Here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy this summer. I hope you’ll share your July favourites in the comments!
Books
At the beginning of the month I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany. What a doozy! It’s 650 pages long and had some crude parts that made me cringe but on the other hand was extremely well-written with all the themes and events coming together in a heart-wrenching climax.
State of Wonder is the second Ann Patchett novel that I’ve read. The premise was intriguing: Marina Singh travels to the Amazon to track down the researcher paid by her employer (a pharmaceutical company) to develop a fertility drug based on a tribe who continue to give birth into their seventies.
This month I also listened to Ann Patchett’s book of essays, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I certainly don’t agree with everything she says but really liked hearing her experience of being a writer, and the essay on trying out for police academy was fascinating. Here’s a quote I found thought-provoking: “People like to ask me if writing can be taught, and I say yes. I can teach you how to write a better sentence, how to write dialogue, maybe even how to construct a plot. But I can’t teach you how to have something to say.”
Poem
While organizing the files on my computer I came across a poem by Tony Hoagland that I saved years ago. I decided to use it as the basis for my monthly poetry challenge that I share in my newsletter (sign up here). Here’s the poem if you missed it.
“The Word” by Tony Hoagland
Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,
between “green thread”
and “broccoli” you find
that you have penciled “sunlight.”
Resting on the page, the word
is as beautiful, it touches you
as if you had a friend
and sunlight were a present
he had sent you from some place distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,
and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing,
that also needs accomplishing
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds
of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder
or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue
but today you get a telegram,
from the heart in exile
proclaiming that the kingdom
still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,
—to any one among them
who can find the time,
to sit out in the sun and listen.
Activities
We’ve enjoyed some quintessential summertime activities this month.
- Hanging out at the beach after church
- Hosting a barbecue at our house
- Attending my parents’ church’s annual picnic, complete with games, pulled pork, and a pinata
Bible
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” -Revelation 15:3b-4