Judging Books by Covers (Next Best Book Club)
message 9: by Fenixbird (last edited 12/04/2007 03:06AM) 12/04/2007 02:08AM

Ahhhh Well.. yes a book cover CAN say a lot about a book. Hmmm In my old apartments for awhile someone got a book exchange going. There were just some of the most fantastic books left on the counter inside the upstairs laundry room! Oh my God, I thought I had found heaven! The warm, comfortable task of laundry complete with free reading...just for the taking! That is where I found it....bright, cheery blue cover with amazing goldenrod surrounding it...that book cover stood out like a Picasso painting!! I had met my "Starry Night" in a book!

The ecstasy! Well this was a book I had never seen nor heard of before....One Day My Soul Just Opened Up: 40 Days and 40 Nights Toward Spiritual Strength and Personal Growth (Hardcover) by Iyanla Vanzant and it would turn out to be like stumbling upon a pot o' gold so lovely were the words. Each section was thought out, complete with poem, even illustrations, lovely illustrations....

But it didn't stop there! This reignited my love affair with books...more than before!! Of course, I did my best to leave off 2 books for every 1 that I found in that special laundry room....that year of inspirations...

What a year that would turn out to be...I even met a man, a timid but extremely interesting (& attractive!) man...who guess what? Do you know what he did?? He gave me books!! A true ray of sunshine WITH THOUGHT!! And we would read together...

SOME FAVORITE POETRY SELECTIONS [Ideal for wedding announcement..]
Excerpt from Bending the Bow by Robert Duncan

“. . . I'd been
in the course of a letter – I am still
in the course of a letter – to a friend,
who comes close in to my thought so that
the day is hers. My hand writing here
there shakes in the currents of... of air?
of an inner anticipation of...? reaching to touch
ghostly exhilarations in the thought of her.

At the extremity of this design
"there is a connexion working in both directions,
as in the bow and the lyre"–
only in that swift fulfillment of the wish
that sleep can illustrate
my hand sweeps the string.

You stand behind the where-I-am.
The deep tones and shadows I will call a woman.
The quick high notes... You are a girl there too,
having something of sister and of wife,
inconsolate,
and I would play Orpheus for you again,

recall the arrow or song
to the trembling daylight
from which it sprang. . . “
Excerpt from Bending the Bow, a poem by Robert Duncan

Sharing a sort of Christmas uplifting thought (passing it on..)

A woman came out of her house & saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in & have something to eat."

" Is the man of the house home?", they asked.

"No", she replied. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in", they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

"Go tell them I am home & invite them in!"

The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a House together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she asked.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends & said pointing to another one, "He is Success & I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in & discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in & told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come & fill our home with wealth!" His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us heed our daughter's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out & invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out & asked the 3 old men, "Which of you is Love? Please come in. Be our guest."

Love got up & started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up & followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth & Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"

The old men replied all together "Because you invited Love only then Wealth & Success come in."

You are correct. Trump did graduate from Wharton. Dr. Seuss has been a tremendous influence, especially "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" I look forward to hearing your comments about "The Success of Robert Fitzgibbons". Thanks for your support.


Eric