Opening Sentence of the Day: The Anti-Death League

A girl and an older woman were walking along a metaled pathway.

--  The Anti-Death League by Kinglsey Amis.

Kingsley Amis is one of my favorite authors. I wanted to read this one in particular because it is on Anthony Burgess's list of his favorite 99 novels.

Also, it was published in 1966, so it counts as one of my books for Hotchpot Cafe's Birth Year Reading Challenge. It may be my only candle, unless I get around to The Comedians by Graham Greene.

Teaser Tuesday: Voodoo Vintners

In the wine world, the self-important Robert Parker, with his comb-over and air of gravitas, has come to represent fustiness and, worse, buffoonery.  The new wine celebrities are young, idealistic, and borderline certifiable.

-- Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole. She doesn't pussyfoot around.

I've been interested in learning more about biodynamic winegrowers, especially local ones, ever since I read Rowan Jacobsen chapter on biodynamic wine making in California in American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, reviewed here.

OSU Press sent this to me and it is definitely a great reminder of what terrific books they turn out.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Food Freedom is on Facebook and twitter. Click on the chicken for more information.

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit is hosting in October.  Please go by and visit her wonderful blog. 

Thanks to a stop by my favorite Second Glance bookstore, I have a big stack of new (to me) books, most of them on one or another of my book lists:

The Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark (on the Burgess list)



The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and on the BOMC's Well-Stocked Bookcase list)



Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone (winner of the National Book Award and on the All-TIME Top 100 list)



Monsieur: Or, The Prince of Darkness by Lawrence Durrell (the first book of The Avignon quintet and winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize)



Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell (not on a list, but I loved the cover)



The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope (not on a list, but I am on a Joanna Trollope jag)

Opening Sentence of the Day: Voodoo Vintners

In September 1982, Moe Momtazi sat on a motorcycle with his heart in his throat and his hands gripping the waist of a drug runner.

-- Voodoo Vintners: Oregon's Astonishing Biodynamic Winegrowers by Katherine Cole. Any book about wine making that starts out like this should be good!

OSU Press sent this to me and it has piqued my interest.  Rowan Jacobsen had a very interesting chapter on biodynamic wine making in California in American Terroir: Savoring the Flavors of Our Woods, Waters, and Fields, reviewed here.  I want to learn more, especially about what is going on here in Oregon.

WEEKEND COOKING

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Food Freedom is on Facebook and twitter. Click on the chicken for more information.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Real Women, Real Wisdom

In my 61 years on this planet I have come to accept that almost everything can change.

-- from the Introduction to Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul by Maureen Hovenkotter, author and editor.

We all belong to someone, or the Great Someone, but we often forget.

-- from "Motherhood and Daughterhood: Love and Goodbye" by Barbara Underwood Scharff, the first essay in the collection.
I only just started the book, but I had the opportunity to meet with many of the women who's essays are published in the collection.  They are a terrific and inspiring group of women and I am very much looking forward to learning their stories.

Maureen Hovenkotter and some of the authors will be at Wordstock in Portland next week.  Stop by to meet them.

THE BOOK: In Real Women Real Wisdom, 17 ordinary yet extraordinary women—most in their 50s and 60s—reflect on the challenges, mysteries and ultimately the triumphs in their lives. Their stories tell of the transformative experiences of loss, suffering, life-threatening illness, recovery, and forgiveness, as well as the quiet moments of reflection that have led to their personal encounters with the Divine. The journeys they share hold great wisdom, hope and inspiration for all who read about them. (Publisher's description.)

THE AUTHOR/EDITOR: Maureen Hovenkotter is one of the 17 authors of the book and the editor of the collection.  She has written about faith and spiritual matters for a number of publications, including The Oregonian, The National Catholic Reporter, St. Anthony Messenger and The Catholic Sentinel. In the fall of 2003, her husband of 33 years was killed in an accident. She wrote about that experience and the subsequent pilgrimage journey to discover herself in 42 States of Grace: A Woman’s Journey (reviewed by me here). She shares her reflections on life and spirituality in her blog, Travelin' with Charlie. The mother of two adult children and grandmother of one, she lives outside of Portland with her golden retriever, Charlie. She is currently enrolled in a formation program to become certified as a spiritual director.

A Few More Pages hosts Book Beginnings every Friday.  The event is open for the entire week.