“Scenes of quiet reading” is a new series from Quiet Reading with Tara Penry. Each sketch is designed to evoke the delight of absorptive reading, recalling the many places and times when a book is just the vehicle to lift us up and away. I recommend closing your eyes and letting the voiceover do all the work for you. 💕
For host and guest alike, at some point in a festive gathering, a subtle shift occurs. One feels that the hurrah of it is now behind. If there is energy left for a little more chat, a few more photographs, or tidying up, one squeezes out that last bit, but eventually, before long, the body insists on rest.
Oh, for cushions at such a time. Couch cushions, bed cushions, a well-padded chair — no matter.
The cushion accepts the weary body. I’ve been waiting for you, it says. Excellent job today. The body sinks in with gratitude, and eyes gratefully close. The breath levels out.
Sleep comes like the last guest to the party. Time does what it does when we stop trying to manage or optimize it. Maybe it does nothing.
Waking is almost as pleasurable as sleeping. The whir and click of the dishwasher in the next room confirms that the nap was not long. The room is still warm from earlier activity. The body feels a tiny bit refreshed. Presently, it grows just a bit restless.
The eye turns toward the open gifts, stacked neatly in a pile. It falls upon a book. Curiosity kindles. A bit of energy returns to the limbs.
It is not too much to get up and take possession of the shiny new cover, the smooth spine, the neat pages; to prop a pillow on one’s chest and the book on the pillow; to browse the table of contents and decide where to begin.
At the beginning? Or just anywhere? You know your way.
By some grace, no one needs you for another hour, and you sink into the sentences, strung like garlands on the clean white page. They are just the kind you like, crisp and straightforward, or circuitous like a stone path through a garden. You know the garden but this path is new.
By some grace, no one needs you for another hour. 😘
This is the last post of 2023 from Quiet Reading with Tara Penry. I am deeply grateful for the support and companionship of old friends and new ones in this space this past year!
Next Monday, New Year’s Day, I’ll post a Year-in-Review with links to highlights you may have missed during the year. January 8 will be a post-holiday break, with new material arriving January 15. May your last week of 2023 be peaceful, restful, and renewing!
So true and well expressed, you've captured the post festivities glow.
Before I took in the "Scenes" however, I was taken in by the fact that I was experiencing someone I've "known" for months from a different perspective - the spoken voice! You're a great reader for certain but it's amazing how much even hearing someone's voice can flesh out their personality. It's all good, but such a nice addition. Have a Wonderful New Year Tara
Merry Christmas and a Hapoy New Year to you Tara!