Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in everything
                                       ~William Shakespeare

I’m sitting here on election eve feeling jittery. I mean, jittery. Staying up all night jittery. Checking news sites multiple times a day jittery.  Sewing masks in a frenzy jittery.

So, I ask myself is there good in everything?

I went looking for inspiration and came across this quote from As You Like It. Basically, the idea is that adversity is ugly and harsh like a toad, but when adversity isolates us from society, we can also benefit from the quiet and find some good in everything.

So what have I been up to in the loooong time since my last post? Since covid entered the world. Since the leaders of my government betrayed thousands with false words and escalating hate. Did I find the good in everything?

Well, not everything was good, but I did find some good.

Since I now work from home and my gym has reduced hours, I’ve been more focused on writing (except…uh…this blog. As you can see). I’m really trying to finish my upper middle grade novel. Too many rewrites to count, but I’m closing in on—no, not the end, but to quote Winston Churchill—”the end of the beginning.”

I finished the challenge and bonus rounds of Book Challenge by Erin, which means I read 20 books in four months. It’s like a scavenger hunt, only with book categories. Here’s what I read:

The Wife by Meg Wolitzer [freebie category]
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny [title starts with S]
News of the World by Paulette Jiles [preposition in the title]
The Bone Jar by S.W. Kane [odd numbered edition in a series]
Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews [set in a foreign country]
Land of Shadows by Rachel Howzell Hall [female police officer]
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim [immigrant main character]
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green [the word thing, everything, nothing in the title]
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively [October themed]
City of Thieves by David Benioff [city or town in title]
Bonus Round
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell [freebie category]
Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James [title starts with S]
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager [preposition in title]
Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter [odd numbered edition in a series]
The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson [set in a foreign country]
The Child Finder by Rene Denfield [female police officer or detective]
Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai [immigrant main character]
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center [the word thing, everything, nothing in the title]
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett [October themed]
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab [city or town in title]

All of these books were interesting, which is not always the case in a book challenge. Some were especially good. There were several ghost novels (my secret passion) such as The Ghost of Thomas Kempe and City of Ghosts (both upper middle grade) and Sun Down Motel, which had a slow start but soon made up for it though not as good as The Broken Girls by the same author.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing was quite remarkable in that I’d never read anything like it. This novel would appeal to young people in particular, I think, or those fascinated with the machinations of social media. The Vanishing Half was excellent. But this one is my favorite:

As I listened to the audiobook, sometimes I cringed, sometimes I laughed, but I was always completely engaged and rooting for our spunky heroine. I highly, highly recommend the audio version.

I have nattered on, haven’t I? There’s a bit more to share about my covid solitude and turbulent times in adversity, but more on that later.

Just let me know in the meantime: Have you found the good in everything?

A note: Methinks in Shakespeare’s time it appears the toad was much maligned. Poor toadie!