Blip Books

For my 729th blip, I want to honor a side benefit of being a blipper -- the widening of my reading list! This is a representative selection pulled from my bedside table, but it's not all-inclusive, as books I've enjoyed reading in the past, recommended by several other blippers, have gone back to the library or are ensconced on a shelf here.

The books I read prior to our recent trip to Iceland (September 3-13) were all nonfiction travel guides, but now I'm looking forward to exploring Icelandic literature in translation, particularly Halldor Laxness' epic novel, Independent People, which won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955. I'll never forget the generosity of Akureyri blippers AgnesSkula and Bergfoto in showing us amazing places in north Iceland, as well as the time we spent just talking and laughing with them, and I look forward to learning more about their amazing country, its history, and its people.

Earthdreamer wrote about A Walk Between Heaven and Earth in his September 22 blip, and the passage he quoted there and his own thoughts following those words resonated with me. I enjoy writing as much as photography, and have tried some different styles of both of them here. That said, it's all too easy for me to get caught up in the routine "must do/should do" demands of life, even though I'm retired, so it's good to have an extra jolt of inspiration from a book like this one, as well as from Earthdreamer's journal.

One way to be inspired is to read beautifully-crafted writing, the kind that makes you stay up way too late at night because the words are flowing so beautifully and you can't bear to put the book down. Sarah Dunant's Sacred Hearts, about a fascinating array of women in a 16th century Italian convent, fits that description perfectly. I "discovered" this outstanding writer on Glassroad's August 27 blip, in which she evocatively described a talk given by Sarah Dunant. Thanks to GlassRoad for bringing this outstanding author to my attention!

The large book on the bottom of the stack, A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell, is for Ceridwen, whose blips about social history, food, and bookstores, among a plethora of other interesting topics, never fail to enlighten and inform me. I think she'd enjoy this book, which mixes history and food in a very engaging way!

I'm grateful for everyone here who has opened my eyes to new ways of thinking, putting words together, and capturing moments in time.