Gift book donated to our Crown Center library

Do more of what makes you happy.  This is actually a card-sized gift book.  It doesn't list an "author," though it does tell us the authors of each of the sayings.  Here's one you have probably heard before:

HAPPINESS is

a warm PUPPY.

                       ~ Charles M. Schulz

This is the puppy I thought of when I read that.  (I wonder why?  LOL)

And Snoopy always balances on top of his dog house, even sleeping, right?

Beginning ~ with the introduction

Beginning

What has life taught you?  Would you share it with me?  That is the simple premise behind this book and its predecessor.

In 1992 I compiled and edited the first volume of Live and Learn and Pass It On, and on a whim  asked readers to send me whatever wise sayings, humorus observations, and practical advice they would like to share.  Thousands of readers accepted my invitation.  This book is a collection of my favorite responses, along with some of my own discoveries.

Here's a small sampling:

• on finance;  "I've learned that loaning money to friends and relatives causes them to get amnesia."
• on self-esteem:  "I've learned that if you are in a relationship with someone who doesn't believe in you, you should get out before you stop believing in yourself."

Live and Learn and Pass It On: People Ages 5 to 95 Share What They'Ve Discovered About Life, Love, and Other Good Stuff  (Volume II) ~ by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., 1995, humor, 160 pages, 10/10

Millions of readers have bought Brown's timely and insightful bestseller Live and Learn and Pass It On, in which people of all ages tell what life's experiences have taught them. With the publication of this second volume, hundreds of others add to what they have learned from loving, winning, losing, and from the school of hard knocks.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Movie this afternoon

"Fried Green Tomatoes" was today's movie in the Community Room where I live.  Here's a synopsis I found online:

"Evelyn, an ordinary housewife, visits a nursing home and befriends the old lady Ninny.  Together, they bond over stories from the past about two intrepid women of Whistle Stop Cafe."

I came away from the movie annoyed, even though I remember enjoying the book.  What annoyed me was the fake accent for those people in the movie used.  I have NEVER in my life heard such a ridiculous Southern accent, ever  That may be one reason I prefer books.

Week in Review

• My Tuesday subject was a book about Harriet Tubman, HERE.
• On Friday, I wrote about my tears while reading a book, HERE,  The good part was my cat's reaction.

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 what Enzo knows

Beginning

Gestures are all I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature.  And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do in order to communicate clearly and effectively.  In order to make my point understood without question.  I have no words I can rely on because, much to my dismay, my tongue was designed long and flat and loose, and therefore, is a horribly ineffective tool for pushing food around my mouth while chewing, and an even less effective tool for making clever and complicated polysyllabic sounds that can be linked together to form sentences.

The Art of Racing in the Rain ~ by Garth Stein, 2008, literary fiction, 336 pages, 10/10

From the dust jacket:  Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.

Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.

I read this novel when it first came out.  As I got near the end of the book, I started crying.  That was so unexpected and so unlike me, that my cat Kiki flipped over and turned to stare at me.  (She had been asleep with her back snug up against me before I startled her with my tears).  Even while in tears, I knew I wanted this picture, so I reached for my cell phone camera.  Poor Kiki.  I had never sobbed, ever!  I could not help myself, even though I knew the dog was dying.  I'm now re-reading this 10/10 book that's in our library here.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Harriet Tubman freed many people

"Wanted Dead or Alive": The True Story of Harriet Tubman ~ by Ann McGovern, 1965, historical fiction for children, 64 pages, 10/10

Harriet Tubman was a true American hero who led enslaved people to freedom on what was called "the Underground Railroad."  They walked away, following her as she showed them how and where along the way.  Thus, she became known as the "Moses" of her people.  She had found people who were willing to help her by taking them in and feeding them as they moved from the south to the north.  When she first escaped herself, Harriett headed to Maryland, so they would follow the path she knew.

Joyful June ~ Action for Happiness calendar

Click to enlarge this image from

Action for Happiness.

I hope following these suggestions

will help us all be more joyful.

What's life all about?

The Meaning of Life: Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect ~ by Tenzin Gyatso, edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by Richard Gere, 2000, buddist teachings, 160 pages

The Dalai Lama examines existential questions about meaning, purpose, and responsibility.  Using the traditional Buddhist allegorical image of the Wheel of Life and the teaching of the twelve links of dependent origination, he deftly illustrates how our existence, though fleeting and often full of woes, brims with the potential for peace and happiness.  We can realize that potential . . .

• by cultivating a wise appreciation of the interdependency of actions and experience, and 
• by living a kind and compassionate life.

A life thus lived, he says, becomes thoroughly meaningful both for oneself and for others.

Week in Review

• My Thursday Thoughts, HERE, were about a short story discussion I had attended.
• On Saturday, I shared a bit of joy, HERE, by quoting from a book.

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.