Friday, March 2, 2018

Reading Mornings


The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey

True confession: I have a crush on Pete Carroll, coach of the Seattle Seahawks. To be more precise, I am obsessed with his coaching wisdom, his philosophy of training and development that allows him not only to bring the best of his players but to nurture them as human beings. When I heard that this book was fundamental in developing Coach Carroll's approach, I knew I had to read it. I was not disappointed. If you're interested in helping other people reach their potential, you'll love it too. 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

With the help of not one but three fairy godmother, nerd girl embarks on interstellar travel with her precocious baby brother and the It boy from her high school to save her father from interplanetary evil. She has a brush with death and must be nurtured back to life before completing her mission. There's a movie coming out based on this book but as usual, the book is better. Accept no substitutes. 

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle

The second book in a series of five, this plot closely mirrors Wrinkle, complete with nerd girl, baby brother, It boy and the threat of cosmic evil. But this time, the trio is aided by a cherubim that looks like a herd of dragons and a mulish school principal as they enter the microscopic world of mitochondria to save said baby brother's life. If you loved Wrinkle, you'll enjoy Wind; if not, move on to the third book.

A Swiftly Turning Planet by Madeleine L'Engle

Years have passed. Nerd girl is now gorgeous, accomplished, and married to It boy. Baby brother has become a headstrong teen, and it's finally his turn to lead the adventure. The twist: this plot revoves around time travel. With unlikely help from It boy's sourpuss mother and some dusty old family letters, Baby bro manages to rewrite the time line and steers the planet from certain disaster. I am a huge sucker for this sort of Dr Who business and though I have read it several times before, I ate this book up with a knife and fork. 

* * * * *

Alright, I'll make a confession. I devoured quite a few books in 2017. But almost all of them were either ebooks or, more likely, audio books. 

Now there is nothing wrong with that. For my money, a book is a book is a book, and different formats have different advantages, such as being able to cook dinner while listening to the narration of bloody ax and hatchet battles of old Englaland in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. 

I listened to all ten books in the series last summer. And then as soon as I was finished, I listened to them all again. 

Lordy, I do love a good sword fight.

But as I've been reassessing how my digital devices impact my life, I decided to make 2018 a year of reading from exclusively from physical books.again.

Strangely for me, I've been waking up early this winter, and curling up in my bedroom chair to start the day with a few lovely chapters. Turning pages while my dog snores happily on the bed, I am enjoying these reading mornings. 

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