The Octopus has been reading
and thinks everyone else should too
Preliminaries: ONLINE Qoya and Conscious dance classes will be starting up in February!
Online Qoya: 2/12/23 at 11am EST. $14.
Online Conscious Dance: every Thursday at 7pm EST. $7.
If you’ve been interested in Qoya but don’t live in Kalamazoo, this is your chance to join in!
To get registration links for either, just reply to this email, or send me a message: adrienne@soilandsunshine.com.
View my events calendar for more.
I've been sailing through Lindsey Davis's Falco series. Marcus Didius Falco is a hard-boiled detective with all the tropes: luck is always against him, he's got constant money troubles and an eye for the dames, and even though he lives in the gritty, dirty city, at least it's his gritty, dirty city.
But it's not New York or LA. It's Rome. In the first century, under Emperor Vespasian.
I'm listening to the last one in the series right now (my library only has a few of her books--I've been listening for free on Audible), and while I'm heartbroken to be almost done, I'm looking forward to reading her other books. I love the character, love that he's such a familiar type in a completely new environment. The narrators (Simon Prebble for most, Christian Rodska for a few) both nail Falco's gravelly voice perfectly, but can handle the other characters--including women--as well. The first book in the series is The Silver Pigs. Please go read it, because my kids are tired of hearing me gush about how delightful the entire series is.
A hard-boiled detective in Ancient Rome! It's amazing! Seriously—go read it.
I'm going through a gentle news fast right now, where I avoid reading direct news articles although I do dabble with secondary analysis, sometimes. I accidentally ran across Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's newsletter, after following some rabbit trails, and am a very happy subscriber. I only knew him as an amazing basketball player, but didn't pay attention to what he's been doing after retirement. In the newsletter, he takes a look at events in politics, sports, and pop-culture, assessing the news and then offering his insightful take on why it's important and what it says about the world today. Definitely someone to be reading.
Finally, if you're interested in mindful knit garment sewing, and want to go on a retreat to Michigan's amazing Mackinac Island, check out my friend Tina's retreat coming up this spring. I'm looking forward to attending as a guest instructor for the daily movement sessions, as well as getting some sewing done. Since it's on an island, the hotel reservations go FAST, so this is one to sign up for ASAP.
Warmly,
Adrienne