My mom, an inveterate reader, has come to the place with her eyesight when she can no longer read. I have many memories of her sitting on the couch reading at night, reading aloud the things she found funny or interesting. She introduced me to authors and books that I still love and return to regularly. Reading has enriched my life in so many ways and there’s a very real sense in which I have my mother to thank for that. A teacher at school taught me how to read, but it was my mom who taught me, by example, to love it.
I waited patiently upon the LORD;
He stooped to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40: 1-3
Wonderful words. I love the agency of God in that passage – He stoops, he hears, he lifts, he makes footing sure, he puts songs in our mouths – songs of praise! And what is our part? To wait patiently, see, stand in awe and put our trust in Him. Amen!
I finished another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery by Dorothy Sayers this week. While her writing isn’t as howlingly funny as Wodehouse, she definitely channels him at times with the things that Lord Peter says or thinks.
Wimsey, reflecting that the ability to swallow insult is a necessary part of the detective’s make-up, restrained the temptation to connect his toe with Mr. Weldon’s rather massive hinder-end…Have His Carcase, p. 148
And to Harriet (who has refused his marriage proposals many times) when she finds an important piece of evidence, he says,
And I could kiss you for it. You need not shrink and tremble. I am not going to do it. When I kiss you, it will be an important event – one of those things which stand out among their surroundings like the first time you tasted li-chee. It will not be an unimportant sideshow attached to a detective investigation.Have His Carcase, p. 203
And just for fun, here are the first lines of four books that I got from the library in the last week. I think first lines are interesting – sometimes the whole measure of the book can be taken from the first sentence.
“Not to disappoint you, but my troubles are nothing – not for an author, at least.”
Leif Enger, So Brave, Young and Handsome
“I can still see her, our Liz, sitting on a plank, dangling over that well.
Amy Weisgarber – The Personal History of Rachel DuPree
“Like most small children, I learned my home address so that if I got lost, I could tell a grown-up where to take me.”
J.D. Vance – Hillbilly Elegy
“They told me you want to know my story, why I ended up in this place?”
Liz Trenow – The Forgotten Seamstress
Thank you for taking the time to read these posts. It means a lot to me!
I’ll probably read some more in the morning. And maybe delete this if the mood strikes me.
Lynniebeemuseoday 