Finding Mr. Burroughs

It was the weirdest thing.

I checked out the book This is How by Augusten Burroughs from my library on a whim because I saw it in a list and the subtitle made me smile. This was especially noteworthy at the time because I hadn’t felt like smiling much around then. Right on the cover, the book promised to be a proven aid in overcoming things like shyness, grief, and decrepitude which sounded quite practical. Also, the promise of learning most anything gives me a special delicious feeling. Yes, despite it all, I remain life’s eager student. When a library book makes me smile and gives me a delicious feeling, well then, I just pick the fucker up because it’s a book, not a brain transplant. Not a drug, not a man, not a doughnut, not a plane ticket. It doesn’t cost money, I have room for it at home, I don’t have to rearrange my life to find time for it. It’s a clear win-win that is good for seven minutes or so of brightness; the time is takes from the smile to seeing it sitting next to me in the car. 

A day or two later when I was about kneedeep in This is How, my husband and I went across town to deliver something important (more on this in a later post) and then wound up at Rose City Food Park, a cluster of food trucks in SE Portland’s Hollywood district. We played cribbage, ate heartily, and enjoyed a couple of Boneyard IPAs while I rattled on about whatever was going through my head, which was mostly my friend Molly, the beautiful spring weather, and the insight in this book by Augusten Burroughs I was fascinated with. I said I wanted to buy it so I could highlight passages like, “…screw everybody else. You’re not a bottle of Valium.” and then read it over and over again. As a result, my husband suggested we swing by Powell’s City of Books after he finished handing my ass to me in cards. Powell’s almost always sounds like a good idea to me even though I rarely actually buy books for myself there; usually I wind up with an impulse purchase like socks or lip balm while I’m buying books for other people. Soon we were basking in the famous city block of wall-to-wall books plus a tweebomb of paraphernalia. I wasn’t sure if I was to look in the self-help section, biographies or elsewhere for This is How so I asked at the info desk and received a little

Book Pairing: Irreverence

Do you feel restrained by social confines and “good manners”? Do you dream of behaving terribly at the risk of alienating everyone you respect and everything you hold dear? Let these real guys do it for you instead! Pretend it’s you who’s exposing your corroded guts to the world and feel the benefit of a good airing; or just let these willing authors beat you like a rug until you are clean and quiet.

Home is Fucking Burning by Dan Marshall

Young, rich, white assholes return home to care for their dying parents.

 

Lust and Wonder by Augusten Burroughs

Burroughs mercilessly fillets and dissects his love life for your reading pleasure.

 

~Librarian Robin

Book Pairing: Rations

 

         

For today’s tasting, we have one fiction and one non-fiction World War II-era selection. They compliment each other nicely in that one is an adventure with much description of food and rations integrated into the story, and one is non-fiction about actual creativity with rations including recipes and commentary.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is a leap beyond Hannah’s earlier romance writing. She is strong in expressing the passion and emotion of love which she uses to add depth to this novel without making it the primary focus. The story tells of two sisters in occupied France, one struggles on the homefront fighting starvation and loneliness, and one risks her life rescuing downed fighter pilots. It is a sensational story, sometimes a little over the top, but a page-turner for sure.

How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher is a light-hearted guide to wartime thrift, especially regarding rations and how to make them stretch as far as possible. The edition I read has author commentary in parentheses that I found interesting, but distracting. Fisher’s  voice is delightful, however, and I enjoyed reading something so uplifting and humorous about a truly grim situation.

There you have it-Enjoy!

~Librarian Robin

Book Flight: Mindfulness

Setting the stage for meditative time and its benefits is a very personal endeavor. For some this looks like a still, darkened, quiet place, for some a long walk alone, and still others sketch plants or think deeply about a poem. Here are some suggestions for encouraging mindfulness your way.

Restorative yoga generally consists of two hours of gentle stretches held for five or more minutes. Some say the sensation after a good restorative yoga class is similar to that of a full-body massage. Check your local public library for a DVD like this one: Restorative Yoga Practice with Deborah Donahue or the book Relax and Renew: Restful Yoga for Stressful Times by Judith Lasater.

If you have a hard time keeping your body still, try the benefits of walking meditation. This quick read, Walking Your Blues Away by Thom Hartmann can get you started.

Art can be an excellent means to achieve a mindful state. The book Art Before Breakfast: A Zillion Ways to be More Creative No Matter How Busy You Are  by Danny Gregory explores this form of meditation. Gregory explains how art with a lowercase “a” is in all of us independent of talent or skill. The focus it takes to draw your breakfast, for example, can clear and refresh your mind.

Finally, The Art of Doing Nothing by Veronique Vienne is a delightful little gem of a book that includes a recipe for a “gourmet nap” among other topics like the art of lounging, the art of waiting, and chapters on breathing, bathing, and meditating. It is a good place to start exploring mindfulness.

Namaste

Book Review: The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoir

The Big Tiny: A Build-it-Myself Memoir by Dee Williams

This is a lively account of a woman who makes a U-turn on the typical American road to more, more and more. While living in Portland, Oregon in a three-bedroom home, Dee is distressed to learn that she has a serious heart condition, and she takes a time-out to ponder the circumstances under which she can live the most fulfilling life possible. She is inspired to unload most of the inanimate possessions that infringe upon her time and money with their care and tending. In short, she chooses to radically condense her dwelling into 84 square feet of home built with her own might and main, and she tells the story in a forthright and often humorous read. Humble and good-natured, Dee describes how she glued her hair to the house during construction, then when her friend came to the rescue, it was with a camera instead of scissors! Hair-gluing aside, this highly capable woman struggles with the need to share the work involved in this project. She writes, “I’ve never been good at asking for help; it seems risky, but at some point when things are really dicey, your stubbornness gives way to a certain form of humility that, after you get over yourself, feels liberating.” This new awareness helps Dee develop a symbiotic relationship with her neighbor Rita once she is living in her new home full-time in Olympia. Luxurious showers and movie nights are exchanged for errands and home repairs. Changing her lifestyle frees Dee to develop this close, caring friendship; she gave up belongings and gained human connection-what a concept! When all is said and done, Dee summarizes the journey with her discovery that, for her, happiness is based on “…a sense of humility and gratitude, and a better understanding of who I am in my heart.”  Just the right length and pace, there is nothing extra or frivolous about this book; only the essentials. Go figure.

~Librarian Robin

• Update: Librarian Robin tours a tiny house for the first time at the Portland Maker Faire!

It has a guest room! (loft)

This one has a built-in wind turbine!