I’ve found that some of the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones where I know a little about the person behind it. So, I picked this up from A Sorta Fairy Tale and thought I’d complete it A-Z. Some of these questions are not the ones I’d ask (or answer) but sometimes what other people want to know is what they want to know!

More book and country related posts this week…

A. Age: 57
B. Bed size: King (& pillow-top) and I can’t imagine going smaller now
C. Chore that you hate: Cleaning the toilets
D. Dogs: Wes, a yellow Lab and Farlow, whose mom is a Valley Bulldog & dad is presumed to be a German Shepherd. All of our dogs have been named after guitar players (Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau, Wes Montgomery, Tal Farlow)
E. Essential start to your day: swing my legs over the edge of the bed!
F. Favourite colors: Wedgewood blue, soft gold and forest green
G. Gold or Silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’8”
I. Instruments you play: the piano (although I haven’t for years, so maybe I don’t)
J. Job title: Card Sender & blogger – and volunteer minister
K. Kids: a lovely red-headed grown daughter
L. Live: Tatamagouche Nova Scotia
M. Mother-in-law’s name: Eileen
N. Nicknames: Deb, Auditor-general
O. Overnight hospital stays: to have my tonsils out when I was 5, to have my daughter (decades ago), other surgery in 2001
P. Pet peeves: television! (It rots your brain…)
Q. Quote from a movie: it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. (Casablanca 1942)
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: four, all younger
T. Time you wake up: Usually between 7 & 8 a.m. (I used to be in the office every day at 7:30, so this is sleeping in)
U. Underwear: Yes
V. Vegetable you hate: Fennel
W. What makes you run late: Trying to do just one more thing…
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental, my arm, my foot, my other foot…c’mon I’m nearly sixty, there’s likely lots more I can’t remember
Y. Yummy food that you make: pasta with fresh garlic, tomatoes & basil
Z. Zoo animal: Elephant. I’ve always had a weakness for them.

And I love to get know my readers. What about you – want to answer one of these?

In an effort to expand my reading horizons, I decided to take up the gauntlet laid down by Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit and join the Fearless Poetry Exploration Challenge. After all, all that’s required is to read one book of poetry – and review it.

I’ll tell you upfront – I know nothing about what makes poetry good, and I’ve not done my homework by reading any of Molly Peacock’s books, as Serena suggests. I’m just going by the old “I don’t know art but I know what I like” premise in evaluating this book. Pity the author!

Intrigued by the blurb on LibraryThing Early Reviewers which told me to “imagine a John Coltrane solo, with words instead of tenor sax”, I requested (and won) Soul Clothes by Regina D. Jemison.

The book is divided into three sections. The first, God Gave Me Words, deals with the frustrations of daily life and opens promisingly:

I’ve been busy chasin’
chasin’ children
chasin’ money
chasin’ men

No time to write
my blues away; chasin’

gave me the blues…

When I read those opening lines, I saw immediately the busyness of life, the seemingly endless round of activities, with no “me” time to rejuvenate, to chase away the blues.

In this section, there is a lawyer’s prayer (Jemison has her own law practice in Detroit, Michigan) as well as comment on America’s penal system, white privilege, and being black.

The second part of the book, carrying the book’s title, considers being a woman and includes WOMEN WAITING: breast cancer, a story, and an impassioned Lover, I Can’t Make You, that opens

I can’t make u love me,
Black Man, lover

and in which most women will recognize ay least one of the relationships they’ve had with a man in their lives.

The third section of Soul Clothes is Divine Reflections. Although Jemison’s strong faith runs throughout the book and touches on nearly every topic she considers, it is in this part of the book that she addresses her beliefs more directly, including giving a description of what seems to be her view of heaven.

I have seen it, my legs dangle off the edge.

In the foreword to this slim volume, Stephen Marsh tells us that “Jemison believes her life mission is to empower and prepare people to be their divine self at all times and under any and all circumstances.” It would appear that his metaphoric “one of God’s own trombones” is less metaphysical than I had assumed when I requested this book.

It would not be fair if I did not acknowledge that the implied and direct language of Jemison’s faith made me uncomfortable. Nonetheless, there are strong expressions about life here, many of which caused me to meditate on the world, its pains, and its joys.

Jemison makes it clear she is interested in “the divine possibilities of Black people in general, and the Black church in particular.“ I think Soul Clothes will especially appeal to women, to those interested in a Black perspective, and to those who share Jemison’s belief system.

Kindle edition:

Soul Clothes

Summer is fast drawing to a close & I realize that I’ve not shown you a full summer view from my window. (Oh, I wish I had a new camera!)

Despite the warmish weather of the last couple of weeks, the grasses and trees are losing their vibrant summer green, so I thought I’d concentrate on the mountain ash tree in the front garden. It volunteered itself there about four years ago and this year, for the first time, displayed the glossy orange berries that characterize it. (And, yes, the sky is really is that blue.)

We spent yesterday afternoon at the beach but it rained all night and today it’s 13C/55F with a NW wind blowing at 60km/35mph that makes it feel much colder. But the sun is shining – which it’s supposed to do all weekend. Have a good one, wherever you are. I’ll be back with book-related posts next week.

I was out doing volunteer work yesterday afternoon and got quite warm in the car. Each time we drove past an ocean view, the water looked so blue & inviting that I thought of stopping the car and just diving in.

Today promised to be as warm so we decided to make a last run to the beach. (Much cooler weather is forecast, starting tomorrow.) That ol’ Atlantic was darn cold – and rough, what with the stiff breeze coming in, but my three-year-old grandson had a ball while his mom & I sat in the sun.

Even if we have a very warm Indian summer next month, this will probably be our last beach trip for the year. Bittersweet.

I just discovered Pop Culture Nerd and her My Life As a Book series of annual posts. Each year the sentences change, and everyone’s invited to fill in the blanks using only the titles of the books they’ve read that year.

Here’s my first try – enjoy!

MY LIFE AS A BOOK

One time at summer camp I was Building the Pauson House (Frank Lloyd Wright & Rose Pauson) My review here.

Weekends at my house are Family Matters (Rohinton Mistry)

My neighbor is An Expert in Murder (Nicola Upson) My review here.

My boss is An Impartial Witness (Charles Todd)

My ex was The Man in the Queue (Josephine Tey) My review here.

My super-hero secret identity is The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence) My review here.

You would not like me when I’m angry because I Wrecker (Summer Wood) My review here.

I would win a gold medal in Unfinished Business (Lee Kravitz) My review here.

I’d pay good money for The House at Riverton (Kate Morton)

If I were president I would be Drawing the Line (Judith Cutler)

When I do not have good books, A Murder is Announced (Agatha Christie)

Loud talkers at the movies should be All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)

“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” seems to describe the baker’s dozen books I read in August. A real mix with some very good reads but nothing that totally grabbed me and received a five star rating.

1. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World by Edward Dolnick
Genre: Non-fiction, History
Dolnick has written a compelling, extremely readable history of the birth of modern science, including calculus, which explains the world around us. Fascinating.

2. The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone)Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale by Susan Maushart
Genre: Non-fiction, memoir
Maushart, the mother of 3 teenagers, instituted a ‘screen-free’ home for 6 months. Full of interesting statistics and anecdotes about her family’s time without television, iPod, iPhone, Internet, Gameboy et al

3. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
Novel: Fiction, Canadian
Novel set in 1975 and 1976 Yellowknife (capital of North-West Territories, Canada). It’s the story of a group of people who operate the radio station there, and their canoe trip into the wilds of The Barrens, following the route of doomed explorer John Hornby.

4. A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano
Genre: Fiction
Fictionalized account of the last years of author Flannery O’Connor’s life in the town of Milledgeville Georgia. Well-written, seamless plot and great insights.

5. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
Genre: Fiction, women’s light
Originally published in 1938. This light-hearted romp, an hour by hour account of Miss Pettigrew’s magical 24 hours was turned into a charming movie starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. Delightful.

6. Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico
Genre: Fiction, Women’s light
Another happy-go-lucky oldie, originally published in 1957. Quaint English charwoman Ada Harris falls in love with a Dior dress and decides to go to Paris to buy one.

7. Beautiful Joe – An Autobiography of a Dog by Marshall Saunders
Genre: Fiction, Animal stories
Written in 1893 and winner of a contest sponsored by the ASPCA, this story, told from the point of view of a dog, is a treatise about the evils of animal abuse. Meant originally for school children, it became a best-seller and contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. Read on my Kindle.

8. Snares of Guilt by Lesley Horton
Genre: Fiction, Police procedural
Book #1 of the Detective Inspector Handford series. A police procedural rather than a mystery as we know in the first chapter who the murderer is. Solid plot, likable but flawed protagonists.

9. Soul Clothes by Regina D. Jemison
Genre: Poetry
A win from LibraryThing, this slim volume of poetry by Michigan lawyer Jemison touches on faith, relationships & life. My review is here.

10. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
Genre: Literary fiction
One of McCullers’ best known works, this centers around one weekend in the life of twelve-year-old Frankie aka Jasmine aka Frances as she prepares for her brother’s wedding.

11. Crossroads Road by Jeff Kay
Genre: Fiction
A win from the author. A novel that tells the story of a dysfunctional family whose overbearing matriarch wins $24 million and offers each of her children $2m and a new home – in her subdivision, Crossroads Road. Review coming. Read on my Kindle.

12. Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delaney
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Second in the Constable Molly Smith/Seargent John Winters mystery series. A disappointment: the plot seemed contrived and far-fetched, and the writing seemed not to have seen either a proof reader or an editor.

13. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
Genre: Literary fiction
Another of McCullers most famous – a novella about the said café and its owner. Odd.

Kindle versions:

Beautiful Joe An Autobiography of a Dog FREE

Crossroads Road

Links for my Canadian readers:

The Clockwork Universe

The Winter of Our Disconnect

Late Nights on Air

A Good Hard Look

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris

Beautiful Joe

Snares of Guilt

The Member of the Wedding

Valley of the Lost

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe: and Other Stories

Amazon Kindle 3G