“We never sit anything out. We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.”

- Ray Bradbury, Zen and the Art of Writing

Welcome to Books & Balderdash

Reading is, by nature, a solitary pursuit. We choose a book by it’s content, based on the recommendation of a trusted advisor or the tantalizing paragraphs on the back cover. Sometimes, we do choose a book by it’s cover. When reading, we are wholly absorbed in another world : the world the author chooses us to inhabit. The things of Earth grow strangely dim and we wade into waters previously uncharted. Usually, this takes place curled up in a place considered Ours : a favorite chair, a sofa, our bed. Beneath a blanket or tucked up into the corner of a recliner; stretched out with a cat on a feet or a dog on the rug beside us. There’s beverages, usually, an snacks, almost always. We aren’t bothered with the world at large. All that matters is the Here and the Now between the covers in our hands.

As we read, we are filled with myriad emotions. We laugh, gasp and groan at the actions (or inactions) of characters and the situations in which they find themselves. There’s an almost innate need for the Reader to share these emotions and who better to share them with than another Reader? Unfortunately, many times, there’s no one around with which to share our ecstasies and our agonies.

Books & Balderdash is my sounding board on the books I read. I don’t necessarily post book reviews; mostly you’ll find a collection of my thoughts, musings, considerations, observations and the occasional rant. If you’re more interested in the pros and cons of specific books, the why or why not you should read a particular title, this might not be the blog for you.

Why Subscribe?

If the philosophies of reading, the nuanced oddities that most discussions miss in favor of plot structure and English Major bullet points excite you; if you enjoy peering in the minds behind the people who are reading and entertaining their observations while submerged in the worlds between the pages; if the idea that the words we read may help us become more ourselves entices you; if you enjoy reading under-the-radar books and well-thumbed classics from myriad genres and deep diving into a vast sea of esoteric wonderings, please consider becoming a subscriber.

A little bit about me:

I’m a proud Gen-Xer who’s spent a life-time chasing after the creative Muse. I’ve worked in many fields including animal care, retirement community management and the natural health industry. My past self played volleyball, sang opera and took Japanese sword fighting classes. I managed to cram a four year Bachelor of English/Creative Writing degree into eighteen and my essays have been featured in Bella Grace Magazine as well as local publications. My short story, “The Mysteries of Death and Life” was the prize winning story in the inaugural yearly anthology competition of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. Currently, I’m polishing up several completed novels and contemplating their next steps.

A Quick Note:

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Thanks again, and please feel free to tell your friends!