Books of the Week

How is Everyone dealing with Covid Lockdown.

Running out of ideas to keep your mind interested.

Puzzles and can only take you so far. Wouldn’t you agree.

If you’re a Reader, then you’ll definitely agree.

Books take us to new worlds, introduce us to new people, and cultures, catapult us to the heavens, and pull us back again.

A good book is like a rich red wine, full of body, fragrance, and taste.

Today I’m going share some of the books I’ve been reading.

Just to spread the love a bit.

Here we go read on…

Gulliver’s Wife by Lauren Chater

#laurenchater

This is the extraordinary tale of Lauren Chater’s Mary Gulliver, a midwife, herbalist, and a quietly
courageous woman of her times.

Chater eloquently weaves the wonders, terrors and deprivations of woman of the 18^th Century through her story.

She unravels the fears, the secrets and the darkness surrounding the love of her daughter, and succinctly reaches a reconciliation, that will bring tears to your eyes.

The intrigue and struggle to keep control of her own body and identity, remains relevant still in our modern day.

Gilliver’s Wife is the first novel I’ve read of Lauren Chater, but you can be sure it won’t be my last.

When The Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

If you are someone who loves thrilling detective novels, then this book is for you.

#paulamclain

An incredibly powerful novel, with a heart pounding ending.

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective, whose life is totally burnt out, bridges and all.

She decides to travel back to the town where she has felt most happy in life, brought up by foster parents, yet even with their love, she could not put away the pain of her early childhood.

This haunting story will pull you under the covers, and keep you up until late into the night.

The Time Traveller’sWife by Audrey Niffenegger

This story is a rare thing, a truly original story line, not that love stories are new, the telling of this one
certainly is different. An amazing love story, that takes place over time.

#audreyniffenegger

The prose is beautifully executed, such a pleasure to read.

Henry journeys back and forward through time to meet up with the love of his life, Clare.

Clare narrates her childhood and teenage meetings with Henry, where some would say she was underage for such connections

Speculation of moral aspects occur despite the plot, and yet the story still remains intact.

Inventive, sensitive, original in the telling, a love story to last a lifetime, many lifetimes.

Niffenegger has shown amazing skill in making the ordinary, and the impossible seem probable, believable.

Finishing this book brought sadness, as the end was so sweet, I never wanted it to end.

Feel free to add your own book choices in the comments below.

Spring has Sprung

‘If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? – Percy Bysshe Shelley

Spring has arrived the last hurrah of Winter, and our spirits awaken, from a long Winter’s slumber.

Branches that were days ago bare start to bud with new growth, and birds sing with new purpose.

Even in the times we’re experiencing, we feel the stirrings of hope, and renewal.

Over the long Winter season, we sowed soulful seeds of gratitude, order, simplicity, and harmony into our lives.

Now its time to harvest an authentic gathering of contentment, and abundance.

‘Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the sense but the soul.’

– Oscar Wilde

 

Karen Gribbin 
https://www.instagram.com/studiocone10/

We can now interpret, and experience the world through our senses. Our ability to smell, taste, hear and touch.

More and more we need to look after ourselves. Go for the walk, eat a good breakfast, stop rushing around, take time to think and rejoice in the small things.

For the next two weeks, I’m asking you the pause a moment each day and marvel at the natural gifts given to us.

Today, I ask that you look at the blue sky, hear the birds sing their love songs, and let the fruits of the earth linger on your tongue, reach out and embrace those you love, or if this is not possible in person, given them a call or send them a message.

Ask the Spirit to awaken your awareness to the sacredness of your sensory perceptions.

Don’t be too busy.

Don’t put it off.

'To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exit, that is all.'  - Oscar Wilde

If we can’t give ourselves even an hour per day to ourselves, then we need to rethink what we are doing to ourselves and our relationships.

Karen Gribbin https://www.instagram.com/studiocone10/

Take time to have coffee with friends, cooked breakfast on Sundays, curl up and read a book. Care for yourselves. 

Live, don't just exist. 

The Novel Begins

Motivation is one of the biggest killers to a good writing schedule. If you listen to the greats there is no tried and true way of keeping the flow going. Some authors write in the mornings, some in the afternoons, and then there’s the night owls that write all night. 

Writing in 2020

 

Here we find ourselves in November 2020, with Christmas just round the corner, and my novel is still waiting unfinished.

At present my mojo needs a good kick start, an electrical current to head out onto the writing highway. You may think I’m being a bit too hard on myself, considering I’ve completed two AWA courses Blogging for Beginners and How to Get More Blog Readers.

Let’s take a closer look.  Am I being too hard on myself?  Not at all, because while I’ve completed the above courses, they are in reality, exercises in procrastination.  

My voice is quite clear in my ears, 'Once I finish these courses, then I’ll have more time to write.'