I’ve been reading…

Hello you all,

we had another heat wave,

last week,

I am just now,

recovering.

ouf,

I hate the hot,

humid,

sweaty heat.

It’s over now,

it’s gorgeous,

hot,

not sticky,

Summer,

end of Summer.

I’ve been reading,

again,

what a relief:-)

got all the way through,

Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements Of Propaganda,

by Noam Chomsky,

small book,

a series of talks he gave.

Much easier to get through,

than his more scholarly offerings,

it was most illuminating,

and,

infuriating.

The war against the people by the powers that be, well worth reading and looking into, next I am taking on Howard Zinn.

Perfect read to accompany,

the Canadian Federal Election.

My night time,

before bed,

reading,

is,

Alison Bechdel’s ,

Are You My Mother?

A brilliant and dense read,

that requires,

taking your time,

absorbing,

both the words and the drawings,

symbolism,

on so many levels,

it’s brilliant,

nothing she does is not brilliant to me,

nothing.

Funny, the other day,

I saw a story,

on Face Book,

about how some,

freshman students,

had refused to read Fun Home,

her graphic memoir about her dad, on his closeted homosexuality, that has since been turned into a Tony award winning musical.

because it didn’t represent,

their beliefs.

Wow,

this wasn’t at,

Oral Roberts University,

this was Duke!!

Gobsmacked, as the Brits say.

Why the hell do you go to College,

if not to expand your world view??

How much,

mysoginistic and racist crap,

do we read,

in the course of our education?

The purpose of attending,

Colleges/Universities,

is to expand your world view,

your mind,

push yourself,

bring into question the stereotypes,

the unquestioned ‘beliefs’,

part of the propaganda that Chomsky ‘speaks’ of but, also the myths and folklore and indoctrination of- family, of ethnicity and social class and standing, amongst other barely questioned , beliefs

learn about the world,

about yourself,

grow,

well,

that’s what I think,

but,

I am frequently told,

I am naive,

and I never graduated from College,

so what do I know??

🙂

I know that reading Fun Home,

or anything by Alison Bechdel,

is funny and thoughtful.

This I know.

My metro,

our name for a subway here in the beautiful ugly

read,

is a spy thriller,

by Graham Greene,

Stramboul Train,

takes place on the Orient Express,

between the World Wars,

from Ostende to Constantinople.

It is a small portable book,

fits in the backpack without,

too much weight,

easily bookmarked when arriving,

at my stop,

you can pick up and leave off,

without too much difficulty.

Peopled with,

all kinds of interesting characters,

I’m pretty sure those,

Duke freshman,

wouldn’t read it,

there is a lesbian journalist,

a chorus girl,

and,

any number of sketchy characters.

I like it,

it has it’s anachronisms,

but,

I don’t hold that against it.

Be well,

stay well.

Later girls,

Putting an end to a reading drought

Well,

it’s a new year,

and,

I need to get back into,

creative,

and,

thinking,

mode.

I have,

lots of pre-occupations,

but,

sitting around in a daze,

in front of the computer,

distractedly gazing at,

face book,

isn’t going to help,

or make things,

magically fall into place,

reading won’t either,

but,

it will keep my mind,

busy,

supple,

(May My Mind Stroll About Hungry And Fearless And Thirsty And Supple-e.e cummings)

acquiring new,

knowledge,

and,

ideas.

I have finished my first book,

of the year,

and,

am well on my way,

to finishing,

the second.

The first book of the year,

is part of my great ideas project-

A Room Of One’s Own,

by Virginia Woolf.

I have to say,

all three of the books,

I have read,

in my great ideas project,

so far,

have been,

stellar.

This essay by,

the handsome and impressive,

Virginia,

is definitely worth your time.

I imagine tons of you,

are thinking,

“B.B I read that in college, years ago, where have you been? living under a rock???”

Well, not,

under a rock,

precisely,

but,

I must say,

I am perplexed that an almost,

fifty year old butch,

such as myself,

reasonably well read,

without a college education,

but,

still,

has managed to have,

not,

read this essay.

It is considered one of,

the great feminist essays.

Who knows,

not enough Women’s Studies classes,

I guess.

I liked it a lot,

and I will write about it,

more,

soon.

For the time being,

I need to sit with it,

in my mind,

digest it.

The other book I am,

reading is a classic,

of the LGBTQ canon,

a memoir,

a coming out story,

Becoming A Man by Paul Monette,

beautifully written,

blood and guts stuff,

reminds me of the Hemingway quote,

about writing being easy,

all you need to do,

is sit at the typewriter and bleed,

I paraphrase,

but,

that is the gist.

Monette’s book,

is,

shockingly honest and raw,

and,

angry,

at the way,

gay men and women,

sometimes live half a life,

because,

of their attempts to,

pass,

and lots of time spent in,

the closet.

Now,

to be sure,

that isn’t the experience,

of all gay men,

especially not,

the younger generation,

but,

the feeling of otherness,

that is true and real,

for all,

well,

I think it is.

🙂

I am only one third in,

but,

so far,

it feels like,

one of those books,

that changes you,

like Stone Butch Blues did,

like Bastard Out Of Carolina did,

the naked truth,

of,

feeling,

of hurt,

of surpassing.

I have had this book,

on my shelf for a long time,

this is the year,

I read it.

I am following some,

reading advice,

from Austin Kleon,

I find that Austin,

has inspired me,

in many ways,

with his books,

and his excellent blog,

it isn’t touchy feely,

his blog,

but,

it isn’t,

dark and brooding either,

practical advice,

for getting things done,

for creating and reading again.

Here is the link,

to the post on how to read more,

How to read more

his advice on logbooks,

is pretty darn good too,

Six years of logbooks

and,

reading Austin’s advice on reading more,

brought me to,

Ryan Holliday and his,

recommendations,

http://ryanholiday.net/how-to-read-more-a-lot-more/

I think both are well worth checking out,

and,

perhaps incorporating some,

of their advice,

into our daily grind and ritual.

So, I have on,

the night table,

the desk,

a bunch of books to read in,

January,

a couple of fiction,

a couple of non-fiction,

I look forward to all of them,

and sharing my thoughts,

with you.

Be well.

I’m off to read

🙂

Later girls,

Henry James is good for your attention span

Winner GLBT Category

The Fall has been here,

for a few weeks,

now,

my favourite season,

and,

I have spent a good part of it,

locked up,

in the apartment,

sick as a dog.

All kinds of competing symptoms,

cough, sneezing,

congestion,

headache,

all of it,

making me into a mental case.

Can’t work, can’t concentrate,

worried about money,

all those fun things.

In between the coughing,

and,

my head throbbing,

I have managed to finish,

the Henry James novel,

The American,

only took me three months,

I’ve been perfecting the slow reading thing:-)

I seem to be afflicted,

with the attention span of a gnat,

of late,

I can manage the small face book post,

or look at the picture blogs,

but,

any kind of content or development,

has trouble keeping my attention,

I need to step away,

a little from the black hole that is,

the online world.

It’s hard to step away from,

a lot of my contact is there,

between,

email, texting and chat on face book,

when was the last time,

you had a real live conversation,

that didn’t involve,

work,

housekeeping,

or ordering cigarettes at the corner store.

But, I digress.

Henry James.

For most of my adult life,

I have shied away,

from Henry James and Thomas Hardy and Herman Melville,

etc,

convinced that,

although they were most assuredly,

‘great’ writers,

they weren’t for me,

too slow,

too descriptive

not enough of a story,

or too many stories.

Prejudices left over from,

my twenties.

Last year,

I discovered that,

Thomas Hardy’s Jude The Obscure,

was a complex fascinating read,

about how hard it was,

to be different,

and,

how society,

through the church and conventional morality,

ruins the lives of smart promising people,

A hard and indignant novel.

It bummed me out,

but,

it also stimulated me,

and brought up,

all kinds of avenues of conversation,

and,

inquiry,

a great novel,

not for the sentimental,

or faint of heart,

and,

not for the easily dissuaded,

either.

The James novel,

isn’t like that,

nowhere near as dark,

a lighter tone,

and,

a lighter subject,

or is it?

This book,

is about the clash between,

the old world and the new world,

it is about duty vs happiness,

it is about family,

and,

it’s not always pretty aspect,

it is about knowing,

who you are.

I loved this novel,

it took forever to read,

and,

I believe,

that is how it was meant,

to be read,

slowly,

letting the plot develop,

on the page,

in your mind,

at a strolling in the park,

pace.

I heard and read of James,

that he understood,

the psychology of women,

very well,

and even though,

these are 19 Th century women,

I agree,

James does understand the psychology of women,

the societal pressures,

the limitations,

the what is expected,

what is,

feminine,

and,

so much more.

I don’t like to give away,

plot lines,

as you all know,

and,

I don’t truly write reviews,

more impressions and pastiches.

This novel,

has many plot twists,

and,

you wonder at times,

where they are leading,

what is the point?

by the end you realize,

that,

although,

not particularly,

romantic,

nor satisfying,

the end,

ties together this slice of life novel,

perfectly.

Very life like novel,

in the,

‘things don’t always work out as we would hope’,

sense.

James is a master weaver,

a slow cooked plot,

that leaves you,

thinking.

As this is one of his lesser novels,

I can only say,

I look forward to reading the greater ones

🙂

I have the Wings Of The Dove,

in an old Modern Library edition,

my preferred format,

not too big,

not too small.

I imagine,

it will take me well into 2015,

and,

that’s ok.

Any of you,

have any thoughts or experience,

with James?

I’d love to hear what you think.

Be well.

Later girls,

On reading Henry James

Winner GLBT category

I find lately,

that I read,

slower,

that I reflect on what I read,

more,

and,

just as eating slower,

improves,

my old ass digestion,

so does,

reading slow,

improve the experience,

the digestion,

of,

thought.

I have been reading Henry James,

The American,

which,

is not one of his best known works,

it was originally serialized in a magazine

for years, I resisted,

James,

thought to myself,

boring old dead white guy,

I know, I know, I’m narrow like everyone else, sometimes.

But,

just as,

I changed my mind,

about Thomas Hardy,

a few years ago,

I am now re-considering my view of James.

Slow, has it’s good points,

to be sure.

I believe,

there are a few reasons,

why I now appreciate these,

writers.

Maturity?

perhaps,

having read many books,

I have learned to appreciate,

the well crafted,

the subtle?

Probably

But,

I think for me,

the biggest reason,

may just be,

that I need quiet time,

to breath, to think,

to be still in my mind,

and,

this kind of writing,

inspires that,

putting the book down,

and,

thinking about it,

taking your time.

In a world of constant stimulation,

three or four conversations at once,

on the chat, Facebook, text,

I need to go away,

I need to turn off.

I like my gadgets,

my being able to be in touch,

at all times,

but,

even if I am not as busy,

as some people,

my brain is rarely quiet,

actually,

never.

Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen,

they are the equivalent of a good,

conversation,

with someone,

wise, astute, older,

you don’t agree with everything they,

‘say’,

but, it is an intelligent discourse,

civilized.

No need to impress,

to best,

sitting in silence,

sipping something,

enjoying the sun,

the breeze,

a slow smoke,

good company.

James,

grounds me,

sometimes,

I find myself in awe of his,

meticulously crafted sentences,

his insights,

but,

mostly,

I just listen,

and,

being me,

every once in a while,

I feel compelled to,

in my most genteel voice,

say,

“I really must disagree with you there, Mr James”

I would never call him Henry:-)

Yes,

I am enjoying,

the experience,

reading is so many different things,

to me,

to everyone,

but,

reading Henry James,

is sitting back,

in a wing chair,

thinking,

life is also good,

when slow.

Later girls,

On losing one’s ‘sounding board’ and, the voices in your head

Winner GLBT category.

Good morning,

girls.

I hope all is well,

in your spot in the universe.

I’m doing ok,

the Summer is moving along,

there have been good parts.

I have spent some quality time,

with my mom,

we’ve had a few Sunday outings,

the movies,

the museum,

a few special lunches.

The month of August will,

be busy with barbecues and such,

lots of family,

seeing the kids,

as well as catching up,

with friends,

who I haven’t seen in a while.

I’m reading more,

deeper,

more thought provoking stuff,

I told you all,

about Gender Failure,

and,

I’ve just finished,

Lettres Philosophiques by Voltaire,

a work colleague lent it to me.

Normally,

I have trouble getting through,

18 th century French,

but,

this is clean prose,

in the form of letters,

home,

to Paris,

I guess,

Voltaire describes British society,

it’s politics,

it’s science,

it’s religious aspects,

The Quakers,

The Anglican church,

Newton,

Locke,

etc.

it’s modernity.

If that sounds dry and tough to read,

to you,

you would be wrong,

reads very well.

Voltaire a true representative,

of the Enlightenment,

enlightens

🙂

Perfect food for thought.

My friend the anarchist,

was a lover of the 18 th century,

and,

it isn’t really until he wrote his,

biography of Kropotkin,

that he moved towards the 19 th,

he always said the 20 th century wasn’t yet history, still current events

the roots of 19 th century,

political thought and emancipation,

lay very much in the,

18 th century,

and it’s enlightenment.

As I read these books,

and,

reacquaint myself with,

historical and philosophical writing,

I am struck,

over and over again,

by how much I have lost,

with the loss of my anarchist.

On a very personal and emotional level,

the loss is cataclysmic,

there was much love there,

but,

also,

very significantly,

as an intellectual sounding board,

it helped me to know what I think,

about things,

by discussing them with him,

he would always add something,

to my thoughts,

even,

when it turned out we were,

in complete agreement,

and,

we often were.

So as I read,

the Voltaire,

I kept thinking,

Francoys would think,

this is bunk,

or Francoys would say,

evidement!

it isn’t near as satisfying as telling him,

about my reading,

and him telling me about his,

but,

just as he lives in my heart,

he also lives in my head.

That sounds slightly,

well,

nuts,

I get that,

but,

as I get older,

I realize that many ‘people’

live on,

in my head,

in my heart,

and,

that coupled with my own,

little voices,

much discourse and discussion goes on,

in my cranium.

My grandparents are there,

my father,

my friend Betsy,

and,

now,

they are joined by,

Francoys.

I have many friends,

with whom,

I can discuss ideas,

and,

books,

live and share,

some have known me for a long time,

and,

know me quite well,

love me and are loved back,

there is still discussion,

and,

laughter in my life,

passion for growth, knowledge and discovery,

but,

my sounding board is,

no more.

Until you lose someone,

who holds such stature,

in your life,

you cannot know,

the extent to which your life,

will change.

This does not mean you don’t,

love and appreciate the people in your life,

it means you cannot ‘know’

It has been a theory of mine,

for many moons,

probably stole it somewhere,

you must have friends who are,

smarter than you,

or bring something very different,

to the table,

you can never be,

the smartest or most charismatic,

because if you are,

you grow in no way,

but,

in complacency,

and,

vanity.

You also need those piss you off,

kind of people,

they also,

albeit,

accidentally or inadvertently,

hone your thinking skills.

I am blessed in all those categories,

smart and loving friends,

old and new,

very much alive in the material world,

and,

also in my head and heart.

As a follow up to Voltaire,

I am reading,

on my e-reader,

the Essays Of Montaigne,

it is a very long read,

1400 pages,

3 volumes,

and,

although Francoys made a face,

when I mentioned in December,

that I had gotten them off the,

Gutenberg Project,

saying,

Montaigne could be long and boring.

I don’t doubt,

he is right about that,

in more than a few ways,

but,

the fact that Montaigne,

chose to live and think about,

what he really thought,

about life and all that it comprises,

in seclusion,

appeals to me,

enormously,

and,

he wrote what is the truest thing,

I have ever read about friendship,

and,

what it means,

a mystery on a par,

with attraction and love.

“If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than because he was he, and I was I.”
― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays

Be well.

Later girls,

The ‘work in progress’ is …progressing and some reading thoughts

Winner in the GLBT category

Hello you all,

rainy day here,

in my beautiful ugly.

Please don’t think,

I’m complaining,

I’m not,

give me rain over,

sticky dank heat,

any day.

My work in progress,

is progressing,

more and more notes,

adding up,

a memory stick full of pictures,

hell,

I even created a twitter account,

check it out,

join me,

https://twitter.com/bookishbutch

Austin Kleon’s book,

Show your work,

suggested it was,

the favorite social media,

of writers.

Early days,

but,

I can see enjoying it,

and,

it will help with impulse control,

“gotta’ control yourself,

or those 140 words,

can get you in trouble

🙂

I just finished reading,

Gender Failure,

by Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon,

a must read people,

will give you much to ponder,

and,

make you laugh and cry,

lots of emotion,

lots of thought,

two astute minds,

collaborating to serve up,

a truly excellent book.

I think you all know,

the love and respect I have for Ivan,

a butch idol of mine,

respect brother.

Rae Spoon,

I am less familiar with,

but,

equally impressed with,

the journey and grit that lead to this,

place,

yes,

impressive.

It brought forth many questions,

I never realized,

I had about the trans experience,

if I can put it this way, but, actually that kind of, a ridiculous way of putting, because the experience is different for everyone,

all part of the vast,

human experience.

It made me think,

and,

feel,

and that is what I value,

above all else,

in a book.

I saw their show,

Ivan and Rae’s,

Gender Failure,

last year with my friend, Francoys,

and so looked forward to reading,

and discussing it with him.

Don’t think for a moment,

“well, I saw the show, I know what the book is about”

it is a very different ‘creature’

both are excellent and complimentary in my opinion.

The show left a lasting impression,

I have discussed it with people,

and,

pondered on it,

many times,

since.

The book opened up a door,

Fran Lebowitz,

one of my all time favourite writers and speakers,

discusses this concept in a talk on Jane Austen,

A book should not be a mirror but a door.

By this she means it shouldn’t be about you,

or recognizing yourself,

but, a door to another world,

another world view,

a glimpse into someone else’s,

human experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujjJlT9cCts

I have read all of Ivan’s work,

’tis love,

and,

now I want to explore,

more of Rae’s,

they appeal to me,

very much,

and,

force me,

in a joyful way,

to explore my thoughts,

confront my acquired ideas.

That rocks

🙂

Austin Kleon in his,

Steal Like An Artist,

and,

Share Your Work,

advises you to learn everything,

there is to know about artists who you love,

learn all their work.

I’ve been doing this for years, but, it is nice to see it articulated, I guess.

Ivan is right up at the top of artists and work I love.

A worthy book.

and this morning,

I came upon this,

on upworthy via face book

proof there isn’t only crap on fb

It added to my thoughts,

once you start,

chewing, marinating and pondering,

on a subject,

stuff turns up,

nice that,

so here is the link

http://www.upworthy.com/the-thing-your-first-grade-english-teacher-missed-that-you-should-definitely-know?g=2&c

Let me know what you all think,

about all this,

I’m off to steal and share.

Be well.

Later girls,

Read this book

Winner 2013 LGBT category

I have just finished,

Jeannette Winterson’s,

A must read.

I finished it and wished,

I hadn’t,

I wanted it to go,

on.

Now I want to share it,

with as many people as possible.

It’s that kind of book.

I have loved Winterson’s books,

for many years.

She has taken me on,

many,

journeys.

I read her first book,

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit,

and,

from then on,

I loved her,

I trusted her,

she spoke to me.

I was willing to follow,

on strange,

narrative journeys,

that I might not have,

embarked on,

with other writers,

The Powerbook,

Written On The Body,

Lighthousekeeping,

I liked all of them.

Winterson,

is a brilliant erudite,

writer,

yet,

in no way,

inacessible.

Not wordy,

clear,

poetic,

allegorical,

this sounds,

contradictory,

I imagine,

and,

yet,

it is all those things,

to me.

This book is about,

overcoming,

a difficult childhood,

and,

becoming,

who you are meant to be.

She whitewashes nothing,

but,

she demonises nothing,

she tells the truth,

it is neither,

an optimistic book,

nor,

a pessismistic one.

Winterson tells the truth,

as she has learned it,

no coddling,

no revisionist history,

truth.

Great book.

You all know,

I don’t do reviews,

I hate spoilers,

and,

I hate passing judgment.

I like to give appreciations,

and,

I rarely,

if ever,

write about a book,

I disliked.

Read this book,

it’s worth your time,

I intend to re-read it,

once it does,

the rounds.

Mom is next to read it

🙂

I could quote many passages,

but,

this,

I think gives you an idea,

of what I mean,

when,

I ‘say’,

truth.

I have noticed that doing the sensible thing is only a good idea when the decision is quite small. for the life changing things, you must risk it. And here is the shock-when you risk it, when you do the right thing, when you arrive at the borders of common sense and cross into unknown territory, leaving behind you all the familiar smells and lights, then you do not experience great joy and huge energy. You are unhappy. Things get worse. It is a time of mourning. Loss. Fear. We bullet ourselves through with questions. And then we feel shot and wounded. And then all the cowards come out and say, “See, I told you so”. In fact they told you nothing.

page 63-64

Frank and raw,

also funny,

and uplifting.

Read this book,

you won’t regret it.

Later girls,

Pretty excited!!!

Good morning you all.

I’ve been pretty busy,

the cold is also,

back,

brrr,

yuck.

To which I say,

‘It’s February genius, what do you expect!”

I have been juggling books all week,

reading,

Study In Scarlet,

before bed,

a few pages,

every day of Susan Sontag’s On Photography,

which I am particularly,

interested in,

given my new photography,

well,

let’s call it,

what it is,

obsession

😛

almost finished,

Jeff O’Brien’s The Couch Sessions,

which I should write about,

on the weekend.

Have been enjoying,

Zoe Amos’s Superior,

an adventure romance,

which I will also be writing about,

soon.

But,

the big thing,

this week,

is the re-reading of Helene Hanff’s,

The Duchess Of Bloomsbury Street,

in preparation,

for something,

that has me major,

hyped,

excited,

nervous,

yep,

all of those,

I will be participating,

in my first podcast!

Ok,

so let me tell you about it.

On face book,

I have been part of a group,

known as:

Friends of Helene Hanff,

because of my undying love,

for her works,

especially,

as those of you, who have been following, the blog for a while, know,

84, Charing Cross Road,

which,

I believe,

may be,

my favourite book.

It certainly is the book,

I have read most often,

and,

my pleasure,

in it,

has in no way,

diminished,

with time.

So long story short,

a fellow member,

asked me to be friends,

on face book,

and,

I accepted,

I don’t always accept,

I check to see,

if we have friends,

in common and stuff,

but,

this time,

I accepted,

right away,

I liked her face.

After a few days,

she contacted me,

and,

told me about her website,

http://beabehn.com

and about her,

“Women A’Loud!”,

We are Women A’Loud! and We are Reading Through It!

Women A’Loud! is a weekly broadcast that spotlights women through words, writing, reading, and wit. We capture a glimpse of our world every week through a few unique segments:

and,

she asked me to,

participate in a discussion,

of,

the great Helene’s work.

I listened to some of the broadcasts,

you should too, informative and lighthearted, nice vibe,

so again,

long story,

not so short,

😛

on Sunday,

we will be skyping,

and,

the broadcast will air pretty soon.

So, that’s what I have been,

up to

🙂

I will post,

all the details,

pretty soon,

but,

I wanted to tell,

you all,

about it,

’cause it’s important to me,

and,

I thought you might get,

a kick out of it.

Later girls,

**the new header is one of my pictures, the beanie was a gift from my most special someone and the bag is the absolute bomb of leather bags my sweet Renaud gave me, I call it, the photograph, Anarchist Writer***

Reading inspiration…

Good morning, you all.

It’s cold again,

after a slight warm spell,

which was good for the spirit,

and,

the old body,

we are back to the deep freeze.

This cold spell seems to be,

in the same category,

as what,

began the year,

grrr get out the fleece,

and fake fur,

time to wear your wool sweaters,

it’s Winter.

Is there a more perfect time,

to read??

I think not,

perfect time,

helps to combat cabin fever,

and,

from your mind wandering,

to all the stuff,

you would like to be going on.

Anyway,

I digress.

I have tons of ideas,

projects,

possibilities,

floating around,

to write,

to create,

to be the new me,

which is still very much,

in an,

‘I’m not sure of so many things stage’.

Anyway,

I’ve been reading,

slowly but, surely,

not in a bulimic fashion,

a little everyday,

and,

what I am reading,

surprises me,

and,

what lead me to read it,

does,

as well.

I am reading,

The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes,

which I downloaded,

free from Project Gutenberg,

and,

the reason,

I am reading,

and very much enjoying,

Sherlock Holmes,

is because of this,

The Sherlock series staring Benedict Cumberbatch.

As an avid movie watcher,

I have seen tons,

of different Sherlock Holmes,

movies, TV shows, the lot,

but,

I never liked Sherlock Holmes,

he always struck me as,

a know it all,

hard to like,

sort of character,

a cold man,

an upper class snob.

The Sherlock I discovered,

in this series,

is a much more,

complex and multi-layered character.

A know it all neurotic,

no doubt,

but,

also,

a sensitive and caring man,

capable of great friendship,

a free thinker,

who lives by his own sense,

of morality,

a principled man,

albeit,

in an unconventional way,

a good man.

The Sherlock of Arthur Conan Doyle,

is that man,

in an another century.

An observer of the highest caliber,

an astute superior intelligence.

He is a bit of an intellectual snob,

but,

in no other way is he a snob,

a man of great curiosity,

and thirst for knowledge.

I have had a false impression,

of,

Sherlock,

all these years,

I’m so glad that,

the inspiration,

for reading him,

finally,

has helped me,

set that straight

🙂

I wonder,

what do you all think of,

the great detective from Baker street?

Later girls,

It’s snowing…. books

It’s snowing,

again,

grrr,

oh well,

’tis the season,

and we wouldn’t want,

to not,

have a white Christmas,

would we,

???

oh well,

it’s perty,

that’s something,

right?

Good time,

to read,

and,

I have tons,

of good things,

to read,

some light stuff,

some deep stuff,

and,

some original,

and,

new…ish stuff.

I have been reading,

a surprising book,

it’s called,

The Couch Sessions,

by Jeff O’Brien.

I met Jeff when he walked,

into my bookstore,

a sweet and personable guy,

local,

told me he had written,

a book,

and,

when it was published,

would I agree to sell and display it,

in my bookstore.

He needed to get it,

copy edited,

and published,

and,

by the time,

it was done,

these things take time, never good to rush something that isn’t ready, it’s a book not a blog:-)

I had closed the bookstore.

I got a copy from Jeff,

a few weeks ago.

I expected it to be,

funny,

Jeff was a stand up comic for quite a while

what I didn’t expect,

well,

it is a truly original voice.

A voice of his generation,

I think,

very different from mine.

Full of despair and yet,

love and kindness,

a voice,

very individualistic,

and,

yet,

caring about the world,

we all share.

I like it,

a lot,

very interesting turns of phrase.

I’ve never read anything like it.

I haven’t read much,

of it,

bit of a reader’s block,

lately,

but,

what I have read,

leads me to believe it’s worth,

my time and that it will,

leave behind,

many thoughts,

and,

images.

I don’t think anyone ends their life without thought; it could look that way from afar,but a ledge begs reflection. We never question someone’s happiness, but we are too quick to question the sincerity of someone’s sadness. Why is that?

It’s sad when the reason for taking our lives gets lost in ignorant translation. It’s sad when the opinion of others become the gospel on our legacy….

Yep, interesting turn of phrase.

I’ll give a full review when I finish,

and,

I’ll give the info on acquisition,

in case any of you,

would like to encourage,

a new voice.

I also received two review copies,

of new lesbian fiction,

as Walter Matthau said in Grumpy Old Men, ‘hmm, yummy, lesbians'( WINK)

and this morning,

the mailman brought a surprise,

a book,

from Amazon,

from my girl (thump, thump goes my heart)

it is the latest Ali Liebegott,

Cha-Ching,

looks amazing.

So as I stated at the first,

it’s snowing books

🙂

Hope it’s doing the same,

at your house.

Be well

Later girls,