CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Really? Socks? How practical of you!

And, Junior--a tie! The colors are very, um, bright! Thank you so much...I'll hang with the others. All the others. [And I hope they enjoy one another's company, 'cuz they'll be spending the next 364 huddled together until one sacrificial lamb is offered up for wearing on next Christmas Eve!]

And, last and not least--my dear, thank you so much for the Complete Works of [another one of my Favorite Authors]. You hit the ball outa tha park. Again.

Love, Joy, and Peace, now and all thru this life!

David (and Elizabeth)

All I Want for Christmas...is more time to read!

Dunno if I like the graphic or the text better in this image!

More than once I've wondered if being the headmaster of a boys' prep school wouldn't be about the best job ever...or, mebbe, better still, being the underutilized librarian at said school! Mmm...books and learning...learning and books, yum!

Are you someone who loves to look around you and see rows or heaps and piles of books? Or, do you buy and read then pass along or resell? Me, I'm by nature acquisitive (and inquisitive!) but am learning to simplify, unacquire, and down-size. Happily, both my wife and I have always been library people...sadly, I tend to salivate to excess in bookstores or libraries! So many books, so little time!

There are some books that just MUST be acquired, read, and reread. Lewis and Tolkien, Scripture, and Robert Frost are life-long keepers for me. Howzabout you?

Storytelling

Every major work of the master (Auguste Rodin) told a story and laid bare the human heart...it is up to the artist to use language that can be understood, not to hide it in some private code.

 

Heinlein. STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND.

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"Tell me a story," demanded the child.
"But I just told you one," said the weary parent.
"I know--I want another one!"

Been there/done that?
As the petitioner, or the petitionee?

Didn't we all asked for stories at some time or another...do you remember?...and, in fact, as adults, we continue to ask...oh, not as openly/honestly as a kiddo, but, listen:  We watch advertisements that follow a story line, as Mercedes attempts to present the tale of Santa checking his naughty/nice list; the Olympics are now a series of human-interest stories (like it or not, that's what the powers that be have determined, driven by polls, focus groups, and feedback.) Political elections are much less about facts and stances than about story. Shows about dancing/singing/surviving/dating work hard to find a theme, a story line that makes the players much more than mere dancers/songsters/etc.

When my wife and I watch college football, each school runs a 1 or 2 minute video, touting the virtues of their training/heritage/geography. Many schools show a picture of some pretty buildings, a variety of handsome students, someone in a study carrel, one or more sporting events, and so forth. Notre Dame instead tells a story of one student or prof who is pursuing something important...for instance, the fight to eradicate tuberculosis, a global nemesis.

We are unfailingly moved by these ads--why? Because they tell a story!

We read stories, fiction or non-fiction...but, when I rave about a work of non-fiction, what do I say? "It read just like a novel...wove a nice story that captured and retained my interest."

I think that's why, while I can enjoy (some) modern art, it is representational art that engages me, because there's a good chance that there's a story being told. [I know, there's story behind abstract art--and, when we know that story, the art offers us much more for our mind to wrap around.]

Hey, tell me a story? [Well, go tell a kid or a grandkid... or write me a comment, below!]

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Tell me the stories of Jesus

I long to hear,

Things I would ask Him to tell me

if He were near...

Getting older...or...not?

 

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.

 

Madeleine L'Engle, writer (1918-2007)

 

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What an insightful quote from dear Madeleine! I am always on the prowl for words of wisdom or delight or zaniness. These words from L'Engle remind me of why I, too, write fiction for kids: writing and reading whisk us away on a magic carpet ride to time and place unknown, formerly known, or yearned for.

Been there?... remember that evocative story that elicited yearnings to deep? You tried to explain but simple words didn't suffice. We are reduced to sighs of pleasure or expansive similes: "Reading Narnia is like...ahhh...falling into a warm soft cloud of melted chocolate and it's always summer and there are no taskmasters...ahhhhh!"

Better yet, referencing THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH...(paraphrasing rather than quoting): Mr. Bultitude did not experience pleasure as we do. No, pleasure was. But, here is the point: pleasure for Mr. Bultitude did not exist as a dry, hard fact, but as a vast, oceanic breadth and depth of joy in which Mr. Bultitude's every cell quivered in resonant delight.

THAT kind of feeling is what I (and probably every writer!) wishes to produce for each and every reader. I hope that my ANIMALS OF CHRISTMAS might take some folks there--early reviews are coming in and sounding good.

I hope that my next book will be even more evocative...stay tuned for future developments.

What have you read recently that was an:
1. I COULD NOT put this book down?
2. Ahhhhhh!