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Lots of fantasy, a lovely book of poetry, a beautifully written nonfiction book. All this, on July’s list of books :) July Love Looks Pretty on You, Lang Leav (must read. in my imagination, leav is a talented younger sister, who has been through a lot more and writes her advice just for me, in her poems) Working, Robert Caro (if you haven’t read the Power Broker, you should if you haven’t read the Lyndon volumes, you should this book is Caro’s account of the work, that went into those works. the ceaseless toil, the thankless years, the people and their stories Caro is Caro, master of the craft. There are only a few explicit lessons here. but plenty if you care enough to read between the lines plenty if you make this an annual read, like i will) ...

Last weeks post seemed to have hit a nerve. Most of you seem to have opened it rather quickly. And then a few of you, complained! Rather quickly. “All this is well and good, but I want to say No, to other people! ” Well, I can help you with that too! Eric Barker, of Barking Up the Wrong Tree fame, has an excellent post on how to do just that! This is how we do it. ...

Another James Clear pick today. How do you make it easier on yourself to say no? To stick to that diet? To stop goofing off and buckle down and study or work? Because, The ability to overcome temptation and effectively say no is critical not only to your physical health, but also to maintaining a sense of well–being and control in your mental health. We do this, by assertion rather than denying ourselves day in and day out. Not that I can’t do this. Just that I don’t. I am a person who eats good food. So I don’t eat junk food. I am a person who wants to be a programmer. So I don’t browse the web aimlessly all day. I am a person who wants his mind in his control all the time. So I don’t drink. ...

Or how do you actually go do anything else you committed to do for yourself? I always got confused on what to do when the going got tough and life happened and my goals then got waylaid. Other than feeling lost and giving up on projects and promising to do better tomorrow, or next time? (which took a looooooong time to come) What could I do? James Clear offers a lovely heuristic, that I have been applying to my writing since the year began. (along with Seth’s advice to queue things up) ...

It was my better half’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Abby! ’Twas a good month for reading :) June The Song of the Bird, Anthony de Mello (absolutely read. buy and give people copies. this book for me, goes beyond a quake book. it has shaped my life, and thoughts, since boyhood, subconsciously then and with intent now.) The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot #1), Agatha Christie (re-reading my way through the Poirot canon. these books take me to the age I think I belong to, the late 1800s, early 1900s absolutely delightful) ...

Click the pic for a bigger photo “The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen.” I replied, “Yes, that is so.’ And, without saying anything more, I looked across the ridges of sand that were stretched out before us in the moonlight. ...