Poetry Friday: October Roundup of Books and Bookstores
My Nevermores sister, Patricia, is hosting Poetry Friday today. Hop on over there for the lineup.
24 Bookstores in 2024
33. Curious Iguana, Frederick, Maryland
Visited on October 3, 2024
34. East City Books, Washington, DC
Visited on October 5, 2024
Books Read in October
Vote!
The election is upon us. I hope that you have a plan to vote (or have already voted).
Our suffragist sisters fought hard for our right to vote. And even after the passage of the 19th amendment, many women didn’t actually get to vote. For many, by the time the 19th amendment was ratified in August 1920, the last date to register for the 1920 election had already passed. For residents of Washington, DC, they still couldn’t vote. People of color still faced racist policies that kept them from voting. It would be many decades before the Voting Rights Act passed.
Researching ONE STEP FORWARD has made me even more cognizant of how hard it was to gain the right to vote. It has made me more appreciative of this right. It feels like such a sacred duty.
Thanks to early voting that was put into place in 2020, my husband and I were able to find an afternoon to go to our local library and vote together (something we rarely do due to scheduling).
Wait, Rest, Pause News
Melissa Stewart has been such a wonderful champion of Wait, Rest, Pause. Last week, she included it on a list of 50 Bedtime Books for Curious Kids.
When I wrote this book, I wrote it for my fourth graders because we studied dormancy and I couldn’t find a book to use for that unit. It was for them (and me), and I’m so pleased that it has found its way to audiences that I hadn’t really dreamed of.
I was a curious kid, and I’m still insatiably curious, so I love the idea of a curious kid reading my book at night and being filled with curiosity and love of nature.
Many thanks to Melissa for including my book! I’m honored.
Haiku of the Week
afternoon orchids
fall chorus sings
psalm for the sun
Photo Taken: October 5, 2024 at the United States Botanic Garden
Haiku Written: October 15, 2024
Grow
Part of growing is pruning, right? We prune our trees and and our shrubs. It makes them healthier, fuller, more beautiful.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that this week. What can I prune? Where can I get a more clear vision? What do I not need?
16 Comments
PATRICIA FRANZ
How fun that you found a book on moon gardens! Does it seem like COMFORT OF CROWS? And many congrats on Melissa Stewart’s inclusion –bucket list!!
PATRICIA FRANZ
Ooh — and “sings/psalm for the sun” — gorgeous!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you! xoxo
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
It’s divided up into seasons too, but it has much longer chapters.
Linda Baie
I love that “psalm for the sun”, too, Marcie, & always love your sharing of the latest bookstore visits! Congrats for your book on M. Stewart’s list! That’s terrific! Yes, we must vote!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you!
Tracey Kiff-Judson
Marcie, you’ve packed so much into this post! The Curious Iguana looks like a cool place. Having a goal of visiting independent bookstores is a wonderful idea. When travelling to a new city, if we can’t think of what to do next, my husband and I often find ourselves in a little bookstore picking up this or that. Congratulations on your continued success with Wait, Rest, Pause! Your closing comment on pruning got me thinking … there is a lot I could prune and feel lighter for it!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Yes to pruning! I have a lot of it to do.
Mary Lee
I know you don’t ACTUALLY have more hours in your days, but I am always impressed with the ways you choose to use yours!
I am halfway through THE COMFORT OF CROWS, and I either hope to still have some to read on Tuesday night, or I’ll buy a copy and start rereading it as soon as I finish. This is a BRAIDING SWEETGRASS book for me — a book for/of my heart with writing that sings. I wonder if she reads the audio book. I loved hearing Robin Wall Kimmerer’s voice…It IS and I have credits on Libro! YAY!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Yes, I love Braiding Sweetgrass too. It took me several months to read The Comfort of Crows because I just wanted to read a chapter a day.
Heidi Mordhorst
It’s great to see that the MarcieBus is still in overdrive–visiting bookstores, reading so many books, inspiring people to vote through your research, writing orchid-psalms. Don’t YOU forget to wait, rest, pause, too!
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
I will rest. I promise! Thus, the pruning going on. 🙂
Linda Mitchell
ooooh! I just got ‘The Universe in Verse.’ It’s beautiful. I’ve not been to Curious Iguana. Someday, I will! What a great project for 2024. My school librarians group is going to Bookworm Central in December. You are most welcome to join us–unless you’re going to VAASL and counting visiting Bookworm there to check off your list. They are my favorite indie.
A book of psalms to the sun is needed. Yes?
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Curious Iguana is lovely. In fact, it’s worth going for the day and spending time downtown. They have lots of great shops including a tea shop right next door. I also went to the McCutcheon’s factory store (I recommend the Vidalia Onion mustard). I would love to go to Bookworm Central (it’s on my list). What are the dates for the sale? Do you know? And yes a book of psalms to the sun! I’m in.
Denise Krebs
Marcie, thank you for this post. As usual, it is rich in content and joy. Congratulations on making the curious kids book list. Thank you for the challenge to vote. I am always surprised at the voter turnout. This year, it seems like 100% of eligible voters would have wanted to make their voices heard. The pretty pink orchids and your words match perfectly. The singing “psalm for the sun” is just gorgeous.
Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Thank you! My area has about 75-80% of registered voters who vote, but what about those not registered? I’ve always been a big fan of voting but even more so after researching and writing ONE STEP FORWARD.