Traveling Mercies

“I'm a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, most fiction. I don't read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read”   Stephen King ,  On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft In 2016, I set a New Year’s resolution – a reading challenge to read 52 books in a year. By December 31, I had achieved my goal plus one – 53 books read. I thought I would share with you some of my insights on reading 52 books in a year, as well as some of my favorites. The Challenge First, a book a week is daunting. When the New Year began, I was reading a book about the building of the Panama Canal by David McCullough. At over 800 pages, I quickly realized I’d have to put this book back on the reading pile. As I looked at my stack of books, I realized many of my upcoming reads were heavy on history and biographies that were hundreds of pages. These would best be read in a year that didn’t include a 52 book reading challenge. As I continued to...

1. Recent celebrity sightings: the pro golfer Gary Player in Pinehurst, John Dean, former White House Counsel for President Richard Nixon, speaking at ABA Techshow in Chicago and former President of the United States Jimmy Carter at a book signing at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. 2. Favorite phone app – TED talks – these are truly ideas worth spreading 3. Most recent book read – Blue Nights by Joan Didion – beautifully written story of the grief and sorrow of the death of her adult daughter 4. Biggest television shocker of 2014 – the death of Will Gardner. Was that necessary? 5. A dessert trend for 2014 – mini desserts - because they allow you to indulge without worrying about being too full. Who is worrying about this? Focus on global warming and let’s keep desserts regular sized. Thank you.

Woody Allen said that eighty percent of success is simply showing up. This is excellent advice for the writer facing a blank page. If you can just put your pen to the page or your fingers to the keyboard and begin to write some words, any words at all, you have taken the first step to successful writing. The motivation is to fill the void of the empty page. It would be great if the words that filled the void were poetic or dramatic or romantic. However, as all writers know, sometimes we are just pleased to have words on the page. Every time a writer writes, she leaves a little part of her behind. A memorial, if you will, to the thoughts she had on a given day at a given time. Many people long to leave a legacy. This is why coliseums are named after donors with lots of money. The statute or the name plate left behind will mark their presence. For those with fewer resources or other desires, the written word is a testament to a life lived. So for today, my motivation to get ...

Summer is a great time to catch up on reading. I love reading all the book reviews in magazines and planning what to read next. Summer is also when I re-read favorite books. Here’s a list of books I never grow tired of reading. The Prince of Tides and Beach Music by Pat Conroy A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving A Girl Named Zippy, Haven Kimmel On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King Bird by Bird and Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Peachtree Road and John Chancellor Makes Me Cry by Anne Rivers Siddon Girl Meets God, Lauren Winner

1.                    I wish I participated in Pandora before it became all ads. I’ll bet it was awesome. 2.                    I think Tiffany Beveridge and Allie Hagan are brilliant and hilarious. I’m inviting them to lunch. 3.                    Sometimes tiaras show up everywhere. 4.                    People say cupcakes are over. Why? 5.                    Flooding of biblical proportions on one side of the country and drought and fires on the other. Do you believe in global warming now? 6.      ...

I have none. Or so it seems this afternoon. I spent 51 minutes on the phone with my web developer who was trying to help me get a work blog post edited and posted to the home page of my website. After finally getting the piece edited, it needed to be posted. It took 25 of the 51 minutes for us to realize he was talking about the blogsite home page and I was talking about the website home page. Isn’t it interesting how we often fail in our communication efforts? I was sure I was saying the same thing he was saying, “The blog post needs to be on the home page”. He was sure he was telling me how to find it, “hit refresh, empty your cache, log out and log back in”. It’s not surprising we were on different wave lengths; he is a techie while I revolt against technology. But technology isn’t the only topic where we experience breakdown in communications or where our patience gets tested. What matters is how we handle our lack of patience. I kept the phone conversation light even when I wanted...

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin Peace on earth and joy to those we like. Cocktail napkin. The New Year is the perfect time for a fresh start and for building new habits. In 2011, I'm going to devote more time to personal writing. My favorite writing book, "On Writing" by Stephen King includes this quote, "The scariest moment is always just before you start." There is nothing as scary as a blank sheet of paper (or computer screen). This year, I'm going to write what I know and write what I enjoy reading about. I hope you'll enjoy it as well.