{"id":1654,"date":"2013-01-07T21:10:54","date_gmt":"2013-01-08T03:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/home.snc.edu\/susanallen\/?p=1654"},"modified":"2013-01-07T21:10:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-08T03:10:54","slug":"december-booked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sncmagazine.knight.domains\/uncategorized\/december-booked\/","title":{"rendered":"December, booked"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Bookending the month with a few notes on things read, noted, seen, heard.<\/p>\n

READ “Quiet,” mostly for the appealing title but also because a couple of colleagues are reading Susan Cain’s analysis. I had the book on reserve at the library and had to wait months for it, actually. They always had the book-on-tape readily available, though – hardly surprising. I just couldn’t do it, though.<\/p>\n

WATCHED “Lincoln,” with my son and his girlfriend. Afterwards, I asked Kim how she thought a personality\u00a0 like Lincoln could make his way to the White House. She said, “I really liked best the scenes where he was talking to just one or two people. I liked the way that, when they left the room, you could tell they were still thinking about what he said.”<\/p>\n

READ “When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions.” Sue Monk Kidd writes thoughtfully about the mid-life crisis of the soul. Unfair of me, but I was sorely disappointed when the final chapter brought no resolution to her own patient year of waiting. I really appreciated her treatment \u2013 a celebration, almost \u2013 of this topic. Too often, we worry about whether we will have the courage to follow the call when it comes. In fact, it is the waiting that is often harder to submit to.<\/p>\n

WATCHED the queen’s Christmas broadcast to her people<\/a>. It’s always worth listening to the queen. This year she spoke about lives dedicated in service, and she ended her message with a reference to a verse from a favorite carol:<\/p>\n

What can I give him,
\nPoor as I am?
\nIf I were a shepherd,
\nI would bring a lamb.
\nIf I were a wise man,
\nI would do my part.
\nYet what I can, I give him,
\nGive my heart.<\/p>\n

This is a favorite verse of mine and I’ve typically seen it illustrated by an image of a young child, or maybe some shepherd boy. There was something infinitely moving about seeing a woman standing in the state apartments of her palace and, with no irony or false pride, laying claim to these words.<\/p>\n

GUILTY PLEASURE “The Five Red Herrings.” Once a year I go some place quiet for a week with a stack of books for company. The next Lord Peter Wimsey mystery – these days I just take them in strict rotation – is always near the top of the pile. This year, it dawned on me that, even given a long and healthy life, this system might only get me through the series three more times, so I allowed myself to “cheat” over Christmas. (By the way,\u00a0 I blame my profession for my enduring literary crush on Lord Peter. I had never read a detective story until I started studying for my public relations exams. “Murder Must Advertise” was the only work of fiction on a daunting reading list, so naturally I read it first.) Well, truth in advertising: “The Five Red Herrings” is quite a dull book. Far too much tedious dialect and finicking about with railway timetables; far too little Wimsey charm, and not NEARLY enough Bunter. Cheating doesn’t pay!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bookending the month with a few notes on things read, noted, seen, heard. READ “Quiet,” mostly for the appealing title but also because a couple of colleagues are reading Susan Cain’s analysis. I had the book on reserve at the…<\/p>\n

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