Soldier’s Heart by Elizabeth Samet is a slim volume that would have escaped my attention had I not chanced upon a brief review of it a couple of months ago. This rather meditative memoir by a woman –a civilian–who teaches literature at West Point is a gem—elegantly written, literary ,yet unpretentious, and surprisingly moving.

Samet sets out with the premise that literature can make a difference in how these young men perceive the world—giving them a broader sense of self , making them more aware and humane when they actually become soldiers in wartime—And to try to achieve that goal she hits them with the heavy stuff—Thucydides, Tolstoy, modern poetry from WWI and even some film classics—and —-they, for the most part, “get it”. These future warriors come across as not only honorable, intelligent and disciplined young men, but often seem more complex and thoughtful in their reasoning and more intellectually curious than I would have expected students at a military academy to be.

Her love of literature is contagious. And her “take” on some of the classics in light of who her audience is— i.e. young men about to be put in harm’s way—-in a very real way–( big time )—-lends a new perspective to some of the works. I found her references to War and Peace so intriguing and insightful that I’ve finally gained the courage to tackle this ultimate of literary tomes.

Finally—- however you may feel about war in general or this hideously conceived conflict we’re mired in now, you will come away from reading this book sharing the admiration Samset feels for these earnest, dedicated young men that she teaches, and hopefully with a new appreciation for the role that literature can play in people’s lives. But as Samet concedes in a heartbreaking moment that “There is no preparation–not in the Bible, not in The Aeneid, not in Henry James–wholly adequate to some of the experiences they may well endure.” -Billie

That’s our beautiful cucumber arbor from last summer’s garden. We also grew tomatoes, okra, green beans, squash, peppers, and some not so successful sweet potatoes. We’re getting ready to prepare the beds for this summer. There are still hundreds of onions still in the ground as well . . . winter gardens are wonderful in Mississippi.

My dad always gardened. So I grew up eating so many homegrown vegetables and fruits. I’m lucky now that My Guy grows this beautiful vegetable garden every year. But he did not start out gardening with his own family. The gardening book I see him reading on the front porch steps time and time again is Gardening in the South with Don Hastings.

I asked him today why he liked that book so much. He said he particularly liked the section on Gardening by the Seasons and there is also a section with lots of tips on planning your garden. The book, though published in 1985, has beautiful full-color photos. The only thing he didn’t like about the book was that Don Hastings does not like okra. I don’t like that either. Okra rocks!

You know every gardener has his or her favorite reference guides. Since I love to grow herbs . . . and I even blogged about this last year . . . I’ll share my favorite herb book thus far: Southern Herb Growing by Madalene Hill. The book is an extensive reference for many herbs regarding the planting, harvesting and use of herbs. In addition, Ms. Hill tells the story of how her family opened a restaurant in Texas which used all of the wonderful herbs in her garden. It is a sweet and sad story. All gardens I suppose have story . . . and this one certainly does.

Besides growing herbs, I love growing flowers and Zinnias are my absolute favorite. They are such hardy plants for the south, their blooms are so showy, making for wonderful cut flowers.

What’s your favorite gardening book?

Last night Nevada Barr was singing her new book, Borderline. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the reading. This was Nevada’s 15th book signing in a row at Lemuria. Her next book will be out in September. We love you Nevada!

Above: Lemuria’s Zen Section

The Best Buddhist Writing of 2008, Edited by Melvin McLeod, Shambala (2008)

I look forward each year to this collection. I have found many new books and authors to read from McLeod’s work. However, one of my enjoyments is rereading the editor’s selections from books I’ve read already. It’s interesting to see not only what authors’ books he chose but to also consider why that particular excerpt was chosen.

This year’s edition was equally outstanding and varied as the previous collections have been. Essays selected include fine pieces from Joseph Goldstein, Pema Chodron, John Daido Loori, Steve Hagen, Thich Nhat Hanh and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

My favorite piece was from Michael Carroll’s book The Mindful Leader. Rereading especially during this recession time helped me to refocus on some of his business concepts, some of which seemed like I had read too long ago.

Another nice quality of these collections is reading essays that are thoughtprovoking. You might not be drawn to read a whole book by the author but learning about new folks with different slants on things is an expanding quality of reading these annual collections. They are also edited to be very reader friendly.

“I think it’s because of this word-of-mouth phenomenon because people begin engaging one another in discussions about how they grew up, what their feelings were about race differences in the ’60s and whether or not they relate to this kind of story,” she says. “I’ve gotten so many e-mails from readers who are sharing their stories.”