It's another shift - a new month dawns; we spring ahead and are looking to fall back. Perhaps you're in desperate need to breathe, pause to gather your thoughts as time seems to be careening ahead.
As writers, poets, do you collect book clutter? Do you stockpile books and suddenly realize, you will never have enough time to read and reach into the depths of all the wealth of words to consume?
So it is, I offer you a quote: from a series of books I so enjoy -
"One can learn from a glance at a person's library, not what they are, but what they wish to be."
from - Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
So what are the absolute books, choose perhaps 1 or 3, that no matter how time rushes on, you turn to, again and again, because they are the ones you hold steadfast and true, in your spirit, your heart, your mind?
Share your selections in the comments if you wish ~ curiosity cues this cat's interest.
And now, on to the Platform.
Tuesday.
Select ONE of your poems, it's entirely up to you which you choose - and showcase it here.
Link directly to the post/poem in question, so readers can easily find it, and share their thoughts and comments, with you. Mr. Linky is looking forward to your entries.
Pop back round to read and enjoy what your fellow Toads and Travelers have offered for our pleasure this week.
Happy Reading and Poeming.
🎇💡📣And. And. AND. Be sure to stop back in on Wednesday to catch-up on _______: A Toads Chat. Tomorrow will feature a wonderful interview/chat session between two members of the Garden - be sure to check back and meet/greet and/or reacquaint yourselves with some wonderful people. 😄
So thrilled you mentioned that series of books. I am a devoted admirer of Flavia de Luce!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I am of course one of those book clutterers you also mention.
But the books I will never part with and cannot see without hugging to my heart, are The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery), The Little White Horse (Elizabeth Goudge) and The Winged Horse (Pamala Frankau).
*Pamela
ReplyDeleteWatership Down, The Hobbit, Earth Abides are the ones that leap to thought first. And I think your quote is right on.
ReplyDeleteThere's generally a Bible in every room of our house but the one I read most is online at "Our Daily Bread" for my Android Smart Phone.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite is on a bedroom table, "The Poetry Home Repair Manuel" by Red Kooser, Poet Laureate of the United States and Pulitzer Prize recipient. I bought it as a real bargain on eBay.
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DeleteThank you for asking us to share.
DeleteAnd it is TED Kooser, not Red. Sorry.
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Hi Pat! Thanks for hosting, and for the reminder to stop by tomorrow for another chat session between poets. I am looking forward to it greatly.
ReplyDeleteCurrently reading “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. Just finished a second reading of “All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr .. one of my all time favorites! Even better second time.
ReplyDeleteProbably the most riveting book I have ever read is The Mystery of the White Lions. But I go through a tall stack of books a week (I read all evening into the late hours), and have read so many amazing books. I had a whole wall of books in Port, but had to scale down to only three bookcases when I moved here. The best of the best. I have brought home an armful of books from the library every week since I was five years old. No wonder my eyes are tired. LOL.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to Tuesday people - and I hope all is well :)
ReplyDeleteI will be popping in and out to read and thank you for your interesting reading choices/selections in the comments - definitely most fascinating stories within these stories yes?
Rosemary - isn't Flavia just a delight? Such a wonderfully refreshing character she is. And your selection is very fascinating. How delightful.
Debi - it is an interesting quote ... something to muse on, not only for the books we treasure, but the ones we accumulate for all kinds of reasons; intriguing selections you've chosen too!
Jim - some say the Bible is the greatest story ever told ... so it is no wonder many would choose to have it close to hand ... and how curious, your selection --- a group of "how to books" is not a bad thing to keep within one's reach :)
Helen - well, these are two opposite end of the field choices - definitely food for thought and for the soul, in different ways - fascinating.
Sherry - definitely sounds riveting! wow. And I can appreciate the reading addiction myself, having been much of the same, for a huge chunk of my life ...
Kerry - my pleasure :)
Hi Pat. Thank you for hosting and so good to see you. I used to be one of those book clutter people until I bought my first Kindle. I got rid of about a 1000 books. I kept the antique ones which I collect and some of the cook books which meant a lot to me or. The Escoffier my mother gave me at 16. Books I loved : the little Prince, the Velveteen Rabbit, Dracula, The Historian, The Little House Books, any of the history and engineering books, and if course my textbooks from the CIA
ReplyDeletePriscilla - just to note, I can't leave a comment on your post, but I did enjoy the tale ... it was a fun way to let the imagination poem and offered up a yarn of a tale.
ReplyDeleteI have far too many books that I love and return to again and again; some are classics, anything by Shakespeare, the Brontes and Dickens, Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence, but my favourite modern novel is Postcards from No Man's land by Aidan Chambers, an author I have met and with whom my husband and I had the most amazing conversation.
ReplyDelete@ Helen
ReplyDeleteI've read both of those and liked them very much. Since we seem to have similar taste I recommend "A Gentleman in Moscow" Amor Towles
Thank you!!
Deletethe quote is perfect...so many books, not enough time...not what I am, but what I wish to be.
ReplyDeleteToni -- I would expect no less than at least a few timeless culinary books to reside on your shelves :) I really like your varied noted selections - a curious, inquisitive mind makes for a rich life indeed, how satisfying.
ReplyDeleteKim -- I suspect that's why we call them "classics" LOL - and can fully appreciate this select list. As for your modern selection? it sounds fascinating in approach and story - and however more the interesting when one has the chance to meet the author and engage in some meaningful way!
Annell it is a bit of a double edged quote ... which makes it worth the while, I think ... I like to sit and play with the ideas it spins :)
ReplyDeleteSo hard to select a book, but recently I have found a great joy in returning to books that really are distilled into a core so to speak...
ReplyDeleteI recently read The Aleph by Borges, and I think I can read the book again and again...
Another book that I love to return to is the Stranger by Camus... a book to read over and over...
The third book would be a collection of short stories by Chekhov... I read them when young, and many of them still linger in my memory.
Bjorn -- indeed, a fascinating selection, and I can appreciate why these books appeal so greatly ... posing the often unanswerable questions and delving deeply into the human condition and psyche ...
ReplyDeleteHello, hello! This is the first time since May, I think, that I've been able to leave a comment without being blocked by some horrible gray square! Has this happened to anyone else?
ReplyDeleteInteresting question, as I'm sorting through books in preparation to move. I always have a copy of Dune and The Book of Changes, and collections of fairytales from around the world. And a library card. Always gotta have a library card! Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I've already been requesting them online!
ReplyDeleteOh, the book clutter hadn't been much of a problem, because I started reading through the myriad ebook sources available to me. But as I labored on and discovered the delights of the "physical" book, I ended up with a sizeable collection and I find it hard to manage my little library now. There are still some books in their plastic sheath. It's because I binge shop -- it's sporadic and I also have a tendency of collecting "pretty" books (those with beautiful cover designs, formatting, binding, et al.).
ReplyDeleteAs for those absolute books, they would be Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, Gulzar's Selected Poems (or Baudelaire for that matter and the 6 American Poets Anthology), and Jeanne Ray's Eat Cake. :-)
Mama Zen -- sorry, can't help you with your inquiries, bu that does sound very bothersome! and Hello - glad you made it through - maybe it was a cosmic planet retrograde thing, but then, maybe someone has a more tangible reason to offer.
ReplyDeleteVictoria --- interesting choices and very smart idea - a library card is an essential for many, I would think.
Jim -- no problems, the title and correct author come up properly if searching, but good catch to clarify!
HA Eeep! paper rules! paper rules! LOL - actually, just joshing; of course there is nothing like holding an actual printed bound book in one's hands, it's so much richer for the experience, but then, e-books do have their own pros and cons too. And I think, ultimately, it's about accessibility and access. Fascinating choices as well Anmol ~ definitely treasures that you must enjoy.
Oh Pat, so many to name! I will just choose three:
ReplyDeleteTo Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
All poetry by Ogden Nash
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
For me, the books I go back to over and over, are not the ones I'll say are the best books but rather by particular authors like Georgette Heyer and Tolkien. The characters in their books become like friends to be revisited. Most other authors I'll only read once even though I may love the book.
ReplyDeleteMary (Cactus Haiku)
Sara ---- oh, I so love Jitterbug Perfume! What an absolute hoot of a story - Tom Robbins has that magical touch; I'm always pleasantly surprised and thoroughly satisfied when reading his books. And yes, Harper Lee's classic. Indeed. Wonderful selections Sarah.
ReplyDeleteMary -- that definitely sounds about right; often it's not necessarily the "best" books, or the ones that somehow get determined to be such, that endear themselves in our hearts, spirits and minds - and why not? Why not treasure the ones that time and time again offer us the depth and wealth of what truly moves us. :)
Hello Everyone
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say thanks for sharing your book selections and ideas here - it's been wonderful to sneak a peek into the pages and see what inspires and keeps the spirit fires burning. So thank you. I've really enjoyed these conversations.
I remember reading Gone With the Wind when I was a teenager and I fell in love with it. I read from my mom's original movie version - it had photos form all the stars .... My mom and I loved the book and movie. So that has a special place in my heart.
ReplyDeleteWatership Down surprised me as who knew a story about a bunch of rabbits would be so entertaining. I read it outloud to my children when I homeschooled years back... So that also has a special place in my heart.
Neil Gamon is an author my son introduced me to. and I love the author Willa Cather. Charles Krauthammer's "Things that Matter" literally had (has as I'm not finished with it) me crying with emotion many times (a good cry).
Any book by Hal Borland - a nature writer - his books are mostly out of print and hard to find - I've spent a pretty penny on them.
Also novels by Sue Monk Kidd and Barbara Kingslover really draw me in.
A heaver and most educational book I read last year was "Dear Leader" My Escape from North Korea by Jang Jin - Sung. I actually read about 1/4 of it and was so intrigued I purchased it on Audible as I walked and exercised to it. Truly learned a lot and the man is alive and living in South Korea. I highly recommend it.
I am also fascinated by Eleanor Roosevelt - I am reading her "My Day" The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt's Acclaimed Newspaper Columns 1936-1962.
I have many books, many bookcases - but these I will never part with. (along with many more :)
Margaret -- Phew! What a list :D
ReplyDeleteIt's always fascinating to see what we actually house for books - the collections, of all kinds, really are something, especially when we whittle it down, or have the ones set aside, the ones that really, are for one reason or another, truly special to us. And it's even more wonderful when these interests and books are treasured by another person, a loved one, as you've mentioned, like with your mother. Thanks for sharing some of your eclectic and interesting tastes and favourites - it certainly sounds like you have something for all moods and seasons.