Summer = Reading

It's summer and for me summer means reading. And have I ever been doing some reading this summer?!

I was happy to discover the writing of Frank Waters this summer while we were traveling in New Mexico. His novel, People of the Valley, is a beautifully written story of a powerful Native American woman and her fight with the government to stop a dam from coming into the valley in which her people live. I'd never heard of Waters until this summer, but now I want to read the novel for which he is most famous, The Man Who Killed the Deer. In that odd, serendipitous way life works, a friend I was talking to when I got home told me she thinks she may have that novel on her bookshelf. She said she'd bring it for me this week if she does.

Two more wonderful 1001 Children's Books You Must Read finished, Where the Lilies Bloom and I Am David, and both were spectacular. A new StoryCorps compilation, Callings, this one centering on stories about jobs people loved, is out and like all the StoryCorps books I've read, this one will have you laughing and crying. I continued my reading of deeply spiritual books with The Naked Now, Henry Nouwen, and Meditations on the Parables of Jesus; I feel sure I will reread these. A book of Natalie Goldberg essays. A new children's book, Hour of the Bees, which, surprisingly, might be classified as magic realism, and which I immediately recommended to my friend who chooses Battle of the Books for New Mexico. A couple of memoirs, one of which, Call the Midwife, completely wowed me. And the funny and surprising The Invoice, about a man who receives an invoice for all the happy experiences of his life.

What's next for me? I'm getting books together for Paris in July, of course. Tamara at Thyme for Tea has the sign up post here for this month long event. It's the seventh year for Paris in July, and I hope you will join in, too.

What I Finished Lately cover title author review I Am David Holm, Anne Imagine what you might be like if you had spent your entire childhood in a concentration camp. That is the main character of our story, David. And the ...more The Great Spring: Writing, Zen, and This Zigzag Life Goldberg, Natalie Natalie Goldberg has always been this wonderful mishmash of an all-too-human person with a saint. And she uses this wonderful combination of self to e ...more The Invoice Karlsson, Jonas A man lives a simple life. He finds an invoice in his mail. It’s for all the happinesses he has experienced in his life. And it’s for a huge amount of ...more Henri Nouwen: Writings Selected with an Introduction Nouwen, Henri J.M. (Side note: Don’t let the chapter called “an introduction” fool you. It’s sixty solid pages of introduction about Henri Nouwen, and it puts all of wha ...more The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See Rohr, Richard I’ve had this book recommended to me for years, and when I got a gift card for Mother’s Day, I finally plunged in and bought it. So glad I did. The aut ...more Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End Worth, Jennifer This was a book club read and I must admit I didn’t go eagerly into reading it, as I’m not one who tends to read books that have been made into tv sho ...more Only in Naples: Lessons in Food and Famiglia from My Italian Mother-in-Law Wilson, Katherine How does anticipation effect one’s ultimate rating of a book? I expected little from my last book, and I ended up having it wow me. I had very high ho ...more Death Comes for the Archbishop Cather, Willa Who knew I’d be traveling in a book the same places I was traveling in real life when I picked up Death Comes for the Archbishop? It was the perfect b ...more Hour of the Bees Eagar, Lindsay  Carolina is forced to spend her summer with her family helping ready her grandfather’s home for sale. Carol hasn’t had much contact with her dad’s fat ...more Mountain Dialogues Waters, Frank Frank Waters examines his world of northern New Mexico through a look at its water, air, mountains, spirits, and air. He looks with Indian eyes at his ...more People Of The Valley Waters, Frank I learned about Frank Waters while I was visiting New Mexico. I stayed at the Frank Waters room at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos, and I was curi ...more Callings: A Celebration of Lives of Purpose and Passion Isay, Dave I've read several of the StoryCorps books and I've been taken with them all. This collection of stories centers on people who love their work. Given t ...more Where the Lilies Bloom Cleaver, Vera What a story! Mary Call is thrust into the position of provider for the three siblings after her father sickens and dies. She and her brother covertly ...more Putin Country: A Journey into the Real Russia Garrels, Anne  If you are headed to Russia, you couldn't have a better guide than Anne Garrels; Garrels knows the stories in Russia and she can tell them better than ...more Meditations on the Parables of Jesus Keating, Thomas Thomas Keating takes a close look at the parables of Jesus and what a rich experience this is. This is the kind of book I could read over and over.

What have you been reading lately? Can you share any recommendations? 

           

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.