November 6, 2014

Entertainments for the One Handed


Gift from the Sea: First Edition cover on a 1965 paperback, Photo copyright: eBay/kingcolescup

I’ve been needing lite entertainments.  No heavy movies where I would cry in empathy.  Little TV as most of the good stuff this week has been preempted by the elections.  No heavy books either; they would allow let me drift away.  Or I couldn’t pick them up.

Often I’ve been sitting in bed with my left arm elevated.  Pillows under my arm, pillows behind my back, and pillows on a lap tray to bring whatever book I’m reading up to a good height.  The mornings have been cold, simply wonderfully chilly.  Under the pillows, there are quilts…layers of them.  Behind the piles of detritus are more piles of books on top of a bookcase.

Sandwiched in the middle is me.

Books from Costco are wonderful things.  And too, I’ve been bringing books home from the store to read.  Quite a pile has accumulated, and this was the chance to read them.  My reading had grown stale, and this was a chance to also discover new authors.  I was delighted in Val McDermid’s writing and characters.  David Rosenfelt gave me a good guy protagonist that was delightful as well as human.  Best of all, ABE Books not only has free shipping this month, but in some cases offers half price books.  That’s for me.

Books whose characters stifle, bore, or leave my imagination cold can go right back to the store to be sold. 

Then there’s Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  I own all her books, and I have read them many times.  I even dropped Hour of Gold, Hour of Lead in the bathtub once.  Not so Gift from the Sea.  Sitting on my sunny bed by the sea, I’ve been reading a little of it every day.  Now, knowing much of her history, the infidelities and abuse from her husband, the kidnapping and killing of her first child, her affair in the fifties, and her long decline into death so movingly documented by her daughter Reeve, I find the book’s words and context easier to understand.

I found much of her thinking still applicable today.  No wonder the book continues to be a best seller.  First editions are going for a thousand dollars, yet you can buy a dog eared, drawn in copy for a buck.  If you want something to poke your own thinking, take a moment to reread a Gift from the Sea. 


  • Himself:  Again, didn’t feel well yesterday.  I worry.
  • Herself:  Worked, and perhaps overworked.  Home early.  This morning, only the shoulder hurts.
  • Reading:  Gift from the Sea.
  • Balance:  Seeing the pulmonary surgeon this morning for my once a year visit.


  • 7 comments:

    1. I have the kindle version of one or two of Lindberg's books, but didn't like them. I tried to like them, but feeling perverse, I failed. Oh well, perhaps someday I will try again. I am pillow propped too. It's getting ridiculous.

      Cool here and I love it. Had Inez put another blanket on my bed yesterday.

      Hung over from election night...again. David is too, but he says he loves it.

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    2. looks like you have it "covered"

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    3. ABE is such a great resource. I found a copy of one of childhood books there, "Crazy Creek," so now my sister and I both have a copy. I've quit reading and watching the news for awhile. Let the sunshine in.

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    4. I search for recommended books on audio so I can keep moving and enjoy the story at the same time. Thanks for the suggestions.

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    5. That sounds like a great book. I don't know how a woman can go on living with a man like that. Even worse, losing your child.

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    6. Thank you for that. 'A Gift from the Sea' sounds like my next read.
      I emphasise with the shoulder.
      Fastening bras is chore since my last trip.

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    7. My mother and I both love to read. We usually share and compare the books we have read. We were just discussing Anne Morrow Lindgbergh last week. She loved her books, and read them back in the 60s or 70s, I remember seeing them on the side table in the living room, but I have never read them. Charles Lindbergh's childhood home is not far away. I haven't visited, I am wondering if the revelations of his life has had hurt the interest in the site. I have never said thank you for your recommendation of Dana Stabenow. I enjoy reading her books.

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