No fiction this week. Instead, snippets of a couple of poems from past poet laureate Billy Collins and a little lesson on the benefit of putting competitiveness aside.
Poetry
by Billy CollinsBook Beginnings:
Looker, gazer, skimmer, skipper,
thumb-licking page turner, peruser,
you
getting your print-fix for the day,
pencil-chewer, note taker, marginalianist
with your checks and X’s
first-timer or revisiter,
browser, speedster, English major,
flight-ready girl, melancholy boy,
invisible companion, thief, blind date, perfect stranger—
Friday 56:
Nonfiction
Book Beginnings: On June 28, 2015, André Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard had to make the most difficult decision of their lives. André was alone in the cramped cockpit of a plane called Solar Impulse, built to fly around the world using only the power of the sun collected in its seventeen thousand solar panels. Pasted above the controls was a picture of his beloved wife, Yasemin, and their three children. André was only a few hours into a treacherous five-day flight over the Pacific from Nagoya, Japan, to Hawaii.
Friday 56: It’s much easier to jump all-in and stay all-in when there is no battle
for recognition or first place. Because they met and partnered later in
life, Ray and Peter had the experience, the humility, and the wisdom to
understand the great value of joyful collaboration. “You can accomplish
exponentially more in a partnership. It infinitely extends your reach,”
said Peter. “But it’s also much more fun and so much more satisfying to
know ‘Hey, we did this together.’ Ray is insanely willful and crazily
patient. For him, being patient is critical to building larger
collectives, as is staying out of the spotlight. I’d say it’s humility
and courage that have kept us going forward.” A core part of their
secret is their “stick-to-itiveness,” as Peter mentioned, and “not being
a philanthropic dilettante.” After sixteen years, countless hurdles, a
successful global, cross-sector collaboration, and a Deep Connection
founded on great love and respect for each other, Ray and Peter are
clearly all-in for the long game when malaria is no longer one of the
world’s deadliest diseases. And they were both clear that they will
never give up.
Links You May Need
- Book Beginnings and Friday 56
- Visit more of my All About Books posts
- Image Credit: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/196746/reader#
How lovely! Thank you for sharing! Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteSame to you.
DeleteGreat poems! Hope you have a good weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. You, too.
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