Hello, everyone! A month has passed since my first wrap-up post and finally, we’ve reached the onset of “BER” months. Have you seen early signs of Christmas on your end?
In the Philippines, we do not only have a Christmas Day. The country celebrates the world’s longest Christmas season, starting as early as September 1. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been counting down the days when we can “legally” great each other Merry Christmas.
As for me, I have been contently taking things slow. August was a time for communing with myself and looking inwardly. 🙂
But even with my absence, I can say that it has been a productive month for two main reasons. First, I have mentioned in my last Blog Update: Optimizing absence that I have been working on cleaning up my storage space. It is still ongoing and I have been reading and learning more about optimization too. Second, I find my #WriteMyOwnHeadline project kind of actually fun. 😀 Now, for the recap…
Things I’ve written…
In the early days of August, I found myself writing Three days later, a short story inspired by an old Haibun I wrote about the tragedies of love and war.
But, as this is not a creative month for me, most of my posts were musings and reflections about life, writing and my journey as a writer.
- Monday Musings: Let me count the ways
- Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Are you a literary parasite?
- Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Reminder from a classicist
- The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski
- Writer’s Quote Wednesday – When patience is not your virtue
- Monday Musings: Hey… I love you
Books I’ve read…
In my previous wrap-up, I shared that my work life has overtaken my reading life. Until now, I have not reopened Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls.
However, I am happy to share that my bookish heart was healed by Mitch Albom’s Human Touch. It is a unique serialized story of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic, set in the present time. Every weekly chapter left me with a much-needed food for the soul. If you have not read it, I highly recommend you give it a try and let me know your thoughts. 😀
August 9 was also a Book Lover’s Day and I wrote about my bookish pet peeves and fetish here: Book Talk: Bookish Pet Peeves and Fetishes.
Despite my reading slump, another book was added to my haul. James gave me Paulo Coelho’s By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept which I am looking forward to read this September. I also bought two pre-loved books online — Thoreau’s Walden & Civil Disobedience and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe — which are scheduled to arrive this month.
Places I’ve been…
In my inability to travel, I was able to reflect on my previous outdoor experiences. I have taken note on the little things, little moments that truly matter in life. Mt. Kalatkat: The things we give and take is one of the results of this introspection.
Posts I loved…
Truth is I’ve been reading more from Brainpickings and ThoughtCatalog than my Reader tab. I most probably missed a lot of great content from my friends here in WP during the month of August. Apologies. I will be a better virtual neighbor next time.
Still, I’d like to share these great reads that you might like.
- Chinua Achebe on Art as a Form of Citizenship: Lessons in Creativity as “Collective Communal Enterprise” from the Igbo Tradition of Mbari
- Creativity in the Time of COVID: Zadie Smith on Writing, Love, and What Echoes Through the Hallway of Time Suddenly Emptied of Habit
- This Is What Destroys Your Creative Joy
- Your Empathy Is A Beautiful Thing
- Why You Need To Stop Letting Other People Determine Your Self-Worth
- Timoclea (4th century BCE): The Woman Who Threw Her Rapist in a Well
Looking back, it’s been productive (and peaceful) month. Here’s to hoping for better days this September! 🌻
September 1, 2020 at 7:05 pm
Advance Merry Christmas! 🙂
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September 3, 2020 at 8:37 am
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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