Litsy

Everything is Going to be All Right: Poems for When You Really Need Them | Various

I've finished the first chapter, titled "In Spite of Everything, the Stars" from a poem by Edward Hirsch. Two of the poems in this section had me crying: Daniel Cockrill's (pictured) "God I'm in love with the world today", about a parent's all-consuming love of their child, and Roger Robinson's "Grace", about a nurse's fierce love for her patients. All of the other poems are good, but these two particularly resonated for me ?

vivastory I love Edward Hirsch. I had the good fortune to meet him a few years ago at a reading. It was spectacular. 2y

Bookwomble @vivastory I don't think I've read anything else by him. Is there a collection of his that you'd particularly recommend? 2y

vivastory I know you read a lot of poetry, so I think you'd really enjoy this passionate & lively collection of poetic terms

Poet's Glossary

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vivastory His book length elegy for his son is both heartbreaking and memorable

Gabriel: A Poem

vivastory & this is a good sampling of his selected poetry

Living Fire: New and Selected Poems, 1975-2010

Bookwomble @vivastory Thanks for the recommendations 😊 I'll try to work Hirsch in some time this year (possibly decade 😏 📚📚 #tmbtlt) 2y

22 likes6 comments

Bookwomble

Journal of a Solitude | May Sarton

"For a long time now, every meeting with another human being has been a collision. I feel too much, sense too much, am exhausted by the reverberations after even the simplest conversation. But the deep collision is and has been with my unregenerate, tormenting, and tormented self...I feel like...a machine that breaks down at crucial moments, grinds to a dreadful halt, "won't go", or, even worse, explodes in some poor innocent person's face."

merelybookish I love Sarton. I read this in my 20s but expect it would land differently now. 3y

Bookwomble @merelybookish I only came across her today, reading an extract from her book in a periodical. I like this quote as a reminder that my anxiety (which thankfully is no longer as limiting as Sarton describes here) is a normal human experience shared by many others. Even when solitude is the necessary balm, it's comforting to feel a connection to others 🙂 3y

kspenmoll I also had my Sarton phase & Gobbled up all her works. 3y

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Bookwomble @kspenmoll Well, she sounds an interesting writer 🙂 Would this book be as good an introduction to her work as any, or do you have a different favourite by her? 3y

batsy I read this at a point when I really needed to read something exactly like this. A gorgeous book. 3y

Bookwomble @batsy I'm glad you found the right book at the right time 💗 It sounds like one that I'd appreciate, so injury the tbr mound it goes! 3y

Kerrbearlib I am currently reading this book and enjoying it. I really relate to this quote, now that I work from home. 2y

Bookwomble @Kerrbearlib Good to hear you're getting good vibes from the book. I've still not read it myself, but perhaps one day ... #tmbtlt 📚📚😊 2y

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Bookwomble

IQ 83 | Arthur Herzog

The blurb on the back of this trashy '70s disaster novel is hilariously prescient! (Though I've somehow avoided the sexual anarchy.)
I was tempted to liberate it from the book swap box at work, but I've had to crop out the slurs used on the cover, which I assume are repeated in the text and didn't fancy having to read around. But then the reviews on GR are SO bad I momentarily wavered, then remembered #TMBTLT and decided to leave it to its fate.

Leftcoastzen 😂 3y

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Bookwomble

Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth | J. R. R. Tolkien

Next order of business... 🧝🏻‍♂️🧝🏻‍♀️🧙🏼‍♂️

I guess I should have read this a long time ago, but #TMBTLT . At least I'm reading it now.

Also, MAPS 😀🌐

26 likes

MrBook

The Book of Questions: Business, Politics and Ethics | Gregory Stock

Time for the bookish discussion question of the day 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! Here it is: If you had tons of free books/ARCs being offered to you, would you just take them all or would you be somewhat selective? #BookTalk

BookishTrish Selective! 5y

Bookwomble Selective - too many books, too little time 😊 #tmbtlt 5y

BookPixie I‘m much more selective now. 5y

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JSW Selective. I like what I like. 5y

Leniverse Selective. There's a lot of freebies around. No point downloading hundreds of books that I have little interest in reading. 5y

Dolly If I could give them away ( I ❤️ giving stuff away). I‘d take all, otherwise I‘d be thrilled if I had one or two a month. Never had an ARC. I‘d probably giggle uncontrollably 🤣 5y

bookseller_cate I‘ve had to learn to be selective, due to limited space and time in my life. 5y

Lindy Selective. I already have so much to read… 5y

kimba7 Selective, otherwise the guilt would be too much. 5y

tournevis I'd take them all and redistribute. 5y

ravenlee I‘d grab them all! And then sort through later, keeping ones I like and sharing others. I find ARCs give me more freedom to dabble, trying out something I might not otherwise. Ditto for library books. And there‘s less pressure to finish something I‘m not enjoying. 5y

IamIamIam ALL THE BOOKS!!!!! 5y

ReadosaurusText I tend to be selective. Even when I‘m trying to be realistic, I really overestimate how much I can actually read. #TBRproblems 5y

Kimberlone I would try to be more selective, only grabbing ones I actually would be interested in reading. 5y

CrowCAH Selective 5y

Jenken1998 Selective 5y

Crazeedi I'm rather selective 5y

jenniferlgadd Gimme. I want it all. 5y

Reecaspieces Well! I have actually had this occur in two different situations. Someone cleaned out their library and gave me two boxes of books. Well I took all two boxes. But....BookExpo I am selective! 5y

Leftcoastzen Usually selective, though I do grab stuff for others if I think they might like it. 5y

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Selective, I think. Is this a hypothetical, or . . . 🧐🤣 ‘Cause if you just happen to have boxes of books you don‘t want, um . . . 😁😂😂😂😂 5y

rjsthumbelina I take all the ARCs that sound even mildly interesting to me at work! Then once I read them, I hand them out to friends 😁😏 5y

Kaylamburson @mrbook I'm curious your answer to this question. I'm selective. Unless an author doesn't seem to have a line and they ask me directly, then I pretend I'm really excited as to not hurt their feelings. 5y

Sharpeipup Selective. 5y

Caffeinated_Reader Selective because if it‘s going on my bookshelf then I have to read it. I don‘t have books just to have them 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y

Cailey_Mac Hmmm, I would take the ones that I really wanted, and branch out and take maybe a maximum of 5 that I usually wouldn‘t or haven‘t heard about 5y

LibrarianRyan A bit of both. I collect books all year around for the libraries I work with. Many of which can not send a staff member to something like Expo, con, or ALA. so I hand out what I do t want. 5y

Slajaunie I have had that situation. I took only the ones IV was interested in reading. 5y

Gissy I will take the ones I'm interested first but I will take others too thinking in friends. 5y

64 likes29 comments

Bookwomble

Common Joys and Other Poems, by W. H. Davies | William Henry Davies

I almost didn't buy this book due to the teacup ring on the cover, then decided it added character, but remained dubious as I didn't recognise the author, then softened when I saw inside on the list of his previous works that he's the author of "Diary of a Super-Tramp", which I intend to read one day ( #tmbtlt ) then read the first poem, and it came home with me ?

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Bookwomble

Riddley Walker | Russell Hoban

Eusa was angre he was in rayj & he kep pulin on the Littl Man the Addoms owt strecht arms.The Littl Man the Addom he begun tu cum a part he cryd, I wan tu go I wan tu stay. Eusa sed, tel mor. The Addom sed, I wan tu dark, I wan tu lyt, I wan tu day I wan tu nyt. Eusa sed, tel mor. The Addom sed, I wan tu woman, I wan tu man. Eusa sed, tel mor. The Addom sed, I wan tu plus I wan tu minus, I wan tu big, I wan tu littl, I wan tu aul, I wan tu nuthing

Aimeesue I love, love, LOVE Ridley Walker! Amazing book. 6y

Bookwomble @Aimeesue It's fantastic, isn't it? 😊 6y

Aimeesue Indeed. One of my favorite post-apoc stories. The language reminded me of the way Paul Kingsnorth wrote The Wake. Of course, RW came first, but I read The Wake first. 6y

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Bookwomble @Aimeesue I've not come across The Wake, but just added it to my tbr 😊 I assume from the setting and future it's a version of the life of Hereward, but perhaps I'm deceived. I've read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in Middle English, so hopefully this won't be to painful. 6y

Aimeesue Exactly right. Took me a while longer than RW did to get the language, but def not as difficult as Chaucer or Sir Gawain. It Isa brutal, brutal book, though. Was longlisted for the Booker, 2014. 6y

Bookwomble @Aimeesue #TMBTLT [sighs 😪] 6y

Tiyas7 @Bookwomble The language's seriously different😮 However, in a very interesting kind of way🙌. Why is this book written like this??? What's the reason? 6y

Tiyas7 @Bookwomble I'm really intrigued now😄 6y

Bookwomble @Tiyas7 It's set about 2000 years after a nuclear war had sent Inland (England, and presumably the rest of the world) back to an Iron Age stage of development. The language is the result of two millennia of linguistic drift. 6y

Tiyas7 @Bookwomble Pretty good😀 Will need to grab a copy soon👍 6y

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Bookwomble

The Castle of Otranto | Horace Walpole

pick

Less horrifying today than it would have seemed at first publication, but still full of atmosphere, mystery, the supernatural, intrigue, romance, and humour. The last is, perhaps, the most surprising now, as it clearly was then, as Walpole takes the opportunity in his preface to the second edition to defend his artistic decision to leaven the macabre with comedy. 👇🏻👇🏻

Bookwomble Whilst the villain, Manfred, is given some depth of character including some compassion and finer feelings, that doesn't stop him from being a thorough-going, abusive, manipulative, narcissistic shit of the first water! 6y

Vertabrain The original gothic!! I also love Ann Radcliffe. Romance of the Forest is one of my favorites. 6y

Bookwomble @Vertabrain I've got Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho on my shelf, but not read it yet. (Too many books, too little time #TMBTLT ) Have you read Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer? I liked that one - very atmospheric.

Melmoth the Wanderer

Vertabrain No, I haven‘t, but I‘ll check it out. I‘ve always wanted to do a side-by-side reading of Udolpho and Northanger Abbey, since Austen parodies it in a hilarious way. But, like you...#TMBTLT 6y

Bookwomble @Vertabrain I get that - I want to read NA, but feel I want to read MoU first, so then read neither! 6y

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RealBooks4ever

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape | Jenna Miscavige Hill, Lisa Pulitzer

Here are some pretty good books on Scientology, that mysteriously secretive religious cult... #Scientology #NoteworthyNovember

Jess7

BarbaraTheBibliophage I haven't read Wright's book, but the other two sure are damning to the cult. 6y

RealBooks4ever @BarbaraTheBibliophage I describe Going Clear as a scathing take-down. Excellently written! 6y

BarbaraTheBibliophage I do want to read it! #TMBTLT (too many books too little time) 6y

15 likes3 comments

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