Welcome to Litsy!

This journal was such a delight. First published in 1972 there are some dated ideas, but then the author was living the times. Her Christianity was not a problem for me as I was raised in the Catholic tradition (non practicing now). Her musings about the writing process & craft, about literature, culture & politics made for thoughtful & reflective reading. I quoted some of her thoughts here.I do want to read the 2nd( of 4) journal.

#resistance #community #stories #love #light

Today‘s thought. #lightoutshinesdarkness #resistance #joy

I felt pure joy vibrating from this page as I read. We have a magnolia tree, that blooms first in spring. I watch for its emerging buds every year.

“And joy is always a promise”(125). #resistance

#MondayMood #MoodBoard

Reading this as a touchstone during my first day back at work in 2 weeks. Our room is closed for lunch so I take that time to eat and read. It soothes me.

Tonight for #hyggehour we celebrated my husband‘s birthday, then we watched an episode of a wonderful nature show from the BBC narrated by Tom Hanks, The Americas. Cinematography is beyond incredible. Highly recommend!

I am totally immersed in this daily read.

In the midst of a decade of rejections from publishers for her books, L‘Engle turned to her china laughing Buddha that graced her writing desk.” I was very much aware that if I lost my ability to laugh,I wouldn‘t be able to write, either. Perhaps what was most helpful–… is a white China laughing Buddha which sits on my desk…he laughs at me, never with ridicule,but lovingly, tolerantly:you are taking yourself seriously aren‘t you Madeleine?What 🔽

Quiet, before sunrise reading. And coffee, always coffee.

Back to work today after a week home. What better way to ease myself into my day than to drink coffee and read Madeleine L‘Engle? ☕️📚

Only on page 10 of this quiet, thought-provoking journal. Each small section is a deep dive as she writes of the need for a personal “ circle of quiet” to go to replenish oneself, balanced with a natural /created community. Totally relevant.
L‘Engle lived in Goshen, CT for 55 years until her death in 2007. Most of her published writing, & creating family was based here. The house remains in the family, but I am hoping to drive by it this summer.🔽

It‘s here! #bookmailisthebestmail

“I do not think that it is naive to think that it is the tiny, particular acts of love and joy which are going to swing the balance, rather than general, impersonal charities.”

“Love can‘t be pinned down by a definition, and it certainly can‘t be proved, any more than anything else in life can be proved… A friend of ours, Hugh Bishop of Mirfield, says in one of his books, ‘Love is not an emotion. It is a policy.‘ Those words have often helped me when all my feelings were unlovely.”

Happy 10th Anniversary of Blogging @GatheringBooks !! Here are my 10 favorite places to read (in no particular order):

?Woods
?Pool
?Beach
?Lake
?Bar
☕️Café
?Bubble Bath
?Library
? Hotel Bed
? Park

@LeahBergen @rabbitprincess do you want to share a list (of 10 of anything)?

#GB101020

Fantastic read! Love her. 🤓❤️

4/5⭐️

This took me entirely too long to read, but there were so many things I needed to ponder along the way. This quote seems apt right now:

“There were some parents who felt that love of country implies no freedom to criticize the country; I wonder if they also felt that to criticize or attempt to correct their children meant that they did not love them? This isn‘t what love means.”

“My own response to the wild unpredictability of the universe has been to write stories, to play the piano, to read, listen to music, look at paintings—not that the world may become explainable and reasonable but that I may rejoice in the freedom which unaccountability gives us.”

As I long to be in places like where this picture was taken, or searching the mall in my eternal quest for the perfect handbag, may I learn to embrace this thought.

“We are four generations under one roof this summer, from infant Charlotte to almost-ninety Great-grandmother.”

I adore “A Wrinkle in Time,” but I‘m not as familiar with L‘Engle‘s other writings. Time to fix that.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

We went to Mackinac Island today and of course I had to check out the library. And, what do you know, they had a small book sale section. I got a few treasures for $2. 😁 The Madeleine L‘Engle isn‘t in the best shape but perfectly readable.

I‘m loving this book! Can‘t wait to read the whole series.

The next memoir I plan to read is this installment of the Crosswick Journals. #memoirMonday #readingResolutions @Jess7

It has been ages since I've used Litsy, but it is cool to be back! I've returned with a huge book slump to fix, and a need for some fluffy fiction to sink into. Life is kind of crazy right now (lots of moving around and pregnancy and baby and postpartum and more moving in the past few years) so I'm unashamedly in need of all the good comfort reads.

#QuotsyMarch18 Day 30: This is definitely a #Theory I can live with.

#publishedinthe1970s #jubilantjuly

A recent discussion has led me to unearth all 4 Crosswicks Journals (Two-Part Invention seems to have later become the 4th) for a reread. It's been 25 years since I last laid eyes on them. I wonder how my perceptions have changed?

Found on my shelves. Although I've read most of Madeleine L'Engle's YA work (written before YA was even really a category), I haven't gotten around to her series of memoirs yet. As for Pamela Ribon, I've been a fan of hers since she recapped Gilmore Girls for Television Without Pity, and it's been fun to follow her career. #shapeinthetitle #junebookbugs

Yes, it's time for me to reread this. But I need to hear her reading it. Is there a chance Audible has that? Dare I hope?

"Often I need to get away completely, if only for a few minutes. My special place is a small Brook in a green glade, a circle of quiet from which there is no visible sign of human beings. There is a natural stone bridge over the Brook, and I sit there, dangling my legs and looking through the foliage at the sky reflected in the water, and things slowly come back into
perspective. " (ML)
#lyricalapril #paradise @Cinfhen

This is the prettiest of the books with #flowersonthecover that I could find on my shelves for today's #feistyfeb prompt!

This was a pretty mixed experience for me. I really loved a lot of what she had to say, but on certain points couldn't disagree more. One minute I would find her funny and wise and then preachy and stodgy the next. I'm glad I finally read it as it had been on my shelf for years but don't think I'll continue with the series. Oh and yes, tree is still up, hate taking it down. 😢#birthdaychallenge #1972

Nothing quite like reading books that speak to you of home while at home.

The husband won't let any of our fur kids on the bed - he used to not even let them in our bedroom at all but when we got #Bitsy he made an exception - so she's the only one who sleeps in our room. When I read in bed, this is my view 🐶❤️ #readinginbed @RealLifeReading

This book has provided much needed solace and spiritual nourishment in the past 2 weeks. Madeleine L'Engle thank you for the gift that this book truly is.

If you have read A Wrinkle in Time you know this author. This book is the first in a series based on her journal entries and is a meditation on being a wife, mother and author. She opens up about her feelings of rejection. It took years to find a publisher for A Wrinkle in Time. I was surprised at how relevant this book still is

L'Engle's wisdom is needed today.

"...that what I AM is going to make more difference to my own children and those I talk to and teach than anything I tell them."
This is so true.
It is what makes being a teacher both great and daunting.