When I was relatively new to blogging, every once in a while I'd be scanning comments on somebody's post and spot one by L.L. Barkat. I'd read the well-formed response and think, "Wow. That person's smart!" I wasn't sure, at first, if this person was male or female. No photo confirmed gender, and the initials L.L. didn't help me know for certain. At some point I finally … [Read more...]
How Many Nonfiction Books Did You Buy Last Year? How Many Did You Read?
I grabbed a bunch of magazines from my tower of reading material to browse on the plane. One of them is a New Age-y health magazine called Body + Soul. There's some strange stuff in there, but I leafed through and got a recipe for baked beans that looks promising, and found on page 26 some interesting statistics: Last year, 85% of North American households didn't buy one … [Read more...]
Rob Bell on Boiling Down to the Essence
I still have a few notes left from the Festival.This comes from the conversation-style session with Rob Bell one afternoon near the end of the Festival. If you're interested, I found an interview of Bell online that had a few similar thoughts, but it's dated. I think based on some of his answers in that article that he's evolved as a creative artist-preacher-writer, having … [Read more...]
Books offer a Rehearsal for Life
At the Festival of Faith & Writing, children's book author (twice awarded the Newbery Medal) Katherine Paterson sat with her son David to discuss the process of transforming the story of Bridge to Terabithia from book to film. (EW interviewed David for a story about the process with some of the same information.) David was co-writer and producer for the film. He … [Read more...]
Kathleen Norris, Acedia, and the Commonplace Book
Kathleen Norris's session at the Festival of Faith & Writing offered some good stuff, though my notes are spotty. She spent most of the time defining that word, "acedia," that has fallen out of usage. She's trying to resurrect it, because she thinks it captures our current culture's general boredom, apathy, or ennui. None of those words expresses the attitude and … [Read more...]
Yann Martel on Life of Pi, Interpretation, Stillness, and Art
A couple of years ago, urged by a friend, I read Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.It left me fascinated, and a little confused. I guess I'm not so good with obscure stuff. So I was quite interested that the Festival of Faith & Writing brought him to speak. Would he explain the book for the slow-of-brain?The evening began with an amusing glitch. Martel was introduced by a … [Read more...]
Connections and Conclusions
As I stepped into the room where Phyllis Tickle was speaking, our eyes met and, in her words later, "I jumped! Did you see me jump?" She remembered. She remembered the transatlantic flight we shared in 2005, and the descent that led to my child's airsickness. She remembered how my husband and I mopped up vomit as the plane landed. She remembered handing me a paper … [Read more...]
Festival Friends
I rode up with a friend of mine, but she wasn't attending the festival. She's visiting her sister here in Grand Rapids. Another friend of hers was going to be at the festival, but I'd never met the friend of my friend.What I'm trying to say is that I came alone.And a mom of four doesn't go places alone very often.So as I rode the shuttle bus from the hotel to the college … [Read more...]
The Simplicity of Reading
I recently came across a passage in a book called Graceful Simplicity. In a chapter entitled "The Politics of Simplicity," in a section subtitled "Education for Simple Living," the author claimed that "In educating for simple living, three building blocks stand out: fostering a love of books, developing a stronger aesthetic sensibility, and enhancing our … [Read more...]
Quiet? Time?
What do you do to enrich your times alone with the Lord?Are they quiet? Do you have enough time? Are you structured? Spontaneous? Do you follow a book that leads you through Bible study with guided questions? Do you meet with someone periodically for accountability?I'm asking because I'm collecting ideas for Quiet Times and Bible study.So far, here are some things I've … [Read more...]
My Five Writing Strengths
I was once asked to make a list of five strengths I possess as a writer. Here's what I came up with. Five Writing Strengths 1. The ability to sit still for long stretches of time Not everyone can do this, you know. Some people get antsy, restless. After a few minutes of sitting still, they fidget and have to get up and make hot chocolate or call a friend. Writers need … [Read more...]
Adventures in Literary Outings: Encounters with Haven Kimmel, Author of A Girl Named Zippy
In 2007 I attended a colloquium at which Haven Kimmel, author of several books including a favorite of mine called A Girl Named Zippy, was the keynote speaker. It's been years since I read Zippy. Not long before I was heading to the colloquium, I happened across a post at Shalee's Diner reviewing it. The timing was fun, and I was glad she … [Read more...]
Group Books by Color
When my friend A. was helping me with some decorating ideas (I'm hopeless on my own), she recommended that I group the books on my family room shelves somehow. "Group them? Like, with the Dewey Decimal System?" I asked. I wasn't opposed. As a matter of fact, it would have made locating books much easier. "No, not like that. I'm thinking like a decorator here. You … [Read more...]
Life. Parenting. Writing. Perspective. (Writing in the Midst of Motherhood)
I remember settling sideways in a black, plastic chair to sit across from a new client. I was developing my freelance corporate writing career simultaneous to incubating my first baby. My client, a land developer, stared doubtfully at the tent-like awning—er, maternity blouse—brushing the edge of the table. I tried tucking my "bump" under the table, but that didn't work. … [Read more...]
Autodidact Ann
Until I stumbled across Mental Multivitamin's blog ("Read. Think. Learn." Oh, how I love that tagline), I never really used the word "autodidact." Given how many books I've read over the years, I must have seen the word several times. It felt familiar. I'd sounded it out at some point in my literary life. But I'd never used the word or even thought about what it means. I'd … [Read more...]
