It’s a Coffee and Books kind of day here. After this long week, I’m ready to enjoy some quiet time alone in my library. I chose my biggest mug and filled it with coffee (I’ll have tea later).
But, instead of reading a book today, I am planning on writing one. It’s still in the beginning stages, but I am very excited about it.
Sadly, I put Lion in the White House back on my shelf. I’m afraid I do this a lot with biographies: I start them, determined I will read to the end, and then I get distracted or bored or whatever. I lose interest about half-way through. That’s what happened this time. I did leave the bookmark in place though. I might pick it up again one day.
As you can guess, my own writing is my biggest distraction, but I’ve also been enjoying Longfellow. I finished three of his longer poems, and I’m in the middle of a fourth. The volume I’m reading is half long and half short poems, a good mixture for me since I’m new to Longfellow.
I encourage you to find a poet you’ve heard about but haven’t read. Try at least one volume of their work; see what you think. If you like their poetry – great! – keep reading them. If not, find someone else. A lot of people think poetry is hard, but it doesn’t have to be. My advice is to take it in small portions. When I was reading Emily Dickinson, I would read a few poems each night ’til I found one that I really liked. Then I would re-read that one a few times, maybe share it on this blog, and place my bookmark there. The next time I returned to the book, I would start with that one and proceed.
Today, my poet recommendations are Mary Oliver, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Emily Dickinson. The more I read, the longer that list will grow. Until then, Happy Reading!