JBB's Musings...a quarter century later...
For Rose City Reader 's Book Beginnings on Fridays "where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading." This book was recommended by Byron Borger of Hearts & Minds Books in Pennsylvania in one of his recent newsletters . I checked out my copy from the local library. Book Beginning of Fire Weather : On a hot afternoon in May 2016, five miles outside the young…
In the spirit of I only have twenty-five years left to read all the books , here is a partial list of the books I currently own (or have checked out from the library) that I would like to (re)read. These are mostly novels with a few other classic books included. (Someday I should pull together a list of mostly non-fiction classic or important books I'd like to read. So many lists! So little time!)…
In one week it will have been twenty-five years since I published my first blog post . I was prodded to write here tonight after watching a YouTube video by John Rogers, 5 Reasons to Start a Blog in 2026 (... or any other Year) . Rogers said he started his blog twenty-three years ago. He still posts at The Lost Byway . The video was a good kick-in-the-pants to get back to writing here again. I had…
The first kettle of the season of early apples (Yellow Transparent) is cooking down on the stove! It already smells divine.
For Rose City Reader 's Book Beginnings on Fridays "where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading." One of my books to read during Lent in lieu of watching so many YouTube videos. Book beginning of In This House of Brede : The motto was "Pax," but the word was set in a circle of thorns. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a…
From the essay "Writing" in The Merry Heart: Reflections on Reading, Writing, and the World of Books by Robertson Davies (1996). ...I was born a writer. My family, even beyond the confines of my parents and brothers, were writers, by which I mean that they were journalists ranging from simple reporters to writers of political comment, essays, reviews, and editorial opinion. Consequently I grew up…
For Rose City Reader 's Book Beginnings on Fridays "where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading." After I had posted a book beginnings entry for The Everlasting People: G. K. Chesterton and the First Nations by Matthew J. Milliner, I watched a YouTube video by Faith&books in which she mentioned that the book chosen for her theology book club this first…
After an era of what at one time would have been inconceivable—reading very few books each year—this year I joined a book club at church, the first book club I've ever joined. I also purchased a library card for 2025. So I wanted to make full use of my access to the library. (Because I live out in the county, and our library is a city library, you have to pay a fee if you don't live or…
For Rose City Reader 's Book Beginnings on Fridays "where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading." This book arrived in the mail this week: The Everlasting People: G. K. Chesterton and the First Nations by Matthew J. Milliner (and others), 2021. Matthew Milliner was a student at my alma mater, Wheaton College (IL), and is now a professor there. He posts…
For Rose City Reader 's Book Beginnings on Fridays "where participants share the opening sentence (or two) from the book they are reading." I went to the library this morning to pick up a book on hold and to check out another book, Fools Crow by James Welch. I was recommended Fools Crow by Charlotte McGuinn Freeman over 20 years ago and want to re-read it. Right next to it was another book by…