Author: nagneberg48

Book Report: The Need to Savor, Not Devour Books

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October 12, 2023

If you’ve read Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, you must also read the companion book, The Love Song of Miss Queen Hennessy, and then the story of Harold’s wife, Maureen. I had read and loved the Harold Fry book when it was first published in 2012, but until I read a post in Joanne’s Reading Blog, I didn’t know about the other two books. Each book is tender and human and highlights the ways we are each vulnerable in our loves and our losses. Just as these characters became my companions, thanks to Joyce’s good writing, I felt myself becoming a companion to these characters, too.

What they experience is not my story, not in any factual way, but aren’t we each on a pilgrimage and don’t we each need others to guide and support us on that pilgrimage?

But here’s something else that happened as I neared the end of Maureen. This book is short–only 132 pages and after an evening of reading in the snug, I only had 15 pages left to read. How easily I could have read those last pages in bed before turning off the light, but, instead, I decided to read them the next day. To not rush to the end. I was tired and knew I could not fully appreciate the end of the journey–just for the sake of finishing the book. I wanted to savor the experience.

I am a fast reader, but sometimes–often–that means I don’t get the full impact. I miss some important details. I don’t live fully with the characters, the story, or the setting. What would happen if I challenged myself to slow down?

Well, most likely I wouldn’t read as many books on my TBR. I might not be able to read my 100+ books a year. Last year I read 150 books, and I know, unconsciously at least, I want to beat my own record and at least read 151 books this year. Really? What does that matter?

Recently, writing an article, “How Do I Keep Track?” for BookWomen about keeping lists of what I want to read and what I have read (Thanks to all of you who contributed your methods and ideas about book journals and To Be Read lists.) made me re-evaluate this passion for reading as many books as I can. Soon after submitting the article, I read or heard somewhere (can’t recall where) that TBR lists can be treated as a menu, rather than a To Do list. Suggestions. Possibilities. Not something to be completed and conquered. Who eats everything on a menu! What a concept!

Two Other Reminders to Savor

  1. Recently, I re-read Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver (See my October 5, 2023 review.) and I wondered, as I immersed myself in this excellent book, how much I had missed when I read it the first time. I have this urge to re-read many favorite books, but perhaps that desire reflects a need to slow down and savor, as well.
  2. While fixing the first batch of applesauce this season, I watched a long interview with Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone and his latest book, The Covenant of Water. I loved the first book, but only liked, rather than loved the more recent book. (See my June 29, 2023 post.) I now want to re-read the new book, for I think I read it too fast. I want to savor it.

Inspiration

I like what novelist Yiyun Li says.

I once asked some students how fast they could read, and one of them said she could cover 100 pages in an hour, so I decided to use Housekeeping (Marilynne Robinson) to teach the students how to do slow reading…they read word by word, sentence by sentence, and they ponder over an unfamiliar word choice, a fleeting gesture, the shadow of an image, and the ripple of a sentence seen in the following sentence…It’s a testament to the art of reading with not only five senses but also with memory and imagination. And I hope it’s the most important thing I can teach my students: not merely the crafts of writing but the importance of paying attention, to the world in a book and to the world beyond a book.

“By the Book,” New York Times Book Review, September 10, 2023

Here’s my new challenge to myself: Read to savor, rather than to devour.

Stay tuned.

An Invitation

Do you have a reading challenge? I would love to know.

NOTES:

Joanne’s Reading Blog: https://joannesreadingblog.wordpress.com

BookWomen: http://bookwomen.net

Abraham Verghese Interview: Talking Volumes Abraham Verghese on http://Youtube.com

I also recommend watching Talking Volumes Ann Patchett on http://Youtube.com

Reflections on a Road Trip: Nashville, Cincinnati, and Cleveland

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October 10, 2023

The Ohio River.

Our granddaughter is spending first semester of her junior year of college in Greece. Many people have asked us if we are planning to visit her, and I have responded by saying, “This is Maren’s adventure, and we will be her most interested, enthusiastic, and avid listeners when she returns home.” Some people seem puzzled by my answer, but others nod in understanding. One person said to me, “How wise. This is her time.” Now I should add that her parents and brother will be visiting her, but that is a different dynamic, and we are thrilled they have that opportunity.

Our days of international travel are done. We had some amazing trips to Bucket List places, but our sights have turned more inward–as in within the borders of this country. More manageable, but no less interesting or valuable, I think. This recent road trip is an example.

In the fall we enjoy driving to Cleveland to visit our beloved son and daughter-in-love. This year we decided to meander a bit before landing in Cleveland. On my Bookstore Bucket List was Ann Patchett’s bookstore, Parnassus Books in Nashville. (See my Thursday, October 5 post.) Also, a friend had recently visited and recommended the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati. The itinerary became clear.

This is What I Didn’t Do

  • Take enough pictures.
  • Clean/cook/do laundry.
  • Check email. Well, that isn’t exactly true, but rather I didn’t respond to email or read what wasn’t absolutely necessary.
  • Meditate, except to gaze out the car windows.
  • Write in my journal or do any writing at all. I didn’t do any planning of future classes either.
  • Watch any tv, YouTube videos, or even listen to much on the radio.
  • Sleep very well, but I slept well enough. Why is it I wonder why so many hotels have such high beds, which are not easy for those of us who are old and short?
  • Buy any souvenirs.
  • Worry about the week after vacation.

This is What I Did Do

  • Relaxed
  • Enjoyed the drive, except for the traffic in Nashville.
  • Read during our quiet evenings.
  • Appreciated good food fixed by other people: True Food in Nashville; Eagle Food and Beer, Skyline Chili and Graetner’s Ice Cream in Cincinnati; and Mama Catana’s and Brew Dog in Cleveland.
  • Did my part to support independent bookstores.
  • Loved our spacious and leisurely time with our son and daughter-in-love. Catching up and moving forward in one another’s lives. The best.
  • Wandered in and out of interesting shops, including City Farmhouse in Franklin, TN and Patina Home and Garden in Leipers Fork, TN. In both cases I have home decor books written by the owners and enjoyed meeting them in person. I am always inspired by well-curated shops, but realize more and more how my needs and desires have become more spare.
How fun to see “my” vintage turkey plates for sale and so beautifully displayed.
  • Reminisced about our years in Cleveland. Returning there is always bittersweet–we loved our years at Sweetwater Farm, but the decision to return “home” was a good one. However, we miss our Cleveland kids.
  • Wondered why more hotels can’t have personality like Graduate in Cincinnati.
  • Entertained new thoughts and just let them flow. Who knows where they will take me.
  • Appreciated the variety of colors and textures at the Cincinnati Conservatory.
  • Made a new friend.

Here’s What Expanded Me, Moved Me, Opened Me: The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati

The mission of this museum, which opened in 2004, is “to pursue inclusive freedom by promoting social justice for all, building on the principles of the Underground Railroad.” We spent over three hours in the museum and could have stayed even longer, but our hearts and minds overflowed and ached with all we learned about the history of enslavement and the resulting urge for freedom.

Perhaps I was most moved by the Slave Pen, built in the 1800s by Kentucky slave trader, Capt. John W. Anderson to temporarily warehouse enslaved people, as many as 300 at a time in a space no larger than our garage, until they were sold further south. The structure, which was discovered in Mason, KY, less than 60 miles from the museum, was moved piece by piece and rebuilt inside the museum. A sacred place.

At one point we sat and waited for one of the recommended films to begin and I overheard a conversation among two groups of visitors. It turns out they were all from Wisconsin. We could easily have joined in the conversation, but no, they weren’t talking about this experience. Rather, they were talking about the Green Bay Packers. Really? I thought later, as I stood on the terrace where there is a flame, which will stay lit until there is justice for all, how important it is to learn about our history, for only then can we create a new history for those who come after us.

Gazing at the Ohio River, once the border between a free state and the slave state of Kentucky, I thought about all the ways there are still barriers between those who are free and those who are not.

Home, Again

Of course, it is always good to get home–otherwise, it wouldn’t be home, but the value of travel, whether near or far, is not what you’ve seen or done, not what items on the bucket list you’ve checked off. Rather, how have you changed? How have you grown? And what does that mean in the way you live your life? I sort through that as I continue to reflect.

An Invitation

What role has travel played in your life? I would love to know.

Book Report: September Summary and Visit to Ann Patchett’s Bookstore

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October 5, 2023

Part One: September Summary

From the looks of my book calendar, I could be accused of not doing much else other than reading during September. I assure you that is not the case, but I don’t deny this was a good reading month.

We traveled the last week of September. Traveling sometimes means there is not as much time devoted to reading, but on the other hand, we watched no television during our hotel evenings. After early dinners, we retired to our room and read. Plus four of the books I read that last week were either quite short or fast reads. Three of them were books I purchased at Parnassus Books. (See Part Two.)

Here’s what I read while on our road trip:

  • Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. This is the first book in the Shetland series. Perhaps you have watched the BBC series, Shetland. Cleeves also wrote the Vera series. Although I enjoyed this book, I probably won’t continue reading the series, but rather continue reading the Lane Winslow series by Iona Whishaw, which I mentioned in the September 21st post. (I read the first two titles in this series this month: A Killer in King’s Cove and Death in a Darkening Mist.)However, I do love books set in the Shetland Islands, and Cleeves knows how to tell a tale.
  • What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated from the Japanese by Alison Watts. This book got me at the title. A sweet, gentle book in which each chapter features one character who is dissatisfied with his or her life–a man who has recently retired, a new mother whose job has been downsized, a young man who loves to draw but has never found the right job match, and others. They each are directed to the library in the neighborhood community center where the reference librarian instinctively seems to know what books –books that on the surface make no sense–will change their lives and give them confidence or a new perspective. No violence. No sex. No objectionable words. Instead, an uplifting and encouraging book.
  • Barbara Isn’t Dying by Alina Brodsky, translated from the German by Tim Mohr. I chuckled as I read the first few pages, but although the sarcastic and ironic tone continues, it becomes more serious. Barbara, who clearly has run her home efficiently and without assistance from husband Walter says she is tired and retires to her bed, leaving a puzzled Walter in charge. He has no idea how to make coffee, let alone anything else, and grocery shopping is a whole new world, but he does his best and develops new skills. In the meantime their children take Barbara to their doctor, and the news, which is never shared and which Walter ignores, is not good. An exercise in classic denial. The book is well-written, insightful, and often tender.
  • Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri. This book got lots of attention when it was released in 2021 because Indian-American writer Lahiri wrote it in Italian, not her native language, and then she translated it into English. The book is a series of vignettes told in first person by a woman, an academic, who lives in Italy. However, no names or people or places are ever given. We know few facts about the the narrator, but we learn much about her inner life, and we receive the gift of her observations. Lovely writing in short chapters.
  • Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. I finished reading–actually, re-reading–this book at the beginning of the vacation. It was neither short (461 pages) nor was it a fast read, but never mind, for Kingsolver’s books are a reminder of what it means to read such good writing, and her books are always engrossing and interesting and out-of the ordinary. Reading a Kingsolver book means immersing oneself in the best. There are two story lines in this book, but both are set in the same place–a crumbling, tumbledown mansion in New Jersey, and the stories relate and overlap. One story line is set in contemporary times: Willa is a writer/editor whose magazine position has ended and her husband Iano is a college professor who keeps moving in search of tenure. Money problems and family dysfunction dominate. The other story focuses on Thatcher Greenwood, a science teacher, and his family who live in the same house, although much earlier. Mary Beech, a botanist, who corresponds with Darwin, lives next door. She is based on a real historical figure, by the way. So much more could be said, but better to read Kingsolver’s book than my review. After reading and loving Demon Copperhead, I feel compelled to re-read her earlier books.

Before leaving on our road trip I read two nonfiction books. In the September 21 post I wrote about re-reading Things Seen and Unseen, A Year Lived in Faith by Nora Gallagher, and I decided to re-read the sequel Practicing Resurrection, A Memoir of Work, Doubt, Discernment, and Moments of Grace. In this book she writes about her discernment process about becoming an Episcopalian priest. She examines writing as a call, as well, and there are lovely passages about sandhill cranes, spiritual direction, and marriage. A favorite line: “Perhaps God doesn’t know all the parts either, but cranes her neck toward us listening.” p. 163. Both of these books are leading me to re-read some favorites from my own extensive library of books about spirituality and theology.

What else haven’t I mentioned?

  • The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin. See the September 14 post.
  • Three more books in the Simon Serailler mystery series by Susan Hill: The Comforts of Home (#9), The Benefits of Hindsight (#10), and A Change of Circumstance (#11). The next one in the series, #12, will be released this month.
  • Flatlands by Sue Hubbard. This book was one of my “wild cards” from a trip to a mystery bookstore in Madison, WI, but it isn’t a mystery. Rather it is a tale of unlikely friendship between a young girl who is an evacuee from London and an artist and conscientious objector during WWII. The landscape of the wild wetlands of the English fens is almost another character.
  • Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley. Another excellent “wild card” book. Two married couples are the main characters and when one of the husbands dies, the dynamics change. I appreciated the careful “not too much” writing–deep and yet not navel gazing.

Part Two: Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN, owned by Ann Patchett

Most people go to Nashville for the music, but not me. Parnassus Books, owned by brilliant bestselling author, Ann Patchett was on my Bookstore Bucket List, and it didn’t disappoint.

Fortified by a delicious lunch at True Food and armed with a list of titles on my TBR list, I took a deep breath and opened the door. My husband who also loves to read, but is more casual, I would say, about what he reads, assured me I could take all the time I wanted.

My strategy was to first check the shelves for all the books on my list and then to take another deep breath and open myself to other possibilities–books I call my Wild Cards. Bruce periodically checked in with me, asking if he had read this book or that or if we owned it. I often replied that I had read the book in question, but couldn’t remember if we still owned it or if we had passed it on to a Little Free Library. That’s one reason I keep a list of what I want to read– remembering all the titles in my reading life is impossible!

One of the pleasures of browsing in a bookstore is encountering so many good books from my reading past. A kind of life review. As I moved slowly along the fiction shelves, I kept saying to myself, “Oh, I loved that book” or “What a good book that is” or “I want to re-read that book.

In my mind a good bookstore is one that doesn’t only have the latest and greatest or maybe latest, but not so greatest, but also is intentional about stocking good books from the past, earlier books written by a current author. Parnassus passed that test.

Another mark of a good bookstore is knowledgeable and engaged staff. Another star for Parnassus Books. As I browsed I could hear conversations between staff and customers. Not only did the staff KNOW books, but when a customer asked about a book unfamiliar to them, they were eager to know more. When it came time for me to purchase my pile, the bookseller clearly was selling books and not socks or computer paper or laundry detergent. She looked at each book, sometimes commenting on a title, and as I handed her my credit card, she said, “You’ve got a great pile here.” She seemed totally sincere.

I always feel a sense of camaraderie in a good bookstore–chatting with other customers seems possible, and, in fact, often happens. In this case, two young women were wondering about reading Emily St James Mandel’s book, Sea of Tranquility, which I read this summer. I interjected myself into the conversation, asking if they had read Station Eleven. They didn’t seem bothered by this old lady reader eavesdropping, and I noticed they bought the most recent Mandel book. Somehow I don’t think I would have asserted myself in that way if I had been in Barnes and Noble.

The only way Parnassus Books failed me is that they were out of their bookmarks. Darn! Oh, and I have a wish list for bookstores in general: better religion and spirituality sections. More and more I have to order a title I am interested in sight unseen. Lately, I have been looking for You Are Here: Keywords for Life’s Explorers by David Stenidl-Rast and The Eloquence of Silence by Thomas Moore, but no such luck yet.

Acquired Books

From My TBR List: (All Fiction);

  • The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
  • Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
  • Barbara Isn’t Dying by Alina Bronsky
  • What You Are Looking for Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Maureen by Rachel Joyce

Wild Card Selections:

  • The English Teacher by Lily King
  • The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
  • Andy Catlett by Wendell Berry
  • Fox and I, An Uncommon Friendship by Catherine Raven (memoir)

Oh, and I bought two Ann Patchett books bags. How could I resist! What a good day!

An Invitation

What defines in your mind a good bookstore? I would love to know.

Book Report: Things Seen and Unseen by Nora Gallagher and a Mystery Series by Iona Whishaw

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September 21, 2023

One book leads to another. A truism.

Nora Gallagher

In this case, a friend mentioned to me that she found a novel, Changing Light, written by Nora Gallagher in a Little Free Library. She loved it and decided to re-read a memoir by Gallagher called Moonlight Sonata at the Mayo Clinic. She recalls reading it when it was first published in 2013, but didn’t care for it much. The second time, however, she liked it more and is now thinking about reading other books by Gallagher.

I have two Nora Gallagher books in my library: Things Seen and Unseen, A Year Lived in Faith (1998) and Practicing Resurrection, A Memoir of Work, Doubt, Discernment, and Moments of Grace (2003). I remember enjoying them both. I also read Moonlight Sonata, but didn’t care for it as much. I wonder if I would appreciate it more now.

Yup, one book leads to another.

I decided to re-read Things Seen and Unseen, and I am so glad I did. The theme of each chapter is one of the liturgical seasons of the church year–Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and moving onward to the last season, Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time follows Pentecost and is the last season before Advent. I am Lutheran, and we don’t call this season “ordinary time,” but instead count the Sundays after Pentecost. Last Sunday, for example, was the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. Who knows why this decision was made, but I love how the name points me to the idea of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Gallagher says, “The road to the sacred is paved with the ordinary.” Another truism.

Gallagher writes evocatively about her involvement in an Episcopalian parish in Santa Barbara, specifically as a volunteer in the soup kitchen run by the church, but also her own spiritual seeking and struggles of faith in the midst of community. It is not an easy year for her. Her brother faces a terminal illness, other friends die of AIDS and cancer, and the vestry must make a decision about whether to call a gay priest as their rector in a time when the larger church struggled with issues of sexuality. Let’s be honest, the church still struggles with sexuality, but reading this book makes me more aware that there has been progress. In this way at times Things Seen and Unseen feels like a historical document.

I was taken by something she wrote about her husband and his views of the church.

When he attacks some part of the Church, he’s often attacking something that doesn’t exist anymore. Part of the reason is that changes in religion are meaningless to him; part is that the Church and the media are equally bad at publicizing religion or religious concerns; and part is that he remains rooted in the past…

p. 54

I underlined much more in this current reading than I did initially, and I especially appreciated the chapter on Pentecost in which she writes about creating a labyrinth. She quotes Lauren Artress, who is known as a proponent of the labyrinth as a spiritual practice.

It’s a container. You can literally walk into it and because it has boundaries and because it has a beginning and an end, you can walk into a whole other world that’s set aside as a spiritual place.

p. 160

This chapter also includes a letter from one of my spiritual heroes, John S. Spong. In this letter he affirms the right to ordain gay people.

How glad I am to have re-read this book and now I think I will re-read Practicing Resurrection. One book leads to another, you know.

Mystery Series by Iona Whishaw

I don’t know where I first heard about this series, which is set in British Columbia soon after WWII, but here is a case where the cover as much as the description of the series grabbed me. The main character is Lane Winslow who was with the British Secret Service during the war. She moves to Canada, looking for some peace and quiet. Plus, she hopes to spend her time writing. Well, no surprise, murders happen practically in her backyard, and she is drawn in to solving them. Oh, and there is a handsome police detective, Inspector Darling.

Critics have compared this series to the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear and the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd. I am a fan of both of those series. One review says the Lane Winslow series is “In the vein of Louise Penny…a compelling series that combines a cozy setting, spy intrigue storylines, and police procedural elements–not an easy task, but one that Whishaw pulls off.”

I have now read the first two books: A Killer in King’s Cove (2015) and Death in a Darkening Mist (2017), and I am sure I will read the other nine at some point. Yes, one book leads to another.

An Invitation

Can you think of any “one book leads to another” experiences you have had in your reading life? I would love to know.

Note #1

An essay I wrote, “My View From Here,” has just been published in a lovely online publication, Sage-ing, The Journal of Creative Aging. You can read my essay –and, in fact, the the entire publication at this link.

http://www.sageing.ca Let me know what you think.

NOTE #2

I will take a bit of a break from posting: Tuesday, September 26 through Tuesday, October 3. I will return with a post on Thursday, October 5.

A Sabbath Afternoon at My Desk

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September 19, 2023

Isn’t “sabbath” and “an afternoon at my desk” a contradiction of terms? Am I justifying work done on Sunday by calling it Sabbath time?

Good questions.

God questions.

Questions to explore and ponder.

Sabbath Morning

Sunday morning means church for us. We attend the 8:15 service, and I set the alarm for 6:30. Sunday is the only morning of the week I do that, but I don’t want to rush. I want to enter the sanctuary awake and open.

I want my whole being ready to pay attention, to honor the day and those who have chosen to also be present. My sense of belonging accompanies my desire to welcome.

I bring my concerns and my hopes, my love, my blessings, but also my need to shed my many judgments. Along with my plea for forgiveness for what I have done and what I have left undone, I remind myself of the ways I am called to forgive.

I come knowing I need to empty and make room, but also to fill more fully with a deeper understanding of the person I am created to be.

That is a tall order, but not impossible.

Sabbath time is full of possibilities.

This Sunday was no exception. How good it was to greet and be greeted. How good it was to see a stream of children march up the aisle for the children’s time. How good it was to hear a lovely girl read the lessons. Clearly she had practiced, but at the same time it felt like she was encountering the words for the first time, giving us a gift of freshness and insight.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 14: 7-8

How good it was to hear Pastor Lois’s excellent sermon based on Peter’s question about how many times should we forgive. “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times,” said Jesus.

Stop counting, Nancy, I think to myself.

How good it was to receive the bread and the wine. To share the peace. To sing. To pray. To be together. Sabbath time.

After the service, I hosted the first adult forum of the year. The topic was “Building Community: Holding Each Other Sacredly,” based on a Lakota word, “kiciuzapi.” Because it was the first forum of the new program year, I wanted to set the stage for this part of Sabbath time. A time when we practice community. A time when we become more present to one another and to God’s presence.

What followed was a chance to share stories with one another, for as Wendell Berry said, “Community exists when people know each other’s stories.” Storyteller Gretchen Sage-Martinson gently guided us into the process of telling one another stories.

Laughter.

Tears.

Deep listening.

Warmth and openness.

Sincere questions.

Presence.

Sabbath time.

Sabbath Afternoon

While eating lunch on the patio, I read the NYT Book Review. The day was cool, but not too cool, and I wondered how many days I could sit there without adding an extra later –a sweater or a shawl. I thought about how to spend the rest of the day. I am reading a good mystery (more on that in my Thursday Book Report post) and spending the afternoon in its company would be delightful and restful. Or I could make some zucchini bread using a chunk of the ginormous zucchini a neighbor gave us. I certainly could get a jump on the coming week’s work, but the Sabbath feeling lingered.

What did this day offer? What beckoned me? What whispered Sabbath blessings?

Without a clear answer I walked up the stairs to the garret and sat at my desk. I had a vague notion of cleaning my email’s inbox. Yes, that would be a good thing, but a Sabbath thing?

Without thinking too much about it, I decided to move my laptop from my workspace to my desk in the snug. Just for the afternoon, a Sabbath afternoon of responding to friends’ emails in a chatty, rested, spacious, and loving way. I relaxed into reading blogs I subscribe to, online publications that interest me, and other articles and essays others had sent me because they knew I would appreciate them. I had told myself I would read them when I had the time. Ah, Sabbath time.

And as I wrote, sometimes selecting a card and handwriting a note of love and concern to someone on the prayer list, I paused now and then to watch the sidewalk traffic. The Catholic church up the street held its annual county fair all weekend and families walked by on their way to rides and games and food. The fall day was perfect for the fun. Sabbath fun.

I noted how the trees are entering the new season, a reminder to me of my own movement into this season of my life. Sabbath season.

I moved steadily, mindfully through the overflowing inbox. Now and then I made a note to myself–an idea for a future writing prompt or a resource for my own writing. None of this felt like work. Instead I was in a Sabbath rhythm.

I like what Dan B. Allender says in his book, Sabbath, “Sabbath provides a weekly marker for the contours of life. It is the moment to receive all time and to allow the past and future to congeal, to thicken into ripe, holy fermentation.” pp. 56-57.

That’s just how the day’s unfolding felt.

Sabbath Evening

We met our daughter and grandson for casual supper at our favorite neighborhood bar. Unfortunately, our son-in-love was not feeling well, so didn’t join us. The four of us, however, had a good catch-up. I left feeling like I had experienced a Sabbath Bonus.

Once home I reunited with the mystery I mentioned and read contentedly until bedtime.

A good Sabbath day. A very good Sabbath, indeed.

An Invitation

What does Sabbath mean to you? I would love to know.

Note #1

An essay I wrote, “My View From Here,” has just been published in a lovely online publication, Sage-ing, The Journal of Creative Aging. You can read my essay –and, in fact, the the entire publication at this link.

http://www.sageing.ca Let me know what you think.

NOTE #2

I will take a bit of a break from posting: Tuesday, September 26 through Tuesday, October 3. I will return with a post on Thursday, October 5.

Book Report: The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

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September 14, 2023

Some books simply feel like good companions, and The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin is one of those books.

I’m not aware that “Good Companions” is an actual genre, but perhaps it should be. A good companion book, according to me is one that

  • Is easily put down and picked up.
  • Has likable, but not perfect characters.
  • Can be read on public transportation or a long plane trip.
  • Fills a lazy weekend or unplanned time.
  • Balances plot with character development, but is not overly descriptive.
  • Ends the way you thought it probably would, but still elicits an emotional connection.
  • Offers meaning or a slightly new perspective without being heavy-handed.

I think of good companion books as a kind of “palate cleanser.” A book to read after or before embarking on a bigger, more involved, maybe more serious book. Good companion books are not controversial and don’t include topics with the “ugh” factor, but instead are charming, endearing.

Now you may call that a “beach book” or a “summer read,” but I don’t think of a books having an appropriate season. Good companion books fit anytime of the year. And when you read the last page, you can honestly, say, “I’m so glad I read that.”

The setting of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot is the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital where seventeen-year-old Lenni lives on the Terminal Ward. Margot is eighty-three and has serious heart problems. When they meet in an arts and crafts class, they realize that between the two of them they have lived one hundred years and they decide to create one hundred paintings about their lives. They share their stories and along the way touch the lives of others, including the hospital chaplain, Father Arthur and New Nurse, who is never named, and even Paul the Porter. We learn of their pasts and we see them both grow into forgiveness and acceptance.

On the first couple pages Lenni describes herself as terminal and she compares that to airport terminals. She also thinks God is like ” a cosmic wishing well.” (p. 5)

I love this insight into the Lord’s Prayer:

There are some words in the Lord’s Prayer that I don’t know. But I do know the word art. It’s a necessary infusion, I think. We should all be artists. Especially if God is doing art in heaven; we should follow his example.

p. 248

This quote may sound as if the book is religious in nature. It’s not, but more spiritual perhaps. With a light touch. Who among us couldn’t benefit from a book that leans into forgiveness and acceptance.

Other Good Companion Books

  • Astrid and Veronica by Linda Olson
  • No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
  • Love and Saffron, A Novel of Friendship and Love by Kim Fay
  • Zorrie by Laird Hunt
  • Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce
  • A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery
  • The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
  • The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret
  • Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson
  • Lessons from Yellowstone by Diane Smith
  • Three Things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon
  • My Mrs Brown by William Norwich
  • The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbie Waxman
  • Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Lidipomanyika
  • One Night Two Souls Went Walking by Ellen Cooney
  • Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley
  • A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson

An Invitation

Have you read any good companion books lately? I would love to know.

Learning to Pace Myself

/ nagneberg48 / 16 Comments

September 12, 2023

By 9:00 am Monday morning I felt as if I had put in a full day. I had completed the transition from summer to fall decor, changing the quilt and the drapes in our bedroom, along with adding a pumpkin here, a pumpkin there. I vacuumed the bedroom, cleaned the first floor bathroom, and re-organized the tumble of pillows, rugs and table runners in the narrow pillow closet (Yes, I have a pillow closet.)

I started the fall decorating Saturday afternoon after Bruce lugged up the bins full of pumpkins and other fall accessories from the storage area in the lower level. The last few years I have slimmed my collection of fall stuff, but I don’t think anyone would notice!

Beginning in the kitchen, I emptied many of the green Depression glass storage containers and replaced them with vintage copper canisters, bowls, and covered pots for a warmer glow.

I made good progress, but by late afternoon I was worn out and needed to stop. How grateful I was supper was easy–a yummy leftover soup–another sign of fall. (Artichoke, spinach, chicken and brie soup) Following Sunday morning church and potluck lunch, I continued the process, hoping to pronounce a satisfied “Done.” before it was time to fix dinner.

That didn’t quite happen.

What used to take me a day and involved more changes now apparently takes me three. Well, not quite three full days–but effort spread over three days.

In my younger years I could and did press on, cleaning as I re-decorated, until I accomplished the desired look for the new season.

Now I need to pace myself. I need to take breaks–sit down and read the paper or a couple chapters in the current book. I need to plot my movements more and think more strategically about how many times to go up and down the steps. I need to stop earlier.

Instead of encouraging myself to do one more thing, I have to reassure myself that it is ok to go to bed with bins still stacked in the dining room and pillows piled on the garret floor. Tomorrow is another day.

My pace as a 75 year old is different from my pace as a 65 year old–even a 70 year old.

A History of Completion

I have a strong family history of working until IT is done–whatever IT is.

My family moved many times when I was a growing up, and the mode of operation was to unpack every box, hang every picture, fill every bookshelf, and stock every cupboard until it was done. DONE. My parents created home for our family quickly and efficiently, and then life in our new community began.

I adopted that habit, that way of being, and by and large it has served me well, except when it doesn’t.

At times that need to check something off the list, no matter how complicated or time-consuming, sets up an unrealistic expectation. That expectation does not take into account the reality of who I am now.

When I meet with spiritual direction clients, I sometimes ask them to consider “What is possible now?” That question requires pausing and taking a breath. Or in my case these last few days, a break.

Pausing and Pacing

Perhaps the day will come when I no longer choose to create seasonal looks in the house. Perhaps the day will come when the pillow closet is empty and I only have a few favorite items to mark a holiday. Perhaps the day will come when hometending is no longer a spiritual practice for me, a way to honor the ordinary, to experience the movement of God as the seasons of the year follow their usual cycle.

Right now, however, I still love this process, but I just need to pace myself.

An Invitation

Have you noticed any changes in yourself that require a different pace? I would love to know.

No Post Today

/ nagneberg48 / 7 Comments

August 7, 2023

I apologize for the problems reading my post on Tuesday. I still have no idea what the problem was, but if you were one of my subscribers who was asked to subscribe again and then still couldn’t access the post, well, I have NO IDEA what was going on. I am so sorry.

And I don’t know if the problem persists, so I am taking a brief time-out to try and figure out and solve the problem.

When technology works it is such a good thing and when it doesn’t, well…you’ve each experienced tech issues at one time or another.

I don’t know if any of you subscribers will even be able to read this today.

So….all for now. Stay tuned. And thanks for reading my posts and for your many kind words.

Book Report: August Round-Up

/ nagneberg48 / 9 Comments

August 31, 2023

Susan Hill’s Simon Serrailler Series

Susan Hill and I have been best buddies this August. Or should I say the characters in her Simon Serrailer mystery series? I read #4 through #8 this month, and 9, 10, and 11 are waiting for me on my TBR shelf. The next book in the series, #12, will be released in October, and I suspect I won’t be able to wait till it comes out in paperback a year later to read it.

What I find so intriguing about these Susan Hill books is that often the crime to be solved by police detective Simon Serrailer is not the most important plot thread in the book. The more important story may involve Simon’s sister Cat, a physician whose professional love is hospice work, and her family or may involve her stepmother and father or other characters we come to know throughout the series. The truth is that Simon can be quite infuriating, but each book reveals more about him, why he is the way he is. Hill is an excellent writer, and since a new Louise Penny does not appear to be imminent, I am thrilled I have more Hill books to read.

That reminds me I remember reading years ago a nonfiction book by Hill, Howard’s End is on the Landing, A Year of Reading from Home, which is about reading what she already owns, instead of making new purchases. She reads books she has never read but owned for years, as well as re-reads favorites. I remember being intrigued, but not enough to try it myself. Could I ever accept that challenge?

August Top Favorites

  • Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. I reviewed this book in my August 24th post. I loved this book. Sometimes I am surprised when not everyone loves a book I loved, but oh well. To each his own, right? I felt the same way when I declared undying love for Dutch House and others didn’t like it at all. I have not loved equally each of her books, but I am in awe of her writing skills and her ability to tell a story and create memorable characters. That is no small thing, and I will read anything she writes.
  • The Bookbinder by Pip Williams. Some of the characters in this book, which is set in the Oxford University Press in the early 1900s, were also in The Dictionary of Lost Words, a favorite book read in July. In this book Peggy and her twin sister work in the press’s bindery. Their mother had also worked there. Peggy yearns to go to university, but she’s “town, not gown,” and is responsible for the care of her mentally challenged sister. WWI refugees from Belgium figure in the story, too; a story that has lots of layers–class, war, women’s issues, plus insight into the physical making of books. A good read, indeed.
  • The Glass Hotel by Emily St James Mandel. No, this is not just about a Ponzi scheme or about an older man and his much younger “wife,” Vincent, who is named after Edna St Vincent Millay. Each character in this book, which reads easily and compellingly, is complex. These are people who are capable of being more than one persona. Are any of them likable? Not really, and yet I read on. Vincent says she lives in the “kingdom of money”–until she doesn’t. Another character comments towards the end, “We move through the world so lightly,” and yet the actions of Jonathan, the mastermind of the scheme and his minions certainly do not have light effects on others. Another line –“it’s possible to both know and not know something”–illustrates the power of denial and of not wanting to know. I have read both Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility and was amazed by both of them–the depth and the quality of writing and the ability to engage–but in each case, as with The Glass Hotel, I have resisted reading them. Now why is that? I have not read Mandel’s earlier novels, Last Night in Montreal, The Singer’s Gun or The Lola Quartet, and I think I probably should. The Glass Hotel, by the way, was one of Barak Obama’s favorite books of 2020.

Honorable Mentions

  • The Lost Journals of Sacajawea by Debra Magpie Earling. This was not an easy book to read because of the content, the language, and the culture of which I lack knowledge. Sacajawea is taken into slavery as a child by a white man. Eventually she has a baby, learns English, and while much is made of that in summaries of the book, it really doesn’t play much of a part in the book nor does the connection to Lewis and Clark. Rather, what is significant is the ongoing rape of Native women. The language is poetic and enthralling, but there is much I don’t understand. Is “Weta” God? Is “agai” the sun? I would have loved a glossary, but perhaps the reason for not providing one is to make me aware of what it is like to be forced into another culture.
  • Love and Saffron, A Novel of Friendship and Love by Kim Fay. I have always enjoyed epistolary books. The most notable is 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff but The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is another favorite. Love and Saffron consists mainly of letters between Joan and her older friend Immy. Immy writes a column called “Letters from an Island,” and they begin corresponding because of their mutual love of food. Over time they develop a deep and meaningful friendship.
  • West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. In 1938 two giraffes are driven across the United States to the San Diego Zoo, which at that time was headed by Belle Benchley, a historical figure–the first woman in that role. This was not an easy trip for many reasons, given the times, the end of the Depression, the overlap of the Dust Bowl, the limited views of women, and the undeveloped highway system. The main character, outside of the giraffes themselves, is Woody Nickel who is fleeing his own demons. A good story, but it could have been even better, I thought, with some additional editing.

I have made a dent on my TBR shelf, but danger lurks, for I recently learned about another new book store in our area, and it is important to support local independent bookstores. Plus, at the end of September we are going on a road trip that will take us to Nashville specifically to visit Ann Patchett’s bookstore. Stay tuned.

An Invitation

Anything stand out from your end of summer reading? I would love to know.