Sunday, May 26, 2019

BW22: Freedom is not Free




Yesterday during a conversation with a customer, he said "I'm deploying to Afghanistan next week and I'm not sure if I'll return. I never know each time they send me." I thanked him for his service before I hung up the phone, aware of his bravery in the face of the unknown. Sometimes you feel helpless when all you can do is offer up prayers for a safe return. Thinking of all the men and women over the centuries who have fought and died in service to our country this memorial day.

Memorial Day 

© 2001 Ali M., 3rd Grader, Academy Elementary School, Madison, Connecticut.

"As the flowers rest on the decorated graves and the sunlight shines on the beautiful sailboats, Uncle Sam whispers in my ear about how we should care for the soldiers and remember the ones that have died. Swimming pools open, BBQs fry. Today is the day to think of what they have done for us. There are blurs of red, white and blue marching down the street and flags are lowered at half-mast. But we should always remember and never forget what set us free, from this very day on."



Freedom Is Not Free

by

Kelly Strong


I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.



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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week.



Sunday, May 19, 2019

BW21: Bookish Birthdays and News








It's time for a round of bookish birthdays and news. 

Herman Wouk, author of the Caine Mutiny passed away at the age of 103 last Friday. Herman Wouk Bucks Literary Trends to Produce Best Selling Novels. Herman Wouk, 'The Jackie Robinson Of Jewish-American Fiction

I've already added the next two books to my virtual stacks:

First Flames: An Interview Between Debut Authors Hafsah Faizal and Nafiza Azad
Language Has Magic In 'The Candle And The Flame'

Award finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon, Read an Excerpt from P. Djèlí Clark’s The Black God’s Drums

The Real Sherlock Holmes: The Story Behind Arthur Conan Doyle's Creation

Michael Chabon’s Advice to Young Writers: Put Away Your Phone




Author Birthdays



Have fun exploring and following rabbit trails 

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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter. 



Sunday, May 12, 2019

BW20: Happy Mother's Day



Josephine Wall 




A Rose for Mother

by 

Cleo M. Shoffstall


Another Mother's Day is here, 
Bringing joy and pleasures new, 
On this special day, Mother dear, 
I want to remember you. 

I cannot give you costly gifts, 
And I've told you this before, 
No matter what I give to you, 
You give back much, much more. 

I'm giving you a pure, sweet rose, 
Gathered in the early morn, 
This rose you planted in my heart, 
The day that I was born. 

In kindly, loving thoughts of you, 
And with the faith you still impart, 
The rose I give to you today, 
Is the love that's in my heart.



Happy Mother's Day! 

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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week.

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.


Sunday, May 5, 2019

BW19: 52 Books Bingo - Machiavellian




Our next 52 Books Bingo adventure is to read something about or considered to be Machiavellian. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat and the father of modern political theory. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to win the attention of Lorenzo De Medici and earn a position within his government. The short work is a treatise on how to win and maintain political power in which the ruler is not bound by ethical norms.

If someone is said to be Machiavellian, they are characterized as being unscrupulously cunning,  and psychologists see Machiavellianism as a person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals. It is also defined as "being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli's The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described." Some believe the book to be satire and equate it with Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal. Check out Yale Insights What Can You Learn From Machiavelli?

There are a number of ways to go with this category, including but not limited to reading morality plays, history or political thrillers, historical treatises, psychological mysteries.

Need a few ideas?

Explore Goodreads Popular Machiavellianism Books and Popular Political Satire, 23 Books every House of Cards Fan should read, What Would Machiavelli Read, or Game of Thrones: a Study in Machiavellianism.


Have fun following rabbit trails! 

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If you'd like to share your book reviews, you may link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have any internet or social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. Please do not add links of 52 Books, nonexistent or old web pages. They will be deleted. If your link disappears, please email me if you need to change or update your links. The linking widget closes at the end of each book week. 

In the Your Name field, type in your name and the name of the book in parenthesis. In the Your URL field paste a link to your post, then check the privacy box and click enter.