Riley is sitting on me right now so I’m typing with one hand and can only see half the keyboard, which is very very challenging!! I’ve read two books since New Year’s Day.
The first is Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh… well, I’m nearly finished, but I had to stop because I had to read a book club book and wanted to make sure to give myself enough time to finish it. I’ve learned a lot, not so much about actually saving the planet, like protesting and writing letters or using more eco-friendly detergent and eating less avocado, but about having the right mindset to make a difference. This includes right-thinking and right-decision-making, living in ways that respect the earth and all the creatures on it (being vegan!), and being a “buddha in action” to help others change their mindsets and their habits to embrace a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle, leading to a healthier future for the planet (and for us!). It was quite a lot to take in and I welcomed the break, but will get back to it soon.
And I read a rather long, complex mystery for my book club meeting tomorrow night, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. This book focuses on a current mystery and an unsolved one from more than a decade before, and explores the possibility that these are not isolated incidents Set mainly at Camp Emerson, a children’s survival camp in the woods of New York, readers are introduced to a large cast of characters who appear in both storylines, as we read about not one but two tragedies that seem to have befallen the Van Laar family. It’s the summer of 1975, and thirteen-year-old camper Barbara Van Laar has gone missing. This would be an emergency no matter who the camper was, but Barbara is the daughter of the camp’s owner, Peter Van Laar. Barbara’s brother, Bear, also went missing fourteen years earlier and was never found. Are these two disappearances connected, or is it simply bad luck for Peter and Alice Van Laar to have lost both of their children at or near the camp? This book had backstories for all the many characters, and the various storylines were detailed and overlapping, and while at first it was challenging to read and understand, once I got far enough into it, I was able to keep everything straight (mostly!). It was a great read, very interesting and informative, and the author did a good job of portraying the 1970s convincingly. As I read, I was reminded of Garth Stein’s excellent “environmental supernatural mystery”, Sudden Light. I’m looking forward to discussing it tomorrow and finding out what the others thought.
That's all for today. Stay warm and keep reading!
Bye for now... Julie
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