A Few Books We Need

Some books speak to a specific time, and some reach across eras with their messages. Some include a message for a definite audience, while others span a more general readership. And some times call out for certain books to be read.

Books are one form of the Media, which must remain free if freedom itself is to survive. Given the turmoil of our present time, I am suggesting these books as crucial reading for today’s world:

1984

George Orwell

1984

(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

Night

Elie Wiesel

wiesel-elie

(http://night2011.wikispaces.com)

It Can’t Happen Here

Sinclair Lewis

itcanthappenhere

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

Goodnight Moon – A Staple, Every Year

Please read this excellent post from Jennie, the extraordinary teacher!

A Teacher's Reflections

Before children learn to read, first they must hear the words. It’s developmental, like learning to crawl before learning to walk. The auditory piece, including singing, hits both the brain and the soul in learning. In my preschool class, reading aloud is a top priority, so I constantly read picture books and also chapter books.

So, what is it about Goodnight Moon that is a staple every year? Yes, every single year. It’s a book for younger children, yet preschoolers are drawn to the rhyming, the objects in the book, and what happens next. Oh, this is without seeing the illustrations. I recite this book before chapter reading. Children hear the words. That’s it.

Is it the words? The routine of reciting it before chapter reading? Or is it the quality of the book? Did you know the New York Public Library’s children’s librarian hated Goodnight Moon? Really hated. …

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Quotations on Compassion

(https://pixabay.com)

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

Albert Einstein

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(https://pixabay.com)

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

Dalai Lama

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Aesop

001

“Compassion, and not brutality, is the true sign of strength.”

Charles F. French

Martin Luther King, Jr Day — 2022

Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and I would like to offer a few of this extraordinary American’s quotations as a tribute to him. He was one of the finest, most decent, and empathetic people in the history of the United States of America. We should all remember him and honor his teaching, his legacy, and his call for justice for everyone.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

What Book(s) Are You Currently Reading?

books

Books are a central part of my life: reading them, enjoying them, teaching them, and also writing them!

I am currently reading The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield, The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King, Shadow Voices: 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction edited by John Connolly, and Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella. I also have many more in my To-Be-Read list!

So, I am asking all of you: what are you currently reading?

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The Invasion, a poem

Please enjoy this wonderful poem from Robbie Cheadle!

Robbie's inspiration

Diana from Myths of the Mirror blog has a writing challenge underway. You can find it here: https://mythsofthemirror.com/2022/01/09/writing-challenge-the-teetering-tbr-pile/.

Poets and writers are challenged to write a poem or story about their TBR. I have used poetic license and written a poem about how my TBR came into existence.

The Invasion by Robbie Cheadle

A loud aggressive ring

brought me fast to the door

I opened it innocently

not knowing the score

***

A long line of books

stood like soldiers of yore

each flashing it’s title

like a banner of war

***

“We’re looking for sanctuary”

declared Orwell, leader of all

“You’re a lover of books

so we’re paying you a call.”

***

“But I’ve simply no room”

I replied with a gasp

“We’ll make a plan, dear”

And they quickly marched past.

***

Up the corridor they tramped

Into my library, so full

“Wake up and make room”

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Feathered Pairs~

Here are excellent photographs from Cindy Knoke!

Big Gulp Gull,

swallows his catch, Coeur d’Alene Idaho.

Bald Eagle,

and juvenile, catch grizzly salmon scraps, British Columbia Canada.

Saddle Bill Stork catches a cat,

Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Red Tailed Hawk,

loves rare water, Southern California.

A pair of Yellow Legs multiply in reflection, Salton Sea, California.

Greater Flamingos tango, Tagus Estuary Portugal.

Mated White Storks greet on their nest, Alsace France.

Cheers to you from your feathered friends~

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Beginning of 2022 Self-Promotion Party!

Maledicus

I thought it would be interesting to do a book promotion party by giving not only the name of your book and what it is about but also the opening paragraph.

I offer the following from Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book 1 by Charles F. French:

“Lucius Antony Caius exalted in his good fortune. He was in complete control of his destiny, of his place in the world. Not for him was the belief in the three sisters of fate–they would not measure and cut his string of life. Caius, also known as Maledicus, as he was called because of his odd lisping voice coupled with the grating sound of sandpaper grinding on coarse wood and with his personality, believed he controlled the world. And his evil persona caused others to fear him. He didn’t look like the image of a strong Roman–he was short and fat, with little hair, but he was as dangerous as the most powerful general.”

So, if you would like to join the party and promote your book, please offer a quotation!

Have fun, promote your book, and please share this post.