Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks: June 2024

Sunday, June 30, 2024

BW27: Zen and the art of ....

Happy Sunday! We're headed for a heat wave this coming week, and I've peopled way too much so totally ready to hibernate in the cool with one or two or three books. We're past the halfway point in our 52 Books journey and moving backwards through the alphabet from Z to A. We can be zen, we can zoom, we can zigzag, we can stay in the zone. We can read books that move in reverse chronology. We can read books about Z and the art of ... motorcycles, writing, saving the planet, or even the art of stand up comedy. We can read about zoo's or zombie's or zorro or zealots. There are so many ways we can go.

Zinfandel

By
Rick Fernandez

In the skies a wizard flies

Spreading magic dust.
There is a fire in his eyes
It's Zinfandel or bust.

The animals have seen his stare
And await their manna from heaven.
There's so much magic in the air
As they go on misbehaving.

The seal he wears a crown of gold
The deer in field goes grazing.
Behold! Behold! as tales are told
In this magicland so amazing.

Happy Reading!

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Sunday, June 23, 2024

BW26: We're halfway there

Happy Sunday! Are you ready for the halftime show? The year is zipping right along, full of zingy and Zen reads, full of zaddy characters, zaffre settings, and zeal. I added to my stacks when on vacation in Texas when we stopped by a Barnes and Noble while waiting for a table at the restaurant across the way, plus found a little book store at the airport while waiting for a very delayed flight to return home. Plus I had fun exploring my nieces and nephews book shelves and since we have similar tastes in science fiction and fantasy, chatting about stories. And now I'm off again for a belated father's day celebration with my father in law so time is short.

What has been your most favorite story so far this year? Have you discovered a new author or series to explore? Any interesting book news you'd like to share?

June 23rd is Let it Go Day, June 24th is Celebration of the Senses day, June 25th is the day to celebrate The Beatles, the 26th is Forgiveness day, the 27th is National Handshake Day, the 28th is National Food Truck Holiday and last but not least, the 29th is Hug Holiday. So don't worry and be happy, go out and shake someone's hand or give them a huge hug, and eat plenty of food, while you listen to the Beatles.

Peace!

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Sunday, June 16, 2024

BW25: Happy Father's Day

Happy Sunday and happy Father's day to all our dad's. The June Solstice is upon us as of the 20th which means we are celebrating the beginning of Summer here in the Northern hemisphere and Winter in the Southern hemisphere.

An Ode To Dads

Melodia Ortez

Dads are the rock that holds us strong,

A compass to guide us all along,

The foundation of our lives they create,

A stronghold of love that's never late.

With strength and support, they stand by our side,

A beacon of hope that never hides,

Dads are the world we live in each day,

And their love is what lights the way.

Y is for Yabba Dabba Do, Yesteryear, Yum, and Yes.

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Sunday, June 9, 2024

BW24: X marks the spot

Happy Sunday! It's time to go on a reading adventure and conveniently, our next 52 Books Bingo category is Adventure. Find a book about a treasure hunt or go on a treasure hunt for a new title or unread book in your home library.

Pick a book by the cover and pick it up. What captured your attention? The author, the title, or the picture? Does it tickle your fancy? Is it by an author you've read before or a brand new author? Don't peak at the synopsis on the back or the inside flap. Yes, I know, it's ridiculously hard. What do you think it will be about? Suppose you go into it blind and read it. Were your suppositions close or no cigar?

Choose a random book based on its position on the shelf in your home library or the public library, or the book store. Decide in advance or leave it up to chance and pick a shelf, pick an aisle, pick a genre. First decide which shelf you will choose from - top, 2nd, 3rd, fourth, or bottom shelf, pick a number between 1 and 30, assuming there are probably 30 books to a shelf, then read that book.

My son does it all the time when we go to Barnes and Noble and finds the most fascinating reads, for himself, me, or for his dad.

Have fun treasure hunting!

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Sunday, June 2, 2024

BW23: Words

Welcome to June and our month of celebrating fathers, summer, gardening, and the great outdoors. This week is devoted to the window of the world with words. The wild and wacky, wonderful and winsome, the witty and weary, world of words that whisper and weave the wonderous who, what, where, when, and why of words.

Our author of the month is Akwaeke Emezi, a Nigerian author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, as well as a film writer, musician, and artist. Last year, I read one of her stories - You Made A Fool Out of Me with Your Beauty. There were so many layers to this story: loss and grief, sexual attraction, choices, and love, sorrow and learning to live again. After the loss of her husband, Feyi is trying to figure out if she can ever love again. She plunges into the dating waters full steam ahead, trying to figure out who and what she wants. She's a woman exploring the sexual waters and falling in love with someone she didn't expect. The beginning of the story fooled me when it went full boil with a sexual escapade, but I gave it a chance. It simmered down and the more I learned more about Feyi, the deeper I became invested in her story. It was crude, it was raw. It was full of angst, full of sorrow. Full of choices, and full of love.

“It was like a fork in the road has closed, shut off by an avalanche of grief, choked with rocks and a broken heart. It wasn't supposed to open, and honestly, it still hadn't, but somehow, an entirely new path had formed, green and creeping.”

You Made A Fool Out of Me with Your Beauty sticks with you long after finishing it and makes one think. One of the themes is all about choice. The choice on the characters who wants to make a choice for himself, when in the past, all his choices were for his children. When he choose himself, it got me to thinking about some decisions we make which aren't about the other person but about us. Food for thought.

I'm looking forward to reading The Death of Vivek Oji next.

Her stories aren't for the faint at heart as they contain LQBTQ supporting cast characters, graphic sex, and crude language, so if you'd like, stick with our letter of the week, and check out Oscar Wilde, E.B. White, Elie Wiesel, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Colson Whitehead, Alice Walker, or Martin Walker to name a few.

Happy reading!

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