RAE’S READS

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This year (2025) finds me with 53 years of teaching “under my belt.” I have taught all levels from pre-K “(library lady” or “book lady”–volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 34 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the “difficult years.” I had some of the “funnest” experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the “young, fun teacher,” I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a “dream-fit” for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching. This past fall I accepted a part-time teaching job at Apogee Gulf Coast Schools in its first year at the Alvin campus. After my Better Half died n 2022, I achieved a lifelong dream: opening a bookstore of my own, Rae’s Reads. A year later, I sold the house we had lived in for 47 years and moved into the bookstore. My goal is to circulate and repurpose books. Just as teaching is “in my blood,” so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish. This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to “come out and play.”

  • THE LAST BOOKSHOP IN LONDON: A Review

    A delightful book set in WWII, my favorite kind of historical fiction

    Set in a bookshop, London during the blitz, a touch of romance, a touch of tears, plenty of light, good-natured humor, and more–what more could one ask for in a good “read”? Oh, yes, the audio version–that too. This was an exceptionally fulfilling reading experience for me. It was just the diversion I needed from the scheduling of doctor’s appointments and tests, a welcome respite from the tedium of “getting well.” The novel was published in 2021, and I first heard of it on Deb Nance’s Readerbuzz.

    Martin has written a “timeless story of wartime loss, love, and the enduring power of literature.” It is modeled on one of the few bookshops left standing after the London Blitz.

    Grace Bennett finds herself clerking at a bookshop under the proverbial curmudgeon owner, when she and her best friend leave their country life and head to London, just in time for the war to begin. Grace is not much of a reader herself, but is introduced to The Count of Monte Cristo by a handsome customer who joins the RAF shortly after he meets Grace. When Grace begins this classic, she is caught up in its pageantry and action and goes on to other classics under the benign approval of Primrose Hill Bookshop’s gruff owner. During the unfolding of the plot, Grace discovers the joys of reading, even reading to the community from the bookshop and during the long nights spent in the tunnels and shelters inhabited during the bombings. The two girls share many wartime adventures, sometimes being forced to share them through letters, and the book comes to the end of the war and a happy ending for all. This is a most satisfying read/listen. I enjoyed it immensely.

    Grace’s conversion from being indifferent to books to becoming an avid reader might look something like this word cloud.
    Thanks, Evin

  • September is known for being a month dedicated to literacy. Maybe it’s because it’s traditionally “back-to-school” time of the year, or maybe fall just lends itself to snuggling up with a good book and reading the hours away. In any event, September is National Literacy Month, National Library Card Sign Up Month, Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month, and Read a New Book Month.

    National Literacy Month attempts to promote the power of books and reading in general and emphasizes encouraging young people in one’s life to read. It is very important to get books into the hands of kids. My two favorite ways to do this is by donating and encouraging others to donate to Reading is Fundamental, a non-profit that “puts new books into the hands of poor kids,” as a young friend expressed it. I am so impressed with RIF that I have written in my obituary that “memorials should be sent to Reading is Fundamental” and included the address.

    A more recent “find” is the Dolly Parton Foundation’s Imagination Library

    I recently sent my first contribution to this worthy non-profit. Look for the YouTube video on this “project.” It will make you want to donate too.

    September is also National Library Card Sign Up Month

    I will do my part by getting a new library card. I lost mine and have been checking out books without it, often using My Better Half’s card.

    The Amdeserican Library Association promotes the power of having a library card. Not only does owning one allow you to check out books, eBooks, audiobooks, movies, etc. , but it puts technology and DIY project equipment at immediate reach. Visit your local library today and join in the celebration by securing a card or using yours in a new way.

    Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month also falls in September. The best way to be kind to these individuals is to BUY their books.

    Make a bargain with yourself to purchase at least one new book this month.

    September is the perfect book to READ a new book after purchasing it because September is designated Read a New Book Month as well. Start one today. I am celebrating by ordering a copy of Maggie Smith’s Keep Moving and will begin devouring it as soon as it arrives.

    What are YOU going to do to celebrate this Literary Month?

    Reading is for everyone!

    Thanks Evin

  • CLASSICS CLUB SELECTION FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

    I am reading a classic every other month for the rest of 2021. August/September is the current selection I drew from a fishbowl.
    Donna Tartt’s novel is considered a modern classic according to the list I consulted.

    This 1992 publication is by the author of a novel selected by my Third Tuesday book club, The Goldfinch, and is one I enjoyed a great deal this summer. it is “compelling, elegant, dramatic, and playful.” Tartt’s History tells the story of a group of college students who are “clever, eccentric, misfits,” which includes themes of obsession, corruption, and betrayal.” It is one of the most suspenseful books I have ever read, a psychological thriller that had me holding my breath at points in the narrative. Many literary allusions grace the novel’s pages, something that held great appeal for this lit major.

    It is a mystery that is solved at the beginning, then it unfolds and reveals as the narrative moves along, a “different” type of murder mystery in this respect. Above all else, it is a page-turning, darned good read. I highly recommend it.

    Reading can be a good distraction in a time of stress.
    Thanks, Erin

  • SATURDAY MORNINGS FOR KIDS

    THANKS CARLA FOR THE NICE MEME.

    If R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder recommended a book, would you read it? Well, I did. Roll With It, another story of a unique kid who has a disability,  by Jamie Sumner, tells the story of Ellie, who has Cerebral Palsy, a creative, audacious pre-teen trapped in a wheelchair. Because her grandfather has Alzheimer’s, she and her mom must move from a large city to a trailer  park in a tiny town. She wants to be a professional baker, and is really good at it. Robert, who goes by Bert, an autistic kid who is bullied; and Coralee, who has big dreams of becoming a famous singer and lives below the poverty level, are her best friends. The schemes and plans this trio invents will make the reader laugh out loud. I certainly did.

    INCLUSIVENESS WAS THE THEME THE YEAR I READ MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS FOR CYBILS. THIS WAS ONE OF THE FINALISTS.

    When I did my enjoyable “project” of being a first round reader for the Cybils awards, this was one of my favorite reads. I have copied the old post I did at the time here. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

    Ignorance about persons with disabilities is often the cause of negative thoughts and behaviors.

  • First Line Fridays, which I like to refer to as Friday Firstliners, was started by The Purple Booker. The idea is to copy the first line or so of a book you want to read, are reading, or have read recently in hopes those who read your post will add that book to their TBR list.

    Here is the quote and the first line from the first thing I read this morning, a devotional book, Simple Abundance:

    This is a book of musings and ponderable thoughts divided up into daily doses. It has often “spoken” exactly what I needed to hear that day.

    “Good movies make you care, make you believe in possibilities again. ” PAULINE KAEL

    “Instead of meditating today, let’s just watch a movie. Sneak away in the middle of the day, hunker down in the dark with a box or bowl of popcorn to ponder the meaning of life.”

    The author goes on to offer practical suggestions for actions one might take today that would direct our thinking towards the more serious parts of life, yet would refresh and replenish our spirit within. This is a very helpful book. It’s time now to get my second cup of coffee.

    Thank you, Evin for the sign off.

  • I like to read more than one book at a time. Here I have a devotional book (top), a self-help book (far left), a novel (middle), and an inspirational/”religious” book.

    Currently I am reading daily from

    This book is especially for women, is spiritual in nature without having a lot of Bible verses (I have another devotional book for that that I read daily.), and I often find myself copying its passages into my Quotes Notebook.

    The Gifts of Perfection by Brene Brown has a whole section in my everyday journal/notebook that I am copying parts I want to read again and again in. I am enjoying The Ninth Hour a great deal. It reminds me of Call the Midwives. Blue Like Jazz has its own kind of spirituality/inspiration. It tells of the author’s pain at the word “Christianity”, and his preference for “Spiritual Christianity.” He explains that many misdeeds were done in the name of Christianity (think Crusades, The Inquisition, Witch Trials, etc.) and apologizes for them as a “spiritual Christian.” Quite a new take on an old subject.

    A lot to finish up, a lot to read, and definitely a lot to think about.

    Thank you for reading this rambling post.

  • DON’T FORGET THE ICE vs REMEMBER THE ICE

    Although I finished my Non-fiction challenge much earlier this year,

    Completed in March

    I am still trying to read more non-fiction. Recently, a friend, Susan, gave me some books she had left over from when she was the CFO of Alvin Independent School District on team management and communication. One of these books, which I’m just getting around to reading is Bob Nicoll’s Remember the Ice.

    A fine book on effectively communicating

    The title stems from, which is more effective, to say, “Don’t forget the ice,”or to modify the “message” to, “Remember the ice”? Nicoll contends that saying, “Don’t forget the ice” registers in one’s subconscious as “FORGET the ice” because we are most likely to leave out negative messages like, “Don’t.” Instead, he says, we should phrase the communication in a positive way, “REMEMBER” the ice; thus, we will be more likely to experience positive results.

    There are many tips and hints about effective communication with others, but here is a tip for self-communication: “Why would you ever begin a sentence with the words, ‘I can’t,’ when you are endowed with the ability to DO anything you put your heart and mind to.” (Bob-ism #9) LOL

    By modifying our message, the author points out, we can positively modify our communication to others and to ourselves. This was a helpful book. it made me think.

    RAE

  • TUESDAY TEASER

    Thanks to this Purple Booker’s meme, I am able to share a teaser from a wonderful book I have just finished.

    The Comfort Book by Matt Haig offers just that–comfort.

    Opening it at random this morning before returning it to the library, I found these words as a reminder of how to start and spend my day:

    “A Thing I Discovered Recently”

    “I love stillness. Slowness. When nothing is happening. The blueness of the sky. Inhaling clean air. Birdsong over traffic. Lone footsteps. Spring flowers blooming with defiance. I used to think the quiet patches felt dead. Now they feel more alive. Like leaning over and listening to the earth’s heartbeat.”

    Thank you, Evin.
    The Comfort Book made me feel better.

  • NEW CHALLENGE/POETRY

    In an effort to read more poetry this year than last (a 2021 goal), I am challenging myself with a short objective–to read a poem a day for ten days. And, what better way to do this than to use poets.org, the “original poetry service publishing new work by contemporary poets.” I subscribed today, Sunday, August 22nd, 2021.

    Today’s featured poem is by Walter Everette Hawkins, a native of North Carolina, born in 1888.

    Our ties to North Carolina, My Better Half’s birth state, incline me positively towards this poet to begin with.

    The poem is titled, “The Drowsy World Dreams On.” In it, the poet marks the occurrence of many things, while “the drowsy world dreams on,” oft repeated as the final line of each stanza.

    The final stanza of the poem sums up the world’s indifference to daily happenings, both large and small:

    “And the dreary old world’s growing gloomy and gray,

    While the joys that are sweetest are passing away;

    And the charms that inspire like the picture of dawn

    Are but playthings of Time–they gleam and are gone,

    While the drowsy world dreams on.”

    I will not post a poem a day and my interpretation of it, for the goal is to read poetry, not write about it. Instead, I would encourage you readers to choose a poem a day service and read a poem a day for whatever amount of time you choose to challenge your self for. Happy Reading–of POETRY!

    Thanks, Evin!

  • DNF, DID NOT FINISH

    I failed; I quit; I did not finish Madeline L’Engle’s The Other Side of the Sun.

    I tried, honest I did, but after almost fifty pages I did not care about the characters, nor was I blown away by the strangeness and mystery of the homeplace where the main character was placed, awaiting her husband’s return from some secret government assignment. The ancient aunts, lorded over by the “servant,” the actual owner of the house, did not amuse me, nor did I have sympathy for the young, recent bride. So–I decided not to finish the book. I chose this novel as part of my 2021 Madeline L’Engle “project,”to read as many books by and about this amazing author. It was available as an e-Book from my local library. Maybe that was part of the problem. My Better Half was “hogging” the Kindle, so I attempted to read it on my laptop, an impersonal, artificial way to approach any book. That said, I think I will just pass on this Madeline L’Engle offering and continue reading about her in A Light So Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeline L’Engle. Perhaps I shall start Light So Lovely tomorrow.

    Thank you, Evin, for the lovely sign-off you designed.