May 5 2018:
Love
A beautiful celebration of love that shares the message of love as a noun. Bright and vivid illustrations add to the heart full message. Just LOVEd it!!!
Book Musings: Love
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Category Archives: Book Shelf
Book Musings: Silence
April 29 2018:
Silence – The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise
I get incredibly much from all of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books. Of all I’ve read, they carry the similar thread of mindfulness and experiencing silence.
I really enjoy the stories he shares throughout this book and all of his books. Reading this now is what reminded me of the concept of mindful walking and breathing that he puts forth … taking one step for each in breath and one step for each out breath.
After being reminded of it in this book, I incorporated it into my walks. Here’s the post I made about that …. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156408782591584&set=rpd.681171583&type=3&theater
Loved this book!!
Book Musings: The House that Jane Built
April 21 2018:
The House That Jane Built – A Story About Jane Addams
Thomas and I were incredibly moved reading about an 1889 settlement home that Jane Addams founded in a run-down Chicago neighborhood, Hull House.
It was a place were people could find food, work, and community and included a playground, kindergarten, and a public bath. By 1907, Hull House included thirteen buildings and by the early 1920s, more than nine thousand people visited each week.
Jane Addams died in 1935 at 74. The programs at Hull House ran through 2012.
There’s much more to know about Addams; yet this book was specifically about Hull House. She spoke out against war and was a peace activist. She co-founded the Woman’s Peace Party.
The FBI kept a file on her, and she was called “the most dangerous woman in America.” In 1931, she became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She was a founding member of the NAACP and ACLU.
Book Musings: You Never Heard of Casey Stengel
April 15 2018:
You Never Heard of Casey Stengel?
I absolutely adored this book. It had all three of us laughing out loud! Love the author’s style of writing and it was incredibly fun and interesting learning about Casey Stengel. xoxo
Book Musings: The Universe is Calling
April 7 2018:
The Universe is Calling
A wonderful book about prayer. I really enjoyed learning the author’s view.
” …. the ocean is in the wave. The wave is nothing more nor less than the ocean expressing as a wave.”
And one of my favorite quotes from Thoreau is in the book too …
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be extended, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.” -Henry David Thoreau …
Book Musings: Forest Bright Forest Night
April 1 2018:
Forest Bright – Forest Night
Beautifully illustrated and short two sided book naming forest animals that sleep during the day and are awake at night and vice versa. Loved the illustrations!
Book Musings: The Year of Living Danishly
March 24 2018:
The Year of Living Danishly
I really enjoy reading a creative non-fiction every once in a while. And, I actually accidentally read this one! HA!
I got it for Thomas as he likes to read about other countries. I opened it when moving it around and got pulled in ….
It was incredibly interesting to learn about the Danish culture and topics ranging from childcare, education, food, interior design, and taxes. With an up close learning about rural Jutland, the home of LEGO.
Some of the conundrums the author gets herself into had me literally laughing out loud. I do love when a writer does this with me! I got to learn in an interesting and humorous way and I like that!
One aspect I didn’t really care for was the off-color labels she gave to people and places, yet, I decided I wanted to learn what she had written about. And, when I read about the Danish views regarding animals, it saddened my heart deeply.
Lastly, I may have completely misunderstood or placed my own spin on what I was reading, but it seems as though happiness is measured by outside factors rather than coming from within. Except for the piece about how they remain happy during the dark and bitter cold winter months. They accept they cannot do anything about the weather and make the best of it.
Incredibly informative book …
Book Musings: The Little Piano Girl
March 17 2018:
The Little Piano Girl
The story of a little girl who loved music more than anything in the world. Mary Lou Williams began playing the keyboard at just four years old. When she was eight she became a professional musician.
“Jazz is created in the mind, felt in the heart, and heard through the fingertips.” Mary Lou liked to say.
We loved this story of a young girl that never lost sight or touch with what she knew and loved in her heart.
Book Musings: Big Magic
March 11 2018:
Big Magic
I read this when it was first published 3 years ago. Just read it again. Perfect timing as I read it at the same time as “Right to Write”.
If one is in the space for it, this is a powerful book. It held a completely different and more intense meaning this time around. Reading this inspired me to create a writing vow and a blog post titled “The Alchemy of Writing” …. xoxo
Book Musings: Liang and the Magic Paintbrush
March 4 2018:
Liang and the Magic Paintbrush
An older DEMI book … from 1980. Yet, still so good.
This one is about a poor boy who receives a magic paintbrush and uses it for good deeds. This was before the illustrations in her books became so much more vivid with color. The illustrations are still amazing with beautiful detail.
