BW7: Great Literature

 

Every story is a key that can unlock a door we didn’t even know was locked.

Happy Sunday! Great literature is in the mind of the beholder. We each have a personal canon shaped through art, music, ideas, conversation, education, spirituality, and yes, literature, which all goes toward shaping our world view.  I didn't think of it when I was in my 20's and read only science fiction and fantasy.  Reading was only for entertainment and to escape into the world of the story. 

It wasn't until I was older and started homeschooling that I began to appreciate different authors, genres, fiction and non fiction.  How would I give my child a well rounded education as well as give him the desire to be a life long learner?  It involved reading a lot of how to books about the different homeschool methods which I won't bore you with and turning my child's education into a grand science experiment, testing out differing methods. It was a great success for him as well as me because I ended up finishing my bachelor's degree in liberal arts which opened my eyes and mind to the diverse world of stories.  

A few years ago I came across Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Danger of a Single Story which I watch every year as a reminder not to limit our reading to the standard classics, but to branch out and experiment with all the genres, both fiction and non fiction. 

To that end, I don't limit myself to the Western Canon or western authors and choose to read widely and broadly. Instead of reinventing the wheel,  check out A Well Read Life recently posted in the linkbar above which has multiple url links to various books and websites with curated book lists. 

Whether you read Great books or good books, the most important thing is the reading and the side benefit of great conversation the stories provoke. 

Happy Reading! 

BW9: Infinite possibilities

 

“As the earth awakens from its slumber, let March awaken your spirit 

to the infinite possibilities that lie ahead.”

Welcome to March and our month of infinite possibilities where any thing can happen.  This month we celebrate Women's History Month, Irish American Heritage month, and Craft month to name a few,  as well as the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Spring.  Girl Scout cookies go on sale this month and the thing we all love to hate - the beginning of Daylight Savings Time. 

Our dragon of the month is Clefspeare from Bryan Davis's middle grade series Dragons in our Midst which is an excellent series. I have had fun reading both as a youngster and as an adult. 

And speaking of youngsters, its time for the annual March Book Madness sponsored by a pair of school teachers in Ohio that has gone viral over the years.  

Check out these special editions of new book releases this month including Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the 50th anniversary edition of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke, the 100th anniversary of  the Annotated Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald & James LW West, as well as 20th Anniversary Edition of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Have fun exploring this month!

BW26: Half Time Randomness

 

Happy Sunday! We're half way through the year and Summertime has arrived in our neck of the world, and  Wintertime for those on the other side of the world.  And I've got nothing. Well, not really. I've got a song crashing through my mind, an unfortunate earworm that I can't identify which will drive me loopy until I figure it out.  In the meantime, let's dip into a bit of half time randomness. 

Once a year I watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Danger of a Single Story and get something different out of it every time. I love her books. 

I just finished reading The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk so the Ted Talk about The World's Most Mysterious Book fascinated me. 

And while wondering through Ideas.Ted.Com came across 70 books to make you feel hopeful: A special reading list.  You're welcome! 

While falling down some rabbit hole about 25 Beautiful Literary Maps, it lead me to  Kenocartographobia. No, I didn't know what it was either. The fear of Maps. And wouldn't you know it, Goodreads has a list. 

I just discovered the newest book by A.J. Jacobs, The Puzzler, which I of course, had to get instantly.  If you haven't read any of his books, start with The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible) and also check out Jacob's favorite recent reads.

And given that our letter of the week is Z, check out books by authors whose last names start with Z.  My choice is of course, Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

~Cheers~

Please share your book thoughts reviews and link to your website, blog, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblers, or Instagram page. If you do not have a social media account, please leave a comment to let us know what you are reading. The link widget closes at the end of each book week. 

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BW36: Nomadic September in the heat

Sahara Desert - Courtesy of Bon Traveler

Welcome to Nomadic September where we will journey through the Sahara, the world's third largest desert in search of adventure. The Sahara measures 3,320,000 square miles in Northern Africa, stretching from the Red Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, and runs through Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. From the ancients to the culture and politics of the present, there are many rabbit trails to enjoy.

Sahara Desert 

By 

Essama Chiba 

Falling in barren plains

No traces of rain in arid lands

Only footprints of spirits

Haunting their own shadows

Begging the questions

Left unanswered

By words buried into cracks

Under the unforgiving sun

And burning heat

Of the Sahara Desert

Even a cactus will bloom 

For a day and then it's done

None escape the desolate wilderness

The undulating waves of sand

Nothing but the echoes

Of passing storms

And the sounds of thunder

Remain above the surface

Of the vast emptiness

We'll also follow in the footsteps of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and/or Chinua Achebe. We'll learn more about both these fabulous authors as Chimamanda reminisces about the coincidence of growing up in Achebe's house as well as discussing Chinua Achebe at 82: “We Remember Differently”
The Blossom Bookology flower of the month is the Egyptian Lotus which is the the national flower of Egypt. You need only spell out Lotus. There are a number of directions to go for this month's challenge. Read one book per letter using either the title and/or the first or last name of the author. Yes, you can mix it up. You may read a book with the name of the flower, color of the flower in the title, or on the cover. Another possibility is a book which takes place in the time period or flower's country of origin or has some cultural significance and/or symbolism of the flower. The choices are unlimited.


For those on the Brit Trip bus, our journey on Akeman Street is taking us to Wiltshire. Wiltshire has an interesting history with canals as a method of transportation, the predecessor to trains for mass goods transportation.

Rabbit trails: Wilton Windmill.


Have fun exploring!

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