My husband and I spent all weekend either at bookstores or reading. He was excited because he bought some new book on Photoshop or something like that and I was excited because at Half Price Books I found a book of poetry by Billy Collins, Picnic, Lightning. Yay.

This collection has some beautiful poems on journaling, jazz and even Victoria’s Secret. You have to check this out. Here, I’ll post one poem I’m enjoying a lot right now. I am not a morning person but I like this. Oh and I just saw that he has a new collection, Ballistics, coming out this September. I have to mark my calendar.

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best —
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso —

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins —
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows —
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

~Morning by Billy Collins

I was doing a bit of organizing on my computer and remembered I had some links to share so here are some fun ones for you to check out over the weekend.

• IndieBound – “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for individuals to denounce the corporate bands which threaten to homogenize our cities and our souls, we must celebrate the powers that make us unique and declare the causes which compel us to remain independent.” Check out their links and find an independent bookseller near you. I’m really digging some of their t-shirts… Isn’t this one great?
• ReadingGroupGuidesBlog – I’ve been a fan of Reading Group Guides for a long time but just now found out they have a blog. Looks like I have some great reading I have to catch up on.
• The Short Review – I’m so behind on my Short Story Challenge but checking out this link with so many fabulous recommendations reminds me that I must not overlook short stories.
• Crime in the City – Did you catch the latest NPR Crime in the City highlight? I love it when they do this series on Morning Edition. Granted, I usually end up reading about it but still fun. I haven’t read the book they highlighted this time but I think I need to add it to my list. Anyone familiar with that series?

I have started a couple of new books but I’ll save that book talk for next post. Hope everyone has a great weekend!