[QUOTE=JaneV2.0;77567]Fey world, eh? I'm developing a taste for fantasy lately, what with Grimm and Mark del Franco's Connor Grey books, so I put Solstice Wood in queue, even though Amazon's capsule
haha genteel, well, there IS some sex in Solstice Wood but it's implied, it's tame. Those fairies are such seductive creatures. This isn't the best fairy novel I've read but it's ok.
I really liked Keith Donohue's The Stolen Child about a changling. It came out a few years ago.
Del Franco's chief fairy, so far, is a little pest named Stinkwort who has a taste for Oreos. Not so seductive, but an enjoyable recurring character.
Great thread, I've jotted down several to read next...Right now I'm reading 'Over the Edge of the World'..recently read 'Cutting for Stone', 'Growing Up Amish', 'I Know This Much Is True' and 'Lost in Shangri-La'.
The Bee Keeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It’s premise is that in retirement Sherlock Holmes is paired with a young American girl who is his intellectual equal. While taking no guff from him, she becomes his apprentice and works with him in solving crimes both large and small. Written in an A.C. Doyle style, it is a pleasant read.
Reading Teeny Houses, Almost Amish and breaking Night
Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders
Learning--feed your mind good stuff; be as careful with what you put into your mind as what you put into your mouth; *good books, good music, good conversation with people who lift you up.*
Gratitude--exercise your gratitude muscle; make gratitude your first thoughts in the morning to banish fear and anxiety.*
Giving--focusing on the needs of others brings out our strengths; before you let thoughts of lack become dominant, challenge them with an act of giving.*
Rules for effective giving:
* *1. *Give in accordance with your values
* *2. Give to empower others
* *3. Give expecting nothing in return
* *4. Tune in to daily giving opportunities
Finishing--Keep your promises. *Fulfill your commitments. Whether your habits are good or bad, you wear them as a badge of who you are. *Knowing that you should do something and not doing it changes your perception of who you are.
The good loop--each time you practice learning, thanking, giving, and finishing, the positive results encourage you to do even more which of course leading to more positive results.
Good motivational reading.
I've been re-reading Shantyboat: A River Way of Life by Harlan Hubbard. It was first published in 1953; my early 80s edition has a foreword by Wendell Berry.
This is the description on the back of the book:
"Shantyboat is the story of a leisurely journey down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. For most people such a journey is the stuff that dreams are made of, but for Harlan and Anna Hubbard it became a cherished reality. In the fall of 1944 they build a houseboat, small but neatly acommodated to their needs, on the bank of the Ohio near Cincinnati, and in it after a pause of two years they set out to drift down the river.
In their small craft, the Hubbards became one with the flowing river and its changing weathers. An artist by profession, Harlan Hubbard saw clearly. The panorama of fields and woods and villages; summer gardening; foraging expeditions far afield from the river bank; the quiet solitude of the mists of early morning--are are displayed here with springlike freshness. This book mirrors a life that is simple and independent, strenuous at times, but joyous, with leisure for painting and music, for observation and contemplation."
A preview is available on Google books. You may also want to read Wendell Berry's own book on the Hubbards, Harlan Hubbard: Life and Work.
I am almost done with "The Wise Man's Fear" by Patrick Rothfuss. It is the sequel to "The Name of the Wind", though it could be read independently without much loss. My best description would be a more mature cross of the Harry Potter books and The Hobbit with more character development and less action. They are slightly slow going, but easy reads of a rambling adventure with a bit of fantasy and magic.
I tend to stagger a little fantasy or scifi between more serious novels or documentary and these are pretty top of the line for their genre.
I liked this too.Originally Posted by Florence
Right now I am reading "Making Good, Finding Meaning, Money and Community in a Changing World."
Excerpt: Figuring out what to do with your life isn’t just about self-examination—it’s about examination of the world you live in. Theologian Frederick Buechner puts it this way: “Your vocation is where your greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.” It takes a conscious act of imagining beyond what you see, connecting what you read and what you understand about the world to the actual life you lead.
We need to genuinely believe that things can change, that what once seemed impossible is now within reach. Arriving at that perspective is largely a matter of seeking and claiming our options, from the tiniest task-related choice, to the sweeping global choices we make as a culture. Do we really have to trade our time for money for something we don’t believe? Do we have to settle for being unhappy at work just because we have the pressure of bills to pay?
Covering a lot of broad topics currently, but there are enough discrete "how-to" steps to make it somewhat useful for someone trying to crack the toughest nut: How do I do what I love - what I believe in - for a LIVING, and still pay the bills? Not quite through yet, am hoping for more concrete examples rather than sweeping sentences beginning with "We must...." (yeah, yeah, I KNOW what I 'must,' and what's good for the planet, but the electric bill's due in two days)
yea I actually find that type of stuff, more poisonous than not. Let's hit everyone over the head with ideals that many, likely most, will not acheive, because for everyone to acheive them is likely impossible. I mean have you noticed the economy actually functioning that way? Neither have I. Who would sweep the floors? Who would work retail? Etc. etc.How do I do what I love - what I believe in - for a LIVING, and still pay the bills? Not quite through yet, am hoping for more concrete examples rather than sweeping sentences beginning with "We must...." (yeah, yeah, I KNOW what I 'must,' and what's good for the planet, but the electric bill's due in two days)
But then right, they are failures if they don't achieve something few in the world, as it actually is, do. That's poison! And no respect even for how difficult it is, for what a rare accomplishment it is to do so.
Some will though, if you are middle class etc. you are already one of the lucky. So any given you ... just might.
Some who claim to have I don't even respect. I mean it's better to be an honest wage slave, than some of the profiteering schemes I have seen (yes we'll just sell $10000 classes in finding your passion by grand guru whomever :P)
Last edited by ApatheticNoMore; 4-23-12 at 11:53pm.
Trees don't grow on money
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