Summer Sabbatical

        God is not found in the soul by adding anything 

but by subtracting.   Meister Eckhart 

The journey to clarity is always interesting. 

I thought my plan for the summer seemed
reasonable and workable. First, I would revise the current version of my memoir and when that was complete, I would buy a new laptop. Mine is ten years old, and I know I am overdue for an upgrade. Finally, once I felt comfortable on the new laptop, I would develop a website and include my blog, along with information about spiritual direction and groups I facilitate. 

At the same time I decided to offer two groups at church--a writing group and a T'ai Chi group--along with ongoing participation in two writing groups, and publishing a new post every Tuesday.  

So far so good.

But then the site of my blog announced a change--one that required technological skills above my paid grade and one that affects all of you who receive an email notification each time I publish a new post. 

The change happens in July. EEEEK!

I asked my daughter, who is much more savvy about these issues, to help me sort through what I needed to do on the blog for my faithful subscribers. We worked our way through the complicated process and then...the next steps were unintelligible to either of us. We were stuck. What to do!

Kate helped me sort through some possibilities, and I came up with a temporary plan, which wasn't ideal, but would allow me to continue revising the memoir--my main goal--at a steady and satisfying pace.

I turned off the laptop for the day, we left the garret, chatting about other topics, and she went home. My practice most days is to read in the snug for a bit before fixing dinner, but after reading only a few pages, I knew what I needed to do. 

The words "Summer Sabbatical" couldn't have been clearer than if they had appeared on a dry erase board in front of me.

And just as clearly I knew what that meant: not a sabbatical from my summer plans, but a break from this blog. Was this a Scarlett O'Hara "I'll think about it tomorrow," decision because I don't want to deal with the technical issues? Yes, I suppose, in part.

What the summer sabbatical from my weekly posts is really about is clearing the space. (Remember the name of this blog!) A bit more time for the revision process is welcome, but so is some space for re-imagining next steps and and preparing for those steps. 

So here's my new plan: I will resume writing in the blog, but probably not until fall, and it may look different, as well. 

In the meantime, feel free to browse posts from years past, and if you haven't requested my "Savoring Summer Spirituality, A Guide to Enhance the Gifts of the Season." now might be a good time. It's free. To request it simply email me, nagneberg48@gmail.com. 

The purpose of the guide is to notice the movement and the gifts of God in these days and in our lives, and it seems I experienced the movement of God in these moments of clarity. 

Before I Take A Break--Some Book Notes. 

1.    In the June 22 post I listed my summer reading plans. So far I loved re-reading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver and also reading for the first time, but maybe not the last, The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. What a book--on many levels. I also read the first two books in The Highland Bookshop Mystery series by Molly Macrae. They were entertaining enough, but I don't think I will read other books in the series. 

2.    Just because I have a summer reading list, doesn't mean there won't be detours. A few days ago I picked up a couple library holds and will read both of those now: About the Author, a mystery by John Colapinto, and Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, a re-read for me. 

3.    During morning meditation time I have been re-reading An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor and her chapter "The Practice of Saying No" is reinforcing. I also just acquired The Divine Dance, The Trinity and Your Transformation by Richard Rohr with Mike Morrell, and I look forward to starting that. 

4.    I am browsing and lingering in a new book of poetry, A Family Scrapbook, https://store.bookbaby.com by a dear family friend, Ralph Pitman. Ralph is a retired Episcopalian priest and officiated at our son and daughter-in-love's wedding fifteen years ago. Our sons played high school football together, and this is a poem he wrote when his son graduated from high school.

                                    David

                    You stand among men
                    like a young tree in the forest.
                    Your roots sink deep in the soil
                    of laughter and memory.
                    Your trunk is straight,
                    your bark is clean and even.
                    Your branches reach
                    well beyond the limits
                    of my shaded sight.
                    their tips reach
                    to suns not yet risen.
                    Green life runs through you
                    and pour out into the sky.
                    Some trees are taller,
                    and some are bent and twisted.
                    You will know your own
                    seasons of rain and drought.
                    You may never again stand so straight,
                    but that doesn't matter.
                    You stand today,
                    and our souls ascend
                    on your branches. 

Thanks everyone for reading my posts. I am grateful to each of you. And I will be back. Have a wonderful summer. May it include some sabbath time. Light Blessings, Nancy

An Invitation
What clarifying experiences have you had and how have they illuminated the movement of God in your life? I would love to know. 

Summer Reading

 My reading life knows no seasons. Not only do I read voraciously in each of the seasons, but the kind of reading I do does not seem to change with the seasons. My beach reading is simply whatever book I happen to be reading at the moment. 

When I think of summer reading, however, I think about the places where I read in the summer. I slip away from my desk in the garret to read in "Paris" when I have lunch or on the patio when the sun isn't too intense. I remember fondly, almost longingly, the afternoons I lingered on our front porch when we lived in Madison or on the porch swing decades ago when our children were small. 

During our Sweetwater Farm years I reclined on an Adirondack chair under the crabapple tree where the deer came to snack in the early evening hours. And sometimes we drove to Presque Isle on Lake Erie for a white sandy beach day --a lazy day of looking for sea glass and, of course, reading. 

The summers I was fortunate enough to spend a week at Chautauqua, my room on the second floor of an old inn looked out on the lake. I claimed a rocking chair on the balcony as my reading room. 

When I was a child we often moved as soon as school was out for the summer. Almost before the moving van door closed, I got my new library card and filled my days with books. What a bonus if I could bike to the library by myself. 

Many summers our family spent a week or two in northern Minnesota at a simple family resort in northern Minnesota--the kind that is rare these days. I slept on the screened porch and fell asleep reading, lulled by the rhythm of waves lapping against the dock and the small fishing boats. 

One summer, when I was about 12 or so, my mother claimed I wore out the fabric on a chair, reading with my legs slung over one of the arms. That is probably true. 

Even though my summer reading is more about place than genre, that doesn't mean I don't have ideas about what I plan to read this summer. Here's my list--subject to change and whim, of course. 

1.    Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. I read this lush book years ago, but found a copy in a Little Free Library and now my intention is to reread each of her titles. 

2.    A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker. This is a sequel to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, which I remember enjoying, but may need to reread before reading #2. I think #3 has been published recently as well--for a future list! 

3.    The Overstory by Richard Powers. This has been on my TBR shelf for a long time, but now may be the time. Like Prodigal Summer this is a book where the life of the natural world is as much a character as the people in the book. 

4.    The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson. The blurb on the back says the story "follows a Dahkotah family's struggle to preserve their way of life and one woman's search for belonging and community." This book has received great reviews, and besides, it is a book that just feels good to hold. That always counts with me. 

5.    Lady Clementine, a historical novel by Marie Benedict. Lady Clementine is, of course, Clementine Churchill, and there is no doubt she has a story that needs to be told. I spotted this book while browsing in a bookstore, and I love it when I make a book discovery on my own. That is true of the next book on the list, too.

6.    Scones and Scoundresl, The Highland Bookshop Mystery Series Book 2 by Molly Macrae. The bookstore I was in didn't have Book 1, but it is waiting for me now at the library. I love cozy mysteries, especially if a bookshop figures in the plot. This will be perfect for a rainy day!

7.    Owls of the Eastern Ice, A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slight. The only nonfiction book on my summer reading list, this book comes highly recommended by our daughter and others normally not attracted to this kind of book. Helen Macdonald who wrote H is for Hawk, which I loved, gave this book a glowing review, and it was long-listed for the National Book Award for Nonfiction, if that is something that you take into account. 

I know there will be some detours. I will follow the reading road wherever it leads, including to the stack of books I gave my husband for Father's Day. We have both read the first two mysteries by Mark Pryor--all set in Paris--and I gave him the other seven. With titles like The Paris Librarian and The Book Artist, who can resist?

Now--isn't it time for a reading break? Happy reading!

An Invitation
What does "summer reading" mean to you and what do you plan to read this summer? I would love to know. 

NOTE: It's not too late to request my new guide, "Summer Spirituality, A Guide to Enhance the Gifts of the Season." The guide invites you to explore the themes of summer, including Summer Spaciousness, Summer Sacred Space, and Summer Silliness. To receive this new guide simply send an email to nagneberg48@gmail.com.

My earlier guide, "Crossing the Threshold, Honoring the New Year, A Guide to Reflect on the Old and Prepare for the New," is still available, too. 

Summer Book Recommendation #2: Tuesday's Reflection

Surprise!

Take a peak in our backyard and you will discover a surprise.
My husband is an avid gardener and our backyard is glorious this time of year, thanks to all his efforts, but in one instance he had some help. 

We have a surprise sunflower. Some bird must have decided we needed this treat and dropped a seed right by the back door to the garage. No, it wasn't part of the master plan, but there it is and it makes us smile.

My 2nd Summer Book Recommendation is a bit of a surprise, too, although, except for the fine writing, it didn't make me smile. The book is An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and I hope you will read this book so we can talk about it.

Part of the surprise is that I requested it from the library, and I never dreamed it would be my turn to read it so quickly, especially since it has been reviewed so well. 

Here are the basics: Roy and Celestial are an upwardly mobile black couple, and he is accused of rape and sentenced to prison for 12 years. He is released after five years. You might expect the novel to focus on Roy's unjust imprisonment and his years in prison. It is true the context of racial injustice and the reality of being black in this country is key to the story, but the book throbs with two impulses: one towards loyalty and the other towards independence. 

Especially moving are the letters Roy and Celestial write to each other and the change in their relationship and expectations. I found myself understanding each person's perspective. However, I also squinted as I read, saying, "Yes, but...." In other words their relationship, their responses are complex and life is complicated. 

I think this would be an excellent choice for a book group discussion. Why did the author select this title, for example, but more than that, was the ending inevitable? 

Such a good book!

I also recommend a memoir from my projected summer reading list, The Bright Hour, A Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs. You will cry, but you will also laugh, and you will be amazed by the wisdom and the clarity about what matters most. 
For my summer reading plans go here and here. For my Summer  Book Recommendation #1 go here.

An Invitation
Any summer surprises in your life---reading or otherwise? I would love to know. 

Summer Book Recommendation #1: Thursday's Reflection

Oh my goodness, yesterday was the 4th of July, and I have read only one book in my pile of intended reads. That doesn't mean I haven't been reading, however. Silly person, of course, I've been reading! 

The problem is that when books you've requested from the library are available, that's what you read. I'm returning the last of those books to the library today, and then I can return to my awaiting pile. Unless I get distracted by other possibilities!

Here's my First Summer Recommendation: A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

I loved this debut novel, which is the story of Rafiq and Layla, originally from India, and their three children who are born in and grow up in the United States. Much of the story focuses on the son, Amar, who eventually estranges himself from his family. We see in heartrending detail Amar's relationship to each of the family members, along with the struggles of each person to "find their place in the world, as well as a path home."

I was especially intrigued by the glimpses of the Muslim faith and practices and each person's response to practicing that faith and being part of that community. It is not an overt part of the story, but still is a presence. The last few pages, told from the perspective of the father, Rafiq, were so moving (Yes, I cried.) for the truths they illustrate about the tests in a father-son relationship.

At one point the father says to his son, "Don't you know--that's the thing--everyone  is not just good. Everyone is trying to be good. And everyone feels this way sometimes, that they are not good, and not good at trying either." 

If I could loan you this book I would, but it is back at the library for the next person who requested it.

What else have I read this summer?
1. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. The story of a family from the Cameroons who immigrate to NYC. The father becomes a chauffeur for a wealthy family. I liked this book, but also felt it included everything but the kitchen sink.
2. Paris by the Book by Liam Callahan. I am a sucker for novels set in Paris and even better when a bookstore is involved. I really enjoyed this one.
3.  The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz. Horowitz is the author of Magpie Murders, which I liked, but didn't love. I liked this one a bit more, but it has not stuck with me. Don't ask me the plot.
4.   Tell Me More. Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan (NF) The style is breezy, but the content is serious and wise. Included in the "hardest things" are "I don't know," "I was wrong," and "no words at all." Well done.
5. The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl. (NF) I will read anything by Hampl and a new book from her moved to the top of the pile--no question! It is never a waste of time to read her words. 

              So it's not just about aging. But by the time you've
           worked long enough, hard enough, Real Life (which
           insists on being capitalized as if it were a personage
           with a proper name and a right to barge into this
           rental unit called your life) begins to reveal itself as
           something other than effort, other than accomplishment.
           Real Life wishes to be left to its own purposeless
           devices. (p. 24)

What's Next? Well, here is the problem. I returned recently from Chautauqua where there is a terrific bookstore and my piles of unread books have increased. Excuse me, while I move into the snug and decide which book is next. Happy reading!

An Invitation
What have you been reading this summer? I would love to know. 

NOTE: You can read my summer reading plans here and here.
           

Summer Reading: Thursday's Reflection

Summer reading is not just about the books you choose to read, but summer reading is also about where you choose to read them.

My reading place of choice in the summer is Paris. Unfortunately, not Paris, France, but my pretend Paris--the side garden at our house. For some reason, sitting in "Paris" reminds me of French cafes or the hidden garden of a chic Parisian home. The arch with the delphinium in bloom is almost a secret passageway into a place of contentment and quiet. A small statue of Buddha beckons me into stillness--turning a page is the only motion--and the fountain disguises the traffic noises. And, of course, the resident gardener has planted flowers in abundance, mainly white, as I requested. Yes, this is a good place to read. 

I think about other summer reading places in my life: beaches where I stretched out on a blanket or colorful towel, the screen porch of the cabin in northern Minnesota where my family always vacationed, and the porch swing on the front porch of the home where we raised our family. More recently, our home in Madison had a large front porch, and I spent most of each summer day there writing and reading. We ate our evening meal there, too, and when the grandkids visited, the porch became their playroom. 

Choosing where to read (anywhere!!!) is easy, but my pile of choices is massive, and I know there won't be enough summer to work through the entire stack. Here, however, are some possibilities. Let me know if you have read any of them.

Fiction
1.     Death Comes to the Archbishop, Willa Cather. Quite awhile ago I started reading or rereading Cather's novels in chronological order. This is #8 on the list. I'm eager to revisit this classic. 
2.     Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro. I loved his Remains of the Day and think it is time to read something else by this winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
3.     Enchanted islands, Allison Amend. One of the main female characters works for the Office of Naval Intelligence before WWII, and her top secret assignment is to marry a spy and move to the Galapagos Islands. 
4.     Behold the Dreamers, Imbolo Mbue. Our book club's selection for June. A Cameroonian immigrant family lives in Harlem, and the father is hired as a chauffeur for a wealthy business man.
5.     The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy. I loved her The God of Small Things. Set in India as well, this book has been called a protest novel, a political masterpiece. Can't wait! 
6.     The Keeper of Lost Things, Ruth Hogan. An aging writer who has collected lost objects--things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidentally left behind--charges his assistant with the task of reuniting the objects with their original owners. 
7.     The Antiques, Kris D'Agostino. Three sibling reunite to plan their father's memorial and to sell his beloved "lesser Magritte" painting.
8.     Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein. Recommended by my granddaughter. A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France in 1943. The pilot and passenger are best friends, but just one of the girls has a change at survival. 

Who knows if I will read all of these or if I will get diverted to other choices, including books on my "requested" list at the library. Being led along new and unknown paths is one of the gifts of summer, after all.

Stay tuned for a list of nonfiction titles. Maybe next week. 

An Invitation
Where do you like to read in the summer and what do you plan to read there. I would love to know. 

NOTE: To read last year's summer reading list, go here.

Summer Reading, Part II: Tuesday's Reflection

Everyone seems to announce or publish a summer reading list.

The Top Shelf

Recently, the Sunday New York Times Book Review was devoted to summer reading suggestions. Minnesota Public Radio directs us to worthy choices and in book stores tables are devoted to "beach reads." Normally, I love checking out everyone's lists in order to create my own, but this year I have decided a different strategy.

Along with enjoying mysteries discovered by whim and chance, I have decided to shop my own shelves. We own many, many books we have not yet read. Some are books Bruce has read, but I haven't yet read and want to. Plus, there are far too many I have purchased or been given in the past, which are still languishing unread on a shelf.

I have decided to do something about that. 

I chose one shelf, a top shelf of one of our bookshelves in the lower level. All fiction. Authors with last names beginning with A, B, C, and in one case, D. I have read several already on that shelf, including Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Now here is a dilemma--she has a new book, a sort of sequel to this book, and I know I want to read that, but I don't own it. Should I pretend it is on the list and order from the library? I metaphorically slap my wrist and pretend I didn't have that thought.

I have read others on the shelf by Anita Brookner and Gwendolyn Brooks and others. One of my favorite books, The Hours by Michael Cunningham, I have read more than once. 

But now it is time to consider the books I have not yet read. Those include, but are not limited to Life Class by Pat Barker, Secret Lives by E. F. Benson, Birds without Wings by Louis DeBernieres, and two by William Boyd, Any Human Heart and Restless. I have seen PBS productions of both of the Boyd books and enjoyed them immensely. 

This one shelf alone will give me hours and hours of pleasure, I am sure. 

Now, I ask myself, do I read them in order, or do I allow myself to be a bit less methodical, just as long as I stick to that shelf? What if I am attracted to another book not on the first shelf? And what about additional book purchases of which I am sure there will be some in June, July, and August? 

This is the good thing about being the age I am. I get to decide. I get to make my own guidelines (not rules), and I get to totally divert from them. I get to distract myself without fear of punishment. I don't need to write book reports or prove to a teacher in the fall that I have read the assigned books. 

I can just read. 

I have already made an addition to the Top Shelf Summer Reading List. I have decided to ask our two grandkids for a recommendation. What book do you own that you think I should read? I haven't yet consulted with Maren (age 13) about her choice for me, but when I asked Peter (age 8) he became serious and thoughtful. 

"Can I ask you a question?" he said. 

"Of course."

"Do you like cats?" he asked, waiting for my response.

"Yes," I responded easily.

"Do you like adventure books?" 

"Y..e..s..s." I answered a bit more hesitantly, knowing most of his books are in the adventure category.

He said he would get back to me. I am still waiting for his recommendation, and I can hardly wait. 

An Invitation
What summer guidelines (not rules) do you have for reading or anything else? I would love to know.

Note: To consult last year's summer reading list, click here.

Summer Reading: Thursday's Reflection

I went to the library on Monday afternoon.  Summer is here, and I was eager to start my summer reading program. 

On our road trip over the weekend to Cleveland and back I read the June selection for our book group, In the Land of Invisible Women, A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta Ahmed, MD, and just prior to that I read Louise Ehrdich's most recent novel, La Rose. Frankly, I was ready for some fluff. 

With a list in hand I headed to the library's mystery section. A friend told me about mysteries by Stephanie Barron with Jane Austen as the main character. Great--three were on the shelf. Thanks to the catalogue, Bas Bleu, one of my favorite resources of books I might otherwise not know about, I had a list of several other titles to check. I added two more to my pile: Murder at Brightwell by Ashley Weaver and Sidney Chambers and The Problem of Evil by James Runcie, which is the basis for the charming PBS series, Grantchester. Plus, I was pleased to find one of the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. My daughter has been devouring these books in which the main character is an eleven year old chemist and aspiring detective. 

By the way, is it a coincidence that the setting for all the books in my pile is England? Probably not. 

I returned from my trip to the grocery store and the library and piled my books in the room we call the snuggery. Then even though several re-entry tasks beckoned, I put my feet up and opened Book #1. I finished it yesterday afternoon. 

Yesterday was one of those perfect summer days. Sunny with a temperature in the low 70's. Light breeze. I met with a client in the morning and then decided to go on a bike ride in the neighborhood. I was sorry I hadn't thrown my book and a Diet Coke in my basket, for the park not far away has a number of benches where it would be pleasant to spend an hour or so. Next time.  

Instead when I got home, I made myself some lunch and moved to the umbrella table in our back yard, book in hand. Bruce had mowed the yard the day before, so neat and inviting, and his roses are in full bloom. I could hear our neighbor chatting in her kitchen to her sweet young granddaughter and also sounds of some of the kids on the block at play. I paused to watch a robin enjoy bath time in our bird bath. And then I returned to the book--not a great book, a bit too romancy for me, but just right for a summer afternoon. 

What a gift of a day. One I intend to repeat this summer as often as possible. True, I intend to keep up my writing pace and yes, I will continue meeting with my spiritual direction clients and begin planning for some fall obligations. Plus, Bruce and I are part time nannies for the grands this summer. 

Still, however, I plan to be in summer mode and that means summer reading --whenever and wherever I chose. 

An Invitation

What about you? What does summer mode mean to you? Does it include summer reading? I would love to know. 

Summer Reading: Tuesday's Reflection

Why is it I always make a list of books I want to read in the summer? Why bother when, looking back at the end of summer, I discover I have read only a few of the books I included on my list, but had wandered onto other titles?  

As a lifelong list-maker (I think I will add the initials LLM) after my name from now on), the very idea of creating another list is an opportunity not to be missed. Plus, there is always that feeling of summer stretching in front of us (Has anyone else noticed that it is already June 23 and July is already almost here?) and while I want to relax and let myself ooze into the days, I also don't want to let the days slip away without notice. Thus, a list as a source of measurement. Am I using these days well?

I look at my bookshelves, especially the shelves of books unread as of yet and think, yup, this summer I am going to finally read George Eliot's Middlemarch and finally, probably the last person in literate America, read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln's cabinet, but I fear the summer will end with both of those still unread. 

This summer I will be writing more than reading, thanks to personal goals I have set for myself and also because of the intensive online class I am taking. The class, however, includes   assigned reading in some excellent writing books, and I am especially eager to reread I Could Tell You Stories, Sojourns in the Land of Memory by Minnesota's own Patricia Hampl. 

Because of my reading restrictions this summer, making THE LIST seems even more crucial this year. Suggestions and inspiration, as always comes from a variety of sources. First, there was an intriguing list reported in Bookwomen. BBC polled dozens of U.S. book critics, asking them to name the best books so far in this century. Four of the 20 books selected, by the way, are by women writers and a number are by writers of color from around the globe. I've only read four of the 20, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I recommend all four. One on the list intrigues me, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante and a couple others are ones I missed when they first came out and I am grateful they have come to my attention again, The Known World by Edward P. Jones, and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, but I don't know if they will make the summer list.

Another great source of inspiration is our couple's book group. We gathered this last weekend and discussed The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro, which received mixed reviews from our esteemed group. I did not care for it myself. A couple months ago we read Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, many of us having read it more than once, and had one of our best discussions ever. Based on that, I wondered if we should consider revisiting books we had read earlier in our lives, possibly because they were assigned in high school or college classes. I encouraged our group to think about classics that might appeal more to our mature and experienced minds OR to think about books we loved the first time around and would like to read again. Here are some of those suggestions:
* A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This book was one of the last books my mother read before she died. She had read it when it was first released and loved it both the first and second time. I read it many years ago and loved it, too. Interestingly, this book, which is often viewed as a "girls' book" was mentioned to the group by one of the men who thought it was wonderful.
* Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. The group moaned when this was mentioned, but nonetheless...
* Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner. This is probably my husband's favorite book and one the group loved the first time we read it many years ago. 
* Babbit by Sinclair Lewis. Two of us had heard Garrison Keillor mention this book in a recent talk and that sparked our interest. 
* Giant by Edna Ferber. I don't think I have ever read this, but surely, I have read some of her books along the way.

And, drum roll please, our August book selection is Babbit by Sinclair Lewis.

As I thought about books I want to reread, at the top of my list ALWAYS are all of the Jane Austen books. I can hear you groan, but I don't care. I would also like to read Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, which I think will achieve classic status for generations to come, and two books by A.S. Byatt, Possession and The Children's Book--all three of those books are big books, but ones I know I would not regret devoting time to. 

So, Nancy, get on with it, I hear you say, if you are still with me. What is on your summer reading list? 

Fiction
* All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. Our book group read this months ago, but I was not at that meeting and just didn't get to it, and now feels like the perfect time. It is on my bedside table, and I will start it today.  
* Babbit by Sinclair Lewis. I am eager for the discussion
* A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith in homage to my mother and for the sheer pleasure of the reread. 
* The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
* Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League by Jonathan Odell (Also recommended in book group)
* The new Louise Penny mystery due to be published in August. Can't wait. 

Nonfiction.
* The Grace in Aging, Awaken as You Grow Older by Kathleen Dowling Singh. This is my current morning meditation book, a slow, contemplative read, which I highly--deeply--recommend.
* Beween the Dark and the Daylight, Embracing the Contradictions of Life by Joan Chittister
* The Odd Woman and the City, a memoir by Vivian Gornick. 

Books I Have Recently Read and Now Recommend
* Old Filth by Jane Gardam. FILTH stands for Failed in London Tried Hong Kong. I loved this book about a man who was a judge in Hong Kong but retires in England and looks back over his life.
* The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfrid Price, Puveryor of Superior Funerals by Wendy Jones. Set in Wales in 1924, I fell in love with the characters in this book who come to accept their own faults, as they encounters challenges to their hopes and dreams. A gentle and lovely book. 
* The Soul of a Pilgrim, Eight Practices for the Journey Within, Christine Valters Paintner. Wonderful chapters on crossing the threshold and walking, and embracing the unknown, among others. 

For Your Consideration and Reflection

          Has it ever occurred to you that the acts of reading
          and meditation resemble each other in many ways?
          Both are usually done alone, in silence and physical
          stillness, our attention focused, our whole selves--body,
          mind, and heart--engaged. Both can draw us deeply into
          ourselves. Our consciousness shifts. We are not our
          everyday selves with various roles to play in our
          families, our jobs, society, with our concerns, major 
          and minor, about the people we love, the things we 
          to do, our needs and wants, the state of the world. We
          become centered, our energy concentrated, with no
          purpose served by what we are doing other than the act 
          itself. We are, at the moment, only the reader, or the
          contemplative. 
                                          Walking a Literary Labyrinth,
                                           A Spirituality of Reading, pp.1-2
                                           Nancy M. Malone

An Invitation
Obviously, I am eager to know what is on your summer reading list. Happy reading!