Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin - Novel

The novel, Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin explores the Black experience in Harlem, New York. 

It is an engrossing story in a stream-of-consciousness style that illustrates the author's approach to telling this story. There are no identified chapters; just a stream of continuous first lines in each section of this book. 

The words flow as the author takes the reader from the rural south to the northern ghetto outlining the experience of a 14-year-old boy in the mid-1930s. It deftly illustrates the changing mores of society during this era. 

It can arouse many emotions as the reader moves through the story until the end. 

The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message For An Age of Insecurity by Alan Watts: Non-fiction

Random House Audio: Publisher's Summary

An acclaimed philosopher shows us how—in an age of unprecedented anxiety—we can find fulfillment by embracing the present and living more fully in the now. He is "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (from the Introduction by Deepak Chopra). 

The brain can only assume its proper behavior when consciousness is doing what it is designed for: not writhing and whirling to get out of present experience, but being effortlessly aware of it.

Alan Watts draws on the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and religion in this timeless and classic guide to living a more fulfilling life. His central insight is more relevant now than ever: when we spend all of our time worrying about the future and lamenting the past, we are unable to enjoy the present moment—the only one we are actually able to inhabit. 

Watts offers the liberating message that true certitude and security come only from understanding that impermanence and insecurity are the essence of our existence. He highlights the futility of endlessly chasing moving goalposts, whether they consist of financial success, stability, or escape from pain, and shows that it is only by acknowledging what we do not know that we can learn anything truly worth knowing. 

In The Wisdom of Insecurity, Watts explains complex concepts in beautifully simple terms, making this the kind of book you can return to again and again for comfort and insight in challenging times. 

“Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the unwritable.’” —Los Angeles Times

Personal Comment: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts is a mind-absorbing book that makes the reader reflect and reason out the concepts portrayed in this book.  

 

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Fiction

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a story set in Texas, America during the DepressionEra of the 1930s. The families are struggling to survive as they are faced with an environment of dust and no rain. It means their crops are failing with no yields to take to the market.

The author details the daily grind of this one family who somehow manage to stay alive and organize their day-to-day living with what they have and what is available to them.  

During this unpredictable time, Elsa Martinelli, the main character, in this story has a choice to make--fight for their land or go west. It appears that many families are giving up on their land and making moves to travel to California where they believe there are jobs to enable them to earn a living. 

The story unfolds in a captivating manner as the reader absorbs the realities of the lives of the people during this era. It is a disheartening time that illustrates how people cope and adapt to their changed situation as each family has to endure with hope. 

Sun Events in 2024 in Canada

On April 8, 2024 the above images illustrate the solar eclipse in downtown Toronto, Ontario as captured by a family member who witnessed the change in the city during the day. 

May 10, 2024: Below are photographs of the Northern Lights as witnessed by family in Lake Country, British Columbia. These views were from their patio. 

Trip to Vancouver, British Columbia

 

On April 16, 2024 I arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia to spend a week there away from my home in Toronto.  I rented a place near the sea wall.  Each day I would walk part of the sea wall as shown in the image on the left. The weather was sunny and warm.

During my stay there I participated in the 10K Vancouver Sun Run that was held on Sunday, April 21, 2024. It would be my tenth time participating in this event.

The participants are from around the world. They are organized in groups beginning with the elite runners and ending with the walkers.  I am with the walkers.

It was around 10 a.m. when the walkers joined the race. It was a relaxed walk as my son, Timothy and I kept pace with walking group as shown in the image on the right. We admired the mountain views in the background. This environment is an ideal one to engage in this 10K event.  

The image on the left shows us stepping onto the finish line. 

The Certificate on the right indicates that I clocked in a time of 2:21:44. 

Another year of doing the walk during
the Vancouver 10K Sun Run. It continues to be a memorable event. 

Never Lie by Freida McFadden: Fiction

In Never Lie, the author, Freida McFadden uncovers the horrifying tale of what happens to a couple, Tricia and Ethan, on their quest to find a home of their dreams.  On their visit to a manor they were stuck there due to a vicious winter storm outside. This manor belonged to  a psychiatrist, Dr. Adrienne Hale who disappeared many years ago. 

The winter storm kept them in this manor.  Tricia found a stack of cassette tapes, recordings of Dr. Hale's sessions with her patients. Tricia listened to them as there was nothing else to do in the manor but wait for the winter storm to subside. 

These tapes uncovered a whole series of unusual circumstances experienced by each of Dr. Hale's clients. When Tricia listened to the final tape she discovers the alarming truth.

Never Lie is a story of unusual circumstances that a young couple endure during their search for a home of their own.

The Exchange by John Grisham: Fiction

 

In The Exchange: After The Firm, the author, John Grisham explores the adventures of the main characters, Mitch McDeere and his wife Abby.  

Mitch works for an international New York law firm. He is sent to Libya to negotiate the release of Giovana, daughter of a senior parter of the law firm. She is taken as a hostage by the Libyan authorities who will not release her until the ransom is paid. 

Mitch works with Abby to resolve this unusual situation.  It is unusual as there is no ransom until later in the story.  Once the ransom is made known they try to obtain the ransom money from their various international sources.  There are many interactions between these sources from different countries. And in the meantime, Giovana is held hostage with no knowledge of her whereabouts in Libya. There are clues but, to their knowledge, no definite location. 

The story unfolds with some dramatic moments as the various clues are identified enabling them to verify and trust each step they take to resolving this hostage crisis.