Hungers of the Heart

Day 275 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project, and my mother is reading Hungers of the Heart, by Richard G. Watts.

Despite the provocative title, it is not a romance novel, as its subtitle clarifies: Spirituality and Religion for the 21st Century.  It is the "unusual collaboration" of Watts and Unitarian minister Carl Esenwein, who died four years ago, and, at Watts's request, bequeathed his papers to Watts.  The book that results is a weaving together of their thoughts and words.

My dad read it first and calls it "eloquent."  He says it doesn't "advocate" anything at the end, leaving things open.  This prevents him from arguing back, which annoys him, and saves us all from argument, but evidently it is an excellent introduction to "liberal religion."  My folks are reading it as a softcover book, but it is available at Book Locker, which provides numerous reading formats, including your iPhone.

My mom and I met up for lunch today, by way of the dentist's office.  At our last cleaning and checkup, we were delighted to discover each other in the waiting room, so we made our next appointments on the same day.  And on February 2, Groundhog's Day, we will meet at the dentist's office again.  For any of you who know and love the film Groundhog Day, this may indeed be an existential or spiritual coincidence.  (But, according to Sartre, not both.)

Have I mentioned how much I love Bill Murray?!  I just saw Get Low, and I love him all the more.  And pretty soon, I will be in the mood again for Tootsie.  Plus, he loves poetry! And Poets House!

I read a book of poetry today, This Awkward Art, by Conrad Hilberry and Jane Hilberry.  Another "unusual collaboration," this time a father and daughter.  They had written the poems separately, but have shared experiences, so the poems group and weave beautifully.  This can be had at Mayapple Press.

And this mother/daughter dental team had pumpkin pancakes* for lunch, at Wildberries.

*For a vegan recipe for the ones you see above, click here.