thebookshopbarista

Libraries

They are tearing down the library to make a larger one, one more spick and span, with shiner selves I suppose. I rather liked the old metal book racks and sun-beaten, semi-Spanish architecture. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say; it’s nostalgia that mists my view. But the old is giving wayContinue reading “Libraries”

Enough

Though mountain peaks point me toward You, Though the sea sings You songs of praise, I will never comprehend You complete In this dying age – Here in this age where cathedrals burn And words like cancer sting our tongues And steal our breath; Here where all is veiled in mystery, Here where all isContinue reading “Enough”

Best of 2019

Hello friends! I realize its been a while since I’ve put anything up and that I’m a little late to the game in recapping my favorite things from 2019. But, that being said, January isn’t quite over yet and I’d still like to talk about the books and movies that caught my attention last year.Continue reading “Best of 2019”

November Journal

11/7/19 – 11/12/19 I learned that our friends’ daughter is very near to the end of her life tonight. Tonight – the same night a good friend told me with glowing joy that the boy she’s waited years for kissed her. Tonight, the same night another friend turns eighteen. And I sit here wondering whichContinue reading “November Journal”

On My Attachment to Little Women

Midway through Thomas Newman’s Little Women score, on the piece Little Women (the piece where Jo decides to write her novel), I found myself more than a little misty eyed. I’ve never known how to articulate why this story has such a wistful pull on my heart. It wasn’t until moving away for college became a reality that IContinue reading “On My Attachment to Little Women”

October in Review

October – ah! What a month! I complain about busyness often, but this month really was the busiest I’ve had in perhaps ever. The beginning of October consisted of quite a bit of babysitting and a number of morning shifts at the coffee shop I work at. (Morning shifts meaning I woke up at 4:30Continue reading “October in Review”

What Hadestown and Atonement Share

Hadestown and Atonement, as different as their mediums are, are surprisingly similar in conclusion. In McEwan’s novel, the central character (Briony) spends decades seeking to right a wrong. Her naive nature and presumptuous lie gift her sister and close friend a life of hurt and shame. Briony finds peace in fictionalizing an ending for their ruined lives. ItContinue reading “What Hadestown and Atonement Share”

California

California’s warm in my heart, Golden like the poppies of last spring, Flooding the hills of my memory. I’m sighing my goodbye, And although I say it not reluctantly, And although leaving’s always been on my mind – Your dry crackling hills with their rare and precious blooms, Your curving beaches and missions, Your shoresContinue reading “California”

September in Review

I feel a little funny writing this about a week into October, but oh well, I haven’t had time to write this long a post in the last week or so, thanks to school, work, and my own laziness (if we’re being honest), among other things. Anyway, here I am now, recapping the first monthContinue reading “September in Review”