Today I bring you the first installment of "What I Read," a compilation of mini-reviews of all the books I finished this month.
The Martian
Written by: Andy Weir
Narrated by: R. C. Bray (not my favorite narrator, but okay for the part and very enthusiastic)
How I read it: Audible audiobook
Why I read it: The movie is supposed to be great (it was!) so I wanted to read the book first.
One-sentence review: I loved this book for the reason that I usually love hard science fiction--it felt like a travelogue written just slightly in the future, and I kept forgetting it wasn't a true story.
My rating: 5/5 potatoes
Artemis Fowl
Written by: Eoin Colfer
How I read it: paperback
Why I read it: My husband recommended it as a fun, lightweight YA novel, perfect for our summer road trip.
One-sentence review: If you like fart jokes and the idea of an amoral, prepubescent James Bond blackmailing fairies, you will like this book.
My rating: 4/5 cheeseballs
Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being
Written by: Brian R. Little, Ph.D.
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor (a totally inappropriate choice of narrator, who made me wish I had read instead of listened)
How I read it: Audible audiobook
Why I read it: I saw it recommended somewhere on the internet, and studying the intersection of well-being and personality sounded interesting and useful. Plus, I liked that he isn't sold on the validity of the ever-popular Myers-Briggs personality typing.
One-sentence review: There are a lot of books about personality psychology you can read, and this one offers a slightly different perspective--but not that different.
My rating: 3/5 neuroses
Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic & the Domestic
Written by: Esther Perel
Narrated by: Esther Perel (beautiful voice, fascinating accent, excellent narrator)
How I read it: OverDrive audiobook
Why I read it: Because I recently got married, and growing up around a variety of sparkless marriages was depressing, so I've decided to do my research and take a pro-active, humble, and preventative approach to keeping things awesome.
One-sentence review: While I personally won't be taking some of her suggestions (like those about non-monogamy), I will certainly be remembering her hilarious client stories and her unique insights about communication, sex, love, and romance in the context of a long-term relationship.
My rating: 5/5 date nights
The Earth Gods
Written by: Kahlil Gibran
How I read it: hardback, with original illustrations by the author
Why I read it: I was drinking tea with my husband, and it was the closest poetry within reach on our dining room bookshelf. (What, you don't have a dining room bookshelf?) Also because Gibran's The Prophet is wonderful, so I suspected this would be as well.
One-sentence review: This is a deeply beautiful book about earth and soul, beauty and despair, love and longing, and I'm not sure I "got it", but it will only take half an hour to read again.
My rating: 5/5 fields untrodden
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
How to Drink Tea
1. Earth
Plant a seed on a misty mountainside
then meditate for a long time
until the plant that grows from the soil
tells you it is ready.
2. Air
Take your basket of leaves to a good breathing place,
spread them beneath the sky,
and touch them with your palms
until they tell you they are warm.
3. Fire
Watch lightning bloom an ancient tree into a blazing pyre
and see beauty instead of death.
Collect the fire in your trembling hands
and carry it to safer ground.
Feed it slowly until it tells you it is full.
4. Water
Gather rain from a clean and shivering riverbed
in a pot that knows how to remain still.
Lay your warm and ready leaves inside the pot,
and lay the pot inside the flames.
Listen to the water
until it tells you it is laughing.
5. Soul
Drink until you become more earth than bone,
more air than breath,
more fire than ash,
more water than blood.
When your cup is empty, fill it
until it tells you it is no longer thirsty.
Plant a seed on a misty mountainside
then meditate for a long time
until the plant that grows from the soil
tells you it is ready.
2. Air
Take your basket of leaves to a good breathing place,
spread them beneath the sky,
and touch them with your palms
until they tell you they are warm.
3. Fire
Watch lightning bloom an ancient tree into a blazing pyre
and see beauty instead of death.
Collect the fire in your trembling hands
and carry it to safer ground.
Feed it slowly until it tells you it is full.
4. Water
Gather rain from a clean and shivering riverbed
in a pot that knows how to remain still.
Lay your warm and ready leaves inside the pot,
and lay the pot inside the flames.
Listen to the water
until it tells you it is laughing.
5. Soul
Drink until you become more earth than bone,
more air than breath,
more fire than ash,
more water than blood.
When your cup is empty, fill it
until it tells you it is no longer thirsty.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
About This Blog
"Lolly" is a person, me. Also, it is a word for a candy, a small sweet.
"On the Margin" is the place where change occurs, where the significance of differences are determined, where decisions are made and actions are taken. It is the place where the unusual is essential, where the exception makes the rule, where the commonplace has no refuge, where the glare diffuses into a tender twilight in the borders between known things. The margin is the home of "why" and "how", and more importantly, "wow" and "now."
We all live on the margin, whether or not we choose it. Choosing to know that this is true allows us to live deliberately. The only option for existing authentically is to face reality, exactly as it is, moment by moment, and to confront what you find on the margin, whether in yourself or in the world, with bravery, hope, and love.
I would like to be lolly on the margin, to interact sweetly with the world when I touch it lightly, when I bump into strangers, when I leave a first impression. Deeper, though, I want to have substance. When you venture past my margins, I want you to find a richness, not something sugary that melts and crumbles, but something dense, strong, and lasting.
"On the Margin" is the place where change occurs, where the significance of differences are determined, where decisions are made and actions are taken. It is the place where the unusual is essential, where the exception makes the rule, where the commonplace has no refuge, where the glare diffuses into a tender twilight in the borders between known things. The margin is the home of "why" and "how", and more importantly, "wow" and "now."
We all live on the margin, whether or not we choose it. Choosing to know that this is true allows us to live deliberately. The only option for existing authentically is to face reality, exactly as it is, moment by moment, and to confront what you find on the margin, whether in yourself or in the world, with bravery, hope, and love.
I would like to be lolly on the margin, to interact sweetly with the world when I touch it lightly, when I bump into strangers, when I leave a first impression. Deeper, though, I want to have substance. When you venture past my margins, I want you to find a richness, not something sugary that melts and crumbles, but something dense, strong, and lasting.
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