WWW.WEDNESDAY

 

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers by Elizabeth Edwards. This is a reread for me. When I first picked it up almost 20 years ago, it had a major impact on me. I reached for it again now because I long to feel something powerful, something hopeful, again. 

It seems I am shocked anew every day. Our President wants to revoke birthright citizenship and signed that Executive Order on the holiday for Dr. King's birthday. Are Trump and his supporters really that ignorant of US history, or just that insensitive? Then our President mocked the idea of visiting the Washington DC plane crash site, saying, "It's the water. You want me to go swimming?" People who assaulted Capitol police on January 6 were pardoned because violence against cops is just ducky if you're willing to do it for him. And half my countrymen are applauding this! Most disturbing are the ones who quote Scripture all the time. Let's face it: Jesus was a man of color born on the West Bank. If he walked among us today, MAGA would try to deport him.

So I'm returning to Elizabeth Edwards, that gallant lady who endured so much. I recall her teaching me that sharing your fears and pain can strengthen your faith and your relationships and that is a lesson I need to hear again.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by MC Beaton. The "Wizard of Evesham" is a hairdresser, Mr. John, known for his transformative styling talents and his way with the ladies. Even our hard-boiled Aggie is not immune to his charms. Though drawn to him, she also has reservations. Something about him seems "off." So she decides to snoop around. Is she doing this because Mr. John is up to no good, or merely because she's bored? Doesn't matter which because, soon enough, someone dies in his salon.

This is one of my favorites in the series. Watching Agatha manufacture "a case" at first, just because she wants something to do, was amusing. I've enjoyed her gradual acclimation to retirement. She is grudgingly fond of her more small-town neighbors, though she's snarky about them. Right after I finished this book, I ran into my down-the-hall neighbor. I was carrying a white drawstring trash bag toward the dumpster. "Where are you off to?" he asked. Um ... where did he think I was going? When I stated the obvious, he said, "OK, then." Like I need his approval to take out my garbage? Annoying as he is -- and he is -- I would hate it if something happened to him. Dear God, I'm Aggie!

3. What will you read next? I don't know.