Read, Read, Read

I finished reading two books in the past couple of days. One is really fun and the other is only so-so.


The first is the 1979 Newbery Award winner, The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin. I remember trying to read this book a long time ago, and having a hard time getting into it. So, I decided to give it another chance. I again had a hard time getting into this one, but I'm glad I stuck it out. The beginning is rather confusing as lots of characters are introduced all at once. The plot revolves around the characters trying to figure out who killed Sam Westing, so there are lots of clues and twists and secrets throughout. I think a reader could benefit from reading this book more than once, as lots of the clues and secrets are probably missed the first time. But overall, once I got into it, it was a fun book to read and definitely worthy of the Newbery award.


The second book is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I remember reading The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons and not being able to put them down until I finished, so I was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, for me this book wasn't nearly as exciting as its predecessors. It wasn't terrible, but at times it seemed tedious and over explanatory and if you've read The Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, it will all seem very familiar as Brown follows the same formulaic plot. Hopefully this will be the last of these books. Robert Langdon and his symbols need a rest.

So now I have to get back to my serious reading as the month is almost over, and I still have a lot left to read in my February classic.

Oriental

Lately, I've had a little extra time on my hands. I'm trying to use it wisely, so this week I made a goal to learn a piano piece. I haven't seriously worked on a piece for probably ten or so years, so I'm starting simple. I picked Granados' Spanish Dance Op 37, No 2 (Oriental) which I have always enjoyed. The melody is beautiful and haunting. Here is a video of a woman playing the piece. I only chose this video for the audio, as I find something in the way she moves and holds her hand to be distracting to watch.



On a side note, the piece has also been arranged for one or two guitars and it is quite beautiful that way, too.



And this arrangement with piano and cello may be my favorite of them all.



So, if you need me, I will be practicing and memorizing. In a little while, maybe I'll even play for you!

I love my family!

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been really blessed, or lucky, or whatever to have all of you. However, to keep this from becoming a sappy, schmaltzy, post, I'm just going to keep it simple and say thanks to everyone for listening, praying, getting angry with me, etc. It's really nice to know that so many people care.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle...

Today I dusted off my bike, aired up the tires, and hit the trail. I went almost fourteen miles round trip. Now, I'm tired, cold, and sore.

It has probably only been about three months since I last rode my bike, but that was long enough for all the endurance and strength I built up last summer to disappear. Some of those hills beat me today.

I'm sure there is something to be learned here. Getting off my bike and walking up those hills can probably even be seen as a metaphor for something profound. Frankly, I'm too tired to figure it out.

Thoughts???