The #KaramazovReadalong adventure begins with the first chapter entitled Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov. To commemorate this special date, I steeped a pot of Russian Caravan tea, which has a bold smoky taste of lapsang souchong, oolong, Assam, and puerh to accompany me on this profound journey into Russian Literature. Who is Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov? What wasContinue reading “#KaramazovReadalong Day 1: Who is Fyodor?”
Category Archives: Reading Programs
Three Apples Fell From The Sky
I just finished reading Three Apples Fell From the Sky by Narine Abgaryan. My thanks go to Elisabeth Van Der Meer, from the blog, A Russian Affair, who recommended this book. Serendipity seems to bring books to me at the right time. From beginning to end, this book was an absolute joy. Amazon’s overview providesContinue reading “Three Apples Fell From The Sky”
I’ll Put the Kettle On – Conversations over the Miles
“You’re holding this book because you love tea.” Introduction, A Little Tea Book I’ll put the kettle on. Those are the words that are spoken whenever an important discussion is “brewing.” Tea is the quiet confidante that stands close at hand to comfort, encourage, smooth away a difficult day at work. A cup of fragrantContinue reading “I’ll Put the Kettle On – Conversations over the Miles”
Happy New Year 2018
“The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life. You can turn over a new leaf every hourContinue reading “Happy New Year 2018”
Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism
“Minimalism had to be born, not out of a mere spur-of-the-moment idea or yearning for a new lifestyle, but from an earnest desire and fervent need to rethink our lives.” Fumio Sasaki, Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism De-cluttering! This is the catchphrase of the “first world,” now that consumerism has lost its glamour. WeContinue reading “Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism”
Walden
"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or Life in the Woods. On August 9, 1854 "Walden: or Life inContinue reading “Walden”
When Breath Becomes Air
“We are never so wise as when we live in this moment.” Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi did not live to enter his fourth decade. Instead he let his words carry his thoughts forward into the years ahead. “When Breath Becomes Air” resonates deep within our subconscious, for it reminds usContinue reading “When Breath Becomes Air”
Living with a Wild God
“Try inserting an account of a mystical experience into a conversation, and you’ll likely get the same response as you would if you confided that you had been the victim of an alien abduction,” Barbara Ehrenreich, Living with a Wild God: A Nonbeliever’s Search for the Truth about Everything The first time I met BarbaraContinue reading “Living with a Wild God”
The Zhivago Affair
“Oh, what a love it was, utterly free, unique, like nothing else on earth! Their thoughts were like other people’s songs.” Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago Words hold power. A story is more powerful. That was my thought as I read, “The Zhivago Affair: The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book” Continue reading “The Zhivago Affair”
The Rainbow Comes & Goes
“My mother comes from a vanished world, a place and a time that no longer exist. I have always thought of her as a visitor stranded here; an emissary from a distant star that burned out long ago.” Anderson Cooper This is not my usual reading choice. I confess the title caught my attention; rainbowsContinue reading “The Rainbow Comes & Goes”
On The Road Book Club 
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