A line from the book I just finished, The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. First order of business: read it if you have the time (which, if you're anything like the author, you don't). It's about a city girl who started a farm with an infuriatingly passionate vegetable farmer. I won't say anything else--in case you have the pleasure of reading it--except that my god, farming is really hard, and that it taught me some things about the value of hard work and the magic of, literally, eating the fruits (and veggies and meats and cheeses and grains) of your own labors.
And, of course, that post-opening quote, which I had never really thought of before and provided me with a newfound sense of peace. Once I read it, I kind of hit myself in the head. Well of course, you can never really be done. Of course, with each new thing you learn, even more doors are opened to the unknown. The idea that, until the day you die, no matter what you do, you will never truly be finished and can never hope to be, is strangely comforting. Life is a process. You are always moving. The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know. And the hungrier you get to know it. Simp.
In the spirit of expanding, I picked up another book, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, that I read 20 pages of a few months ago and then stopped. It had been reviewed as being "equal to Lord of the Rings", so I went into it somewhat bitterly and expecting a lot (equal to Lord of the Rings...pffffft, please), and was not impressed. It was slow, it was dreary, it was dark.
Of course, after forcing myself to continue on, I realized that those first 20 pages are meant to be slow and dreary and dark to contrast with what's thrown at you next. So it's really good. Really really good. Not sure yet if it's on the same level as The Greatest Books Ever Ever. I'll keep y'all posted.
So there are two book recommendations.
Just got back from ten days in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada. Lots to say about the trees, the rivers, the clothes, the socialist agenda of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the layout of the cities, everything maple, the French language...etc. Posts in the works! Here's a taste:
And jesus, is it August already? Less than a month 'til I'm back in my beautiful beautiful Santa Cruz. My heart jumps a little every time I think about it. In fact, I might just post a countdown...
xoxo
Maralah
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