two zero one zero

two zero one zero
a year with two, one and two zeros
what difference does it make?
troubled world,
traumatic minds
this can’t change with turn of the clock
here I sit and ruminate
about global warming
and unrest all round
I helplessly watch my creativity
pouring forth
from this self-destruction of humanity
stuck in the quagmire
going only deeper and deeper

out of nowhere
a childs’ lilting laughter fills those zeros,
& reinforces the beauty that is life
I say it aloud yet again-
two zero one zero
a year with two, one and two zeros
it does have wings to fly and soar

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WIshing all my blogging friends a Very Happy Creative 2010!

Friday Find: Unrest by Joanna Rawson & New Year Greetings

This is the first post of 2010. Foremost I wish everyone a Very Happy Book-filled 2010. May you all read very good books and to your heart’s content!

Happy New Year to you all!

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As I love poetry (I write it and post it on my other blog, rooted), it’s no surprise that the first post is a poetry book as my friday find.

Unrest by Joanna Rawson

Product Description from amazon

The sky threatens to answer a prayer but then won’t.
It is not exactly our own minds we go out of.
-from “The Insurgency”

A man’s sister sews him into a bus seat. Stowaway immigrants suffocate in a crowded boxcar. The first female suicide bomber passes through a checkpoint. Joanna Rawson’s Unrest shows the fervent, if not desperate, side of humanity pressed to the limits. With a resonant lyricism and profound beauty, these poems are restless meditations on American life, political borders, lawlessness, parenthood, and the spaces where the natural world and human turmoil come into conflict. Here is the voice of the poet at one moment in contemplation and at the next in emotional outcry, stuttering into song.

Booking through best reads of 2009

What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

I read a lot of good books. But the ones that have made an impact are the following, in no particular order (click on the titles to read my reviews):

The Unseen by T. L. Hines*
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway**
The Suicide Collecters by David Oppegaard*
My Father’s Paradise by Ariel Sabar**
Sputnik Sweatheart by Haruki Murakami*
Breathing Out the Ghost by Kirk Curnutt**
The Horseman’s Graves by Jacqueline Baker*
Random Acts of Heroic Love by David Schienmann**
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks**
Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie*

I must not forget the following poetry books:

Judah’s Lion by Anne Caston (poetry)**
A Climb Through Altered Lanscaped by Ian Parks (Poetry)*
Mainline to the Heart and Other Poems by Clive Matson (Poetry)*

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is hosted by Kathy of BermudaOnion

I found the following word in Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Embrasure (Page 41): In the window embrasure beside the the table where the chieftain had been working stood a little old chest.

n.

1. An opening in a thick wall for a door or window, especially one with sides angled so that the opening is larger on the inside of the wall than on the outside.
2. A flared opening for a gun in a wall or parapet.

[French, from embraser, to widen an opening.]

embrasured em·bra‘sured adj.

nicely toasted

your hideous smile
ambush mine
in that reflected light;
arrested I stand on top of thee
I meddle with your hands
tackle you to the ground
your doozy look can fool others
(mainly that woozy limpet in your arms)
you don’t have a single bone in you
otherwise I would be gnawing you to pieces
a caricature of a poet, a masquerade
(read this fact in his own words)
here I toast to you
one of my masterpieces

“I bow almost to the ground, topple over on top of you”

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I dedicate this poem to Percy Bisque Silley: A Romantic Dandy who accused me here, that I have forgotten to write poetry. I reproduce his words for ready reference:

Percy Bisque Silley said…

I do not count Mineself amongst thy Toadies and shall not leave the sort of vain and idle “Rah, rah!” to which you have grown accustomed, Miss.

Your words here are a poor excuse, if I may be so bold, for a Poetic Post.

No doubt you languish on a sofal watching your American football on your widescreen TV from your flat in the Bronx and cannot be bothered with a poem at this time…

With Stern Reproofly
Aloofly,
Silley

A-Z Wednesday: The Undertaker’s Widow by Phillip M. Margolin

Title: The Undertaker’s Widow
Author: Phillip M. Margolin
ISBN: 9780751524536
Publisher: Warner Books/1998
Pages: 372

Book Description

Judge Richard Quinn is young, idealistic, and honest to a fault. That’s why he’s handed the most sensational homicide case in Oregon history. Locked in a race for the U.S. Senate, Ellen Crease gunned down the intruder who murdered her wealthy husband. In a single, brutal instant she became a widow, a victim, and a hero. Soon it becomes clear that a deadly plot of murder, blackmail, passion, and double cross is unfolding around Judge Richard Quinn. And unless he breaks the rules, justice will not only be blind, it will be the final victim.

My Review:

Senator Ellen Hoyt is in the midst of a campaign. Late one night, someone enters her home with the intent of robbery or murdering her or her husband, who is a rich man, an Undertaker. Ellen guns down the man who had killed her husband. First she is taken for grieving widow, a victim which helps her in the campaign. But her rival can’t stomach that. They have to get to her and they find it via Judge Quinn, who is as upright as one can be. However, Richard Quinn has some personal issues. His marriage is crumbling. A moment of weakness gets him into a spot. Powerful people want him to put down Crease. They have to get her out of the way. Quinn faces the truth that justice can be bent to suit ones end. He is at his wits end to protect himself and also the senator.

He tries to investigate it all by himself. And finds some unpleasant facts. He gets embroiled in murder, and blackmail. Is he able to save himself? And the senator?

It is good legal thriller which keeps the reader on the edge. The motive and murderer are unknown until the end. The ending comes as bit of a surprise. A good year end read. Those who like thrillers will enjoy this fast paced book.

Teaser Tuesdays: Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

‘You could come on with me.’ The man’s tone had changed. ‘I’ve got a roof, supper, a comfortable bed. For a pretty little thing like you, there’s other ways of paying.’

Title: Heart’s Blood
Author: Juliet Marillier
ISBN: 9780230017917
Publisher: Pan MacMillan/2009
Pages: 56o

When Caitrin arrives at Whistling Tor, she is seeking a safe haven for herself. From her demons. Both in her mind and physically too. A deeply mysterious place, most people avoid the deep, haunted forest. There is this cursed castle and a chieftain who is considered a weakling. Anluan is a cripple and doesn’t seem to have much stamina. He doesn’t know how to redeem his people from that curse. A curse that no one understands. The presence of spirits known as host. They are everywhere and only Anluan is capable of controlling them. But for how long? Who are those unknown spirits? Were they people once?

Caitrin is a scribe and she is hired by Anluan to unravel the family secrets. As he can’t write because he can’t use his right hand much. Caitrin, while doing her work, discovers secrets which affect her too. She can understand Anluan’s torment and knows that there has to be a way to find a solution. Although no one can say how.

In the midst of it, she is ordered out of Whistling Tor by Anluan and she leaves it to face her own demons. And succeeds too. However, she knows she has to go back to Anluan and his people. She has fallen in love with them. All of a sudden, she has a vision of who/what is responsible for the curse. Only she can break the curse with the help of Anluan.

It is a beautiful gothic love story, with the suspense intact until the end. It is also a story of the Beauty and the Beast. Those who like fantasy, romance, mystery, suspense, all told in a skillful way, will like this book very much. I enjoyed it immensely. One of my best reads of 2009.

Monday: Mailbox/Whereabouts

Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia.

I received only one book in my mailbox:

To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

1765, London. England. Reynaud St. Aubyn, son the late Earl, arrives at his own home, unrecognisable, with a raging fever and half-mad. He has been taken for dead for the past seven years. The drab tea party thrown by Beatrice Corning, the niece of present Earl’s niece becomes a hot-bed of gossip after his unceremonious arrival. Reynaud has come from the dead to claim his title. He has somehow escaped from the captivity of the Indians, with scars both in his soul and body.

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I finished:

To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier
Saving Cicadas by Nicole Seitz
The Captive by Brenda Joyce

I plan to read:

Anything that holds my interest

I posted reviews of:

Dantes’ Inferno by Sarah Lovett
To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Night Secrets by Kat Martin

a start

a new year, a chance
to start my life from scratch
regrets dumped on the way

TSS: The last of 2009

A whole year disappears in a jiffy! Or may be not. It was an interesting year with ups and downs. Both in blogging front and personal front. I read more than 150 books and plan to read a few more in the next few days. I read Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier and Saving Cicadas by Nicole Seitz in the last couple of days. I liked both.

Due to the holiday season, networking has been slow. I am way behind my reviews. I am planning to tackle those before 2010 strikes! I am not sure if I can but I will try.

Today I bought 8 books, the last ones of 2009. All for a steal. Believe it or not, I went for easy reads. Mostly romances. For someone who reads difficult books, I think I need to enjoy romances too. These are what I bought:

1) Captive by Brenda Joyce
2) The Courtship by Catherine Coulter
3) The Switch by Sandra Brown
4) The Valentine Legacy by Catherine Coulter
5) The Marshal and the Heiress by Patricia Potter
6) The Last Bachelor by Betina Krahn
7) Life Support by Tess Gerritsen-Medico thriller
The Undertaker’s Widow by Phillip M. Margolin–legal thriller

Which one of those should I read first? I welcome suggestions!