• Black and White,  lifestyles,  musings,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Love of Books

    Love of Books
    Love of Books

    It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.

    C.S. Lewis

    I bought a kindle e-reader about five years ago and fell in love with it. It ignited a fire to read more. Prior to this purchase I read few books, 2-3 a year. Most of my reading consisted of reading books required for school assignments, books on spirituality/religions and a few photography books in my attempt to improve at the craft. I was never interested in novels and still that way. I may read a novel every couple years.

    I now have an appreciation for books. I love spending time at the library (that’s where I’m at now) or a book store getting my hands of a few. One of the draws to the Bean Cycle Coffeehouse in Old Town is the nonprofit book store they have. Sometimes I’ll take my latte upstairs, grab a book and skim through part of one. I’ve bought one book from them and donated a few I’ve finished and do not want to keep in my library.

  • musings,  writing/reading

    Reading Books

    An Open Book
    An Open Book

    “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”  ― Ray Bradbury

    When I was younger I seldom read books. Homework? I glanced through them for the book reports. College text books, yuck! Novels? Very few interested me. After high school I spent 4 years in the military, began a family and pursued some form of a career and reading was not part of that.

    Fast forward into my 40’s and a shift of interests lead me in search for nonfiction books on philosophy, spirituality and religion studies. I ‘m still searching. No longer were the answers that important as I became enticed with asking  more questions, a full time student without taking finals. I feel the searching for more questions lead me to discover more about myself and the world around me. I began to collect a nice little  library. Many of these books, and their authors, became my friends. I no longer allowed Hollywood to create a scene but I let the book and it’s author lead me to create my own scenes, inviting me to explore with my own imagination. When I reread some books I found them even better the second time. Since purchasing an e-reader I read even much more.

    In looking at the above image what does it say to you?

    Do you read more or less as you’ve aged? Has your subject matter changed over the years and if so why?

  • Art,  quotes,  Sculpture

    Reading Books

    Reading Books
    Reading Books

    “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”  ― Charles William Eliot

  • architecture,  Church

    The Prayer Book

    The Prayer Book
    The Prayer Book

    Wikipedia says prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Some form of prayer is found in most major religions. In contrast with Western religion, Eastern religion for the most part discards worship and places devotional emphasis on the practice of meditation alongside scriptural study. Consequently, prayer is seen as a form of meditation or an adjunct practice to meditation.

    Prayer and meditation have become important to me over the past thirty years. Prior to that any prayer life I had consisted of short burst of frustration or fear, “Oh my God!” There has been a move within me to for more quiet contemplation and meditation. So I find places where I can have those quiet moments. I use a couple of churches with in walking distance. I use a nearby park and a couple nature areas for more quiet. A quiet corner of my condo can make for a nice place also.

    All three monotheistic Religions have a variety of prayer books: The Muslim Prayer Book – for praying five times a day; The Book of Common Prayer -which has prayers for seven times a day; Liturgy of the Hours – used by monastic communities to pray seven times a day; Siddur – the Jewish prayer book for praying three times a day. I could be wrong on these prayer books but it gives us some idea of the importance for prayer within these religions.

     
  • writing/reading

    A Book

    A Book

    One of the projects I assigned myself this past year was to create a book with some of my images as a Christmas present to give my children, my two sisters and my parents. I waited until November to finish it like a good procrastinator would do. But, it is done and everyone seemed to enjoy it. After finishing it I had one shipped to me then made a couple of edits to the final version. I used blurb after I purchased and reviewed a couple of books, one by Faye White and one by Graham. I was pleased with what I saw.

    As with a lot of projects they seem to move in directions we do not expect. My intentions were to make a small book with 24 of my blog posts, wording on one page and the image on the opposite. However, I found myself gravitating towards some of my black and white images and giving them simple titles. Here is a link to the pdf preview if anyone wants to check it out. Again, any feedback is welcome.

    PS: I just found out my mother will have triple by-pass surgery this morning at 8:00 am. Any form of prayer or thought would be appreciated. Thanks!

  • quotes

    The Treasure of Books

    Books

    “Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage.” Walden by Henry David Thoreau

  • Photography

    A quick read but …

    A book and a coffee

    …  it’s one I will want to read more than once. I’ve heard about this book from David duChemin. He mentions it in his books and on his blog. I finally bought it and enjoyed reading it. I read it in one afternoon and have gone back over it a couple times since. It’s got small bits and pieces to chew on. It has the ability to help us look at ourselves with newer eyes. No book will fix us but this one strikes a chord for me. I’m not sure I can say what it means to me. It may be more of how it effects my creativity. Anyway I will write more on it later. Has anyone else read it? Hope everyone has a good week!