Please imagine the inviting smoothness of the unbroken spine, the crisp feel of as-yet-un-turned pages, and that lovely new-book smell as you read this….

Two new items are up on the what the afternoon knows bookshelves. There’s Poem for the Day (1)a great anthology of poems, which is ideal as a present, and/or for encouraging you to read poetry. And there’s a remarkable bit of non-fiction, Jane Shilling’s The Stranger in the Mirror: a memoir of middle age. This is an extraordinary book, honest, moving, and beautifully written.

Would love to hear from anyone else who’s read, or is reading these.

 

3 Comments on new stuff on the bookshelves

  1. Well, reading the description of “A Stranger in the Mirror” half makes me want to read it, the other half back away in dread. The honest approach appeals, but the depressing confirmation of things I have thought at times is against. The added negative is the comment about her son being the point of it all. So is there no point if you don’t have children? Can I see this as “her truth” or will this just make me feel more negative about growing older without children? Still not sure about this one!

    • Jan, thank you so much for taking the time to share your response – and such an honest one, too. I can really understand your ambivalence. As I’m sure is extremely obvious, I can’t say I’ve got it all sorted. But I do know that those glimpses I’ve had of a different truth have been helped along so much by things I’ve read, and work I’ve done, about confronting mortality. So your comment has inspired me, and helped me see which is the next non-fiction book I’m going to put up on the bookshelf—and which poem will go with that, too. So: thank you! I’ll let you know when they’re up.

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