Early Sunsets, Religion Lecture, and Two Excellent Books

Writing this from the horizon of Thanksgiving, eager to see some family and eat yummy traditional American Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, etc). The last few weeks have been packed tightly with things to take my attention away from being an acceptably consistent blogger. Attempting to remedy that now!

So as schedules are busy and the holidays invite many times of lovely gatherings, it is my study to focus and enjoy the little things that bring some joy to an everyday. Here are some things I've been enjoying lately:

- Early sunsets might be disliked by the majority of people (with that pesky time change a few weeks ago), but you cannot deny these Autumnal sunsets are beautiful and they remind me that Winter is coming. Colder air is on the way, which delights me and I get set in my mind to all sorts of dreamy notions. Also, when the sun sets before I leave work, I get to see Jupiter and Venus in the sky on my way home. I love seeing the planets in the clear sky. Yes, I will always be an astronomy nerd, but also the mysterious creation of God is astounding. Sometimes we lose sight of what is beyond our small lives as we grind through our everyday workflow. 

- A religion lecture at Florida Southern College. Having the opportunity to return to campus and sit in my favourite room "The Hollis Room" (the original library was in this room; it's a Frank Lloyd Wright treasure) was so fun for me. The lecture was given by Dr. Ian McFarland from Emory University. His talk was titled "Christian Hope and the Goodness of Creation".  He had written books on this topic, so he knew what he was talking about. He read an academic paper that was dense and so full I had a hard time keeping up with notes I wanted to jot down. There were many interesting ideas I would like to dive into sometime, such as escatalogical forgetfulness, and he used an illustration of Dante forgetting after drinking from the river Lethe. I was fascinated by his ideas on re-memory in the process of redeeming sin or painful experiences. He argued how scars are resistance to the evil that caused the harm and that this present life is where the contours of eternity are showing themselves. So many deep insights I could swim in for awhile. Getting to be a student (there were lots of students there, but it was open to the public), listen to a very knowledgeable professor, take notes, and learn more about something I am keenly interested in sums up many of the best ways to spend an evening. I wish there were more of these kinds of events!

- Two books I am reading right now are absolutory delightful. One is a book of aphorisms The Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence, wisdom on how to work well with people and live a life ruled by prudence. It was written over 350 years ago by Baltasar Gracian, a Spanish Jesuit Priest who published this book of wisdom in 1647. These nuggets of advice are often rather cold and calculating, and so applicable to the world we live in today. It's uncanny, and I am taking notes. 

The other book is White Holes (a black hole in time reversed, so fascinating) by Carlo Rovelli, who is the poet of theoretical physicis.  He imaginatively takes the reader on a journey into a black hole and across the quantum line briefly before magically exiting by way of a white hole. Time is in reverse and I am utterly astounded and love following this journey. What I love even more is his use of the parallel journey of Dante in The Divine Comedy, with his trek through the Inferno, Purgatorio, and rising to Paradiso. It's beautifully corresponded, these two stories, and I absolutely love the marriage of science and literature through the imagination. I have been aching to re-read The Divine Comedy again, and now even more so. 

Happy Thanksgiving! Many blessings to you and your loved ones.

What are you reading this Autumn?

 

Does the Autumn weather inspire your reading? Or are you a mood reader? Or do you run by a list of what to read next? I have my stack(s) of TBR and when I finish a book I have the great joy of picking out the next one to read that jumps out at me. I like to read seasonally with a book now and then which fits the time of year. I read many books at the same time, so it's fun to throw a seasonal one or two in there. 

Books Parts edited by Dennis Duncan and Adam Smyth
This fascinating book deconstructs the book as an object - as a collection of essays on the different parts of a book. It felt like analyzing the anatomy of a book and it was such fun to read the history of such book parts as the front pieces (does any book have those now?), end papers, table of contents, copywrite page, notes to the reader, footnotes, pagination,  indexes, blurbs, etc. As someone who is not only interested in good books for their thoughts and words, I am also keenly fascinated by the object itself - the history of how a part came into existence and how that might have changed through the centuries. So, I am a self-confessed book nerd in all aspects of the book.

Thomas Aquinas Selected Writings
This is my morning book. It's a whopper - over 800 pages, and it's just a "selection". As I am drinking my coffee I read a few pages of Thomas Aquinas. If I am reading a book of philosophy, I read it early in the morning - it's my most clear-minded, well-focused time to read something that needs deeper attention. Aquinas is a Saint, he lived from 1225-1274 and was a theologian and philosopher. He draws on the ideas of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine and is one of the greatest medieval philosophers. He asks the deep questions on faith, goodness, God, conscience, being, faith, reason, etc. He was able to argue both sides of the answer, and then answer based on Christian belief. It's fascinating, thought-provoking, and I am learning so much about building the argument and being able to see both sides of it as if in a debate. I am almost halfway through enjoying my morning philosophy with Saint Thomas.

Poetry by Heart edited by Andrew Motion
I stumbled upon this book of poems as I was looking for a new collection to enjoy (you can never go wrong with a good collection of poetry) and this one was based on the premise of memorizing poems and also reading them aloud, as poetry to meant to be read. It's a collection of poems ranging from the first English poetry to modern days and I am reading some poems I've never heard of before. Another  thing I love about this book is there are QR Codes with a link to The Poetry Archive where I can listen to the poem being read, and enjoy it as it is meant to be enjoyed. Hearing a poem read forces me to slowly read each line with the speaker, and process the words in a deeper way.

The Brontës by Patricia Ingham
I will read any book on the Brontës. The lives of the creative siblings as they lived in the early-mid 1800s Yorkshire England endlessly intrigue and inspire me. I've read many books on them and still learn more with every book. I found this book on my last visit to Oxford, at an Oxfam charity shop. Reading about this familiar family of siblings (Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and brother Branwell) I thought about how intelligent they were by their own pursuits. They read all the old and new books, with no restrictions from their curate father, and kept up on all the political news, which would include the wars with Napoleon and triumph of the Duke of Wellington. It all inspired them to create their own worlds with characters and political turmoil that drew from what what going on their world at the time. 

Leaf Peeping by Erin Vivid Riley
I am such a sucker for books on trees, leaves, and the world of forests. I can probably thank my Dad for that. His father worked for the U.S. Forest Service, so he spent his childhood travelling as a family to all the many national forests as grandpa had to travel there for work (he had a supervisory role of some kind). Therefore, in my childhood, Dad always wanted to go camping and hiking. To be out in the forests of North Carolina, Georgia, and everywhere else we journeyed to. His idea of a vacation was being out in nature. It reminded me of my childhood when we would go to North Carolina almost every Autumn to see the leaves - we were "leaf lookers" and even had the sweatshirts to prove it. This little nature book was pure delight. I loved the lessons on why leaves change colour, a guide on how to identify different types of leaves and trees, the varieties of trees and where they grow best, the regions of the U.S. and some other countries forests for the Autumnal trees. Dotted with some quotes, cute ideas for a nature outing, and fun facts. I will revisit this little book many times again.

I leaf you with our classic family shot of one of our roadside stops in North Carolina - my mom and I wearing the very stylish Franklin, NC leaf looker sweatshirts (none of the boys seemed to want to be so stylish), and I hold a vintage camera to capture all the magical scenes of trees and leaves. I wonder if any of my photos actually turned out. :)

Author Spotlight Night - Epilogue

 

Last week was the author spotlight night at our downtown independent book shop Pressed Books & Coffee, which was such a delightful evening! I am so grateful I was included in the event and that many family and friends came out to support it. It was the first time I've been able to talk about my trilogy, Selador, in public!

There were four authors there that night. We each had a table we could set-up and decorate to sell our books to the lovely people who took time to come out and hear what we had to say about books. Then we sat up on tall chairs in front of the attendees (I always feel odd sitting in tall chairs when I can't touch the ground) sharing a bit of our writing journey and our books. You know, when I dreamed about becoming an author years and years ago, I never thought about the aftermath of finishing a book - the "selling it" part! 

Here was my first chance to "sell" my books to folks who came out to Pressed with curious minds. Many people I did not know. It was my job to talk about my journey as an author and explain why they should read my books. To be honest, I wasn't sure how that would feel - would it be stressful, would it be well received, would I hate talking in front of people? Well, to spare you, dear reader, the anticipation, I loved it! I loved having the opportunity to share some of my writing journey, throwing in a few older/wiser authors who inspire me, some of my passion for reading, explain why I think everyone should read more good books, and give a little glimpse of what deeper truths I tuck away in my books. I was hoping it would inspire those present to read more, whether it's my books or not, but to engage with good books written today and from older and wiser authors. 

It was a great joy to have dear family and friends present. Some of them haven't read my books and might have heard something to stir their hearts. I loved meeting several friendly people who bought the full set of my books, sharing with me why they were super interested in my talk and my story (many fans of fantasy!). I loved watching my ten year old niece buy each author's book and carry them in her arms the rest of the time, not letting them go, like the treasures they are. 

I am so thankful to everyone who came out that evening. It meant so very much. I deeply appreciate Christina, the owner of Pressed, who had this lovely idea of having local author spotlight nights these last few months, and who helped direct the evening beautifully. Thank you to my friends and family who took photos since I couldn't. These memories will stay with me for many years to come. My first public book event!