On My Nightstand: Books Books and More Books

Books have taken a large space in my life lately. Since determined we were going to sell our house this year, we had to downsize. Hundreds of books got given away. Some for little free libraries, but more to teachers I know, and the majority to the community center in the town we left.

We’ve always had a penchant for books.

After moving, books were some of the first things put away. They are not all on their new shelves yet, but we’re getting there. One of the first things we did was get new library cards. We’ve borrowed four sets of books and two movies in the seven weeks we’ve been at our cabin, which is our new place of residence for now.

Stopping at the local library in the town nearest our cabin (less than 1,000 people live here according to the census), gave me the opportunity to volunteer at their book sale which was held last weekend. I helped with set up and tear down, last Thursday and this past Monday, respectively. I stayed for two hours each time. It was a good use of my time, as I got to meet new people and help a public institution that I think we need to keep far into the future.

I don’t know how the sale went but there were many books left. It surely wasn’t the price as you could leave with an entire bag for $5.00. While sorting after the sale, I set aside just over a dozen books I wanted to read. It was my reward for helping. At first, I wasn’t going to take any books. After all, we had just cleaned out and still had more to unpack. But the library only has so much space, so I took the books. We’ll read them and pass them on (but not re-donate them to the local library).

Currently, I am reading a book on meditating while incorporating tea into the practice. I’ve tried meditation before and cannot really seem to quiet my mind. But, I think I was almost too intentional about it. This book takes an easier approach. One that might be possible for me to practice. And I already have tea each morning.

I just finished All the Lights Above us by M.B. Henry. Ms. Henry has been a blogging friend of mine for several years now. She writes historical pieces extremely well, so I expected her book to be well done too. And it didn’t disappoint! The story is based on a handful of women around the time of D-Day in German-occupied France as well as a few other pertinent locations. The story flows and each character is developed fully. There are even a couple of shockers near the end. I enjoyed it immensely and definitely plan to read anything that M.B. Henry puts out in the future.

I planned to do the Sealy Challenge so I’ve also been attempting to read a book of poetry a day. It’s a steep order. I started out strong and did read a book a day for the first ten days and then petered out. I will say that some of the poetry has been excellent and inspiring as well. I find myself very fond of children’s poetry.

What books are on your nightstand? Let me know in the comments!