Beauty in the Ordinary

This is not about being brilliant, or extraordinary, it's not about wanting to be famous, or making headlines, or trying to impress...this about sharing a 'gift' each day with the world...to lift the spirit of people when they read this blog, to show them the beauty in the ordinary.
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Raold Dahl

Thursday, July 14, 2011

What's On YOUR Bookshelf?

I'm reading two books at the moment,
simultaneously...something I never do.

As I've mentioned one or two times before,
I am a mono-tasker.
I fervently believe in doing one thing, and one thing only,
at a time.

Of late, however, I have had a really difficult time finding a book to sink my teeth into.
Girlfriends have come to the rescue...suggestions out the wahzoo.
One even sent me home with a dozen books to try out.

Out of said pile I've dragged:

Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson.



I'm about half way through and the protagonist, Georgia, a brilliant chef
gets slammed (through no fault of her own) by a slighted food critic, and jilted (again, through no fault of her own) by her fiance.

Throwing caution to the wind, and lodging her dog with her ex, she looks up an old mentor in Florence and decides a dose of Italy and Italian cooking will cure what ails her.

This is as far as I've read...but I'm pretty sure, fame and love await her on the Continent.

So, while fluffy and frankly not badly written...this book ain't exactly doing it for me.

And, because I'm being lazy about finding a really, really good book,  I've decided to chose quantity over quality.

So here comes the simultaneous part.  A recent houseguest left a half-read paperback behind, claiming it to be the worst book he has ever half-read.

When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris



I picked it up the other day and read the first chapter...out loud...and I'm quite enjoying it.  I refuse to read anything about the book or author as I haven't heard of either, but I do think the out-loud part is adding to the entertainment factor.

I remember being taught in school how to read out loud.  The trick is for your mind to actually read about six words ahead of the words coming out of your mouth.  That way you can make sense of the sentences.  It's an interesting exercise...and, you get to hear the sound of your own voice, without benefit, or otherwise, of your own thoughts.

If you have nothing better to do on a hot, Thursday afternoon, I highly recommend it.

6 comments:

  1. What an interesting comment about reading out loud.My daughter is an avid reader,she was from when she was old enough to pick up a book,our son has never read anything other than a comic lol no patience with a book,it is such a pleasurable thing to do an I have not read a book all year so maybe it is time for me to find something light and fuzzy to start off.

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  2. I think I'd find it difficult to read two books at once too! I like reading in the Winter when the days are shorter - life seems hectic at the moment!

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  3. Sounds like you're having a delightful time. Good for you. But letting friends take you away from your books? Well, OK . . . it's summer.
    On my bookshelf, a biography of 20th century martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer (about a thousand pages), and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago, thought I wouldn't class that as light summer reading. Also, The Book of Creation, an introduction to Celtic Spirituality by Philip Newell.
    That's fairly ecclectic. It's making for an interesting summer.

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  4. rob bear...if you are interested in Celtic Spirituality...have a look at John O'Donohue...especially Anam Cara...beautiful.
    Molly...yes, I think reading is more suited to winter than summer, but it pains me not to have a book to hide away in.
    BL..strange how we are either readers or not. Youngest daughter started out with comics...and now not only is she an avid reader, but also a beautiful writer.

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  5. Thanks, Jacqueline. I have that book, and it's on my summer reading list. ~ "Celtic" Bear.

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  6. Reading out loud... do you do this when alone, or for the benefit of others.

    My current book? 'Choosing and Keeping Chickens' by Chris Graham (for practical reasons only).

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