Augusta Scattergood's Blog

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Poetry Musings

 Today my friend Elder and I walked to my local bookstore, POLITICS AND PROSE.

The wind almost swept us off our feet! But it is a gorgeous fall day, with just a hint of orange in the maple trees, and Elder and I have known each other since college (Go Tarheels!) so the walk was a delight.

The bookstore is always a delight. And I was on a mission to buy a book.

My other long-time DC friend, Beverly, and I are still trying to keep up our poetry recitations. The poem I shared on Sunday is from James Crews' new book, UNLOCKING THE HEART.  

The poem is titled "Note to Self," and it really touched both of us. 

Now I'll brew a cup of tea, dig into my new book, and watch the trees sway in the wind.

A perfect day, no?

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Books! Books! Books!

 Happy 2024, everybody.  Okay, it's a little late but it's been a busy 2024 already.

One fun thing I did last year was write about my three favorite books for the Shepherd For Authors website.  

Picking THREE was impossible, of course.

I read constantly.  True confessions: Some of the titles that pop up on my Kindle are downright embarrassing. Others are shareable. Some are unfinished. You know, that Life's Too Short to Read All the Books thing?

                                                https://www.rd.com/article/book-puns/

 (Aside: I'm living in a new place- Washington DC! And I've started a Fiction Book Club. So far we've read COVENANT OF WATER, LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, HEAVEN AND EARTH BOOK CLUB, and a couple of others, including the Claire Keegan title, mentioned in my favorites.)

I totally loved thinking back and writing about three stand-outs.

Here's the LINK to my THREE FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2023.

 I'd love to know what you've  been reading. Feel free to leave me a comment.

And Author Friends, reach out to Shepherd and add your own three books!

 

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Try to Remember...

It's been so long since I posted here that I had to figure out how to sign into Google to open the proper browser.

(Not sure what that says about someone who used to love to write updates. Are blogs obsolete? Does anybody read them? Or have I said all I need to say?)

BUT I did dig up my password just to be able to share the photos of a new bookstore at the Short Hills Mall I visited last week. 

I lived near this lovely mall for over twenty years. I'm not really a Mall person, but this is where I met friends for coffee, walked many a mile when it was too cold/snowy/ icy in New Jersey to be outside, and okay, maybe made a few purchases.

I vaguely remember a bookstore there when we first moved to nearby Chatham, NJ in the 80s.

But this new store - WOW.

This is an INDIGO bookstore, a Canadian company. Here's the link to the NJ store, with a great photo of the front. I was so excited when I stepped inside that I didn't take pictures of the entrance.

The store is large, tremendously well-organized, and filled with great books. Even the "stuff" that bookstores have to carry was beautifully curated, with tons of holiday items on sale. 

Of course, I did what every friend-of-authors does and searched for familiar books. INDIGO's holdings are vast, however, and maybe I missed some. 

The entire back of the store is for young kids' books, including by my good friend Aimee Reid, herself a Canadian.

Check out the middle of the YA and Middle Grade books section. Cool, no?

Barbara O'Connor's books were lined up in the "O" section, and my friend snatched one up.

Shannon Hitchcock, I turned your newest book facing out, just for the photo op!

Be sure to tell your New Jersey friends to hustle on over there and check it out. 

This greeted us as we walked in the front door. 

Bestsellers, Staff Picks, etc etc etc. 

So many ways to look at books.

A perfect day. 

Bookstore with a friend. 

Cold and grey outside. 

Nice shopping bag. 

Who could ask for more?

I've moved to Washington DC now, home of Politics and Prose and other delightful bookstores. 

I left a favorite, TOMBOLO BOOKS, back in St. Petersburg, FL. 

I don't think I could live in a place that didn't have at least one good bookstore and a very strong public library system. 

I'm sure most of my blog readers, and all of my bookish friends, would agree, right?

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Monday Books, again

With apologies to all the IT'S MONDAY WHAT ARE YOU READING consistent bloggers, I submit my occasional Monday books today.

(My blogging skills have taken a hiatus but I do love hearing about and sharing books with others who dig more deeply than I do.)

That said, I've read some excellent books during my absence from Monday sharing.

Both of these came via friends who know how much I love to read and share.

 

                                           (Publisher's Weekly review )

The illustrations, the lovely and very descriptive words, and the helpful Author's Note and backmatter make this picture book the perfect introduction to a war, a part of the world, and a story young readers may not know. Loosely based on both the author's experience and the "real" secret library during the Syrian civil war, NOUR'S SECRET LIBRARY inspires empathy, a love of books, and a very special friendship.

Hot off the press,  FINDING MOON RABBIT is taken from the true stories of families faced with internment during World War II. 

Click on this link for JC Kato's fabulous website. I think kids are going to learn a lot and enjoy the process. 

Girl Scouts, friendship, intrigue, and history, too-- What could be better for a summer read?

JC and I go way back and I know how hard she's worked on her marvelous middle-grade novel. She's traveled to camps, interviewed family members, applied for and won an SCBWI Karen Cushman grant and now the book is out in the world! I'm proud to know her and honored to have read the early versions of FINDING MOON RABBIT. 

Click here for a glowing Kirkus review.

For my own personal edification, I've been reading picture book biographies. Reading a book as a librarian brings different skills and experiences from reading as a writer.  With a push from my friend Shannon Hitchcock (Check her website to see how many excellent books she's recently published about little-known storytellers and artists), I've explored picture books about both artists and sports figures. So much fun!

I'll share just one because I really could go on and on. 

I've visited Flannery O'Connor's house in Milledgeville, GA. (aside: don't you love visiting writers' homes?)  This book takes me back to that afternoon wandering around her backyard, and it takes my breath away, visually. It's also a compelling story, so well-written. I love how the author of this picture book incorporates some of O'Connor's themes into statements kids can understand. Or at least ponder. "There was something about strangeness that made people sit up and look."

Fun reading, no? I can't wait to read all the books my #IMWAYR buddies will share today.

Poetry and Other Distractions...

As previously noted, my friend Beverly and I memorize poems. Her choices are better/ harder/ longer than mine. But that's the way my mushy brain is working these days. Beverly understands and lets me delight over Mary Oliver, stumble over Wordsworth, laugh when Billy Collins makes fun of torturing a confession out of a poem.

This week she chose "The World is Too Much With Us."  And how prescient of my friend to recite that this sad week. 

So, what have I been reading to share on this Monday, Memorial Day?

 I've mostly been reading grownup poetry, but I pulled this one off my shelf and delighted in it all over again.

I'm going to link to THIS because it says so much about the book, and the poet.

Much more than my mushy brain (see above) can articulate this morning.

As always, middle-grade novels continue to (mostly) hold my attention.

This might be one of my favorite book cover images in a while.  (Except the author makes a point that the narrator is slightly overweight, maybe she used the word dumpy. I'm going to overlook that in favor of the notebook paper filled with words.)

It says a lot about the story. True confessions, I haven't finished WORSER but I'm going to make it my number one To Do thing today- finish WORSER. I'm getting close and loving almost every word.

Yesterday I had a conversation with a retired school counselor who believes, not surprisingly to anybody working in education today, that bullying is a huge issue, maybe the issue. I'm going to keep reading this one before I comment more. Bullying, so far, is not the theme, but it is prevalent and the kids in Worser's world are slightly on the fringes, susceptible to all sorts of teasing.

 

My life is kind of complicated lately, but reading makes me happiest so although I continue to retreat from sharing too much, frequent blogging, posting meaningless trivia, I'll stick to poetry, mysteries, middle-grade novels and puppies.

 Cheers to all the teachers pushing through these days,  holding their students in the light. 

 

And, on this Memorial Day, bless the families whose soldiers have died fighting for our country.

 

 

 

 

April is Poetry Month

 When I lived and worked in New Jersey, one of the (few) things I loved about April was celebrating poetry. 

    Put a Poem in Your Pocket

    a Poetry Assembly

    Reading all the fun, funny, poignant poems shared here and there. 

That and a few forced forsythias kept me smiling through what was often dreary weather.

Fast forward a few years and we've found ourselves back on the East Coast in a more southerly spot, Washington DC.

Where the weather is more agreeable and the flowers are earlier. So April is fast becoming a favorite month. And there's still POETRY to be shared. Now I'm sharing it with one of my dearest friends.

The idea came when Judith Viorst addressed a group I was part of. At the end, a questioner asked her how she kept so sharp. Sudoku? Crossword puzzles? 

Nope, she memorizes poetry!

I was all over that. So now my friend Beverly and I memorize a FEW VERSES AT A TIME of a favorite poem. We both agree that this was something we did in Mrs. Glassco's senior English class, from Robert Burns to William Wordsworth, and a lot in between (not so much after, however). 

Her first poem contained many stanzas. Christopher Marlowe! She learned them all!       (But I have too much fluff in my brain! Like how to drive to the nearest CVS, or the library, or Beverly's house! Driving directions, among many other new things, are clogging my brain.)

So mine was a more modest attempt, Mary Oliver.

 

My new choice is a short, wonderfully metered Emily Dickinson verse.   

(Note to self. Easier to memorize poems that rhyme.)

Oh, and I didn't find this week's selection, "Hope is the thing with feathers" this way but I loved reading this, about her poetry just now in Publisher's Weekly.

It's been a long time and not-so-many words since I last blogged. But I want to keep up with these poems so I'm going to attempt to track them here. Stay with me if you'd like and tell me your favorite poem. 

Have you memorized anything lately? 

Do kids even do this in school?