If I had more bookshelves...

Book title contenders, summer reading, and gorgeous antique bookplates.

Eight great things, in no particular order:

1. Efforts to title my new novel continued this past week. Frontrunners are “It’s Not True What They Say,” and “3,000 Patient Moons.” I’m still collecting feedback/suggestions. Feel free to comment below or visit my blog if you’d like to chime in.

2. Summer reading lists come up all the time in my scrolling (the algorithms have got me pegged), but I’ve never before seen a Summer Reading List of Mindfulness Books. They’re all fairly new titles so I can’t personally endorse any of them, but I trust Mindful.org.

3. And if you happen to be writing a book that belongs on a mindful reading list, check out former Executive Director at both New York Insight Meditation Center and the New York Shambhala Center, Ericka Phillips, who recently joined the team at Stephanie Trade as a literary agent seeking non-fiction authors working in the Buddhist and mindfulness arena.

4. In less mindful news, I thought J.K. Rowling was the richest author alive, but I was wrong. Apparently the honor goes to Elisabeth Badinter (with the caveat that most of her money comes from an inheritance). Of the top ten richest authors in the world, half of them are women.

5. And speaking of making boatloads of money, Rick Riordan’s YA novel The Lightning Thief is being adapted for the screen, again. Unlike the 2010 adaptation (which many people - my daughter included - hated), this one has a much more interesting cast and promises to be more faithful to the original story.

6. If you’re trying to get more writing done this summer try getting up early and/or writing faster. It’s kind of amazing how much little changes (stretched over a few months) can really rack up the word count.

7. With rare exception, books live fleeting lives in my hands (I tend to read them and pass them on) so I don’t need/use bookplates, but after seeing this collection of bookplates designed for famous authors, I kind of feel like I’m missing an opportunity…

8. And of course, I might keep more books if I had more bookshelves. Sometimes I google “bookshelves” and just scroll through pages like this, and this, and this, and I dream of remodeling our house to put bookshelves on every wall. Every. Wall.

Happy writing, my friends,

April

ps - On Wednesday I’m leaving for a retreat at Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center (one of my favorite places in the world). No tech allowed, so no Scribbling Buddha next week. The newsletter will resume on August 6.