by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 29, 2009 | accumulation, reading |
In 1999, I started keeping a list of the books I read on an old computer program called Sidekick, which was amazing because you could create cardfiles and name the categories exactly what you wanted to. As the years went by, they did not update the program. It became...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 27, 2009 | catching moments, Columbus GA, stories |
Tuesday night around 8:00 I got in my car to drive to the soccer field for registration. Most of the day, I had been sitting in front of my computer. My brain felt like it was off-duty. It was starting to get dark as I pulled out of the driveway. The song...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 24, 2009 | catching moments, details, shapes |
In January, I went to lunch with a friend. She asked what my “coolest” Christmas gift was. “My son gave me two Wilco CDs,” I said. “Which ones?” she asked. “I don’t know. I just put them on my ipod.” Are we losing our senses? Is the feel of life slipping away? Maybe...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 23, 2009 | reviews |
At the beginning of The Northern Clemency, a novel by English writer Philip Hensher, Francis is nine. His father announces that he’s found a house. “‘I’ve found a book,’ Francis wanted to say to complete everyone’s happiness.”...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 21, 2009 | reading |
We’ve been having a discussion about writing in books. If you’re interested, check out the comments to Some People Buy Shoes (a prequel). I buy books. One thing leading to another, I mentioned that I had a slight problem with making more use of the library...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 19, 2009 | accumulation, craft of writing, memoir, reading |
Some of you may have noticed that on the Reading List page, I’ve been adding how I chose the book or books I’m currently reading. Well, the story of how I chose Abigail Thomas’ Thinking About Memoir seemed too long to add on that page. Talk about one...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 18, 2009 | accumulation |
I buy books. I used to feel guilty that I didn’t use the library, but no longer. I look at it this way. By buying a book I’m supporting a writer. If I buy from an independent bookstore, I’m supporting them as well. It’s an investment in what I...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 15, 2009 | accumulation |
Some people shelve their books by color. I wish I were that creative. Instead my books sit on the shelves in boring alphabetical order–by author’s last name. When I first organized them years ago, I tried not to squish them so I would have room to add...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 12, 2009 | first novels, reviews |
At the beginning of The Vagrants, the first novel by Yiyun Li, one at a time, each of the main characters comes into contact with one of the notices being posted all over the Chinese town of Muddy Waters announcing the execution and denunciation of a...
by Cynthia Newberry Martin | Jun 10, 2009 | Columbus GA, place, reading, the day |
Yesterday, June 9th, I sat and read under this little piece of sky–one of those skies that appeared still, the clouds unmoving. It looks like a sky that might be over you at the beach or in a meadow where you might be ripping a piece of baguette to go with a...
