Halfway through the week

I can't believe it's halfway through the week, and I'm just now realizing that ... I haven't been posting.  It's true.  Is it okay to blame my forgetfulness on things like watching the build-up and then the fireworks for the huge 4th of July celebrating 250 years since the beginning of the United States?

Yes, I watched the fireworks on television.  Crown Center's huge TV was tuned to what was happening in New York, but I missed seeing what was happening here in St. Louis.  I found this photo of downtown St. Louis online just now.

• On the last Monday in June, I mused about a runaway, HERE.
• My Wednesday word, two days later, was about a sloth, HERE.

And then ... nothing.  What was I doing?  Meeting in the lobby to talk with friends and neighbors; meeting a brand new resident and inviting her to the café with me.  Sunday came and went, and here it is already Wednesday before I am remembering to blog.  Okay, so I really AM getting old and forgetful.  Oh, wait, I did have my annual doctor's appointment on Thursday, so maybe that took up all the space in my brain, perhaps?

On the last Friday post that I remembered to do, I wrote about "mindfulness" HERE, but then my mind seems to have slipped out of gear or something.  Oh, well, time to pick up the pieces, and "click" back into my blogging mindset.  (Let's hope that did the trick.)

Was "ai" a word before Artificial Intelligence? Yes

Historically, "ai" is the name for a type of three-toed sloth native to the tropical rainforests of South America.  The word entered the English language in the 17th century.  It was borrowed from the Tupi language of Brazil, where it imitates the animal's high-pitched, plaintive cry.

I inherited a brown tee-shirt showing a sloth hanging on a tree from my friend Donna after she died.  I found the photo above online, but I can't find one that is exactly like Donna's.  She got her shirt because she liked to play Bananagrams (a game like Scrabble), where knowing that "ai" is a word is very helpful.

Musing about a runaway

Runaway ~ by Alice Munro, 2004, stories, 352 pages

The runaway of the title story is a young woman who, though she thinks she wants to, is incapable of leaving her husband.  In “Passion,” a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers a single moment of stunning insight and the limits and lies of that mysterious emotion.

Three stories, the inspiration for the award–winning movie 'Julieta,' are about a woman named Juliet — in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls’ school into a wild and irresistible love match.  In the second she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose life and marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her child, caught, she mistakenly thinks, in the grip of a religious cult, vanishes into an unexplained and profound silence.  In the final story, “Powers,” a young woman with the ability to read the future sets off a chain of events that involves her husband-to-be and a friend in a lifelong pursuit of what such a gift really means, and who really has it.

 

In Alice Munro’s hands, the people she writes about — women of all ages and circumstances, and their friends, lovers, parents, and children — become as vivid as our own neighbors.  It is her gift to make these stories as real and unforgettable as our own.

Another book donated to our Crown Center library

Stalker (Book 12 of 27) ~ by Faye Kellerman, 2000, suspense thriller, 406 pages

A first-year rookie with the LAPD's Hollywood Division, Cynthia Decker became a cop against her father's wishes.  But police work is in her blood, and she's determined to make it on her own, without Peter Decker's help.  Although her time in uniform has been brief, her instincts for danger are already razor sharp, like the electric tingle that is telling her something is very wrong . . . right now.

It begins with a nagging sense that she is being watched, that little things are being moved around in her apartment.  The feeling of dread escalates when she finds that some personal effects have been crudely destroyed.  But it is a harrowing trip down a dark canyon road that substantiates Cindy's worst fear:  For some unknown reason someone fiendishly relentless — someone with decidedly evil intentions — is stalking her.

Cindy is fiercely independent, and her stubborn pride will not allow her to confide in her father — nor can she seek the guidance and advice of her stepmother, Rina.  And as Decker's own investigation into a particularly heinous string of carjackings further isolates him from his daughter's troubles, Cindy covertly begins to probe her personal and professional lives for the identity of the person who wants her frightened, harmed ... or dead.  As her stalker grows bolder and more devious, Cindy finds her options limited, her friends and colleagues off-bounds — as the well-concealed rages and dark secrets of those surrounding her slowly come to light and threaten to pull a nightmare out of the shadows and in for the kill.

(If you have read this book, please share your opinion of it in the comments.)

Week in Review

• My Monday post was about a different library book, HERE.
• On Thursday, I wrote about a book recommended by my favorite author, HERE.
• For Friday's Book Beginnings, I chose a book on mindfulness, HERE.

Hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz,

we bloggers gather at separate computers in different time

zones — to share what we have been doing during the week.

Beginning ~ with transformation

Beginning (introduction)

The motivation to write this book certainly comes from the desire to help the many people we have seen suffering from depression.  But this is not just a book about getting rid of your depression.  Our more earnest hope is to give you tools to help you transform your life.  Transformation doesn't happen by merely getting rid of a problem.  Transformation occurs when you have the capacity to greet the problems in your life with an open awareness and a keen interest.  Learning how to be open to life and face painful problems is at the heart of our interest in exploring how mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy can be tools of transformation.

Peaceful Mind: Using Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Psychology to Overcome Depression ~ by John R. McQuaid, Ph.D., and Paula Carmona, RN, with Foreword by Zinder V. Segal, 2004, cognitive psychology, 200 pages

Recent reports indicate that depression is the most common psychological disorder in the US, affecting as many as 17 million Americans.  This book integrates the spiritual practice of mindfulness with psychological techniques for changing negative thoughts and behaviors into a powerful and proven-effective program for coping with this serious and distressing condition.

Current statistics suggest that as many as 17 million Americans suffer from depression; further research states that less than 25 percent of these receive adequate treatment for the disorder.  In clinical trials, treatment approaches that incorporate spirituality with psychology have proven to be dramatically effective at countering depression.  This book is co-written by a leading specialist in the treatment of depression and a clinical nurse who, as a Zen practitioner trained with Charlotte Joko Beck and Jon Kabat-Zinn.

A concept grounded in the practice of certain forms of Buddhism, mindfulness is the conscious, uninvolved awareness of the present moment.  Western psycholo-gists have recently learned that this state of mind is particularly conducive to the accomplishment of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT:  an active mode of psychological treatment that attempts to recognize and counter negative thoughts and behaviors before they lead to debilitating symptoms like depression.  As statistics confirm again and again that depression is the single most common psychological problem affecting Americans, the refinement of psychotherapy through the integration of spirituality-based techniques has generated consider-able interest among psychology professionals.  This approachable and easy-to-use book makes these powerful techniques available to the general public.

The book is built around a compelling series of specific, step-by-step interven-tions that provide readers with an understanding of the thoughts that lead to depression.  They learn how to find the motivation to confront depressive feelings.  By sitting with painful emotions and allowing them to pass, you will find that you can reduce the frequency of depressive episodes.  Using meditation practices for observation and awareness, develop the ability to recognize cog-nitive, physiological, and environmental triggers that can lead to aggravated periods of the disorder.  When you change how you approach your day-to-day life, your daily activities, the choices you make, and the way you cope with life's ups and downs you strengthen the skills you need to move beyond depression and develop lasting peace of mind.

Bonnie's Note:  Although I'm not depressed, this book was donated to our small Crown Center library, and I've decided to read (or at least skim through) to see what it has to say about having a "peaceful mind."  In other words, I'm intrigued.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Jodi Picoult recommends a big book that is not yet published

Bad Words ~ by Rioghnach Robinson, 2026 (October), literary fiction, 400 pages

Parker Navarro’s debut novel was meant to define his career — until critic Selina Chan’s blistering review made it the flop of the decade.  Four years later, his new book is his shot at redemption; for Selina, reviewing him again is a professional risk she can’t refuse.  When her second takedown ignites a viral feud, both their fortunes shift overnight.  But as the literary world feeds on their public sparring, a quieter dialogue begins — one that challenges everything they thought they knew about success, sincerity, and each other.

Both incisive and tender, Bad Words lays bare the costs of creation — the pull between ambition and integrity, the vulnerability of being seen, and the unexpected closeness that can grow in the space between critique and care.  When words can make or break us, how do you stay true to what matters most?

Bonnie's Note:  When my favorite author recommends a book, I leave myself a note to be sure to read it when it is published.  I have to wait until October, not quite half a year.

Musing about a library book

Illuminated Prayers ~ by Marianne Williamson, illustrated by Claudia Karabaic Sargent, 1997, spirituality, 103 pages, 10/10

"I think of prayer as a spiritual lifeline back to where I most want to be," Marianne Williamson writes in this book of universal prayers.  Prayer is a powerful force that can lift spirits, guide journeys, and heal the heart.  Illunimanted Prayers is a small volume of spiritual wisdom to bring the power of prayer into our daily lives.

Illustrated in the manner of an illuminated manuscript, Illuminated Prayers offers a treasured keepsake of the power and enduring relevance of Williamson's message:  Prayer illuminates our souls, and with prayer we can change the world.