7 Reasons Why “There’s not a moment to be lost”
Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander is an epic series and a snapshot of the creative process.
We make art and seek discoveries in the world around us out of a desire to be moved out of ourselves and a desire to share what we are with others. A story about a friendship between very different people, like Stephen Maturin and Jack Aubrey, can be the seed of many friendships. A story is a created experience, but it’s also a question: “Can you see it?”
Beauty is as ephemeral as life. We need our whole lives to find our way through or around the obstacles that separate us.
What we make is imperfect, but we have a chance at butterflies and lightning bolts. Keep your nets open. Keep your pen moving. Capture the snowflakes.
As Captain Aubrey says: “There is not a moment to be lost.”
How to Get These Wonderful Kids Books At Your Library
How to use the Libby app to checkout books from your local library. To get you started, I’ve included a PDF with favorite books for ages 9 to 12.
I’m chatting with the Meet the Expats podcast
Finding more magic in life . . . all around the world. Have you ever been surprised by meeting people like you? I remember doing this all the time as a kid. It was–and is–exciting when you go to a new school or join a club and someone likes what you like or knows what […]
Coming to a library near you? The Joy of Holds + Recommendations for eBooks
Treat the kids to books at your library! Library Love Today–all my friends who love libraries–I’m going to tell you a secret that will make you very happy. HOLDS at your library are exciting 🙂 If you are a library regular, you probably know you can put a “hold” on an exciting new book. Did […]
Veggie of the Week Challenge: The Colors of Italy Pizza
Red pepper, zucchini pizza. © Jan Decher, 2018. The summer the first Seven Kingdoms Fairy tale came out, my brand-new middle grade book, TROUBLE WITH PARSNIPS, took up the vegetable portion of my brain (I heard that) so dinner was often shoot-your-own-sandwich. We interrupt our veggie challenge for a moment to bring you a word […]
Tour a German publisher: Kiepenheuer and Witsch in Cologne
An office with a view–Cologne Cathedral is right there! Last week, our local library visited a local publisher . . . It’s a famous old German publisher: Kiepenheuer & Witsch. Their offices look right out onto the Cologne Cathedral. Their location next to the main Cologne rail station make it easy for their internationally renowned […]
8 Ways Books are Better Than Scrolls: eBooks of the Ancient World
What were libraries like in the past? While trying to figure out how ancient books were repaired, I came across the delightful Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel Casson. It’s a small, friendly sort of book, clearly written and even the black and white illustrations are fascinating. If you asked for a book in […]
A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Public Libraries in Germany
The city library of Cologne is a magical place! I got to go on a behind-the-scenes tour with volunteer librarians from my local library. Six floors of books, music, DVD’s to make any library fan happy. There’s even a special support office that supplies books and support for blind readers. Author Heinrich Böll’s archive […]
Writing Gratitude Countdown: (3) People who Rocked my Worlds
This is the third post in my Writing Gratitude Countdown. I’m noticing that gratitude is like a pair of sunglasses. My writing journey takes on a whole color. (Find all the posts: 1. The Gift of Attention , 2. The Gift of Permission, and 3. The Gift of Hospitality, and 4. The Gift of Feedback, […]
What do gardens, libraries and exploring have in common?
Fantastic tree in the botanical garden. Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Planting a tree in Palermo a few hundred years ago means a gigantic tree is still living today. A botanical garden is a living library and so is a zoo, an art museum, or a national park. These storehouses of genetic […]
Check it out: more evidence for the power of libraries
On a recent trip to Cologne, I was surprised by this machine in the Neumarkt underground station. It lets library patrons check out and return mysteries and thrillers on their daily commute, 24 hours a day. You gotta love librarians. They’re always thinking up some new way to share books. What’s new at your library?
Noblesse oblige, libraries, trees, and cyberbullying prevention
What can you do with your heritage? Noblesse oblige for the modern age. If you inherited a castle, what would you do with it? In a nearby village, the lovely Burg Satzvey was built in the early 1300’s and hosts jousting and other medieval-themed shows for the entertainment of the populace. Half-timbered houses cluster around […]