"Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive." Barry Lopez
I discovered James Fielden’s site more than a year ago. Ever since, I’ve been enjoying his writing, photography and, more recently, his music and audio meditations – all paths in which James explores aspects of spirituality and the inner life. James lives in Los Angeles, where he mixes sound for film and television.
His 23-minute guided meditation, Journey Across a Lake, is a wonderful way to begin the new year.
Photo by James Fielden.
Today’s selection is not a blog, but an artist’s website, quite simply, one of the most unusual and stunning I’ve ever seen. Viewing Michael Cherney’s photographic Asian scrolls is like taking a journey to a secret, faraway place. See, for example, Five Peaks. Enjoy.
Young skiers photo by Putneypics under CC By-NC 2.0
7 Essential Books on the Art and Science of Happiness, at Brain Pickings. If you’re not familiar with this site, you’ll want to browse its long, generous excerpts from books by artists, scientists, and other fascinating people. See The Best of Brain Pickings 2013. This is not really a blog, but “a human-powered discovery engine for interestingness” by Maria Popova that has been praised by The New York Times and is included in the Library of Congress permanent web archive.
Photo: Christmas Eve visitors, through binoculars, by A. Hallinan
Bealtaine Cottage is luscious, especially if you like Irish cottages, and midwinter.
Because I like good stories about ordinary things, fine photographs, unusual recipes, and anything with “teacup” in the title.
Los Rodriguez Life always makes me happy when I visit. Bilingual, so I can practice reading Spanish, and it feels like a grand celebration of family and being alive. There’s gardening, food, travel, photography, music and lots of personality.
I think you’ll enjoy “Fly On.” (Scroll down to the music video.) I love fiddle music.
December morning photo by Putneypics under CC By-NC 2.0
Letters of Note is, in the words of its editor, Shaun Usher, “an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos.”
They are the extraordinary words of real people. Here are a few of my favorites:
There is a Letters of Note book, too!
Northern Cardinal photo by Putneypics under CC By-NC 2.0
The Quivering Pen has been my happiest blog discovery of late. It’s a rich, beautifully written site about books, writing, and the literary life by David Abrams, a former Army journalist and author of The Fobbit, a comic novel about the Iraq War.
David is an expansive, passionate reader who writes eloquently about new, backlist, classic, and “lost gem” titles. You’ll find unusual and off-the-beaten-path books to add to your to-read list, and if you’re a writer, you’ll appreciate David’s generous sharing of his own journey and the wisdom of other writers.
I’m looking forward to reading David’s enticing backlist of posts. Among other attractions, he features Trailer Park Tuesday (new book trailers), Friday Freebie (a book giveaway), Sunday Sentence (the best sentences he’s read that week), My First Time (writers talk about virgin experiences in their writing and publishing careers), and Bookstore of the Month.
The Twelve Days of Christmas Song Poster by Xavier-Romero Frias is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
You could spend hours browsing the photos and traveling back in time at Ephemeral New York.
The photo above is from “Which city park hosted the first Christmas tree?” New York City during the holidays is transcendent, no matter what the century.
Years ago, I jogged past Carl Shurtz Park every day, but I never knew Peter Pan lived there.
Nine Barrow Street in Greenwich Village bears a version of my husband’s family name, in honor of an inventive Irish blacksmith. I found that out when I read, “A village monument to a 19th century blacksmith.”
There are 75 posts about out-of-date guidebooks.
And 45 posts about defunct department stores.
Many a bittersweet tale, as well: “The Tragedy of the Loveliest Woman in America” and “Notes Pinned to Babies at the Foundling Asylum.”
You could write a book about each and every post at Ephemeral New York.
Photo: Bain News Service
Karen Sandstrom blogs at Pen in Hand. I love her drawings, her little stories, her commentary, and her wry sense of humor. She’s a writer, journalist and illustrator who lives in Cleveland, my hometown.
Karen created something called “I Must Remember This,” about the daily habit of creativity, which is posted in my home office and gets me back on the writing track when I need it.
Visit her website and take a look at the woman standing in the rowboat clutching a book – I love that picture.
Here are a few of my favorite Pen in Hand posts:
I like “Cut Flowers” because I grew up in a flower shop and because I also love Molly Peacock’s book, The Paper Garden. Now I don’t have to write about the book on Books Can Save a Life, I’ll just link to Karen’s fascinating and informed post.
This one’s about a Cleveland suburb on Lake Erie that I visit from time to time.
I like “An Artist’s Stool” because I will always remember listening to jazz in the Flats on the Cuyahoga River when I was in high school. Yes, that’s the river that caught fire.
Gimme Some of Dat Bitter, Bitter Love
This one, because I belong to that tribe, too.
Books Can Save A Life 