Deb Nance
There is no doubt: This is a five-star book. The Bee Sting has everything a modern reader wants in fiction including strongly compelling characters, impossible situations, and a realistic setting. There are secrets that hide other secrets that hide other secrets. The characters have nowhere to rest their weary heads. It's a dismal, grim, gritty, bleak, horrific book, and it is completely believable.
So. Do I recommend this book?
If you like dismal, grim, gritty, bleak, and horrific, I strongly recommend it.
If you are like me, however, and a book like this lingers in your gut like bad oysters, you might pass on reading it. I finished it days ago, and still, I feel a little queasy when I think about it.
Cuore is a kids' classic from Italy. It's the story of the events of one boy's school year, interspersed with didactic stories, used in the boy's classroom, about people who have done inspiring things. It's a bit ooey-gooey in places, but in a gentle way, and it serves as a palate cleanser for all of the starkly realistic adult reads I've been swilling lately.
A 1001 Children's Books You Must Read book.
It has happened.
War has broken out. The big guns have been drawn. There's no turning back.
Life continues on only in the Southern Hemisphere, and even there it is apparent that it won't be continuing on for much longer.
On the Beach is the story of a group of people living their lives on borrowed time, trying to decide how best to spend the time left to them.
The hot city is scalding this little dog, and he has had enough. He stops dead center in a busy street, and refuses to move. His owner gets the hint, and off the two of them go for a refreshing day at the beach.
Taking a break...starting over...breathing...getting out of crowds...lovely themes in this story.
And brilliant illustrations.
It's the last day of Banned Books Week and I decided at the last minute to read this book in honor of it. And—woo hoo!—am I ever glad I did!
What a great story! Amy Anne's favorite book in the library has been banned, pulled from the shelf at the request of a parent who went before the school board to have it removed. Amy Anne is normally a quiet child, but this calls for action...
I loved everything about this story. I feel like I need to find the next reader for it.
Trixie Belden, my old friend!
When I was little, I loved to read. My mom loved to read, too, and when she was young, all she read were Nancy Drew mysteries. Nancy had disappeared from the bookshelves by the time I came along, but Trixie Belden had arrived to replace her. So it was Trixie books that I received for birthdays and Christmases. Mysteries were really never my thing, but, hey, a book is a book, and any sort of book, for me, was always better than jewelry or perfume. Still is, actually.
Nathaniel knows, as soon as he moves there, that something is wrong with this town. The town has the smell of death, there's something strange about the man running the school, and he hears stories of a long-ago murder.
As a librarian, I was startled to see how many kids love to read scary books. If you are one of them, this is the book for you.
A 1001 Children's Book YMRBYGU.
Solomon is dyslexic, but his teachers think he is inattentive and stupid. A primary grade teacher discovers his problem and she begins to work with Solomon.
At the same time, graves in the town's graveyard are being relocated, and, in the process, an evil spirit is set loose.
A 1001 Children's Book YMRBYGU.
Seven short stories, all with an eerie feel or a quirky vibe.
It's been several months since I've read any of the children's books on my 1001 list, but this morning I woke up with an idea in my brain. Lots of the books I have left to read on my list - 770 read, with 231 left, if my math is right, which it rarely is - are spooky stories, scary stories, horror even, and these are the kinds of stories I didn't like as a kid and I don't like as an adult. Still, when better to take some of these on than now, in October?
A 1001 Children's Book YMRBYGU.
Some spoilers in the paragraph below...
Widowed Lilia Herriton travels to Italy and falls in love with a much younger man, Gino. Family is sent to Italy to stop the upcoming wedding between the two, but brother-in-law Philip arrives too late. Lilia dies in childbirth, and Philip is sent back to Italy to retrieve the child...
It's been a long time since I have read a book that left me thinking like this one did. Now I plan to watch the 1991 movie.
Sadie takes a tumble and, when she awakens again, she is face-blind. This is a problem. She has just placed as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society contest. What to do?
And then there is her elderly dog. The vet seems nice. He will be her husband, she speculates. But there is that charmingly helpful fellow in her building. The building, by the way, where she is not supposed to be actually living.
Not to mention her family troubles. Not only a wicked stepmother but a wicked stepsister, too.
Only Katherine Center can take all these elements and bind them into a charming and cleverly fun story.
This book is aimed at the parent-working person-spouse folks in the world, and I am sure it is fantastic for them. I am retired and I have time and I have friends who support me and I have a spouse who supports me; nevertheless, I am in a slog moment, and I am looking for something to push me forward. I think I still need to keep looking. I am taking away from this book the lovely idea of each of us finding our Unicorn Space, and I now know that I need to schedule this time. Onward and upward!
Lara, her husband, and her three grown daughters stay together during the start of the pandemic, picking cherries on the family farm, and, to pass the time, Lara begins to tell her daughters the story of her relationship as a young woman with a man who has eventually become a movie star.
A gentle story of young love, of family, of the search for happiness.
Two girls, both clever, both poor, grow up together in Naples, Italy, amid chaotic family situations, with neighbors who deal with problems by using violence. The two girls become friends, very close at times, sometimes estranged, but eventually becoming close again. The two find ways to go to school even when their parents want to dissuade them from doing so. Both girls learn ways to handle boys they don't like who like them as well as boys they like who don't like them.
The stories feel very, very real and the setting feels authentic. The characters are a realistic mix of likable and unlikeable qualities that made me enjoy watching them grow and develop.
A woman buys a notebook and secretly begins to keep a journal of her life. Her children are grown and in college, but the time is Italy in the 1960s and the woman still is responsible for all of the day-to-day household tasks. She also holds a full-time job outside the home. As she writes, the woman begins to realize truths about her family and her life and herself.
Recommended. This is a story of a middle-aged woman who is starting to want to live out some of her dreams for the first time...a story I do not often hear.
I'm a huge fan of poetry, and I am fascinated with the healing that can come from reading.
Why, then, am I a bit disappointed with The Poetry Pharmacy?
I think I expected too much. I really enjoyed The Poetry Remedy: Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind, and Soul by the same author, and I was delighted to discover that William Sieghart has other collections of poetry prescriptions. I ordered this one, but I didn't like it quite as much as the first book. Probably just me.
Saving some of my favorite aphorisms from this book here:
Don't measure your life
with someone else's ruler.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 8). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
A great way to understand yourself
is to seriously reflect on everything
you find irritating in others.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 14). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Separate the processes of creating
from improving. You can't write and edit
or sculpt and polish
or make and analyze at the same time. If you do, the editor stops the creator. While you invent, don't select. While you sketch, don't inspect. While you write the first draft, don't reflect. At the start, the creator mind must be
unleashed from judgment.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 32). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
...a playful “yes—and” example
instead of a deflating “no—but...“
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 70). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
You can reduce the annoyance
of someone's stupid belief
by increasing your understanding
of why they believe it.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 83). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
You can eat any dessert you want
if you take only three bites.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 85). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
We are not a body
that carries a soul. We are a soul that is assigned a body
not of our choosing, but in our care.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 88). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
When you feel like quitting
just do five more: 5 more minutes, 5 more pages
5 more steps. Then repeat. Sometimes
you can break through and keep going
but even if you can't, you ended five ahead.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 119). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
You'll get 10 times better results
by elevating good behavior
rather than punishing bad behavior
especially in children and animals.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 123). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Don't wait for the storm to pass;
dance in the rain.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 125). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Denying or deflecting a compliment
is rude. Accept it with thanks
even if you believe it is not deserved.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 126). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
It's thrilling to be extremely polite
to rude strangers.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 138). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Most articles and stories
are improved significantly if you delete the
first page of the manuscript. Start with the action.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 138). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
When introduced to someone
make eye contact and count to four
or say to yourself, “I see you.” You'll both remember each other.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 143). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
You will thrive more
—and so will others— when you promote what you love
rather than bash what you hate. Life is short; focus on the good stuff.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 166). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Unhappiness comes from
wanting what others have. Happiness comes from
wanting what you already have.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 168). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Assume no one remembers names. As a courtesy
reintroduce yourself by name
even to those you have previously met: “Hi, I'm Kevin.”
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 169). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
To meditate, sit
and pay attention to your breathing. Your mind will wander to thoughts. Then you bring your attention back
to your breathing
where it can't think. Wander. Retreat. Keep returning to breath
no thoughts. That is all.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 172). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
You can't change your past
but you can change your story about it. What is important is not
what happened to you but
what you did about what happened to you.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 174). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Let your children
choose their punishments. They'll be tougher than you will.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 174). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Make one to throw away. The only way to write a great book
is to first write an awful book. Ditto for a movie, song, piece of furniture
or anything.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 176). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Anger is not the proper response to anger. When you see someone angry
you are seeing their pain.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 177). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
When you find something you really enjoy
do it slowly.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 178). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The big dirty secret is that everyone
especially the famous
are just making it up as they go along.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 185). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The chief prevention against getting old
is to remain astonished.
Kelly, Kevin. Excellent Advice for Living (p. 209). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Lewis and Wren get married, and a few weeks after their marriage Lewis is diagnosed with a condition in which he transforms into a great white shark.
What else can I say about this story? Author Emily Habeck includes scenes written as a play, conversations that read almost like blank-verse poetry, and, yes, a story where a man changes into a shark.
I imagine that either you are like me (loved to see where this was going to take me) or you are not (ridiculous premise), so you will either embrace the story or reject it from the onset.
I like to be right. And if I can't be right, then I can at least be loud. And long-winded.
This can be toxic in our world today. Many people who disagree with my views carry guns.
I need this book. I learned tons of things from this book. I need to write down notes from this book and try them out. (Perhaps on Saturday when my family gathers for lunch? I don't think anyone in my family would draw a gun on me.) I might even read this book again.
Notes:
David Smith, in his lecture, “Civil Conversation in an Angry Age,” suggests we ask two questions that allow us to look at our opinions a second time. One is, “Are you willing to believe that you could be wrong about something?” The other one is, “Which do you value more, the truth or your own beliefs?”People can't know what they have never experienced.
Elizabeth G. Saunders says that when you feel like you win online, you have rarely changed anyone's mind. “Instead,” she says, “you stand as the triumphant king of a lonely land smoldering with the ashes of people you have decimated with your words, who are less likely than ever to listen to your side again.”To question our conclusions across perspectives, we have to get curious. We direct our curiosity at the mystery of who we are, the gaps between what we know and what we wish we knew, keeping people at the center of our conversations, rather than their opinions or our assumptions. Once we are there, we look for paths people walked to get to their perspectives, the different conclusions they draw about the world.”
Here's another great statement to make: “Let me think out loud for a bit.”The experience of being listened to is extremely rare in life. The key is to stay with one crucial question: “What do you mean?”
It's important to acknowledge and be honest about the attachments that influence you.A simple invitation to speak for someone who is holding back: “Any thoughts on this one?”
“Are you stuck with someone who is talking too much? At the next pause...ask if you can offer your experience with the topic.”“Every tough issue that divides us...puts some fundamentally good values into tension with one another.”
“What good solutions might we find if current constraints weren't an issue?”How do you approach opinions flexibly enough to boost your creativity? Share current thinking on an issue. Change the question. Listen longer. Acknowledge agreement. Untie thought knots. Hit reset. Acknowledge good points. Offer, “I don't know.”
Three moments of positivity for every moment of negativity.“How did you come to believe X?”
Explain yourself with story.Instead of commenting on someone else's opinion, pose a question.
Great question: “What's your most generous interpretation of why they disagree with you?”In the middle of a discussion, switch from the dance floor to the balcony.
