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Text of the page (random words):
othing from neither of them does not seem to matter as i have heard many good things about both william trevor s selected stories was another jackpot find although i did think the cover was rather ugly at first but the fonts and texture of its pages on the inside more than made up for it i have been wanting to read jim shepard s the world to come ever since watching the film version of it back in 2021 loved the film so well done i had picked the book simply for its titular story and if the rest of the stories in this collection turns out to be good as well that will be a bonus i was especially thrilled with these virago editions of the robinsons and couldn t resist to grab them even though i already have other editions of gilead and home they reminded me of the same appeal i had found in those early virago editions of sarah waters books back then still one of my favourite set of covers ever birthday presents received very happy to see my little collection of everyman s library slowly growing the diary of a tuscan bookshop has been on my wishlist for some time can t wait to savour it also high time i get acquainted with soseki and his masterpiece i am a cat love the cover design on the box found this malcolm gladwell boxset in pristine condition at a secondhand bookstore and was very happy to bring it home i remember enjoying his writing when i first discovered him many years ago and am looking forward to reconnect again life has certainly not been a bed of roses over here but one can still be thankful for all the small mercies and simple pleasures that can be found amidst the things of beauty sprinkled along the way a rare successful birthday selfie p posted on january 30 2026 january 30 2026 by michelle what she promises she performs diaries begin first self assessments then by february a comfortable falling back into old habits sensible diarists like lady eleanor butler had no truck with good resolutions and just settled down to a pleasant winter freezing hard windy cold but very comfortable in the dressing room and an excellent fire shutters closed curtains let down candles lighted our pens and ink spent the evening very pleasantly reading tristram shandy aloud adjourned to the library worked laughed self lacerating diarists such as katherine mansfield tore them selves to pieces 2nd january 1922 i have not done the work i should have done this is very bad in fact i am disgusted with myself there must be a change from now on what i chiefly admire in jane austen is that what she promises she performs ah if only we all performed what we promised how satisfying this would be nature does bulbs tip the surface and will bloom catkin stubs on the january branch will tassel the sun just showing above the hill will run up the sky i observe it drinking tea by the window through which the old farmers stared generation after generation same sun same hill and shakespeare sixty miles away writing a winter s tale ronald blythe next to nature a lifetime in the english countryside ah if only we are more forgiving of ourselves and just learn to enjoy all the small moments of joy in our everyday that was probably how lady eleanor butler managed to live and laugh to a ripe old age of 90 as opposed to the self lacerating katherine mansfield s short tragic life a merry heart does good like medicine but a broken spirit dries the bones proverbs 17 22 nkjv by the way blythe was one of my favourite discoveries last year am still taking my time and enjoying this volume slowly posted on january 8 2026 january 8 2026 by michelle new year new beginnings love the title how promising it sounds happy new year dear friends hope your christmas had been merry and bright sorry for the belated greetings i hope the year had ended well for all of you and is already off to a good start personally i am just slowly coming out from a season of grief following the unexpected loss of another one of my cats in early december it was my third loss in just the span of the last six months and so it felt like the straw that finally broke the camel s back lost my joy in most things on most days hardly read anything and was just kinda down and out for the better part of the month even the annual year end big bad wolf book sale failed to provide the much needed cheer and comfort i was hoping it would to say that it was a most underwhelming and disappointing affair would be an understatement the only consolation was that i had some vouchers that allowed me to pick a few books for next to nothing and the venue of the sale was just next to my workplace so minimum effort was needed to check out the sale during my lunch breaks the haul i know i shouldn t be complaining really but still an unexpected other book sale however did manage to provide the much welcomed dose of dopamine very happy with these finds especially the one on cats so glad to see this cover instead of the usual editions i ve seen this will be my first ondaatje looking forward to this rappaport too have read many good things about these two don t they look good together happy to add another drabble to my shelves and the rogue male might not have come home with me if the cover had been a different one p last year fewer books were added to the shelves as compared to previous years and even fewer books were actually read from the stacks this year more books are going to be added to the shelves no doubt but hopefully even more will be pulled out and read from them that which has been is what will be that which is done is what will be done and there is nothing new under the sun ecclesiastes 1 9 nkjv the struggles and the issues may still be the same but the approach towards them and the eventual outcomes need not be i really think it s possible that this year it will be different wishing all of you a year filled with possibilities happy new year posted on october 15 2025 october 15 2025 by michelle endgame not to worry about the alarming title for the post that just happened to be the title of my current ongoing read may sarton s memoir of her seventy eighth year which has surprisingly turned out to be quite a comforting read and to echo sarton s words a great deal has indeed happened in the months past since my last post a series of unfortunate events i ve always been curious about the lemony snicket books by the way that resulted in quite a bit of downtime and the need for recovery in the household mum s broken wrist multiple vet visits for multiple cats my injured foot if only i could report back that all of us made it through to the other side safely how wonderful it would be sadly that is not to be my dear arctic boy didn t make it and it was the hardest hit of all my only consolation was that he passed on while being held in my arms rest well dear boy till we meet again there are gaps of time into which we sometimes fall when the pattern of our days is suspended it happens when there is a birth or a death an arrival or a departure the moments either side of it becoming forms of descent and recovery when we do not know quite what to do or how long this unexpected bewilderment will last time stops for the dead but it comes back again and again for the living it is always there for us and slowly we start to understand what it is like to live with our grief we learn to be watchful to breathe more carefully and smile more cautiously to see once more even if we have been blinded by loss we look steadily towards the advancing light james runcie the great passion posted on april 6 2025 april 6 2025 by michelle these precious days it wasn t until i wrote the title essay these precious days that i realized i would have to put a book together that essay was so important to me that i wanted to build a solid shelter for it i started writing more essays through these essays i could watch myself grappling with the same themes in my writing and in my life what i needed whom i loved what i could let go and how much energy the letting go would take ann patchett these precious days i have been meaning to read ann patchett for a long time now her non fiction writing that is truth beauty in particular while i still have yet to get to that memoir of her friendship with fellow writer lucy grealy i m glad to have finally gotten around to these essays and find that they do not disappoint as it happens i have also been following some of her instagram posts parnassusbooks where she will make her bookish recommendations from her bookstore parnassus books every friday usually with her dog in her arms and thought she seemed like someone who is very down to earth relatable and rather approachable her voice in these essays match the ig persona i ve come to be acquainted with and going through this collection felt abit like getting to know a friend better my favourite picks from the essays are the ones on snoopy her grandmother s nightstand and her three fathers yes in that order and speaking of precious days thought i d just conveniently borrow the title and share a brief summary of sorts for the days that have gone by since my last post two particular highlights from books read listened to in the past months one of the only 2 precious copies of persephone books that i own bought this more than a decade ago a long overdue treat loved the cover maybe a lil more than the content p still good though had all the the past is a different country vibes precious are the days where book mails are safely received received both these christmas birthday gifts from the dear anna aroundtheworld in800books fun fact it was the discovery of these newly issued back then in 2016 penguin editions of brookner at a local bookstore that got my instagram account started really looking forward to this and this had a quietly satisfying birthday filled with happiness that came in scoops and boxes p managed to finally tnr trap neuter release two stray kitties i have been feeding and gaining trust with over the past year or so so thankful and relieved for the success as this has really been something weighing heavily on my heart for a long time there were also some precious days of catching up with my best buddy who was back home for a short holiday i am usually at my most relaxed and unguarded self when i m with her and with animals p having to care for an aged parent with certain health challenges has not been easy to say the least some days are manageable and some days are just bad these were some of the precious good days every bit counts here s to more of the good days to us all god bless have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task go to sleep in peace god is awake victor hugo posted on january 4 2025 january 5 2025 by michelle happy new year to you a happy 13th blogivesary to me thanks for the words of encouragement wp but this can hardly be considered as good blogging let s be honest p time flies whether you are having fun or not who would have thought this little space here would still be hanging around today and not have gotten itself spun out of the blogosphere aeons ago when so many other things have been lost along the way and so much of life has come and gone but come what may i am going to keep this space going for as long as i can it may be neglected at times but it will never be abandoned for good there are just too many bits and parts of me scattered over these virtual pages over the years that if i were to lose them it would feel as if parts of me were missing too so here s to the next 13 or 30 years of this reader s footprints now back to the books my annual year end haul at the big bad wolf books sale has been a significantly subdued affair compared to its glory days in the past with the prices up and the books not as exciting nor appealing to me i could only come away with a handful 5 books to be exact 5 beauties nevertheless this has been on my wishlist for the longest time and it was a happy sight to behold at the sale just recently finished loved this on audiobook was very happy to spot this beautifuk edition frnech flaps rough cut pages a beautiful vmc hardback edition of molly keane i still have her devoted ladies unread on the shelves adding on to my collection of modianos a lovely margellos world republic of letters edition at a good price is always a good thing rather excited about this one and it goes so well together with the earlier auster that i found so there s the bulk of it for this round a somewhat disappointing affair i suppose but the consolation was that the sale was held at a venue just beside my workplace so it was with minimal effort on my part to visit the sale during my lunch break every day of the sale and come away with nothing except the 5 which were all spotted on the first day itself i shouldn t be complaining really posted on december 25 2024 december 25 2024 by michelle 2 comments wishing you heavenly peace step softly under snow or rain to find the place where men can pray the way is all so very plain that we may lose the way oh we have learnt to peer and pore on tortured puzzles from our youth we know all labyrinthine lore we are the three wise men of yore and we know all things but the truth we have gone round and round the hill and lost the wood among the trees and learnt long names for every ill and served the mad gods naming still the furies the eumenides the gods of violence took the veil of vision and philosophy the serpent that brought all men bale he bites his own accursed tail and calls himself eternity go humbly it has hailed and snowed with voices low and lanterns lit so very simple is the road that we may stray from it the world grows terrible and white and blinding white the breaking day we walk bewildered in the light for something is too large for sight and something much too plain to say the child that was ere worlds begun we need but walk a little way we need but see a latch undone the child that played with moon and sun is playing with a little hay the house from which the heavens are fed the old strange house that is our own where trick of words are never said and mercy is as plain as bread and honour is as hard as stone go humbly humble are the skies and low and large and fierce the star so very near the manger lies that we may travel far hark laughter like a lion wakes to roar to the resounding plain and the whole heaven shouts and shakes for god himself is born again and we are little children walking through the snow and rain g k chesterton the wise men silent night holy night all is calm all is bright round yon virgin mother and child holy infant so tender and mild sleep in heavenly peace sleep in heavenly peace silent night holy night shepherds quake at the sight glories stream from heaven afar heavenly hosts sing alleluia christ the savior is born christ the savior is born silent night holy night son of god love s pure light radiant beams from thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace jes...