The Plucky Reader

A boy, his books, and a blog

Learning to Forgive Yourself

When you look back at the road map of your life, does it look like you expected it to? Did you expect the twists and turns? Did you expect the detours you were forced to take? Do you regret them?

I don’t regret the path my life has taken, not by any means. I don’t regret the way God has molded my road map; the way He placed roadblocks and detours and alternate routes to get where I’ve been. I never expected things to play out the way they have; the success I’ve encountered is more than I could have ever wished for.

But I do confess, I’ve made mistakes that I have trouble forgiving myself for. I have made errors in judgment that have, ultimately, added more stress to my life, even if they seemed they would help me at the time. I’m sure it sounds crazy that I have trouble forgiving myself for simply adding stress to my life, but it’s so much more than that. It’s the areas in my life where I chose to add that stress. It’s the way in which I complicated my situation.

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Review – Becoming Starlight by Sharon Prentice, PhD

A few months ago, I was contacted and asked to review a book about a Shared Death Experience (SDE). Honestly, I was a little leery. I had to do some research on the author and on the concept of SDE before I would commit to a book about it. But I do enjoy learning and experiencing new things through books, so eventually I agreed.

I was so excited when it came in the mail, I set it on my nightstand and made it my priority to read next. And then the end of the semester happened. Very quickly October became December, somehow along the way, I had been pulled under a deluge of papers to grade, lessons to plan, concerts to play, and functions to attend. Do you notice something very important missing in that list?

That’s right. Reading. I have had a very large book-shaped hole in my life since October, being so consumed with work that I have not been able to read anything, save for what we have been reading for school.

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Giving Hands

Little girl donating money

This weekend, I went with some of my students to ring the bells for the Salvation Army. I love taking time to give back to my community, and I love it even more when I can share that experience with my students. I am aware that my life is a life of privilege and any chance I can, I try to use that privilege to give back to those around me.

So this weekend, with the help of some incredible kids, I stood outside Wal-Mart and rang that little bell and greeted everybody that went by. My students sang Christmas carols with gusto and joyful hearts. We wore Santa hats and reindeer antlers and elf ears. And we had a good time hanging out, getting to spend time together in a less formal setting than in the classroom. 

But most importantly, we got to see people with the biggest hearts donating their money to help other.

Watching so many people go out of their ways to donate to others was a beautiful experience. I was touched to get to interact with so many strangers cleaning out their pockets and the coin catchers in their cars and giving their change from the store. In many cases, it wasn’t much. But it was something. Small acts of kindness can all add up to do big things.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Aesop
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The Restorative Properties of Hallmark Movies

Today, I curled up in bed, exhausted from Thanksgiving and Black Friday and ready to dive into a good book. My 50-pound mutt climbed up in the bed with me and snuggled up (don’t tell my wife. We don’t allow dogs in the bed.) I didn’t like the silence, so I turned on the Hallmark Channel to have playing in the background. 

Freddie, my big mutt, is my snuggly companion.
My snuggly companion

Soon I realized, however, that I was not reading my book at all. Instead, I was totally immersed in Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa, one of this year’s Hallmark Original Christmas Movies. The plot is as cheesy as you can imagine, the acting is on par with every Hallmark Original Christmas Movie. The storyline is contrived. Nothing about this movie was a masterpiece, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t stop everything I was doing to watch the entire movie.

And I loved every minute of it. There was nearly no diversity in this small town and it was a little suspicious that everybody in the town believes in writing letters to Santa. And there were more questions than answers. But I didn’t care. I watched every minute of it, as if it were pure cinematic gold. Was the store going to sell? Who was going to buy it? Was Lisa going to save the general store, and ultimately Evergreen? Would Lisa and Kevin finally kiss?

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Review – The Golden Sequence by Jonni Pollard

The Golden Sequence by Jonni Pollard

I recently had the opportunity to read The Golden Sequence by Jonni Pollard. This book came as a surprise to me, just bundled in with another book I had been asked to review. Let me tell you, surprise books are the best kind of surprise.

The Golden Sequence is much along the same vein as the past few books I’ve been sent for review; it is a book about finding yourself, discovering your innermost desires and drives, and reaching a certain kind of fulfillment. With The Burn Zone, I followed the story of a woman trapped in a cult, frantically searching for herself after losing her identity entirely to the world she’d been absorbed into. Then in Brother John, I read the essay of a man seeking purpose, hiding out in a monastery and all buy idolizing a monk who lives there.

The Golden Sequence is a how-to guide, more or less. It is a meditation aid and a guide in seeking fulfillment through understanding The Golden Sequence.

“In Western society and culture, we are more connected to each other than ever through social media and mobile communication, yet we feel increasingly disconnected and isolated.”

Jonni Pollard, The Golden Sequence

As I’ve said, this book is a lot about finding yourself and finding purpose in your life. It aims to identify the problems in our lives–why we’re feeling unfulfilled and unconnected–and help us to fix the brokenness in our lives.

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The Zone – How I Conquer NaNoWriMo

This year I am participating in NaNoWriMo. For the uninitiated among you, NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writers Month, is an annual challenge writers take to try to write an entire novel in the month of November.

Since its inception, NaNoWriMo has changed slightly. Many writers, myself included, are using the month to focus hard on a work they’ve already started, rather than writing a brand-new work for the month.

I’ll be honest: I have been less successful at NaNoWriMo in November than in Camp NaNoWriMo which happens every summer. July maybe? Look, today is not a researched post rife with information and hard facts. If you want that, you’ll have to go back to my Banned Books Week posts.

Today, I’m simply talking about my writing process and how I conquer the writing challenge. And I have been successful in my attempts at Camp NaNoWriMo.

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Review – Brother John by August Turak

Brother John Finished cover

Recipient of the prestigious Templeton Prize, Brother John is the true story of a meaningful encounter between the author going through a mid-life crisis, and an umbrella-wielding Trappist monk. This magical encounter on Christmas Eve eventually leads the author, and us all, to the redemptive power of an authentically purposeful life. Uplifting, deeply moving, and set in the magnificent Trappist monastery of Mepkin Abbey, Brother John is dramatically brought to life by over twenty full color paintings by Glenn Harrington, a multiple award-winning artist. Brother John‘s inspirational message takes place at Christmastime, and its inspirational message and rich illustrations are sure to bring the reader back again and again throughout the year.

There’s a theme with the books I’ve been reading lately, it seems. Maybe this is a problem that runs deeper with me than I thought, or maybe it has something to do with my love of psychology and humanity, but I have recently read several books about finding one’s purpose in life. And if I had any disillusions that the theme has continued into my most recent reading, the opening line Brother John has fixed that.

Uncertainty as to life’s purpose is much in vogue today.

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Review – The Burn Zone: a Memoir by Renee Linnell

If you’re anything like me, you find the psychology of cults very interesting. I cannot tell you the amount of hours I have devoted to reading about Heaven’s Gate, Scientology, Children of God, and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Growing up, I had friends who were in a cult and I think that probably sparked the fascination I have with them today.

One thing I’ve never really considered, though, is how somebody gets lured into a cult. I mean, I’ve never really thought about it. And I’ve never really thought about the types of people who find themselves in cults.

I had to stop and evaluate these things before I read The Burn Zone: a Memoir by Renee Linnell. I had to figure out my own preconceptions about cult life before I read this memoir. I felt it would help me focus my reading. What I realized is if you were to ask me what kind of person falls into a cult, I’d tell you somebody who was weak, stupid, or both.

But ten seconds with Linnell’s memoir taught me otherwise.

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We Are All New York

I’m sitting here in an apartment overlooking Midtown and listening to the sounds of New York City. I’m at a white desk, typing on my laptop and I wonder: is this what Carrie Bradshaw felt like? Did she sit, narrate in her head, and write with awe and wonder at the city around her? Or does New York City lose its magic once you’ve lived here?

Does living in a place make you love it less?

I visited New York in 2006 for the first time. Then I came back in 2014, 2016, and now twice in 2018. Of course, this year’s trips were work-related: I’ve gotten the chance to perform in Carnegie Hall twice this year (seriously, I’m freaking out, but I’m trying to channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw and say this all cool and matter-of-fact.)

The first time I came to the city, I didn’t even know what to expect. I got off the plane naive and starry-eyed, filled with wonder and amazement and a little shock. I was not prepared for the amalgamation of cultures that New York City has. Or the many lifestyles. I grew up sheltered in a small town. The most diverse we got was when a family had a blonde kid and a brunette kid.

Walking into New York City the first time was magical. It was like entering a portal into this world where I was free to be the person I had always dreamt of being. I could sing show tunes in the middle of the street and nobody would look at me, unless it was to join in with a chorus. I could stay out after 9 pm and there was stuff to do. Places were still open. In fact, it seemed, a second wave of the world was just beginning to rustle from their slumber and begin their trendily-dressed, power-walking nighttime activities.

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Banned Books Week – Of Mice and Men

Did you know that 56% of book challenges take place at public libraries? Libraries which are supposed to represent the communities which they serve. Libraries which are supposed to be places of acceptance and information.

It doesn’t make sense to me that people ask libraries–the public forum for books and information–to ban books. But maybe I’m the backwards one. It’s highly likely. This wouldn’t be the first time.

Here’s the thing. Libraries are magical places. They hold all the books I’ve ever wanted. And if my library doesn’t hold the book I want, there’s a high chance that they have digital access to it. That’s why they’re so amazing. They hold all the stories I could want to read. And they hold information. They hold the secrets to watercolor and acrylic art. To knitting and crocheting. To the lives of great opera composers and presidents and inventors.

To limit libraries’ choice in what books they stock is to take away their power to represent and educate the community they represent.

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