October 28, 2013 - Pumping Books
I actually like Mondays.
It helps that I’m pretty much retired so I can pretty much do what I want. And what I want to do Monday mornings at 9 am is my Body Pump class (weights, lunges, curls, and repetitions) and at 10 am – Body Flow (tai chi, yoga, pilates, and stretches.) Truly, I don’t work that hard, but I still get most of the benefits – chief of which is feeling like I’ve done all the physical work I need to do for the day.
Next stop – the Public Library. By then my stack of books for the week will have arrived. Reserving by ordering on line saves me tons of browsing time. This is important to me because I like to be home by 11:30 am so I can drag my hubs, Laurence, away from his books and out for a Monday morning march – before lunch.
Monday afternoon is a good time for me to catch up on phone calls and to book appointments of various sorts. I try to call my mom weekly – she is 91. And the body and one’s possessions don’t retire when you do – they need constant maintenance.
And then, later in the afternoon, while the laundry chugs away, I crack open any one of my library books – just as a teaser, since I normally don’t read until bedtime. My snags this week?
· Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George
· Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
· Sycamore Row by John Grisham
· The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Will I read them all in one week? Unlikely. Thank heavens for month-long borrowing terms.
A few more household chores, supper, and another walk after supper – and the evening is mine. I like to work on a story most evenings, and then tuck in early with one of my fat library books. A very affordable retirement lifestyle.
*****
Things weren’t always so easy. Like lots of folks, in the mornings we had kids to get out the door to school, and Laur and I had a job to get to. (I only every worked part time, I confess, but I also volunteered a lot.) That was the first shift. The second shift started at 4 pm - supper, lunch boxes, lessons, and homework. The third – evening meetings, studying for courses, paperwork, and that sort of stuff.
I don’t miss the grind.
Laur has less than two years to go and has asked me to keep a list of books I think he would enjoy reading. Gah! There would be hundreds. But here are ten I’ve recently read - with links provided. If I list ten a week for a year, I’ll have my top 500. J
I’d love to hear about your favourites too. (And Laur, next time I’ll include at least one Scrivener book.)
*****
TEN OF THE BOOKS I REALLY LIKE
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5826.Bel_Canto
City of Thieves – David Benioff
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1971304.City_of_Thieves
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3591262-cutting-for-stone
The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7445.The_Glass_Castle
The Language of Flowers: A Novel - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10032672-the-language-of-flowers
Mr. Pip – Lloyd Jones
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/543873.Mister_Pip
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Mohsid Hamed
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88815.The_Reluctant_Fundamentalist
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128029.A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns
The Tiger’s Wife - Téa Obreht
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8366402-the-tiger-s-wife
Three-Day Road - Joseph Boyden
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/823411.Three_Day_Road
It helps that I’m pretty much retired so I can pretty much do what I want. And what I want to do Monday mornings at 9 am is my Body Pump class (weights, lunges, curls, and repetitions) and at 10 am – Body Flow (tai chi, yoga, pilates, and stretches.) Truly, I don’t work that hard, but I still get most of the benefits – chief of which is feeling like I’ve done all the physical work I need to do for the day.
Next stop – the Public Library. By then my stack of books for the week will have arrived. Reserving by ordering on line saves me tons of browsing time. This is important to me because I like to be home by 11:30 am so I can drag my hubs, Laurence, away from his books and out for a Monday morning march – before lunch.
Monday afternoon is a good time for me to catch up on phone calls and to book appointments of various sorts. I try to call my mom weekly – she is 91. And the body and one’s possessions don’t retire when you do – they need constant maintenance.
And then, later in the afternoon, while the laundry chugs away, I crack open any one of my library books – just as a teaser, since I normally don’t read until bedtime. My snags this week?
· Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George
· Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
· Sycamore Row by John Grisham
· The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Will I read them all in one week? Unlikely. Thank heavens for month-long borrowing terms.
A few more household chores, supper, and another walk after supper – and the evening is mine. I like to work on a story most evenings, and then tuck in early with one of my fat library books. A very affordable retirement lifestyle.
*****
Things weren’t always so easy. Like lots of folks, in the mornings we had kids to get out the door to school, and Laur and I had a job to get to. (I only every worked part time, I confess, but I also volunteered a lot.) That was the first shift. The second shift started at 4 pm - supper, lunch boxes, lessons, and homework. The third – evening meetings, studying for courses, paperwork, and that sort of stuff.
I don’t miss the grind.
Laur has less than two years to go and has asked me to keep a list of books I think he would enjoy reading. Gah! There would be hundreds. But here are ten I’ve recently read - with links provided. If I list ten a week for a year, I’ll have my top 500. J
I’d love to hear about your favourites too. (And Laur, next time I’ll include at least one Scrivener book.)
*****
TEN OF THE BOOKS I REALLY LIKE
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5826.Bel_Canto
City of Thieves – David Benioff
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1971304.City_of_Thieves
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3591262-cutting-for-stone
The Glass Castle - Jeanette Walls
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7445.The_Glass_Castle
The Language of Flowers: A Novel - Vanessa Diffenbaugh
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10032672-the-language-of-flowers
Mr. Pip – Lloyd Jones
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/543873.Mister_Pip
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Mohsid Hamed
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88815.The_Reluctant_Fundamentalist
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128029.A_Thousand_Splendid_Suns
The Tiger’s Wife - Téa Obreht
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8366402-the-tiger-s-wife
Three-Day Road - Joseph Boyden
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/823411.Three_Day_Road