Kindle Roulette
Confessions of a book hoarder
I am not a hoarder in most respects. Sure, I have a lot of books and collected German saint paintings for a period of time, but compared to 99% of Americans, I am not an accumulator of stuff. Except in my Kindle. I have 732 SAMPLES of books that I’ve accumulated over the last seven years. Books are even worse – 1941. My husband is right, I’m an addict.
I don’t want to clean out the books, that’s a little too huge of a project at this point of my retirement. I’m tackling the samples, ten a day is the goal. To help me curate the worthwhile ones, I’ve created my 9th Amazon wish list (Amazon has to be one of the circles of hell for me, I keep looping back no matter how hard I try to escape) and will add the keepers there and delete from the Kindle. Sheesh, it’s like moving the deck chairs on the Titanic.
I started at the bottom of the list and downloaded the samples. It’s sort of fun, like a little snapshot into past interests and whimsies. Please don’t think less of me. 😉
The Magic Mirror: Divination Through the Ancient Art of Scrying
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire
Scrying for Beginners: Tapping into the Supersensory Powers of Your Subconscious
A Little Book of Pendulum Magic
Hitler: Ascent 1889-1939
Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris
The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History
Confessions – (A novel at last! Translated from French, author Jaume Cabre)
The Empty Front Porch: Soul Sittin’ to Design Your Porch to Porch Plan
Clearly, this was my Reiki New Age period. I vaguely remember reading about ancient oracles, the Sibylls, and that they looked into dark mirrors for answers to questions. And who isn’t fascinated by Nostradamus? I love that stuff.
But the daily Synchronicity from the Universe was book number 10. I remember downloading it after attending my college reunion, one of my classmates wrote it and I was interested to see what her first book was about. She was a ton of fun, very moral and ethical but accepting of others and I never heard her say a negative or gossipy word about anyone else at our all girls college. From the hills of Virginia, I remember that she loved to clog. We’d sit up with four or five other girls until 3 a.m. and talk about religion, if we believed in God, and other puzzles of the universe. As you do.
Turns out, reading the sample, that the book is about moving from porch ( here an now) to Porch (heaven and God.) She says “This book is intended as a guide gift for your journey. I have shared stories of my personal life, both joyful and challenging, to help you reflect on your story, to jog you into remembering you life’s vignettes, and to encourage you to see the filaments that weave your journey together, bridging the Heavenly and earthly front porches. Each chapter gives you space to rest, think and design the next phase with Him, tips to help you pursue new options, behaviours, and strategies, and prayers to help you connect porch to Porch. “
It’s religious, and just like my friend, nonjudgmental and sweet. She posits great questions at the end of each chapter to help you return to your true self. Here are a few to give you a taste:
What are the sounds, smells, stories, and memories that evoke your ties to the earthly front porch?
Who was present for you then – a teacher, friend’s parent, grandparents, siblings, parents, pastor, sports coach, bus driver, or a Sunday school teacher? Who were your shepherds?
What do you miss from your childhood that you could replicate to keep those experiences, impressions, and groundings alive?
Her final question, #9, for the first chapter: What memories reinforce your connection to the Heavenly Front Porch as a child? Even if you think you have always been disconnected, go deeper and think about walks in the woods, bicycle rides, playing on your own, reading a story at night, sitting on the beach, or feeling sad or lonely. When were there whispers from the Heavenly Front Porch even if you didn’t have the language to express it?
So yes, this one makes the short list on Amazon. What a perfect book to go along with all of the memories I’m working through with my therapist. So much of retirement so far is looking backwards, recognizing past experiences good and bad, and then pulling them with you if they are helpful, jettisoning them after full examination if they are destructive. Quite the brain cramp.
I didn't keep in touch with many of my college friends at my first college - I transferred after my sophomore year to a large state university. In her introduction, my friend dedicates her book to two of our classmates who died in car accidents their senior year. I had no idea, How strange to think that I've lived the last forty years and they've been gone all of that time, taken by car accidents at 21. How lucky I am to have had all of this time, even on the days that I bitch and moan and can't find one good thing for which to be thankful. I am THANKFUL for my life, the good, the bad and the ugly
I’ll be interested to see if the Universe has another on point book for me tomorrow!