“What I Know of Love When Times Are Dark”

And if you can‘t find a candle,
then light the wick of your wonder.
And if you can‘t find your wonder,
then now might be a good time
to pray. And if you don‘t
know how to pray,
then perhaps you are doing it right.
What do I know of prayer?
Only that every prayer that has saved me
is a prayer that has found me
instead of the other way round—
a prayer that comes through me,
⬇

The story follows a Cameroonian immigrant family—Jende Jonga, his wife Neni, and their son—in ‘07-‘08 NYC. Against the backdrop of the economic crisis and Obama‘s election, we see Jende working for better opportunities for himself and his family, as his future becomes more and more entangled with the family for whom he works as a chauffeur. It‘s a fascinating, nuanced take on the American Dream, with the Jonga family‘s struggles set against ⤵️

This…was not for me. We read this for my IRL book group in March and then watched the movie together—this is a rare case where I liked the movie better!

The whole read kind of low-key annoyed me. Reading about the lavish casual spending of the uber-rich just didn‘t land well with me, especially right now. The characters were largely shallow and/or unlikable—I realize that it was intended as a send-up of a particular segment of society, but… ⤵️

April‘s #DoubleSpin is clear—and is also my #44 pick for #50x50. For my #BookSpin, I get to pick a book published in the 1950s—70s for #192025. Above are the three I‘m thinking about… any recommendations?

#BookSpinBingo wrap-up for March: 12 books, no bingos, no spins completed 😕 I do plan to get to those missed spins in April, though!

Favorites:
💰Making Money
🙏🏼Queering Contemplation
🪦The Woman in White (re-read)
🤖Artificial Condition (re-read)

My birthday is tomorrow, which means my #50x50 reading challenge kicks off tomorrow! I‘m planning to read 50 books from my TBR before my 50th birthday (which is in 2028). I‘m planning to start with one of these:

Raybearer—30: gifted w/in last 5 years
Bird by Bird—9: about writing
Anam Cara—44: related to my vocation
The Library at Night—7: about books/reading

If you‘d like to join in, the link to the StoryGraph challenge is in the comments. ⤵️

Years ago, I came across the poem “The Taxi” by Amy Lowell, and its final line has lived in my brain ever since: “Why should I leave you, / To wound myself upon the sharp edges of the night?” I‘ve meant to read a collection of her poetry ever since, but we all know how the TBR intentions sometimes go. So when it became apparent that in spite of my best intentions in January, I definitely wasn‘t going to get around to reading any (let alone all ⤵️

It‘s been an over-full reading week and I‘m only just now sitting down to read this week‘s section of Last of the Mohicans for #LMMAdjacent #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead. 🙃 How‘s everyone else‘s reading coming along? Are you enjoying the book so far?

#5JoysFriday!

My first three are more treasures unearthed from the garage:
1. Beautiful blue glass vases which I have filled with larkspur from the garden
2. My brother‘s soccer shirt from when he was a kid in the early 80s, featuring the name of their sponsor: “Drugs-N-Such” 🤣
3. My summer library reading program certificates from childhood, one of which proclaims: “The Sizzler Proudly Salutes You”
Continued ⤵️

SEPTEMBER, 1918

This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight;
The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;
The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves,
And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows.
Under a tree in the park,
Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,
Were carefully gathering red berries
To put in a pasteboard box.
⤵️

I love the Wayward Children series so much, and this latest book didn‘t disappoint. I ached over Nadya‘s our-world story and loved her underwater portal world (and ached again over the ending). I‘m constantly impressed by how deftly McGuire weaves into her fantasy worlds huge topics like adoption and ableism, in ways that illuminate and universalize the experiences of diverse characters.

This was my 2025 pick for #192025.

Still working my way through belated reviews…this goes back to early February for the #OokBOokClub.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, from the characters to the satire to the fact that it had CHAPTERS.* And the reappearance of characters from The Truth. And golems! There‘s so much more substance to the characters here (I‘m looking at you, Rincewind), which gave more depth to the story overall—and its satire of government was maybe a little too ⤵️

#BookSpin list for April (even though I haven‘t even started my BookSpin or #DoubleSpin from March yet 😬)

Lots of challenge/buddy read picks on this list, with #192025, #ChristiesCapers, #OokBOokClub, and my own #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead and #50x50. But it also stays pretty close to my physical TBR—which is ostensibly my goal with BookSpin! Looking forward to the numbers next week!

Um… you‘d think that by the time the movie tie-in edition was published, they‘d have corrected stuff like this. TBH, I‘ve already been low-key annoyed reading this—reading about the massively rich just doesn‘t land well right now—and dumb errors like this aren‘t helping. Can‘t guarantee I‘ll be in a good mood about this one at book club on Sunday. 😬 At least it‘s a quick read!

Yep.

Another text for my spiritual direction course—this is a gorgeous, interactive book that I had a hard time bringing myself to write in! It explores the basics of spiritual direction from a number of religious traditions—from Christianity and Judaism to Islam and Buddhism. It was instructive to see both the differences and the deep connections between different spiritual traditions when it comes to spiritual guidance. ⤵️

I read this in Jan/Feb for my spiritual direction course, and it was excellent. It both broadened my definition of contemplation and challenged me to see contemplative practices in a new way. Holmes explores contemplative practices of the Black church, bringing in the historical context within which new forms of contemplation necessarily emerged. Viewing community and social activism through the lens of contemplation was illuminating. ⤵️

So, what had happened was…😆

When making our reading schedule, I mistakenly consulted the table of contents for a retold/abridged version of the book, which only had 19 chapters. The actual book has 33 chapters. SO—I have adjusted the schedule accordingly! I divided the remaining number of chapters by 3 weeks, so now the pace is about 9 chapters per week instead of 5 —but it should still be really doable. ⤵️ #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

I enjoyed this unfinished piece of Arthurian poetry by Tolkien, along with the accompanying essays by Christopher Tolkien (that make up most of the book). Overall, though, it was a bit unsatisfying—I wanted a little bit more from all of it (but that‘s my own issue, not an actual problem with the book). “The Poem in Arthurian Tradition” made me want to study the poem in the context of an Arthurian Literature course, to go deeper into the sources ⤵️

Another belated review… this was the #ChristiesCapers #AgathaChristieClubR3 pick for February.

I was excited to read this because I hadn‘t read any of the Tommy & Tuppence books before, and it was such fun—in spite of the more improbable & unrealistic aspects of the plot! Both Tommy & Tuppence annoyed me a little at times, but I did enjoy their youthful energy and banter—as well as seeing Agatha Christie write younger protagonists. ⤵️

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead check-in, 5 chapters in! I‘m reading this Book League of America edition from the 1940s & the print is TINY. 😵‍💫

I‘m having trouble keeping track of the various players & alliances in the conflict, but I‘m interested to see where things go with our travelers. I‘ve also been on edge about how this is going to go as far as racism & stereotypes.

What do you think of our main characters and of the book so far? #LMMAdjacent

#5JoysFriday!

1. Sunday jazz with my husband‘s combo
2. Lunch on St. Patrick‘s Day with dear friends
3. Last-minute cheap tickets to see HP & the Cursed Child at the Pantages in LA
4. Unearthed some “treasures” from the garage—including a little ceramic alien my sister made at age 12
5. Phone call from one of my regular editing clients thanking me for my work—helping him craft a eulogy for a mentor of his 💜

I had so much fun reading this with the #HashtagBrigade, although I still question my judgment in deciding to read both this and Nicholas Nickleby simultaneously. This was a re-read for me, but I remembered little about the twists and turns of the narrative, so the unveiling of the various secrets and plots was still largely a surprise. 😆 Also, I‘m happy to report that my review from August 2011 still holds up! ⤵️

“There are many pleasant fictions of the law in constant operation, but there is not one so pleasant or practically humorous as that which supposes every man to be of equal value in its impartial eye, and the benefits of all laws to be equally attainable by all men, without the smallest reference to the furniture of their pockets.”

#WhattheDickens

Soooo far behind on reviews! The #KindredSpiritsBuddyRead read & discussed this over a month ago. But, my viable excuse for this late review is that I only just finished the four related stories!

This was a slow-paced description of life in a small, coastal Maine town in the late 1800s. The semi-autobiographical slice-of-life plot is narrated through the eyes of a writer boarding there for the summer. Through small vignettes, Jewett‘s writing ⤵️

This was…OK. I‘ve seen the “real world characters enter a fictional world” premise executed better elsewhere, and this felt a bit lacking. Selby & Dan felt under-developed, and their interactions with Hamlet and the play‘s other characters were handled a bit awkwardly (really? Hamlet has few-to-no problems/misunderstandings of modern culture or language?). The book explores concepts of mental health (naturally, encountering Hamlet & Ophelia ⤵️

We start reading The Last of the Mohicans tomorrow! The weekly schedule is above (we‘ll be reading about 5 chapters per week). I‘ll post a check-in on Saturdays, and we‘ll have a wrap-up discussion of the whole book on Saturday, April 12. Looking forward to reading along with all of you!

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMAdjacent

LMM dedicates Rainbow Valley to three young men who were killed in WWI, and the ending of the novel, with its references to the Piper, foreshadows the war to come. Did you notice anything else in the book that echoes or explores these bookend references to the war?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

It was heartbreaking to read the above in LMM‘s journals and to see LMM‘s loss of her cousin and dear friend overshadowing the publication of Rainbow Valley. But I loved hearing the source for both of these Rainbow Valley moments.

What are some of your favorite parts of Rainbow Valley? Favorite episodes or quotes?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

For those who are re-reading the series: How was it reading Rainbow Valley right after House of Dreams instead of after Anne of Ingleside?

Does this book feel like an “Anne” book to you? What do you think of the glimpses we do get of Anne and Gilbert?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

What worked or didn‘t work for you in this book? What did you most enjoy? What did you dislike or find problematic?

We get a bunch of new characters: Anne‘s children and the Meredith family, and various members of the community including the West sisters. Which were your favorites or least favorites? Who would you have liked to read more (or less!) about?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

Belated #5JoysFriday!
1. My dad & I are making progress in getting rid of unnecessary stuff—someone took the dresser we left at the curb, and we gave a bunch of vintage clothes & hats to a local youth theater org for costumes
2. During the above, I found a sweet “Thank You Grandpa” booklet my nieces gave my dad almost 20 years ago (we kept that!!)
3. Between rainstorms we had some glorious clear days where I could see snow on the mountains ⤵️

“…they're all called monks or monastics, as ‘monk‘ comes from the Greek monos, meaning ‘alone.‘ But as we know, society likes to create separations and binaries of everything, so the word for nuns comes from the Latin nonnus, meaning ‘monk.‘”

😂

It‘s super hard to review all three books together, because my enjoyment varied greatly from book one to book three! This had been on my list for a while, since my MIL recommended the series to me. And initially my question was WHY did anyone ever think this would make a good series?!?! This question persisted for me throughout the first book and a half, which read like a mildly interesting description of rural village life in the late 1800s. ⤵️

Another belated review—I read this in January for #AuldLangSpine!

This was so much fun. Set in Regency-era England, it follows “Gus” and Julia, spinster twin sisters who set out to rescue a friend‘s goddaughter and join forces with a charming rogue along the way. It‘s full of humor, adventure, and female empowerment, as well as more serious issues and higher stakes than I imagined there‘d be. I was so glad to see there‘ll be a book 2!

A much-belated review of the #OokBOokClub read from January (I‘m working through my backlog of completed-but-not-yet-reviewed books!)

I‘m torn over this. I loved its examination of political/religious propaganda (especially in wartime/in service of conflict), and I loved the way it pokes fun at and takes down gender stereotypes. I loved its diverse characters and the little cultural glimpses each one gives us, from trolls to Igors to vampires.⤵️

I've seen this quote before, and I love it, but I love this framing of it even more!

Also, I think I need this quote on a t-shirt. For those non-great days.

My birthday is in just under 3 weeks & I‘ve been putting together a multi-year reading challenge to complete before 3/31/28 (my 50th birthday 😱). I went through my physical shelves & TBR lists and chose 50 books I‘d really like to finish before I turn 50. Then, I wrote prompts for each—so anyone who‘d like to join me can choose their own books for the challenge. Who wants to read #50x50 along with me? Link to StoryGraph challenge in the comments!

“(Am I responsible for any of these vulgar fluctuations, which begin with unhappiness and end with tea?)”

#hashtagbrigade

I‘d just like to take a moment to share a lil‘ picture I took of a small misprint in this morning‘s liturgy at my church 😆

I‘m sure it was completely unintentional; our admin likely copy/pasted the first Sunday of Lent liturgy from last year and didn‘t notice there were adjustments needed, but still. It made me chuckle.

Hello, #KindredSpirits! Checking in halfway through our read of Rainbow Valley!

📚How is your reading going? What are your thoughts so far?
📚What stands out to you from the first half of the book?
📚Any favorite sections or quotes?

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

“The dark organ music filled the Department of Postmortem Communications. Moist assumed it was all part of the ambience, although the mood would have been more precisely obtained if the tune it was playing did not appear to be ‘Cantata and Fugue for Someone Who Has Trouble with the Pedals.‘ As the last note died, after a long illness, Dr. Hicks spun around on the stool and raised the mask.”

#OokBOokClub

🎉🎉🎉 So excited!! Even though there is absolutely no room in my current reading lineup! 😆

#5JoysFriday!

1. Saturday was our wedding anniversary and we celebrated with a fancy dinner paid for by a gift card from my husband‘s boss
2. After the fancy dinner, we went to a Radiolab quiz show followed by a musical performance by Julianna Barwick
3. My good friend who‘s not a big fiction reader decided to read Nicholas Nickleby since I‘m reading it right now, and she‘s really enjoying it and texting me about it!
Continued ⤵️

“It is never quite safe to think we have done with life. When we imagine we have finished our story fate has a trick of turning the page and showing us yet another chapter.”

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMReread

I‘m looking at my reading for the month and trying to decide what to pick for my #BookSpin! #DoubleSpin landed on the tagged book, but BookSpin landed on a category for the #192025 challenge: a book from the 1980s—2000s. I‘m trying to decide between the above four. Any recommendations?

“He‘d always wondered what dishabille looked like, but he'd never expected to see so much of it in one go. Even now, some of his memory cells were still trying to die.”

#OokBOokClub

“There are days when he growls at everybody because he thinks he is fore-ordained to eternal punishment… My own opinion is that he is not sound in his intellect, for none of that branch of the Millers were. His grandfather went out of his mind.”

Well, THAT lands differently after reading last week‘s section of LMM‘s journals. 😳😬😢

#KindredSpiritsBuddyRead #LMMJournals #LMMReread

“…It can be so hard sometimes to have hope,
yet even knowing what winter did,
look at all this life.
I am here to remember again how the field
is made of uncountable blades of grass,
and how I, too, am one of many
that make up the whole, all of us growing
together...”
—from “Between Winter and Spring” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

https://ahundredfallingveils.com/2025/03/03/between-winter-and-spring/

“Socrates said, ‘The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.‘ He wasn‘t talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians & advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth. A writer is a person who cares what ⤵️