i Reading [is] my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author s words reverberating in your head. /i Paul Auster br/ br/ i A minute lived attentively can contain a millennium; an adequate step can span the...
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i Reading [is] my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author s words reverberating in your head. /i Paul Auster br/ br/ i A minute lived attentively can contain a millennium; an adequate step can span the planet. /i Chet Raymo, i The Path, A One-Mile Walk through the Universe /i br/ br/ i ...and the world is in seizure, buckled by the misfiring currents of war, of fundamentalist mania and of patriotism-gone-mad, forced to assume a shape that beggers sanity, denied all compassion. Yet I tell myself that if we all hang on, breathe, focus our collective consciousness on what s good about humanity, on the individual roles we each play in our common history, maybe we ll survive this nightmare we seem bent on creating... /i Betsy Burton, i The King s English /i br/ br/ ******** br/ br/ b RATINGS: /b br/ br/ I rate on the basis of my enjoyment of the book, without regard to genre. (example: i To Kill a Mockingbird /i and i Mr. Perfect /i both get 5*) br/ br/ 5*: I loved the book and have or will re-read it. br/ 4*: Very good, and would recommend to others. br/ 3*: Enjoyable. br/ 2*: I did not like, but finished. br/ 1*: Dreadful, not worth the resources for printing or reading. br/ br/ ******** br/ br/ I am surrounded by thousands of books, collected over the years. My taste is very eclectic: poetry, fiction (classics and contemporary), literary criticism, mysteries, NW literature and specific authors, non-fiction, memoirs, to name a few. I also have an extensive collection of children s books, focused on fine illustrations. I use the library extensively, and indulge in buying those books that I will read again. Haunting new/used bookstores is one of my favorite activities. I am currently in two book groups that provide stimulus and breadth to my reading. br/ br/ b SOME LOVES OF MY LIFE /b ( i What thou lovest well remains. The rest is dross. /i Ezra Pound) br/ br/ Breanne, my daughter. Chloe, my ocicat. friends. passion. Mozart s Requiem. British TV mysteries. autumn. hazelnuts. the Oregon beach. Chihuly. Earl Grey tea. soft scarves. Leonard Cohen. gardening. Brancusi. my Christmas tree. white tuna sushi. silk. Swenson s Question . great belly laughter. Chopin. solitude. Roethke. eccentricity. warm amaretto. Judi Dench. libraries/used bookstores. dragons/gargoyles. k d lang. porch swings. birds. jigsaw puzzles. vintage things. quiet. agates. Stafford. Nora Roberts. rain. merlot. pbs. board/card games. creme brule. Calatrava. enchiladas. google. cobalt blue glass. BOOKS. England. diversity. freesias/gardenias. Martin Shaw. Hummel s Trumpet Concerto. ethnic food. Oxacan art. color. light. engrossing conversations. adagios. puppies. Paul Newman. halcyon days. Matisse. insight. Doc Martin . loafers. spontaneity. book groups. blackcurrent iced tea. concerts. cultural seminars. Itzhak Perlman. beautiful things. art deco. May Sarton. mysteries. sunny 72 degrees. cooking/new recipes. tomatoes, avocados/artichokes. Michael Buble . the Food Network. ladybugs. Lewis Black. grace. poetry. life. br/ br/ b SOME DISLIKES IN MY LIFE /b ( i Tell me what you criticize, and I ll tell you who you are. /i Jane Stanton Hitchcock) br/ br/ noise. deceptive politics. illiteracy. houses without books. bad grammar. pretentious wine drinkers. irresponsible/greedy corporations. injustice. brussel sprouts/lima beans. drivers who follow too closely. superiority. people who don t listen. snobbery. linear thinking. litterers. people who talk during movies/concerts. crowds. badly edited books. racism. poverty. chatspeak. cocktail parties. most books about dysfunctional families. no sense-of-humor. fanaticism/extremism. rap. intolerance. cell phones in restaurants. Rush Limbaugh/Glen Beck. gay-bashing. smoking. hypocrisy. intolerance. reality TV. rudeness. self-righteousness. house repairs. war. impatience. passive aggressive. housework. ants. celebrity adoration. br/ br/ HAPPY READING!!!
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