Tag: Writers Read

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Hi everybody!

I’ve harped on about reading but never actually work on the habit. So I decided to focus on this every night after my proprioceptive writing practice.

Any of you know proprioceptive writing? Not? Well, I’m rereading Writing the Mind Alive by Linda T Metcalf and Tobin Simon. I’ll be making a mini review soon. First of its kind!

Another highlight from my reading heart is our library! Libraries are unfortunately not as hip and happening anymore, since my childhood. I think lots of a society’s troubles are rooted in the illiteracy of their people. Libraries falling into disrepair and neglect as well as school education dumbing down year after year, are just two symptoms.

The sight of our local town library just made me so happy! With their old and out dated books and all, I’m happy about it, regardless! It will see me in the future. Not now. I have enough to read from our home library.

CURRENTLY READING

NON-FICTION

Writing the Mind Alive by Linda T Metcalf
Progress: 25% completed
This book teaches the skill of proprioceptive writing as a self-care tool.

Magaliesberg Kaleidoscope by Willie Meyer
Progress: 30% completed
A collection of essays on this area where I live. It starts with records from nearly a thousand years ago. We’ve just moved into events and battles after the Anglo Boer War. It’s been a fascinating read.

FICTION

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E Nesbit
Progress: 30% completed
I absolutely love Shakespeare. This is an abridged compilation that I used to read with the kids. I decided to get into a lighter version before falling into my modern English version of the original plays, short stories and essays I bought over 20 years ago!

Selected Poems by Federico Garcia Lorca
Progress: 7%
Not quite sure if poetry goes here, but here we are…
Absolutely new to me author. I picked up these poems on Heathrow a few years back when we visited London. This collection of poems was translated into English. I’ve not read poetry since high school and I forgot how much I love it but also what a skill reading poetry with comprehension is. It’s going slow. I’ve picked up this collection to read as part of my self imposed Ray Bradbury daily challenge. I’ll write about this challenge another day.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Progress: 16% completed
There’s so much in the book that was not in the movie. I think it’s the age old complaint of readers and watchers alike. It surprised me quite a bit and I really had to force myself to put the complaint aside and focus on the book. Read it with new and fresh curiosity. Enjoying it this far and as you can see, I have a lot to go still.

NON-FICTION, IMPATIENTLY WAITING TO BE READ

Atomic Habits by James Clear
Progress: 0 of 271 pages
Truth To Power by André de Ruyter
Progress: 0 of 309 pages
The Ups!de of Down by Bruce Whitfield
Progress: 0 of 229 pages
Reset Rebuild Reignite by Pavlo Phitidis
Progress: 0 of 254 pages
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
Progress: 0 of 282 pages

FICTION, IMPATIENTLY WAITING TO BE READ

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Progress: 0%
Old Hendrik’s Tales: 13 South African Folk Tales by Arthur Owen Vaughan
Progress: 0%
English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs
Progress: 0%
The Life of Worm & Other Misconceptions (Short Stories) by Ken Barris
Progress: 0%

In closing…

What are you reading? Have you read any of these books? My home library is chock-full books I haven’t read and I will be working through these now with earnest. In the meantime my Notion Library of TBR books are growing.

Until next time, thank you for reading.

“Description on Bookdepository”

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a shy twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness when she meets Ernest Hemingway and is captivated by his energy, intensity and burning ambition to write. After a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for France. But glamorous Jazz Age Paris, full of artists and writers, fuelled by alcohol and gossip, is no place for family life and fidelity. Ernest and Hadley’s marriage begins to founder, and the birth of a beloved son serves only to drive them further apart. Then, at last, Ernest’s ferocious literary endeavours begin to bring him recognition – not least from a woman intent on making him her own …

What says I

This is a book that I honestly don’t have an opinion about. It stays a memorable book about a very famous writer’s first wife, that had a hell of a time dealing with the man she really loved. This book deserves all the acclaim it receives, every positive review and every award lavished onto it. But for me, I have no words…it is more than just a great historical fiction.
Let’s start with what I liked about the book. I associated so much with Hadley, the protagonist and first wife to Mr Hemingway. She’s a strong woman, independent and out of place in a world that looked and felt a certain way. The writer sketched her so beautifully from where she moved to the big city, meeting her future husband, finding herself intrigued by the people so different from herself. It felt like me that latched onto, in reality, an impossible dream and then having to deal with the consequences. Sometimes life feels like a dream to me. When I read and felt and relived this story, I felt Hadley go from young and strong to uncertain and conflicted. It was sad to me how deep her pain ran. And I think I should stop now before I spoil it for a future reader.
As a romance, it is not your stereotypical romance but I do believe a more realistic retelling of a love story. As historical fiction, brilliant. I felt and experienced America and Europe in the 20’s.

What says others

NPR Books interviewed her http://www.npr.org/2015/08/01/427113402/aviator-beryl-markham-soars-again-in-paris-wife-authors-new-book after the release of her book Circling the Sun.

New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/books/review/book-review-the-paris-wife-by-paula-mclain.html and The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/26/the-paris-wife-paula-mclain-review shared some beautiful reviews.

This has been a very popular book in bookclubs such as Reading Group Guides http://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/the-paris-wife/guide, LitLovers http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/8093-paris-wife-mclain and Oprah http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/the-paris-wife-by-paula-mclain-reading-guide.

Where to connect with the author

Visit Paula McLain on her website http://paulamclain.com/. I got stuck on her essays http://paulamclain.com/essays/. You can find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/paulamclainauthor/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paula_mclain/ as well.

Where to buy this book

Unfortunately Takealot https://www.takealot.com/the-paris-wife/PLID35611373 is out of stock
Bookdepository https://www.bookdepository.com/Paris-Wife-Paula-McLain/9781844086689 with a completely different cover from my copy
Kobo’s https://www.kobo.com/za/en/ebook/the-paris-wife-deluxe-edition deluxe edition has a completely different cover from mine or Bookdepository. This is an ebook but I must admit, this edition sounds like sure indulgence!!

And that is it from me for now

Until next time sweet peeps!