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bookshelves: currently-reading
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Just about every poem I read by Stephen Dunn stalks my thoughts for a little while - most recently its "Sleeping with Others." ]]>
Beautifully written. An engrossing story and gripping characters. Intellectually engaging. Generally, a great book. ]]>
Can I concentrate, can I
Let my eyes and mind settle
On the papery bug
That had settled on the wood
Knob of the canvas
Garden chair
In my friend's backyard, that is
So early humming with bees, and is
Supposed to be relaxing -
The moth has to be thinking.
Its moth-face frowns.
The hair feelers, black-tipped , stand level.
It jumps and flies and I have
No words to describe its pin-jag track.
It flies away from the knob and back,
My fuzzy likeness,
My brother, seizing me with melancholy -
I'm on edge, it could be the coffee
And not enough sleep,
Could be the sense of all I cannot see
And cannot feel, and will die without learning. " ]]>
alicia
said "yes" to attending the event: Book Club - and a Movie!.
date: August 04, 2008 06:30AM
location: Screen on the Green - National Mall (DC), Left Side of National Mall (look for green & white umbrella), Washington, DC, The United States
description: 6:30 to hang out, 7:00pm to discuss Unaccustomed Earth. The movie is the Apartment and it starts at 9 PM.
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This book is brilliant. She weaves brain science together with personal storytelling in order to share the insights she gained during and after a debilitating stroke. The overarching idea is that: "a feeling of deep inner peace is neurological circuitry located in our right brain."
She gives a whole new pespective on notions of being at one with the universe, the power of positive thinking, and the importance of being in the Now - all of which I think are that much more compelling when placed in the context of the human brain and its circuitry.
"I view the garden in my mind as a sacred patch of cosmic real estate that the universe has entrusted me to tend over the years of my lifetime. As an independent agent, I in conjunction with the molecular genuis of my DNA and the environmental factors I am exposed to, will decorate this space within my cranium.... Regardless of the garden I have inherited, once I consciously take over the responsibility of tending my mind, I choose to nurture those circuits that I want to grow, and consciously prune back those circuits I prefer to live without." ]]>
Incredible. I haven't read any of Jhumpa Lahiri's other books so I can't make any comparisons. I can say that these short stories are beautifully written, captivating - at times heart-wrenching and often quietly awe-inspiring. ]]>
This is both an easy and an interesting read. Towards the end some of the dialogue and scenes seem a bit forced - as though the story and characters are secondary to the overarching point the author wants to make. However its still definitely worth the read. ]]>
Cleverly written as a story that moves backwards through time - capturing how a life's present illuminates its past - this is a great read. WWII in London is a mundane yet extraordinary backdrop to the secrets, tragedies, loves and mishaps of several surprisingly interconnected humans. ]]>