic attacks
spoke too soon: dnf @43%
not the book- it's me i struggle
so much with contemporary fiction 

So far, I am remembering how great some authors write for Harlequin. It's so nice to have a book going that is just entertaining. I am loving it.

Off to relax after this long day. 

Classics I Want to Read in 2024

It's gearing up to be an even busier year than 2023, so I want to have a classic focus for each month and in total a baker's dozen in case things with post-grad school and caregiving go better than I anticipate.

2024

Classics I Want To Read in 2024

Not sure what happened. I read classics all year, but these few evaded me. Will reevaluate the titles. 

1. A Simple Story by Elizabeth Inchbald
2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville 
3. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4. Desperate Remedies by Thomas Hardy
5. Villette by Charolette Brontë 
6. Aurora Flyod by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 
7. Deerbrook by Harriet Martineau OR
8. Story of Ivy by Marie Belloc Lowndes

Rereads For 2024

Take this list with a grain of pink himalayan salt because I oftentimes reread the SAME book twice in a year.

1. Persuasion by Jane Austen ✔️ 
2. Jane Eyre by Charolette Brontë (december)
3. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy ✔️ 
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy ✔️ 
5. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky ✔️ 

Side Reads for 2024

1. Macbeth by William Shakespeare ✔️ 
2. Clarice Lispector (The Hour of the Star) (december)
3. Anita Brookner ✔️ 
4. James Baldwin (2025)
   
5. Lots of nonfiction ✔️ 

There are no rules for my reading. I just like to feel or learn something that will change or transform me. It's asking a lot from my literature, but it's my time. I can demand from authors in and out of copyright for this very thing. 

2024 Reading Intentions

I love a good goal. :) However, setting intentions is so much better. It's an energetic exchange. A crafting of a lifestyle...

As a quiet, coffee drinking, multi-book at-a-time reader, I have some intentions for 2024.

Intentions for my 2024 reading life...

1. Re-read to my heart's content. Who cares what's newly published. If I want to re-read the SAME novels. I shall continue to do so. (Hello Persuasion, I shall re-read you for the umpteenth time this Winter, along with Anna Karenina).
2. Always have a classic re-read AND new classic read going. I basically re-read the same classics every year, and I will make sure to always have one going.
3. Stop leaving Goodreads word reviews. The time it takes to write my review on Goodreads, I could be writing it here on my own blog. 

My one true quest is for a quiet and calm reading year. 

quiet + calm day

.06 jan - two coffees & new reads

 

at the bottom of the second coffee cup

I'm reading every and anything these days, but am loving deeply moving reads.

Marzahn, Mon Amour is starting off as a tenderly reflective novel and I am enjoying this snowy day curled up with it on kindle. 

Katja Oskamp

Katja Oskamp (author of Marzahn, Mon Amour), is a German writer who grew up in Berlin, and I am just loving this novel so far. 

Opening lines:

"The middle years, when you're neither young nor old, are fuzzy years. You can no longer see the shore you started from, but you can't yet get a clear enough view of the shore you're heading for. You spend these years thrashing about in the middle of a bike lake, out of breath, flagging from the tedium of swimming." 

I'm off for an afternoon of reading and relaxing as the snow falls. My quest for a quiet 2024 is off to decent start. 

Hello 2024. My Reading Life Comforts Me

If you've read even one post on here you know that my life has been pretty hectic in the past few years. Caregiving. Illness. Hospitals. Medicines. Surgeries. 

I find so much comfort in reading, and every time I think of returning to BookTube, I pause and sit back and realize that it will only be adding to my ever busy plate, and serve as a distratcion.

I've found myself watching less and less BookTube as well, and tuning in to the channels that are quiet and consistent. That's what I hope to bring to the space when I do eventually return.

As of now, I'll set some reading intentions for 2024 in a future post, but I have initial thoughts about how the reading year has begun.

Thoughts as the year begins

1. I really love reading lots of books at one time. Dipping in and out of stories, pulling the threads of the narrative back to my conscious mind- all are so fun.
2. I never thought I could/ would DNF as much as I do now. Is it fair? Well, it is to me. Maybe I'm missing out on a story that will turn around, but for me- there are millions of books and I don't have millions of days to read them.
3. I love my kindles even more than I did in years prior. I didn't think it was possible, yet here we are. I am surrounded my e-readers and my strained eyes thank me every day. I ignore the glossy covers shown all day on social media, and rest in MY truth which is that I love to read while lying down and my eyes are happy not to strain to do it.

making my way slowly thru this memoir

Enjoying my quiet reading at the end of stressful days. Sinking into an intense literary fiction, or trying to distract myself with more mainstream fiction (even if I DNF after 50 pages) has been so comforting to me.

I am seeking comfort, solace, and peace in this new year. I hope I find it; and, if you are in need of some as well, I hope you can find a slice of comfort in your next chapter.

Happy reading and Happy 2024.