cotton, 2012
After adding book number 413 (yes, 413...) to my to-read list, the last activity in a short satisfying string, I feel completely settled. I need nothing else.
The feeling reminds me of my junior year as an undergraduate. My roommate and I, as pedestrians, had been struck by a car and received modest settlements. I call them modest now, but at the time they seemed very large, large enough for my roommate to purchase a used car. I however had no interest in a used (or new) car. The only things I wanted at the time were some fresh white t-shirts, a Walkman, and a good bicycle.
Today my lunch hour has consisted of what seems to me a similar simplicity. I've eaten two slices of sesame wheat bread with a smashed avocado and a single ak-mak cracker topped with my new favorite cheese, knit a few rows with a soft cotton yarn, and listened to an author interview streamed from the local radio station's archives.
The author mentioned a book of poetry that had been meaningful to her during difficult times in her life. This book of poetry, The Dream of a Common Language by Adrienne Rich, is my #413.
New Favorite Cheese
Author Interview
#413
Sounds like a lovely day. Learning to knit is on my 'to do' list.:-)
ReplyDeleteStart simple and you'll be hooked. Perhaps a scarf with just the knit stitch. I always think about doing a post on how to make a beginner scarf. Hmmm...
Delete413??? I wish I had that many books wanted and still unread.
ReplyDeleteI'm so desperate for a book I found myself 360 pages into The Game Of Thrones before I remembered I don't read medieval fantasy.
But I do eat cheese. And I guess I might as well finish the damn book:-)
xo jane
You always crack me up, Jane. Thank you. If you eat cheese, I have just picked up Mastering Cheese from the library. Most importantly you should know the book is about eating cheese, not making it. Perhaps after your medieval fantasy.
Delete"some fresh white t-shirts, a Walkman, and a good bicycle" - love that!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand what you mean about growing to-read lists - my bedside table is groaning under the weight of books I'm planning to read!
At least we will never be bored.
Deletewhen did you get struck by a car? It sounds awful.
ReplyDeleteMy compulsive habit of making book lists is only beaten by my compulsive habit to start a zillion books at once and have them clutter my bedside table and floor.
It was a long time ago, Hila. We were walking along a sidewalk in the middle of the day and the driver ran his car up over a hard curb, onto the sidewalk, and struck us from behind. It was crazy. I cannot believe our injuries weren't worse. Youth. We were so lucky.
DeleteI go back and forth between juggling several books and reading just one at a time. The juggling happens more often.
settled sounds really good, struck by a car not so much... i read this just before going to sleep and dreamed quite settled, not feeling it anymore weaking up - now i want that feeling back.
ReplyDeletesuch a nice text - as always.
Oh no. I hope you are able to retrieve it.
Delete413 books. And I'll bet that you will read all of them. My to-read list keeps growing, and sometimes I will read a couple at a time, but really prefer to be drawn into one and take to the finish.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to transition completely to your preferred way of reading, Michele.
DeleteSometimes I think I want your life! :-D
ReplyDeleteI bet you'd change your mind if you saw what a gopher has just done to my thriving radish rows...
DeleteI like how you don't seem to be overwhelmed by the number of books on your reading list - as though you know that there is time enough to make your way through them. A wise approach and one I should really adopt - anymore than 10 and I start to feel overwhelmed.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is somehow like my dad making sure he lives a very long life because he has so many projects waiting for him.
DeleteHe sounds like my father... what a wonderful outlook on life
DeleteDenise: I love your use for the settlement money. At that age, I probably would have spent mine on travel (still one of my favorite things to do). I stopped by at cow girl creamery when in SF last week...oh delish. Knitting: well, that is on my "must learn" list, but have not gotten around it. I still spend my stalling time in the kitchen, whenever I have some. I like the "mind-less" manual element that chopping an onion of peeling potatoes bring to my day (which is full of "mind-full" tasks at work)
ReplyDeleteI wish you'd seen the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, but you had a very full trip without it. Maybe next time. I know what you mean about chopping an onion. Something about such kitchen activities is so soothing, more so for me than other manual tasks.
DeleteI savour your posts because your simplicity is not at all ordinary.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Olga.
DeleteMy book list is as much a jumble as my actual books—some from the library and some purchased.
ReplyDeleteAnd today as I was biking home from yoga class I saw a sign for a yard sale, which turned out to be an estate sale, which boasted a plethora of books, several of which have now been added to my mound. I collect books not only to read, but also as curiosities—old dictionaries and usage guides because I like the way the meaning and use of words has changed over time, and an old text book valuable to me because of all the drawings and scribbles on the end papers, looking to date from the 1940s as I reckon it.
As for knitting, I'm more of a winter knitter, though I am more than halfway through a pair of tiny socks for my new grand-nephew, which I had better finish while they'll still fit him! I'm understanding more and more why my mother took to knitting doll clothes: they never grow out of them.
There is book temptation around every unexpected corner. I too love finding notes and such on end pages and in margins.
DeleteOh how I love that Adrienne Rich. Have you read VIDA's 21 Love Poems to Adrienne Rich? http://www.vidaweb.org/category/remembering-adrienne-rich
ReplyDeleteSo so good.
Not yet, Molly. Thanks.
DeleteIs it the Sky scarf you're knitting?
ReplyDeletex E.
No Sky Scarf yet, this is just a simple oatmeal colored scarf.
DeleteI so enjoyed listening to that interview as I unpacked this morning. I'm going to thumb through some Adrienne Rich over lunch. Please do a post on beginner scarves ...I can sort of knit but I know you'd make it easier.
ReplyDeleteHello, Kate. I'm no knitting pro, but can tackle the basics. Truthfully, I prefer the basics. For some reason when I venture further it ceases pleasing me. I still need to pick up some Adrienne Rich. On the list...
Deletejust listened to the interview.
ReplyDeleteAh, serendipity..a good friend had recently told me about Cheryl Strayed and her book, and thought I would enjoy her story. thank you for providing this link--a good nudge to read this one.
I hope you let me know how you like the book, Nancy. I haven't read it. I've only listened to the interview thus far. Happy reading.
Delete