BOOKS: “Wild Thing” by Mike Fairclough

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Wild Thing: Embracing Childhood Traits in Adulthood for a Happier, More Carefree LifeWild Thing: Embracing Childhood Traits in Adulthood for a Happier, More Carefree Life by Mike Fairclough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — Hay House

This short self-help guide aims to encourage adults to recapture some of the bliss-inducing traits of children. Over six chapters, it examines the virtues of play, rule-breaking behavior, imagination, resilience, gratitude, flow, daydreaming, discovery, exploration, and awe.

Each chapter, in true self-help fashion, ends with a bulleted set of practical tips and practices. The book has an Introduction and Afterward, but no other ancillary material.

I felt the book was at its strongest when the author was discussing his personal experiences. Otherwise, the book can dip into the “no-duh” plight common among self-help style books — where it seems to state the obvious without adding depth of insight.

I enjoyed reading this book. It’s a nice, short pep-talk — though it’s unlikely to leave readers with any burning revelations or new insights.

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DAILY PHOTO: Koh Phi Phi from Viewpoint 2

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PROMPT: Community

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Daily writing prompt
What do you do to be involved in the community?
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Being a traveler, I’m not even sure what my community would be. So, whatever it is, it’s probably not enough. I go to events (festivals, cultural performances, and such) but typically as an [alien] observer.

“Now Close the Windows” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

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Now close the windows and hush all the fields;
     If the trees must, let them silently toss;
No bird is singing now, and if there is,
     Be it my loss.

It will be long ere the marshes resume,
     It will be long ere the earliest bird:
So close the windows and not hear the wind,
     But see all wind-stirred.

BOOKS: “A Short Stay in Hell” by Steven L. Peck

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A Short Stay in HellA Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site: Strange Violin Editions

If you enjoy books like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 or Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy this book will probably be right up your alley. It may not be as unrelentingly (and hilariously) absurd as H2G2, but it’s clever, amusing, and thought-provoking.

The premise is that a devout Christian finds himself in hell because it turns out that Zoroastrianism was actually the one true religion. Fortunately, Zoroastrian hell is neither as grim nor (perhaps, ironically) as fire & brimstone-oriented as the Biblical version, but it is tedious, demoralizing, and — while it might not last forever –it lasts long enough to seem like forever.

Jorge Luis Borges fans (such as myself) will find a nod to his work in the shape of said hell.

I’d highly recommend this book for readers of irreverent and humorous literary fiction. It’s funny. It’s clever. And it’s a quick read.

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Scurry [Haiku]

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shore birds scurry,
 evading rolling surf,
  like playful kids.

DAILY PHOTO: Ao Nang Sunset

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PROMPT: Job… for a day

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Daily writing prompt
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?
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“Maker of pies” leaps to mind, but then it occurs to me that any baker who worked at it for just a day would be the worst. It seems to me that any job that is interesting would be one that a person would be terrible at if that person did it for only a day. Conversely, any job one could successfully do for just one day would be tedious and unrewarding.

“On this wondrous sea” (4) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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On this wondrous sea
Sailing silently,
Ho! Pilot, ho!
Knowest thou the shore
Where no breakers roar --
Where the storm is o'er?
 
In the peaceful west
Many the sails at rest --
The anchors fast --
Thither I pilot thee --
Land Ho! Eternity!
Ashore at last!

DAILY PHOTO: Monkey Beach, Ao Nang

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