I’ve been trying to keep up on my reading since we moved. I’m on my third novel for the month and enjoy sitting on the deck facing the lake reading a few pages during the day, as well as at night before bed.

The first two books I read were borrowed from the local library. My husband read them as well. We enjoyed the one enough to go back and get two more by the same author. As of now, my husband has read both and I have read neither. Instead, I ordered three books from Barnes and Nobles. They were actually less expensive than Amazon due to my membership with them, even considering I have prime shipping.

The books I purchased were:

All the Lights Above Us by M.B. Henry (2022)

Aston Hall by Lauren Belfer (2022)

There will be reviews of each of the two above books in the near future. Currently, I am enjoying the book by M. B. Henry, who I know from the blogosphere! I’m loving it, so far!

And, here is the Poetry Friday connection: 100 Best Loved Poems (1995).

I bought the poetry book to have some access to famous and well-loved poems at my fingertips. In weeks such as this, when I haven’t written any poetry and don’t want to start something on the fly, I can at least read some verses and try to connect to them in some way.

Interestingly enough, I don’t care for a lot of the poetry in this little book. However, there are many famous poems and poets that I already know through reading their works.

ee cummings is in this book, as are Edgar Allen Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickenson, Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Lewis Carroll, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Robert Browning, among many more. What it lacks are the children’s poets that I love all of whom still make me laugh as an adult. These include but aren’t limited to Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein, Jeff Moss, and more. It also lacks a great deal of nature poetry – the type of poetry that I like to write and that inspires me. Yes, there is Emily Dickenson and a few others but none of the other nature poets I like.

Since this book is twenty-five years old, it is probably by some accounts, outdated. Still, it gives me names and poems to read when I feel I need the muse. Reading the poems by ee cummings and Poe brought back memories. Memories can also spur great poetry.

In essence, I am setting the tone for my own poetry, when I am ready to write some again. For now, I will share with you a poem by Carl Sandburg, who won three Pulitzer Prizes in his lifetime. The poem speaks of a natural occurrence but it feels like my brain right now.

Fog

Carl Sandburg – 1878-1967

FOG

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

This poem is in the public domain. (poets.org)

Essentially, I’m waiting until the fog moves on.

It’s been a busy summer. Members of our family are in transitional life stages. I’ve also been building readership on another platform and had an essay I wrote go viral two days ago. You can catch it here, if interested. For all these reasons, I was unable to write any poetry to share. Instead, I shared my thoughts, a few books, and a poem by a famous author that I enjoy!

Today is Poetry Friday. Our host for this week’s round-up is author, Marcie Flinchum Atkins. Please visit her page for her post and links to more great poetry! Thanks for hosting Marcie!

So here is where I am going to do some shameless self-promotion! Since reading Marcie’s host post for Poetry Friday and learning more about the Sealy Challenge (read a book of poetry a day in the month of August), I want you to know I have a short book of poetry available for purchase! You can easily read this WHOLE book in a day and have it count towards reaching the challenge’s goal. It is available both on Amazon, click here. Or, you can purchase it right off my blog, click here or visit the menu that runs across the top of my blog page and I’ll mail it out to you after you complete the Paypal transaction.

In all honesty, I’m not the best marketer for my book. However, I see other authors heavily promoting their work and saw this as a chance to be added to those who are participating in the Sealy Challenge in August.

Thanks for your consideration!