Skip to main content

Organic Granny Reviews "Stop What You Are Doing And Read This" by Carmen Callil et al

Stop What You Are Doing And Read This!Stop What You Are Doing And Read This! by Carmen Callil

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was deeply into a detective-mystery novel when my husband ruptured my thrall (twice!) to suggest that I might want to read this book of essays on the power and joy of reading literature. I was irritated and made rude dismissive gestures.

However...

I ran out of something to read and decided to pick this up.

I apologized to my husband for my unspoken assumptions. This slim and quickly read book contains eleven essays by twelve esteemed writers talking about their individual love stories around reading. It was a little like stepping back into an English Lit class at University nearly 50 years ago, but, really, a great pleasure to have the rich experiences and rewards of books and reading reiterated in a time when the electronic media would sometime make "old school" literature and literary pursuits seem outdated and without value in a changing world. Not so.

Since reading this book my husband has pitched to our younger grandchild (11 years old) that we would like to read to her at least weekly. Online of course, since she lives in another province. She was highly receptive, even thrilled, and suggested that our reading aloud to her would be "soothing", which was not exactly the descriptor we expected, but given her very stressful young life, the word is fitting. She even suggested a couple of her favorite books. Her teen sister has not returned our call yet-- she might be a harder sell.



View all my reviews

Comments

-Popular This Month-

Vegan Sourdough Waffles

Great vegan sourdough waffles These waffles are super Thank you for your kind words and compassion my friends-- except for Ed's pain in his finger, all is well. And today is sunny and hopeful! May you each have a grand day today-- be blessed! Think healing. Think success. Think peace. Think happiness. *As a person thinks, so are they. Psalm 23:7* Today we had an accidental contact with the new stove that shattered the outer glass surface (exterior to the door glass), and a few minutes after attending to that-- with sweeping and phoning re the warranty, etc. (a runaround with AI and some call centre folks with some mutual not-understanding}-- I accidentally slammed Ed's finger while pushing in a drawer. Poor guy, his nail has already turned black. and yummy. Sourdough has probiotics in it, and a lovely flavor, although the pancakes will not have quite the healthy sour taste that bread has. 1. START WITH THE SOURDOUGH STARTER You need to have a cup of sourdough starter, whole whe

The Lemon-Garlic Mixture Recipe that Chris Wark (Chris Beat Cancer) Recommends

My husband and I are both over 70, and while we have the odd age-expected ache or pain or fallen hair or swollen ankles or whatever, we have avoided many of the BIG Diseases: Heart Disease, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, Cancer-- but we have had family with these diseases and there is a good chance that we will have something like this hit at some time.  That is the way of the world these days, is it not? So, to be proactive and preventative, we believe that "Food is Our Medicine" and we adhere to a Whole Food/Plant-Based way of eating. We also watch a lot of those health seminars that mesh with our way of thinking that plants/herbs are the answer-- or at least our first rule of order when we feel ill.  We loved the Chris Beat Cancer series because, well, who wouldn't?  Chris is a charming young man with a friendly, compassionate mission to help others learn about how they too can beat cancer without (or only as a sideline) chemo or radiation.  In his Square

Unveiling the Truth: A Critical Review of The Way - 2X2s and Church With No Name

  Recently I was struck by a newspaper article about a woman in her 40s, Lyndell Montgomery, who had been part of the religious sect called 2 X 2 s or "The Way" or even "The Church with No Name".  Montgomery had recently charged a leader/ministering member of the 2x2s with child sexual abuse that happened when she was 14. She lives on the Island that we live on (maybe even in our community). I am interested in the diversity of memoirs by people who were spiritually abused. And I have some scattered recollections of knowing people who were part of this particular sect.  I have a blog page listing more than 25 books that I have read about spiritual abuse .  In the eye-opening little book, shown above, we delve into the dark reality of spiritual abuse within "The Way," an enigmatic organization also known as 2X2s or Church Without A Name. Through research and firsthand accounts, the book exposes the damaging effects of spiritual manipulation within The Way. R