Reading and Reacquainting

Lately, I've been doing my best to get back into reading more. I used to read all the time, but in the last couple of years or so, I've not read much at all and I feel the lack of it in my life. I took the photo above on this past Sunday morning as I did a bit of reading while having a few grapes.

I've realized something in my quest to read more. I'm actually spending too much time scrolling through my phone, looking for nothing in particular. This takes up so much time...so no wonder I haven't got much reading done.

Therefore, I'm going to try to scroll less and read more. There's nothing wrong with dipping into my phone once in a while to see what's going on. I just simply need to balance my time a bit better and stop compulsively picking up my phone. Reacquainting myself with reading again is like rediscovering an old friend...who happens to be myself  :)

Here's to reclaiming my time.

Rest in Peace Ms. Toni Morrison

I never had the pleasure of meeting this amazing woman, but I will be forever grateful for having been on Earth while she was here. Her books have had such a profound effect upon my life. She was a TRUE WRITER and a TRUTH-TELLER. She gave voice to the Black American experience, especially that of Black women, in a way that was so authentic. She was definitely given a Divine assignment while she was here. Her words...in her books and as she spoke in that elegantly-toned voice of hers, were from somewhere special and so was she. Her words always rang with a clarity that just cut through all of the crap of life. I have admired her for as long as I can remember, as a writer and as a woman. I will miss knowing that she is somewhere in this world, but I take comfort in knowing that she is now with the ancestors and has most definitely taken her rightful place as an ancestor. She has left her words and wisdom here for us to learn from and to cherish for all time. Thank you Ms. Morrison for giving us more than I could ever describe in words. Farewell...

"If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it."

"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet,

 you must be the one to write it."

"Love is or it ain't. Thin love ain't love at all."

- Toni Morrison

My Six Favorite Authors

A couple of weeks ago, I was set a challenge on Twitter to post the covers of seven books that I love, with no explanations or reviews...just covers. I had to post a cover a day for a week. I was supposed to nominate someone else, but I couldn't think of anyone to nominate really, so I decided to bend the rules a bit and simply share the books that I love. It worked for me and the person who nominated me for the challenge didn't seem to mind that I bent the rules a bit. I love books, so I figured that even with bending the rules, I was still putting good energy out there in support of books, so all was well :)

Therefore, what follows is my list of my favorite books. It's always tough for me to compile lists like this, because like many people, I love a lot of books and love them for a variety of reasons. In this post I have also bent the rules a bit again and narrowed my list down to six books instead of seven. The six books that I have listed below are by my favorite authors of all time...Alice Walker, Tina McElroy Ansa, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Dorothy West and Zora Neale Hurston. 

I wanted to highlight these six very extraordinary women and to highlight one of their works each which have inspired me, even though I love numerous works by them. This is in no particular order. I am continually inspired by these novels. One day I may or may not go deeper and tell why I am so inspired by these books, but this isn't that post :) Besides, I don't know if I have the words within me currently to express my feelings fully on this subject, so I'll just leave these extraordinary six books here to speak for themselves. Sometimes it's good to just let things be what they are and all six are amazing. No explanations needed :)

*Note: This is not a sponsored post. I'm just here to celebrate these amazing writers :)

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday Ms. Toni Morrison!

Walking, Reading, and Writing

I had a good weekend. How was yours? :) Mine consisted of taking a walk in the woods, doing some errands, reading, and working on my book.

I took some pictures when we went for our walk in the woods, so I'll share them later this week. It was great to get one last look at the green leaves before fall changes them yellow, orange, and red. I love fall so I'm looking forward to seeing the leaves change, but it was good to see the last bit of summer.

As for reading, I've been re-reading Beloved by Toni Morrison. I'm really enjoying it this second time also. She's an amazing writer, but that's obvious...duh ;-) I'm stating the obvious here.

As for my own writing, my book is coming along. I'm still fighting the urge to go back and edit. I have to smack my own wrist :-) I'm enjoying the process more and more as I go further. I think that I'm finally learning to just let go and write and let the momentum take me forward. I'm learning a lot during this process about writing, but I'm also learning life lessons that I needed to learn. Who knew? Lol.

Well that's all for now. As I mentioned, I'll be sharing some of my photos from the woods later this week. Have a great new week wherever you are!