I'd rather read!

By Andrea Josephs

But I look more like this:

From Finland, found here.

And I found both of these charming pictures on Pinterest! You can find my Pinterest page here.

Too busy reading to blog!

I have been obsessed with reading the Matthew Shardlake mysteries by C. J. Sansom lately to blog. These take place in the time of Henry VIII and I love learning about that time in England with the controversial takeover of Catholic lands, the Papists, and the seeming Lutheran-type preachers and followers. It is so interesting! And I have almost finished the last and fifth volume!

Go here to find a list of these books.

Salt Lake City Library

Salt Lake City Library to the right; City County Building in the center.

This past Sunday MJ and I visited the Salt Lake Library, a six-story building surrounded by gardens with some statues.  I particularly liked the children reading on the lawn. Go here to read more about this amazing library. Part of its description: "Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie, embodies the idea that a library is more than a repository of books and computers; it reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The building, which opened in February 2003, is double the previous space with 240,000 square feet for more than 500,000 books and other materials, and room for the collection to grow. The six-story curving, walkable wall embraces the public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium. A multi-level reading area along the glass lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. A roof-top garden, accessible by walking the crescent wall or the elevators, offers a 360 degree view of the Salt Lake Valley. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the library and the crescent wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views."

Interior of Salt Lake City Library

The books are on the left. To the right on the bottom floor are shops and above right on each floor are meeting or reading rooms.

 

MJ and I walked up all the flights of stairs to the rooftop where we could walk around seeing beautiful views of Salt Lake City. You can see the elevators on the left for those who do not want to walk.

Old card catalog holding greeting cards in the Library Shop

And you who know me, know that I bought cards in this shop. There were wonderful ones related to reading! I will visit here whenever I get to travel to Salt Lake City again.

Read!

Books Without Batteries

I love books! And right now I am enjoying the newest novel of one of my favorite mystery writers (Jacqueline Winspear). It is a new hardback book so that I can loan it to friends and to my youngest daughter! It looks really good: Elegy for Eddie.

So I am going back to reading the newest Maisie Dobbs mystery!

Jesus' Message

My friend Paige (whose husband did my shoulder surgery) gave me a book for Christmas that I will soon be reading: The Emergent Christ: Exploring the Meaning of Catholic in an Evolutionary Universe by Ilia Delio (only $9.99 in the Kindle edition). When I had first expressed interest in this book, I had not noticed its subtitle relating to Catholicism.

Thus, when I glanced through it, I was struck by a heading--"Was Jesus Catholic?" Since Jesus was not even a "Christian," I was interested in this section. And here is a short part that hit me (where I agreed!):

". . .If we are to draw a connection between the word catholic and the mission of Jesus, we would have to rely on its root meaning, 'according to the whole,' for what Jesus preached was not a church defending itself in the face of opposition but the in-breaking reign of God. Based on what we know from the Gospels we can make several inferences: Jesus was not a 'catholic" but a Jew, and the reign of God preached by Jesus was not a universal concept to be mandated but a change in lifestyle and direction. The central message of Jesus, the reign of God is a subtle and powerful reality far more dynamic than any kind of realm we can conceive. Mark Hathaway and Leonardo Boff write that the actual word Jesus used in Aramaic to speak of God's reign--malkuta--is 'much more similar to the concept of the Tao or to the Buddhist Dharma than to any kind of kingdom we might imagine.' 'The word's roots,' they write, 'elicit the image of a fruitful arm poised to create, or a coiled spring that is ready to unwind with all the verdant potential of the earth.' Malkuta connotes an 'empowering vision based on the divine presence in the cosmos, liberating and empowering a process toward communion, differentiation and interiority.' What broke through in the person of Jesus was a new consciousness and relatedness to God that ushered in the world a new way of being God-centered, earth-centered, and in communion with one another." (62)

(The book quoted in what I quoted is The Tao of Liberation: Exploring the Ecology of Transformation by Mark Hathaway and Leonardo Boffo.)

There are too many books I want/need to read!!

So hard NOT to read!

READ! (Dewey Read-A-Thon Day)

Although Bonnie got me interested in Dewey's Read-A-Thon, I did not officially sign up until Bonnie urged me to, just today. But here are today's numbers, according to Bonnie:

For the October 2011 Read-a-Thon:
442 readers and 69 cheerleaders have signed up!

If you click on the above link for readers, you can see what is being read, which will give us all some good ideas.

I know I will read some today, as I read every day. Currently I am reading:

I love mysteries, but am not reading any right now.

The Death of the Mythic God: The Rise of Evolutionary Spirituality by Jim Marion

The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Birth by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg

The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia by Orlando Figes

However, with my trip to Russia coming up in only 9 days, this seems especially true:

Still, read on your own!!

Dewey's Read-A-Thon!

Have you ever heard of Dewey's Read-A-Thon? I never had until I saw its announcement at Bonnie's Books. The first Read-A-Thon was started by Dewey in 2007; sadly she has since died. Others are continuing the tradition in both April and October!

Questions about the Read-A-Thon are answered here, with a few copied below:

Do I have to stay up the whole 24 hours?

No, although it’s more fun if if you do. Cheerleaders only need to commit to at least one hour, and Readers can either choose to stay up the entire time or take breaks as they need to. There are some prizes that you’ll only be eligible for if you participate all 24 hours.

Do e-books count?

Well, sure! Also audio books, reading to the kids, etc.

To sign up as a reader,

click this link.

The Read-a-Thon starts at the same time all over the world. I'm in the Central time zone of the United States, so the starting bell for me is at 7:00 a.m. this Saturday, October 22, 2011. Starting times for other parts of the world can be found here.

Have you checked out Dewey's challenging 24-hour Read-a-Thon?

Be a reader .........
......... a cheerleader
a promoter .................
.......... but be a part of it!

For me, it looks more reasonable to be a cheerleader (reading for 1 hour) and a promoter (posting this on my blog!). If you like reading, you could do one of these things, too!

Reverence for Reading

I love to read and think it is an important activity for everyone. Bonnie at Bonnie's Books posted about a book that I've never heard of before: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life ~ by Fred White, 2008. I really like what she posted from White's book, which I am copying below:

"The Daily Writer: 366 Meditations to Cultivate a Productive and Meaningful Writing Life ~ by Fred White, 2008, writing

"From getting in a creative frame of mind to maintaining good writing habits to breaking through writer's block, this helpful guide is every writer's key to developing the discipline, focus and dedication needed to become successful."

"My friend Donna actually bought this book, but she suggested we could do the writing prompts together and read what the other said. That sounds interesting to me, so I took a look at the book this evening. The 366 in the title refers to days of the year, with February 29 included. I found this book-related meditation on the page for January 5:

Reverence for Books and Reading


"One cannot become a good writer without being a good reader. After all, since writers create reading, they learn to appreciate the range of quality and content that makes reading so rewarding. In order to develop such appreciation, writers must read widely and deeply."





I think reading is so important that I have a TX license plate for my car that reads:
READ TO SUCCEED!