July 22, 2011

Friday Feature: My Favorite Thing I Read this Week and Why

Borrowing from a blogger friend, Christine Calvin at Inspired Life, I have some scattered thoughts today. Sometimes it's all I can do to harness such thoughts into one concise theme for a blog post. Today I'm not going to fight it.

On Fridays we feature our favorite read of the week. This week several things made an impression on me, so here we go...

*****

Call Me When You Land, Michael Schiavone

I review for Rebecca's Reads (in addition to my Mom in Love with Fiction review site). Why? For two reasons. I love to read, and I love being exposed to books I might not otherwise find. This novel made me glad I signed up. Call Me When You Land is a heartbreaking look into a family overcome by addicition. Katie loves her son, fifteen-year-old C.J., but she stuggles against poor choices, bad breaks, and self-destruction.

Reading this book was a lesson in character development. Shiavone exposed the characters in a slow-motion build, like watching an X-ray slowly come into focus. My heart was heavy, but I had hope and a strong desire to see this mom and child make it. The book is scheduled for a November 2011 release, please check it out.

*****

Guideposts

I get way too many magazines. I don't remember subscribing to most of them. Every time we move, I swear I pick up some new ones. This month's Guideposts found its way into my bathroom reading wicker basket. In a feature called The Up Side, the magazine lists quotes from today's positive thinkers. This quote spoke to me:

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."
from Mother Teresa, CEO: Unexpected Principles for Practical Leadership by Ruma Bose and Lou Faust

I often feel that way, especially with all the moving. I've often wondered, especially as a younger child: if nobody remembered me once I left a location, did I exist? I find it encouraging to think we are all drops in the ocean, but each drop affects the beauty.

*****

The worst thing I read this week: Borders is closing all their stores. Reading is a family activity for us, so we often spend an hour or two roaming the bookstore. There's nothing like wandering a bookstore to see what cover pops out at you, turning to the back cover in anticipation, and occasionally uncovering a true gem. Searching on Amazon just isn't the same.

The upside... this will force me to explore my area more and find some smaller bookstores. I'm embarassed not to have done it already, but I'm loading with good excuses/Life.

The girls and I will go to Borders within the next week and have a moment of silence. We'll leave with a bit of sadness and hopefully a bag full of reduced-price books.

*****

What was the best thing you read this week?

3 comments:

Leslie @ Farm Fresh Fun said...

Just found you while looking through bloggers list of MD blogs. Your similar local profile, w/young energetic girls, and one loving horses, made me come visit! Congrats on your book! Enjoyed this post as I share your feelings about both these items. Hope you all are in a nice cool book nook today!

lisa said...

Borders is closing completely?!? I hadn't heard that. :( I'm sure that's happening more and more thanks to E-Readers. I love the portability of them, but there is nothing like holding an actual book in your hand. That means that most of the big book stores have gone by the wayside, doesn't it? I'm trying to think of another that's open and I think I have a Waldenbooks near me and that's it. So sad. I have a feeling this is going to happen with libraries soon too. :(

Tia Bach said...

Leslie, So happy to have you visit. Your site and farm look beautiful. We just moved to Damascus, MD from Colorado in November and are still finding our way around. Thought I'd get out and explore more during the summer, but it's HOT!

Lisa, I know, it's hard to believe. I sure hope libraries don't fall prey, too. Not sure what this means for small guys in the writing biz (like me!).

Thanks for stopping by!!