“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.”
~Jane Austen, Persuasion
Roald Dahl born today September 13th 1916 in Llanduff, South Wales, of Norwegian parents. Dahl was educated in English boarding schools. In search of an adventure, the young Dahl took a job with Shell Oil in Africa. When World War II broke out he joined the RAF as a fighter pilot, receiving terrible injuries and almost dying in a plane crash in 1942.
“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”
He rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults and he became one of the world’s best-selling authors.
“Good morning starshine the earth says hello….”
Here are two of my favorite’s Dahl Classics!
(Click any picture for more info.)
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Raold Dahl is a legend. His stories enchant, his charming characters are unforgettable, and his timeless tidbits of wisdom are beautiful and provoking. I’m so happy to be able to honor him on this day.
“So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books.”
~Roald Dahl
Which Dahl stories have you cherished and loved?
Born today September 9th 1828
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
(Usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy) was a Russian aristocrat and one of the world’s most preeminent writers. Tolstoy become famous through his epic novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.”
Tolstoy’s fictional work includes: dozens of short stories and several novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays.
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Anna Karenina)
This prompted his non-fiction work;
A Confession and The Kingdom of God is Within You.
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
Continuing from yesterday here is Part 2 of 2. More yummy chills and book thrills to beat the heat with!
Simmer down with these cool books and icy drinks:
“Love in The Time of Cholera”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a wonderful author, and I really enjoyed this book. It had a warm ambiance laced in it’s pages and left me with a feeling of nostalgia when I finished it.
“Set in a country on the Caribbean coast of South America, this is a story about a woman and two men and their entwined lives. From the author of the legendary One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
Rated 3.9 on amazon.com
Book Bean: Raspberry Rose Ripple
Rose Tea Steeped rich and chilled. Add frozen raspberries to blender, add chilled rose tea, add a couple scoops of cool whip and blend. (you can also try this with ice-cream or fro-yo.)
By Noah Hawley
On a foggy summer night, eleven people–ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter–depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs–the painter–and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul’s family.
Rated 4.4 on amazon.com
Book Bean: Frothy Tropical Frost
Prepare Hibiscus tea click for recipe, set aside 4 oz and chill. In a blender add a handful of frozen mango, a scoop of crushed pineapple, the 4oz of chilled hibiscus tea, half a banana, and a dollop of cream of coconut. Blend until smooth and frothy. Sip, read, chill, repeat.
“White Fang”
A great classic by Jack London. If you’d like to escape the heat and spend some time way up north in the wilderness of Canada, this is a book that makes a great escape.
“Half wolf, half dog, White Fang fully understands the cruelty of both nature and humans. After nearly starving to death during the frigid Arctic winter, he’s taken in first by a man who “trains” him through constant whippings, and then by another who forces him to participate in vicious dogfights.
Follow White Fang as he overcomes these obstacles and finally meets someone who offers him kindness and love.”
Rated 4.5 on amazon.com
Book Bean: 
Brew espresso over 3 maple sugar cubes dissolve and chill. Add ice, drizzle ice with a little chocolate, add almond milk, and the espresso maple mix to blender. Blend until smooth. You can double or triple this of course 😉
“At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.”
Rated 4.7 on amazon.com
Book Bean: Teappaccino
Steep you favorite herbal or white tea blend and chill (citrusy and florally ones are especially nice). Add tea, scoop of vanilla fro-yo, and a squeeze of lemon to blender. Blend and enjoy 🙂
Well that is my beat the heat chill out list, I hope you find something that you’d like to try. Please share your experience if you do.
Check out my Saga Saturday List for even more great summer reads!
“She was lost in her longing to understand.”
“I am more than my scars.”
“She was becoming herself and daily casting aside that fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world.”
The process of self-discovery is a scary and beautiful thing;
to be baffled by your own soul long enough to discover it’s depth and complexity, to find your truth.
What books or quotes have inspired you to learn more about your truth?
Cafe Book Bean 