The Edinburgh Book Festival; Seeking Cybils Judges; and Small Delights

I almost never reread books. This week I did. I reread Olive Kitteridge. I have now added it to my list of favorite reads. I may like it so much because it is set in a small town and the main character, Olive, is a retired school teacher. It will probably be on my list of best books of the year. 

This time I marked my favorite quotes as I read along. Here is one of them: 'Olive’s private view is that life depends on what she thinks of as “big bursts” and “little bursts.” Big bursts are things like marriage or children, intimacies that keep you afloat, but these big bursts hold dangerous, unseen currents. Which is why you need the little bursts as well: a friendly clerk at Bradlee’s, let’s say, or the waitress at Dunkin’ Donuts who knows how you like your coffee. Tricky business, really.'

This reread of Olive Kitteridge makes me want to reread more books.

Do you reread? 

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...69% read

Devotions by Mary Oliver...42% read

How to Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life...36% read

The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You...10% read

I'm enjoying the Edinburgh International Book Festival online. I've watched interviews with Jenny Offill and Yoko Ogawa, and I hope to see Michael Morpurgo, Helen Macdonald, David Mitchell, Matt Haig, Julia Donaldson, Anne Enright, Isabel Wilkerson, and Oliver Jeffers as well. 

The Cybils has put out a call for judges. If you are a parent, teacher, librarian, or simply a person who loves kidlit, I urge you to apply. 

1. My Christian meditation group. I meet with them on Zoom every Wednesday morning. Refreshing to my spirit.

2. Walking each morning and the small things I see on the way. I'm thinking about starting a Wednesday meme called small delights. Wordless (or mostly so). 

3. All of you who stop by my blog. Leaving a comment, however brief, lets me know you were here, and it gives me the opportunity to return the visit. I sincerely thank you for stopping by.

I'm very happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. There are no requirements for linking up at Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.

Podcasts

One of the chief takeaways* from my writing class last summer is podcasts. The mostly-young group of wannabe writers continually surprised me with their thoughts about the organization of their lives ("Does it make good sense to buy a house or is it smarter to simply rent?"), their forays out in the world of entertainment, and, their brilliant writings.

But podcasts. I hadn't considered them. They do.

I'm not even sure I knew what a podcast was. Maybe that's where you are, too. Let's start there.

I like this definition from The Podcast Host: "Simply put: a podcast is an audio program, just like talk radio, but you subscribe to it on your smartphone and listen to it whenever you like." The podcasts I've listened to are free, but apparently you can also subscribe to podcasts, and some of those subscriptions cost money. 

I'm mostly interested in podcasts about books. Here are some book and book-ish podcasts I've sampled or have been recommended to me. 

Backlisted

Backlisted, brought to you by Unbound, aims to give new life to old books. Regular presenters John Mitchinson and Andy Miller enter into a lively discussion with a guest to convince their listeners to read a book while arguing why it has stood the test of time.

Just the Right Book!

Just the Right Book is a podcast hosted by Roxanne Coady, owner of famous independent bookstore R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, CT, that will help you discover new and noteworthy books in all genres, give you unique insights into your favorite authors, and bring you up to date with what’s happening in the literary world.

3 Books with Neil Pasricha

Each chapter of 3 Books uncovers and discusses the three most formative books of a unique and inspiring individual. 

A Way with Words

A Way with Words is a fun radio show and podcast about language examined through family, history, and culture.

The Book Review

Along with host Pamela Paul, the editors behind The New York Times book review keep you updated on the news of the literary world, their reads of the moment, and the given week's most popular books.

Bookworm

A must for the serious reader, Bookworm showcases writers of fiction and poetry - the established, new or emerging - all interviewed with insight and precision by the show's host and guiding spirit, Michael Silverblatt.

By the Book

Each episode, comedian Jolenta Greenberg and her friend Kristen Meinzer select a different self-help book and live life exactly as is instructed.

The Guardian Books Podcast

The Guardian Books podcast is a weekly delve into the world of writing. It features some of the world’s best authors through in-depth interviews while discussing wider trends, round-ups, prize winners and retrospectives on classic works. 

Lit Up
Lit Up, a sanctuary for people who are crazy about books. On the podcast, you’ll hear from the world's most provocative writers talk about the power of stories and what drives them to create the work they do.

What Should I Read Next?

This show is for the person who loves celebrating the triumph of finishing a story, only to be stuck on which page-turner to pick next. In comes host Anne Bogel, who interviews readers about the books they're enjoying, in addition to the ones they didn't care for. 

Overdue

In each episode, hosts Andrew and Craig discuss novels that you've been meaning to read (and probably should have read by now) but haven't quite gotten to yet.

He Read She Read

He Read She Read is the podcast where a couple of married bookworms discuss what they're reading and learning.

Read Learn Live

The mission of this highly-engaging and informative podcast is to help readers 'improve [themselves] through literature'.

Hurry Up and Read

Host Jason Balmet reads through classic Christian books as he delves into the minds of the most influential Christian writers throughout the course of history.

Happier

Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin shares insights, strategies, stories, and tips that help people understand themselves and create a happier life.

On Being

What does it mean to be human? How do we want to live? And who will we be to each other? Each week On Being explores a new discovery about the immensity of our lives. 

Have you listened to any of these podcasts?

Are there any others you recommend?

*The chief takeaway from my class last summer, of course, has been the discovery of a new, almost other-worldly genre called flash nonfiction. Raise your hand if you've read flash nonfiction. I thought so.

A Silent Retreat: Unexpected Beauty

Sometimes there is great beauty. In unexpected places.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by A Web of Stories. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at A Web of Stories.

Books that Should be Adapted into PBS Masterpiece Shows

When I don't know what I want to watch on television, I look for Masterpiece on PBS. It's also a great way to find good books. Poldark, for example, and the books by the Dorrells, are two recent examples of good books that found their way into Masterpiece shows. 

Here are some I recommend.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee

The Ginger Man by J. P. Donleavy

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

Dubliners by James Joyce

A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Perhaps some of these have already been made into shows.

What do you think about these possibilities?

Any additional suggestions?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

A Dozen Great Reads; Cybils Changes; a Humphrey Bogart Mini-Marathon; and a Bioblitz

I'm not sure I have room on my blog to tell you about all the good books I read last week.

Last week I had several outta-nowhere-didn't-see-ya-comin' 5-star reads:

Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team

William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad

And I also read a bunch of wonderful 4-star reads, too:

God Got a Dog written by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Marla Frazee

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry

Packs: Strength in Numbers by Hannah Salyer

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

Feed Your Mind: A Story of August Wilson by Jen Bryant

No Ordinary Men: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Hans von Dohnanyi, Resisters Against Hitler in Church and State

The Black Kids by Kristina Hammons Reed

Have you read any of these? Thoughts?

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

The 2020 Cybils Awards will be making some changes this year.

I shared some thoughts this week about classic books: 

What Makes a Classic Book? Some Thoughts about Classics, Reading, and Venomous Snakes

I shared a list of Books I Loved But Never Reviewed.

I enjoyed Dewey's 24-Hour Reverse Readathon.

My husband and I had a mini-Humphrey Bogart marathon this week.

I strongly recommend both of these: The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep.

My husband and I participated in the Texas Mid-Coast Bioblitz last week. 

It was a relaxing experience, and it felt great to be outdoors.

1. Walking two miles every morning at 6:30. 

2. Curbside service at my library.

3. New jigsaw puzzle.

How are you doing this week? 

What were the good things from your week?

Any good books to share with me?

Now more than ever I'm very happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. There are no requirements for linking up at Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.