beans, bees and poetry: how i named my book
‘AND I SHALL HAVE SOME PEACE THERE’ (February 2011) got its title from a poem I first read in college, more than 30 years ago. For each of us, I suppose, there is a poem or poems that we never forget; William Butler Yeats’s “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is one of mine. When it was time to name the book I had just finished writing, in November 2009, I could think of nothing better to call it than the Yeats line that had long called out to me: [Read more...]
giveaway: ‘tiny buddha,’ a q&a with lori deschene
LORI DESCHENE, AKA TINY BUDDHA, doesn’t claim to be anybody’s guru, and it was her lack of pretense and big doses of practicality that caught my eye and got us talking. To mark the publication of Lori’s first book, “Tiny Buddha: Simple Wisdom for Life’s Hard Questions,” I’ve and asked the founder of the web community TinyBuddha [dot] com and its anything-but-tiny Twitter and Facebook groups, to answer some questions about herself, and everything from mantras she steers by, to dealing with money worries and even her top self-help books. Plus, I’ve bought two extra copies of “Tiny Buddha” to share with you—you in? (Hint: It would make a great holiday gift for the tiny Buddha in your life.) [Read more...]
inspiration: philippe petit’s 1974 high-wire act
IAM REMINDED AT THIS ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 of something else: of Philippe Petit’s 1974 high-wire act that temporarily connected the two now-fallen towers of the World Trade Center in defiance of fear, and maybe even sanity. Petit (and especially his book “To Reach the Clouds”) is one of my inspirations whenever I am feeling stuck. [Read more...]
september 11, the day jack rescued me
I WAS GOING TO SKIP ANY MENTION of 9/11, not because it’s not on my mind, but it’s tricky: Today marks the 10th anniversary of one of the primary catalysts for my eventual exit from city living, for my withdrawal from the mainstream, and also the day that Jack the Demon Cat came to live with me. [Read more...]
christmas in july sale: signed, gift-wrapped books!
ICAN’T AFFORD AN INFOMERCIAL ON LATE-NIGHT TV to get the word out, so we improvised: My sidekick Andre Jordan made a doodle and I got out the stocking caps, meaning we’re ready to start taking orders (no, not for burgers, silly–for books). It’s Christmas in July on “the book blog,” where I’m offering smart earlybird shoppers (with or without Santa hats) a promotional price on signed, gift-wrapped copies of “And I Shall Have Some Peace There.” Doesn’t somebody on your list crave one? The details (and what some readers have said about the book): [Read more...]
