Friday Reads 2.14.25
It’s Valentine’s Galantine’s Palentine’s day… I vote we move to include books and make it Bibliantine’s Day. Or do we celebrate Bibliantine’s every day? If not, we should! Imagine how much nicer the world would be if we were constantly sending one another little friendly love notes disguised as bookish poems and letters and stories?
Here’s a lovely Bibliantine from me to you… we are celebrating a day of love and friendship, after all…
“Books Fall Open"
by David McCord
Books fall open, you fall in,
Delighted where you've never been;
Hear voices not once heard before,
Reach world on world through door on door;
Find unexpected keys to things
Locked up beyond imaginings...
What might you be, perhaps become,
Because one book is somewhere?
Some New part of you, you cannot guess
May rise from someone's words to bless
The life you live, the thoughts you think...
Strong drink, this book, or meat, or drink?
Take it. Be still. Be sure. It waits,
A feast, beyond the first few gates.
It’s been a really rough few weeks around here, with loved ones ill and in hospitals on both sides of the family. I'm actually on a plane to Florida right now to lend a hand to my side. Somewhere between all the hospitals and Emergency Rooms and doctors and nurses and terrifying moments and coming down with the flu ourselves, some work got done. Not enough, but some. I apologize for missing last week’s blog, and I know I’m behind on our 22 Steps series, but I am starting to catch up.
My new novel, LAST SEEN, is almost finished its proofread, and the proofread of the new Jayne book, THE SCROLLS OF TIME, is done and off to audio. Two at once has been quite the challenge, but I’m hopeful things will continue calming down, and life will return to a new normal for us all. I’m anxious to return to drafting the 2026 thriller, which is really fun and totally dark. I keep reminding myself that all is not lost when I can’t write for hours every day. I am trying to at least mentally touch the manuscript daily. And I did have a brilliant new high-concept idea pop into my head in the middle of the night, so sleep deprivation isn’t the worst. Short story? Novel? I don’t know, but it came with its own logline, so I call it a win.
One thing that’s been saving me is a product called Sweet Sleep Magnesium Butter by Sweet Bee Organics. If you are stressed, have any sort of insomnia, or just need a good night’s rest, this stuff really works. I know because I can’t get more than two or three pages of my current read done before I drift off.
That read is still SOCIETY OF LIES by Lauren Ling Brown. The delay in finishing is not because of the book, simply the lack of time to sit down and pleasure read, and the new falling asleep within minutes because of the magnesium butter. I’m enjoying it though, and it’s actually helping with some structure issues I was having with the new, new book I’m writing. I do love me an academic setting.
To wit, I’ve been watching a lot of movies, and one that was a great distraction was FALLEN, based on the book by Lauren Kate. I grabbed the book, too, because it has all the elements I love—gothic school, deep and complicated romance, a woman finding her power… And I’m telling you, that school’s library had me drooling. They shot at Tura Castle in Hungary, and I now want to go there STAT.
A more serious note for the Nashville contingent…I was very saddened to hear that Steve Turner passed away this week. For years, Steve and his wife Judy Turner sponsored A WORD ON WORDS. I’m sure you’ve seen their names on the screen before. They were magnificent supporters of the arts in Nashville. What a glorious legacy. My deepest condolences to the family, and many thanks for all the love and life you’ve given this city and our little show.
That’s it from me today. How about you? Any bibliotines you want to leave behind today? 💝
