Loving
…getting to listen to several talks from the Sydney Writers Festival this week.
Loving
…being in a crowd of people with the same agenda. To listen. To absorb. To take in.
Loving
…hearing stories of adventures and a trusty dog.
Loving
…seeing people line up in long queues, not fiddling with their phones, but intently reading while waiting instead.
Loving
…the written word on pages. As much as I love being digitally connected. There is something incredibly reaffirming to see so many people reading books. At the writers festival, if they weren’t reading, they were starting conversations that had come from books. And I’m absolutely loving that.
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What have you been loving lately?
Or what have you been reading?
What wonderful adventure stories have blown your mind?
[“Often life’s pleasures pass us by simply because we don’t take a moment to focus on them… Make a point of noticing everyday something that uplifts your spirit or tickles your heart… Stop to breathe in the joy of this moment and then tell someone about it. Share your joy and revel in it. When your joy is savoured, and then shared, it is magnified…” ROBIN GRILLE]
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Such a great festival! I saw Richard Flanagan and Andrew Solomon (was supposed to see Emma Donoghue but was called into work) and on both occasions was moved almost to tears by their stories. So inspiring.
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I look forward to this week in Sydney every year and it never disappoints, I always take something away from it. Sooo inspiring indeed.
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Sounds fabulous – wish I had thought to plan to be there too now. I’ll just have to hear about the buzz vicariously. I’ve been baking this weekend – over supply of Loofa’s (asian gourde), plantaines (being turned into bread), and pumpkin. I cant stand waste, so they’re all going in the freezer. I’m also enjoying a little time to read some things I’ve wanted to get into. Allowing time for oneself to read is not my strong point – so choosing reading over listening to authors maybe a good thing for me. Thanks for your beautiful posts this week – loving them all.
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Thanks Tamara. I feel like I’ve squished a lot of things into the week both here and in real life. Lots of good things though, and I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading about them too.
Hope you can squeeze a bit more reading time out for yourself… it’s always a good thing!
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And ps. Make sure you schedule the festival in for next year.
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I always love these posts of yours, and as I will also always love books, this one resonates particularly. Whilst I too love the digital word, and can see the logical advantages of e-readers, there is something about a printed book that will always draw me in.
It sounds like you have had some great events lately!
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So many good events Kari. This year I feel really lucky to have gone to so many great things that Sydney has had on offer…so many of them have been free too- loving that 🙂
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The festival sounds wonderful Brydie. I just re-read one of my favourite books, Freedom by Jonathon Frantzen, after stumbling across a copy at the tip shop. I remember the strange sensation that I was reading about my own life the first time I started reading it. Now I have nothing to read on my bedside table and I feel a bit lost. x
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Alison have you read Dead Lucky by Lincoln Hall? I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before on here. An amazing read. So many wonderful books to be inspired by and completely dissolve yourself into the pages with. So many books, so little time dammit.
(and I’ll keep a lookout for your Freedom book, just looked it up and sounds good.)
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I can feel the positive energy from that event in this post! The Wayfinders by Anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis. To move forward one must look back:) Now it’s getting colder this is the perfect book to snuggle in bed with. I hope my local library has it or I will find it second hand hopefully.
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as in the Genghis Khan book is the perfect book to read this winter! I’m hoping when i finishing breast feeding and get a full nights sleep i will be able to write concise sentences! Until then please bare with my incoherent comments:)
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Your library should have it Zena as it was published a little while ago. There’s also a film he made too if those pages make you get sleepy eyes.
And trust me, incoherant comments are my language. I’ve been fluent for years now. It’s just lucky I can delete things on my own blog when my words start to look like ujhyrdefyf…yhu.
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I would LOVE to go to a writers festival…*sigh* Instead I’m re-reading “The Power of One” for about the millionth time… but this is the first time I’m a mother and reading it… I wonder how that might change the story for me, or not. Love an old story I can come back to when I “need” to, I just want to visit some old friends.
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Sam, isn’t it wonderful to have books like that. The pages are like warm hugs. Like Water for Chocolate is like that for me….oh how I love that little book.
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I missed the adults stuff at the writers festival this year but managed to take the kids to the family day today. My 8 year old son has since decided he wants to be an illustrator! So happy these events can be inspiring for all ages.
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It’s a shame you missed the adults stuff but damn it’s exciting so many kids get so inspired. I loved seeing so many kids lining up and listening to things. I said I would take my eldest next year.
Only good stuff can come of it, really good stuff.
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I live in a rural area, and don’t travel much, so I don’t get to the writers festivals – I have to take what I can get on radio and in the papers about them. I recently read a wonderful fiction book by Richard C Morais called ‘Buddhaland Brooklyn’ which I enjoyed immensely. I wonder though if you might enjoy his earlier work, ‘the 100 foot journey’. Please do have a look at it – he really does write beautifully and texturally. The 100 foot journey is about food, and is also fiction. I was thinking about it long after finishing reading.
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I will thank you Lorelle. I do love a good book recommendation, makes the choosing a whole lot easier 🙂
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What a lovely quote! Consider it pinched and my mantra for today (can’t vouch for much after today as who KNOWS what I will be doing tomorrow…) I love writers festivals as I fall in love with reading all over again every…single…time. I love the written word and as easy as it is to tap away here and read (from the HUGE screen in front of me “I DON’T NEED GLASSES!”…) there is something deeply fundamental…simply and most gloriously blissful, about touching a page, lovingly caressing that ex-wood and feeling those words seep deep into you where you can process them slowly at your leisure…no haste…no speed…just good old fashioned immersion in another world, another time, another galaxy, another dimension where the rewards of your mental exercise are tenfold. Again. a lovely post and a lovely quote. Thank you for sharing your love of books…a love shared is a love magnified 🙂
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It’s a wonderful quote isn’t it. Thankfully I have it inside that book now to remind me when I need to. That totally immersion into another world when you open pages is indeed divine. After this weekend, it just makes me want to devour every book on my ‘list’, one after another….yep, might just do that.
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I attempted to read all of the books on the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society author Mary Ann Shaffer’s own personal “best ever book” list. She was a librarian and that book was magnificent but it turns out that she loves romance novels and war novels. After reading some amazingly heart searing books about war (and not being able to bring myself to reading some of the slushy romance) I gave up. I did get some wonderful authors and at least one favourite (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin anyone? 😉 ) out of it though…we all have different taste. I HATED “Eat, Pray, Love” 😉
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Oh you lucky thing…. I have never ever been to the writer’s festival but i have always wanted to go . Every year I go, ‘too busy…maybe next year’. I am loving that you went.
I am loving the warm Autumn days and planting things in the garden- bliss.
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Kim, how about I do you a deal. I’ll come with you, if you come down. That way there is an extra push. You’d love, you know you would.
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Very tempting!
Pester me next year!
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I’m glad you got to to the the SWF. I wanted to go but didn’t end up making it. Hopefully next year! xx
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Next year CL!
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