Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, has written a small volume of prayers and meditations, 125 in all. Her choice of topics vary; from dealing with anxiety, messiness, and procrastination, as well as asking for help, guidance, clarity and creativity. Each topic is a short page, and helps to align one’s mind with the divinity of the universe. It is a very comforting little aid to help disengage the mind from any negativity that tends to crop up in our heads from time to time. I found it very useful.
Author Archive
Life Lessons: 125 Prayers and Meditations
June 20, 2018Death on the Nile
June 16, 2018
I am sorry to say that I haven’t read many of Agatha Christie’s titles, and was pointed to this one while reading another book. It did not disappoint! Featuring Hercule Poirot, Death on the Nile contains all the elements for a murder: greed, jealousy, anger, and love. Poirot is aboard a ship for a cruise on the Nile when several murders occur during the trip, and he must use his extensive powers of deduction to narrow the search to the one passenger who has committed the crimes. Written in 1937, it still hails as a classic whodunit and I found it very entertaining. The places visited by the characters are all fabulous: Ez-Sebua, Assuan (now Aswan), the Cataract Hotel and Abu Simbel. I think I’ll watch the movie next…
A Howl of Wolves
June 5, 2018
Samantha Clair, book editor extraordinaire, is at a play in which her next door neighbor Kay has a part, when the play ends on a horrible note. The dummy displayed on a hook as the murder victim in the last scene turns out to be a dead human body. So Sam finds herself smack dab in the middle of trying to figure out the identity of the killer. Her boyfriend Jake is a detective in the London Criminal Investigation Department, so she has friends in high places. Judith Flanders has produced another quick witted, fast moving mystery that does not disappoint her fans, of which I am one. This is only her fourth book, but it is a great read, without much gore, despite the opening scene.
Other People’s Houses
May 23, 2018
Frances Bloom is a carpool mom for her neighborhood, since she is the only one who doesn’t work outside the home. This novel is heavy on characterization, since the carpool involves four families and seven children. In fact, the story opens with a “cast of characters” so readers can keep kids and parents straight. One morning Frances promises her six year old neighbor Kate that she will retrieve the toilet paper tubes she forgot to bring to school, but doesn’t realize when she pops in the house that the mom is canoodling with a guy who isn’t her husband. This starts “the big secret” that sets up a chain reaction somehow managing to involve all the families. Each has their own issues, but struggle to resolve them, and Waxman sprinkles in lots of humor, as parents attempt to understand their kids of all ages. It’s a light read, perfect for the beach.
The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling
May 8, 2018
This children’s picture book by Timothy B. Ering debuted in early 2017, and is a wonderful story about the power of music. Captain Alfred is sailing home with some new ducks and a very special surprise for his wife in his fiddle case : a duckling egg. But a fierce storm hits the small boat and the newly hatched young duckling finds himself alone, floating in a fiddle case. He happens upon the fiddle in the water, and embraces it, and it makes the most beautiful sound. It tames the huge dog that Alfred stumbles across once on land. And the wife, fearfully waiting on the porch for her husband to return from sea, hears the sound as well and races to the duckling’s rescue. And guess who else hears it? A perfect story for this year’s summer reading program!
