Start Your Engines

It's Monday again.  
Time is just racing, non?
Preparations.  
Celebrations.
Contemplations.

Time to . . . 

(On Monday mornings, I share a few things I found over the weekend.)

==========

A Quote

"In a way Winter is the real Spring -- the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature."
    --- Edna O'Brien

==========

In case you missed the announcement earlier this month, the next Read With Us book is Fever by Mary Beth Keane.  We won't be discussing the book until February, so you have plenty of time to find the book and read with us after the holidays!

In other reading news . . . here's an interesting article from The BBC about how reading has changed over the past decade.  Have you noticed any of the trends noted in the article???  Or maybe . . . some trends that aren't listed at all???

==========

This is the best time of year to go to the movies.  Most of the year's top movies have release dates from October through December, so there's something good playing at the theater all the time.  Last week, Tom and I went so see Dark Waters and Parasite.  Both are excellent movies. . . but Parasite?  Oh, my!  If you have a chance to see that one . . . GO!  I'll just say . . . wow.  (And don't let the Korean subtitles intimidate you.  After a couple of minutes, you don't even notice the whole movie is in Korean.)

I know I know.  A lot of you don't like going to the theater.  Lucky for you . . . there are all kinds of Oscar-buzzy movies you can watch right in the comfort of your own home!  Like . . . Hustlers.  (You can rent this one on Prime.) (Jennifer Lopez is awesome -- and expected to be a major Oscar contender for her role.)  Or Rocketman.  (You can rent this one on Prime.)  (Oscar buzz for Taryn Egerton, who plays Elton John.) (If you liked Bohemian Rhapsody last year, you'll probably like Rocketman, too.)  Or Marriage Story.  (Streaming on Netflix.) (Probably the most Oscar-buzziest of the bunch, and totally worth the hype.)  

How about you?  Have you seen any movies to recommend lately?

==========

Although I don't have a word for you this week, I do have a poem to share.  

White Lie
Austin Smith

Christmas Eves our dad would bring
Home from the farm real hay
For the reindeer that didn't exist
And after we were finally asleep
Would get out and take the slabs
Up in his arms and carry them
Back to the bed of his pickup,
Making sure to litter the snow
With chaff so he could show us
In the morning the place where
They'd stood eating, their harness
Bells dulled by the cold, their breath
Steam, all while we were dreaming.

==========

That's it for me on this Monday morning.
I hope your week is off to a good start!