writers – Peaceful Reader

Winter Reading

Oh, the weekend has been beautiful, the sun was bright and warm. It felt like Spring weather was here for a few days. I’m craving that so we can get outside more, take walks, hang out on patios, and see friends. During the cold spell of January and February I did fit in a ton of reading. My top 5 books were:

1. Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (2020) : Della and her older sister Suki are taken in to foster care after escaping from their incarcerated mother’s boyfriend. Della has always been able to count on her sister as protector but Suki is fighting her own demons and tries to commit suicide. The two sisters along with their caretaker learn to look out for each other through all the trauma they’ve experienced. This book is graphic about tough topics but Bradley does it with grace. I read this is two days so riveted was I by the characters and their resilience.

2. The boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse by Charlie Mackesy (2019) : A delightful tale reminiscent of Christopher Robin and his stuffed animal friends. Filled with whimsical drawings and lovely poetic conversations between the charming characters. I go back to this on days when I need a little happiness.

3. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020) : This book blew my mind like The Overstory. I read a recommendation about this book and put it on hold at our local library. Nora Seed faces her own mortality and finds herself in the Midnight Library with her favorite high school librarian as her guide. She is offered the opportunity to try out different paths her life might have taken and through each one she learns a little bit more about herself and the people around her. This made me think about my own experiences and other paths I might have taken. In the long run Nora and her readers learn the ultimate lesson about life. You’ll have to read it to find out.

4. When all is said by Anne Griffin (2019) : This is the story of cantankerous old Maurice Hannigan told in one night through stories about his life as he reflects back on his five favorite people. Over drinks at the pub inside the Rainford House Hotel he toasts and ruminates over mistakes and memories explaining to us in perfect detail all that life has offered him and taken from his as well. As a reader I connected with Maurice and found this to be an amazing debut novel. Her next book is scheduled to be out this Spring.

I know March won’t be all sunshine and warmth yet I know spring is still close at hand. Enjoy.

Charlson Meadows and writing

[Labyrinth at CM]

I’m working on consistently writing by trying to make a habit of it. Mentally I made a scheduled plan last Spring to create a new post every weekend and I’ve carried through pretty well. In the midst of Covid and school I’m happy with this amount. I have a million writing projects that stay incomplete that are separate from this blog space. I have several picture books I’ve started, several fiction pieces, a play, and a few nonfiction essays-mostly all not finished. My sister-in-law Steph invited me a few years ago to a writer’s retreat at Charlson Meadows and I went on a whim. In my mind I’m a librarian and a bibliophile but writer generally does not flash into my mind. But I do write and I fell in love with the location of the retreat. It’s not possible to be there in the beautiful surroundings inside and out and not feel productive or at best inspired.

The last time I attended I actually wrote several pieces, took a bunch of hikes, and managed to get lost in the woods, literally. Thank you for the rescue Jason! I can say this year I’ve been published twice; one, letter to the editor about BLM and second, a poem I wrote after my first walk on Friday late afternoon on the grounds of Charlson Meadows. It’s easy to be creative there if you give it some breathing space. It was also the most beautiful weather weekend we’ve had all fall. The last few days I’ve worked on an old piece, added to it, had my friend Angelle edit it and I just finished submitting it to Wow! Women on Writing. We’ll see, she says, with a shrug…

I feeling something emerging inside myself and maybe it took this lockdown of sorts to push forward. I found a batch of college writing of mine and my goal for the next few weeks is to read through and retype them and see if anything is worthwhile. The last two books I’ve read have also inspired me in different ways. Laurie Frankel’s book This is how it always is, is smart, funny, and timely. And Richard Power’s The Overstory is such an intricate work of details and stories weaved together in a tangled mess like roots to the trees he keeps explaining. I can truly see why this book won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for literature. I’m half way and even as I write this the book is calling out to me.

One of the reasons the last retreat I went to worked so well was because they had a writer/poet in residence, Ronda Redmond, who conferenced with us, gave a reading of her poetry, and in general was there to chat with as the weekend progressed. I very much enjoyed meeting her and listening to her as we talked about writing. Her book, Said the old widow to the new, is available on her website and is filled with excellent writing. During our conference together she suggested getting out my dusty old copy of The Artist’s Way and I’ve been working on the daily practice set forth in the book. I guess in writing and thinking about this as with much in my life I’m learning to be intentional about what I’m doing.

Charlson Meadows Retreat

As the calendar page flipped I had an out-of-the-box experience that ended November and ushered in December. Last weekend I had the most amazing experience. I took part in a writing retreat at the beautiful Nancy Nelson Lake House at the Charlson Meadows Renewal Center. My sister-in-law, Stephanie, asked me if I wanted to go with her and her writing partner/friend, Carey. To give myself space I even took Friday off so I had time to drive to Minneapolis, drop Groovy Girl with her cousins, and carpool to the retreat center in Victoria, MN.

This space is breath-taking as you enter through the solid doors where we were greeted by the program director, Nicole. After a short guided tour of the rooms, we were able to select our own bedrooms, unpack and look around at our leisure. The inside of the home is beautifully decorated with art pieces throughout the house.

The retreat center sits on 142 acres of land situated between Zumbro and Stone Lakes. It was snowy and cold for this retreat but the maps of the grounds look beautiful with three labyrinths, hiking paths, meadows, wetlands, and a beach area. I look forward to exploring the outdoors there when everything isn’t frozen (meaning any other season other than winter) yet watching the snow come down on Saturday afternoon was an ethereal experience.

Arriving on Friday afternoon we had time to relax and unwind before dinner was served at 6pm. Before the meal, we sat in front of one of many gas fireplaces and introduced ourselves to the 12 other writers in attendance and then we adjourned into the kitchen to scoop up the delicious offerings by Tena, the local caterer for most of the weekend. Each meal was carefully planned with a good attention to detail. While beef medallions were offered on Friday night the three vegetarians had delicious pasta to enjoy. In the morning we woke to fresh caramel rolls, quiche, and a large bowl of fruit. We shared some meals at the large dining room table and other meals were more casual as we gathered around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Eating was a highlight; the food was wonderfully prepared and I was filled with gratitude to have someone else cook for me. I realize how much energy on a weekly basis I use for meal prep in my house so this was pure joy. I didn’t even have to empty the dishwasher!

Between meals, we were given the gift of time to write spreading ourselves out in the various common rooms in the lake house. The house was built with solitude in mind so while you are working at one end in the library you cannot hear anyone else working or chatting in rooms across the way. My group of three gathered in the library space which had a sofa, comfy overstuffed chairs, a desk, and a fireplace.

We did one group writing activity after dinner on Friday which used prompts to get us loosened up. It was low-key and interesting to hear everyone else’s writing ideas. I headed to bed after that and felt motivated enough to write for another hour or so in the comfort of my secluded room. The rest of the weekend flew by with delicious meals, good conversations, and lots of writing time.

This is a lovely place to spend a weekend and I plan to go back for another writing retreat and I’d love to take part in one of their one-day spiritual journeys. Check out their website for more information on their offerings. Thank you to Stephanie for extending the invitation and thank you to Nicole for your seemingly effortless abilities as a host. I feel better for what I accomplished over the weekend and just simply knowing this place exists.

I did some digging after exploring their website myself and found information on Lynn Charlson, an inventor, and the benefactor of the retreat center. He sounds like an interesting character and I’m sure it is because of his creative energy that the retreat center is infused with such magic.

3 Great Stories

I ended 2017 with three good library books and oddly enough I didn’t receive any books for Christmas. Probably good because my own piles are still sky high. Before I share my 2017 stats I thought I’d share these three.

1. The Tie that binds by Kent Haruf (1984): I read this because I loved Haruf’s Our Souls at night which pushed me to the library to find his first story of Holt, Colorado. Described as a Greek Tragedy, this story gives us Edith Goodnough, a woman who struggles to make something of her life within the confines of the hand she’s been dealt. Her mother dies young and Edith is left to care for her younger brother, Lyman and her abusive father. The intricate tale of love and loss will make you question how far responsibility carries anyone.

2. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (2011): I picked this one up after reading A Gentleman in Moscow and found this one as clever. Katey Kontent, a 25 year-old New Yorker with her roommate Evelyn meet Tinker Gray, a wealthy and handsome banker in a Village jazz club. The three of them set off on adventures, big and small, with both Evelyn and Kate hoping for their own moments with Tinker. Evelyn and Tinker eventually pair up but it’s not in any way how they expected. Filled with twists and turns and memorable characters like Anne Grandyn, this first novel by Towles is just as intriguing as A Gentleman in Moscow.

The Dry by Jane Harper (2016): Set in Australia this murder mystery has its own twists and turns in a short amount of time. Aaron Falk returns to his small hometown after his childhood friend Luke and his family are murdered. Aaron agrees to stay for a week to help the new sheriff as they both have questions about what exactly happened. While digging up clues they find simmering hatred and other secrets harbored by the small town residents. As they dig for clues Luke hopes to solve another mystery involving the drowning of his childhood friend Ellie of which he was the prime suspect. For a mystery with a LOT going on this one handled it all with interesting style. I’m looking forward to the next Aaron Falk tale.

Listening to Garth Stein

Our local library has a list of featured authors that speak throughout the year and mostly they are local authors but tonight Garth Stein was in the house! I remember reading The Art of Racing in the Rain (2008) soon after it came out in paperback. I believe everyone in the house read it at one point or another and our one loved copy obviously travelled off on its own journey as I could not find it anywhere in my book (over) loaded home. I thought it would be easy to find it and get that one signed…
Enzo is a lovely canine narrator, a deep thinking dog and the book should appeal to all dog lovers, want-to-be dog owners, or any human with a heart. I remember crying and writing quotes from the book onto scraps of paper.

Garth was eloquent and humorous to listen to and he told story after story of his family, his wife, the struggle of being a writer and how the book came into being and how his agent would not accept it. If I ever actually publish any one of my stories this is the part that I fear. I’m an awful public speaker (unless my audience is made up of elementary kids) and could maybe speak extemporaneously for about 10 minutes. We’d have to go to questions pretty quickly. I could handle the signing part though, one on one interactions, but I don’t like getting my picture snapped so that might be an issue. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.

After the event he signed books near a table where his books were on sale through our local university bookstore. During part of the q and a session I spent some time on my trusty Goodreads app and looked up several of his other books. His latest one, A Sudden Light, about a timber families fortunes and misfortunes had a few negative reviews so I stayed away from that one. My friends Rich and Kay did buy it though and so I’ll wait to hear what they think. Two of his earlier books had more interesting reviews, to me, so I went with these (yes, I bought them both and had them signed).

Raven stole the moon (1998) is part magical realism and Native American folklore-right up my reading alley. How Evan broke his head and other secrets (2005) tells the tale of a young rock and roller who meets his long lost son at the age of 14. I’m excited to read both of them after I finish the three other books by my bedside and La Rose by Louise Erdrich, our Good Spirits book club choice for October. It is wonderful to live in such a literature-rich household-I never, ever, ever even think the word “bored”.

I was completely unaware that he has a young reader’s version of The Art of racing in the rain and several picture books devoted to Enzo.

#24in48 Readathon

Over the weekend I had fun participating a mini-readathon that I found on @Litsy. I read more than usual on both Saturday and Sunday and still didn’t make it to 24 hours. I did have two lunch dates and a 2 year-old birthday party to attend but still…

I finished two books in this time period and that was my true main goal. On our Asheville trip I’d started A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and I was anxious to finish it. The book brought out a lot of emotions and mixed feelings for me.

Her writing is brilliant and I can see why it’s the talk of the town. I loved how deeply she explored the idea of friendship. The entire book revolves around four roommates, Jude, Willem, JB, and Malcolm, that form a bond so tight that it lasts throughout their lives. Hanya gives us different perspectives through a few alternating chapters but Jude takes center stage. If you haven’t already read this I want to leave Jude’s character unexplained and even though I had a few criticisms of the Hanya’s story I would encourage everyone to read this book to the end. Don’t be frightened of the 700+ pages- you will turn the pages quickly and you’ll be halfway through before you look up. When I finished on Sunday morning I cried a little and then danced a little.

I picked a much easier book for my second read for the weekend readathon. Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper. I love the cover; oddly the cover on my library copy is very different-it shows a more modern-looking Stella-which doesn’t fit the era. In Bumblebee, NC Stella and her brother witness a cross burning across the pond very near their black community. FDR is about to be elected and a few members, including her father, want to register and vote for the first time. Stella is asked to make the journey into town to go with them. Of course they are treated unfairly, have to pay the poll tax and take a test while several white men wander in and only sign their name to a piece of paper to register.

The KKK strikes out and burns a house right down the street from Stella’s house. The community bands together to help and are surprised when several of their white neighbors come out to help. I thought the civil unrest brought out in this book are not properly finished. The book ends with a Christmas pageant but no finish to the voting unrest or the KKK.

I did enjoy Stella’s quest to be a better writer and thought it probably reflected a bit of Sharon Draper’s own story. This is still a worthwhile story and can serve as an introduction to young readers (3rd-6th grade) of how difficult the civil rights journey has been and continues on today.

I really enjoyed participating in the #24in48 readathon sponsored by @Litsy. I’m happy I had the weekend free and even though I didn’t get in 24 hours I did complete two books. And now I’m reading New Kid by Tim Green. I have to balance in books from school with other books I’m interested in reading.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Like everyone else out there I loved Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor and Park (2013) and knew that I would want to read whatever else she produced. Then you get on with life and read a bazillion other authors because you have a pile to read. Then fast forward into my Christmas break and I came upon review or an online conversation about Rowell’s book Landline and how it takes place leading right up to Christmas. And just like that Rainbow was back in my life.

I need to keep up more as she is quite a prolific writer; four books in basically two years. Wow.

Landline (2014) is an amazing story of Georgie McCool, a television scriptwriter who has a major writing opportunity right before Christmas. In order to accept the gig with her hip writing partner, Seth, they have to put together several scripts over the holiday! This is a chance of a lifetime, Georgie tells her husband Neal. Neal, though, chooses to travel to his mom’s house in Omaha on his own with their two daughters, Namoi and Alice. She can’t believe he does but he does it and while she feels a little abandoned she puts in long hours with Seth working on the show.

The first few nights she can’t face going back to their house on her own she finds reasons to end up at her mom’s house. It is here in her childhood room where she fishes out an old rotary phone to call Neal one night. She has cell phone problems and it’s easier than going home for the charger. The phone makes a call to the past and she ends up talking to a young Neal, a college-age Neal. And the conversations are so wonderful that she gets pulled back to that time herself as they chat and flirt and remember all that was good.

A quote:

“Hi Mrs. Grafton,” Georgie said.
“Yes?”
“It’s Georgie.”
“Oh hi, Georgie. Neal’s still asleep. He must have been up pretty late. Do you want him to call you back?”
“No. I mean, just tell him I’ll call later. Actually, I already told him I’d call later. But-I was going to ask him something.” She couldn’t ask about the president; that would seem mental…”Do you happen to know who the Speaker of the House is?”
Neal’s mom hummed. “It’s Newt Gingrich, isn’t it? Did it change?”
“No,” Georgie siad. “I think that’s right. His name was at the tip of my tongue.” She leaned closer to the base of the phone. “Thanks. Um bye. Thanks.” She dropped the receiver onto the hook and stood up suddenly, taking a few steps away.
Then she dropped to her knees and crawled under the bed, reading for the telephone outlet and unclicking the plug. She pulled the cord away, then backed out from the bed and crawled to the opposite wall staring at the nightstand.
She had to deal with this.
It was still happening. (108)

If you haven’t picked this one up please do. I now have to wrestle Fangirl from my librarian friend Denise’s hands.

Top Ten Tuesday; Top Ten Bookish people I'd like to meet

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish this top ten list are the authors I would love to meet for dinner, coffee or maybe even a glass of wine. I’d be so nervous to meet them I’d have to have a list of top ten questions to use for talking points!

1. Barbara Kingsolver; I would ask about what inspired The Bean Trees and we could talk a long time about sustainable living.

2. J.K. Rowling; I would nudge her to talk about magic and her wonderful HP characters. I might ask her even about her new adult book.

3. Anne Lamott; I could listen to her stories for hours-she can make me laugh about parenting like no other! And then when we are all done laughing we could talk about our faith as well.

4. Judy Blume; Just to give her a hug and tell her thank you for all those stories that helped me go from elementary to middle and beyond. Thank you.

5. Louisa May Alcott; I would love to take a walk in the garden with her, just to listen to her tell stories about her sisters.

6. Henry David Thoreau; Same here, a walk would suffice and I’m sure he could give me advice on the simple life and civil disobedience.

7. George Washington Carver; I think of all his accomplishments but would love to just talk about gardening with him.

8. Kate DiCamillo; I’ve loved everyone of her stories and have a huge crush on her writing style. The Tale of Desperaux and Winn-Dixie are two books I could read every year.

9. Mildred D. Taylor; Roll of Thunder, Hear my cry is one of my favorite novels and I would love to have the opportunity to sit and share a meal with Ms. Taylor to talk about Cassie and her family.

10. Alice Hoffman; Alice Hoffman’s writing style fascinates me and I don’t think I could keep up but I would love to hear her speak.

Honorable mentions go to Dr. Seuss and President Barack Obama! I’ve heard the president speak but would love to have a one-on-one conversation about some important issues over a cold White House brew. Michelle could come also. What bookish person would you love to eat or chat with??

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

I’m an even bigger fan of Donnelly’s now that I’ve read this book. I read Revolution (a newer book) first and then heard from many people about the fantastic-ness of A Northern Light, which prompted me to check it out from the library. I finished it last night and sighed and smiled.

It’s 1906 and Mattie Gokey is the oldest daughter in a family of four other girls. Their mother has died recently leaving them all with fresh sadness. Mattie’s been the one in charge of chores, taking care of her siblings while her father runs the farm. Mattie loves words, making her standout as a student when she is able to attend, and she looks up a new word in the dictionary every day. She has two best friends; Weaver, an African American young man who is set on going to Columbia to be a lawyer, and Millie, who left school last year to get married and gives birth to twins.

Mattie has dreams to attend Barnard College and received a scholarship to attend-she just needs money to ride the train, a place to stay and books. When the family mule dies her father needs help financially and agrees to let Mattie work at one of the local hotels. A whole new world opens up to Mattie as she discovers the wealthy lives of the people staying at the hotel and the mystery of a young lady who hands her a stack of letters.

I just can’t tell you any more. You should read all about the mystery yourself. This book has much to say about the beginning of the women’s movement and what it was like for women, like Mattie’s teacher, Miss Wilcox, who chose a life of their own. We take it for granted now; like it’s always been that way, even though it’s only about three generations ago that things began to change. This book blends a love of words with mysteries about her teacher, the young woman at the hotel as well as Mattie’s own dilemma as she sorts out what her own path will be.

Mattie is a wonderful heroine who doesn’t disappoint us in her choices and uses what she comes to understand from her work at the hotel, through her friend, Millie, and her own mother’s decisions as well as her relationship with Royal Loomis and everything he has to offer. This one deserves to be pulled out of the stacks and read.

Awarded in 2004 the ALA’s Michael L. Printz’s Award for Excellence Honor Book-the list. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson took the prize and understandably so.
Jennifer Donnelly’s website

Other thoughts:
Best Books I Have Not Read
Emily at Las Risas
Erin Reads

Sweet Baltimore

Enjoying the sunny backyard of friends in Hobart, IN

After a day and a half staying with friends near Chicago we boarded a plane at Midway and flew to Baltimore to spend time with my gracious in-laws. Usually when we fly to Baltimore we drive the hour to Silver Spring without stopping but this time my husband was determined to visit two places; Lexington Market and Edgar Allen Poe’s grave. Luckily both places are downtown Baltimore and within a few blocks of each other.

Lunch Time Stop

Teenage Boy with his Soft Shell Crab Sub

Adult Cold Brew with my Crab Cake

Handsome Husband with Poe