Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 5

“Wild Geese,” Mary Oliver’s Paean to Hope

Lately, life seems to be sending me cryptic messages, imbued with a tinge of mortality, infused with the sense of time passing all too quickly. Today, all I can say, all I can think of comes through in Mary Oliver’s “The Wild Geese.” The aura of the poem calls me to remember to stop and … More “Wild Geese,” Mary Oliver’s Paean to Hope

The Nightingale: A Novel, by Kristin Hannah

I was one of those children who’d happily go to bed at whatever ungodly hour my parents wanted us four kids to. Because that meant I could read until my eyelids sagged or the flashlight batteries died, whatever came first. Of course, I’d be cat-tired the next, yearning for a nice warm quilt and sunny … More The Nightingale: A Novel, by Kristin Hannah

Awards!!!

Take a Goose or a Duck: Eclectic Essays on English Cooky Through the Ages – Best in the World in Cookbook History and Writing, awarded May 2023, in Umea, Sweden by Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Take a Goose or a Duck: Eclectic Essays on English Cooky Through the Ages – President’s Silver Medal, Adult General … More Awards!!!

Gherkins & Tomatoes -Revived!

Please go to Turquoise Moon Press for the latest updates on my books. You may also head over to Medium.com for some of my latest writings: Cynthia D. Bertelsen I just downgraded this site (Gherkins) and lost a whole year’s worth of posts, not that I’d had all that many from the last year. It’s … More Gherkins & Tomatoes -Revived!

Gherkins & Tomatoes Finale

Please go to Turquoise Moon Press for the latest updates on my books and writing. I just downgraded the site and lost a whole year’s worth of posts, not that I’d had all that many from the last year. Life has suddenly become extremely complicated with a family member’s illness and other things. It’s been … More Gherkins & Tomatoes Finale

A Meditation on Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s “Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace”

I grow old … I grow old … I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. ~ T.S. Eliot, “The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock“   Like it or not, once you’re born, you grow old. (If you’re lucky.) The end is inevitable. Think taxes. And Western society views growing old like figures … More A Meditation on Elizabeth Marshall Thomas’s “Growing Old: Notes on Aging with Something Like Grace”

J. Elliott Reviews “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti”

  Cynthia and I were booth buddies at the recent Sunshine State Book Festival. When she said she was giving away a few copies of her latest book, I snatched one up and begged her to sign it. When Cynthia said she was writing stories about Haiti, I really didn’t know what to expect, though … More J. Elliott Reviews “Mangoes & Roosters: Stories and Tales of Haiti”

Another Stellar Book Set in a Library: Bella Osborne’s “The Library”

Reading saved me as a child, giving me a way to see the world outside the walls of my childhood home, offering me respite and escape from an often intolerable and hostile atmosphere. The public library in my small town in eastern Washington state became my sanctuary. So it’s no surprise that I cherish books … More Another Stellar Book Set in a Library: Bella Osborne’s “The Library”

“Try Before You Buy”: Matt Haig’s “The Midnight Library”

A few weeks ago, on the strength of a rather glowing review, I added Matt Haig‘s The Midnight Library to my bulging Kindle library. And although I never read books in the fantasy genre – well, I DID read Like Water for Chocolate once upon a time – I could not stop reading Haig’s bestseller, … More “Try Before You Buy”: Matt Haig’s “The Midnight Library”

About Those New Year’s Resolutions …

On any given New Year’s Day, I start out, always, with the best of intentions. I resolve to carry through with certain goals/outcomes for the year. I think of New Year’s like the first day of school, with brand-new, blank pages in a notebook or gleaming white screens on a laptop. Full of promise and … More About Those New Year’s Resolutions …