DENTISTRY, DEVASTATION AND A TRICKSTER DOG

LIFE OF A BOOKMAN

Bookman: 1. a person who has a love of books and especially of reading. 2. a person who is involved in the writing, publishing, or selling of books. Oh, hi that's me!!

A Novella Burn Book: Short, beautiful stories are perfect for summer, or for when you needs some goading to get back into reading. Background for Love by Helen Wolff, first written in 1932, was found at her death in an envelope that said “At my death, burn or throw away unread”. Well, it was not burned and it was not thrown away (lucky us). This is a beautiful, escapist story of a woman that leaves the Hitler thunderclouds of Germany to find herself via a paramour gone wrong. I loved the story, but I loved the biographical essay that follows from her great, great grand niece about how this story came to be, which includes a scary reminder of how fascism presents itself moment by moment in our everyday lives.

I also read It's All in Your Mouth by German dentist Dominik Nischwitz. He details the principles of biological dentistry and the research that supports the fact many of our interventions to “save teeth” are creating huge problems. I'll admit, I've long been suspicious that all dentistry is good dentistry. That many Private Equity backed dental offices would rather drill on your teeth given the chance. So, I was really the perfect audience to randomly see this book at a health food store, stand in the aisle reading most of it, and then realize I'd read most of it and that I in fact needed to go ahead and buy it. LOL.

What I'm writing: Evangeline thinks her trusty assistant is up to something and I got it all on the page last week, which was fun. I also got the best advice from my writing coach which was to create a punch list of “problems” my new pages are creating in the old pages I've already written. And just to keep writing forward as if they are solved. Well, my punch list is long and my entire body feels so much more relaxed about writing forward. Sometimes (all the time??) it's the little things!!

WOMEN STUDIES

What gets passed down becomes our history.

I've watched more shows in the last few weeks than I normally do. No reason, other than...my brain is tired??

The Better Sister (Amazon) and Sirens (Netflix) were both great shows that I thought really nailed the complexities of close sister relationships. How one moment you can be fighting and the next moment you compliment their hair and the whole disagreement gets diffused. I also watched Department Q which, is GOOD for people who loved shows like Slow Horses. But you have to get past the first episode. Just trust ep1 blows, but the rest gets better and better.

There was a great piece by Jordan Stacey: Why men needs girlfriends more than women need boyfriends. It takes us on an interesting journey of how women are seen fully by their friends, and whereas men don't experience this same gift in life (how do we change this???)

And apparently the “it” bag of Lit Girl Summer is a tote bag that fits a book, and only a book. I've been carrying around. Lucky for me I've been carrying around this mini tote bag that says “Book Worm” and fits only my book, which I snagged from Powell Books in Portland last fall. Get on board!!

PASS IT ON

Stories are heirlooms. Here's one of mine:

As many of you know, I have a sweet, darling spotted pup Skye who I learned this morning is a...sweet and manipulative trickster. I've been trying for the last year to get her to not sleep on the couch once I leave the house, and to stay in her doggy bed instead. It hasn't worked. Well, at the end of May she was in the care of her dog sitter, who stayed at the house with her. When I returned, I noticed that whenever I came home from being out and about she was...miraculously...asleep on her bed. This has been going on consistently for two weeks! So, I've been praising her dog sitter, who I credited with this change of heart (habit). Well, this morning after I got back from the gym, I looked down and saw an imprint the size of her 36-lb donut in the couch... even though she was “asleep” on her bed. So, I put my hand down to feel for recent dog-body warmth and sure enough, it radiated with recent warmth. THAT DOG. She's been tricking me for two weeks!!! So I'll leave you with this photoshoot that her dogsitter did while I was away, enjoy these photos of a dog you've never met...and woman on xx