Rebecca's Reading Room

S6 E29: Celebrating Halloween with Carl Sandburg Welcome to Rebecca's Reading Room. I'm Rebecca Budd, and I'm so glad you've joined me. As October draws to a close and Halloween arrives, I always find myself reaching for a favourite poem that captures the colour, warmth, and delight of the season. Today I'd like to share Carl Sandburg's  “Theme in Yellow.”  Rather than focusing on the spooky side...

S6 E28: The Full Gamut Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room . I’m Rebecca Budd and i look forward to sharing this moment with you. Today I’d like to share a story that begins with a single word— gamut . We use it to describe the full range of something, but I discovered that this little word carried me back to my own family and to the music that shaped my childhood. As I explored its history, I found...

S6 E27: More Than an Apron Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m so glad you’ve joined me. Sometimes the most treasured possessions are not found in museums or antique shops. They are tucked away in our own cupboards and drawers, quietly carrying the memories of those who came before us. Today, I’d like to share the story of two handmade aprons that belonged to my grandmothe...

S6 E26: Dictionary of a Life: Agora Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd and i look forward to sharing this moment with you. The word agora has stayed with me for many years. Most people think of an ancient marketplace in Greece, and they would be right. But for me, the word has come to mean something much more than a place. It has become a way of thinking about community, conversat...

S6 E25: Autumn by Emily Dickinson Autumn from Emily Dickinson | A Seasonal Reflection in Nature There are some poems that do not simply describe a season—they become it. Emily Dickinson’s “Autumn” is one of those rare offerings: brief, playful, observant, and filled with the quiet delight of change. The morns are meeker than they were, The nuts are getting brown; The berry's cheek is plumper,...

S6 E24: Beyond Analytics Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m so glad you’ve joined me. In a world that celebrates numbers—views, clicks, followers, and subscribers—we can easily begin to believe that they tell the whole story. But do they? Today, I’d like to explore a different question. What if the true measure of our creative work isn’t found in analytics at all? What if...

S6 E23: Nike at Vigil Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m so glad you’ve joined me. Sometimes the most meaningful stories are not found only in books. They are waiting quietly in the world around us—in a painting, an old photograph, a weathered building, or even a statue standing watch over a busy city street. Today I’d like to invite you to pause with me beneath the wings...

S6 E22: Dictionary of a Life: “Ubiquitous” Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Thank you for listening in! Some words describe objects. Others describe ideas. But every so often we discover a word that helps us understand our own lives. Today’s word is ubiquitous. There was a time when ATM machines were a novelty. Many people wondered if they would ever catch on. Today, we hardly notice them at all...

S6 E21: Winged Victory: Storytelling Across Time Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room . I’m your host, Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you. A few months ago, while visiting the Louvre Museum in Paris, I found myself standing before one of the most unforgettable sculptures in the world: The Winged Victory of Samothrace . With her wings spread wide and her garments flowing...

S6 E 20: Desiderata by Max Ehrmann Some poems ask us to think. Others ask us to feel. A very few become lifelong companions. Desiderata , written by Max Ehrmann in 1927, is one of those enduring works. Its quiet wisdom has been shared across generations, offering gentle reminders about peace, kindness, humility, courage, and hope. In a world that often seems hurried and uncertain, these words cont...

S6 E19: At the Lake: Reflections on Reading Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. During a recent retreat on Vancouver Island, I spent time walking beside a quiet lake. As I walked, I began reflecting on books, reading, and the increasingly rare experience of slowing down long enough to truly live with a book. This video combines those reflections with footage from the lake itself. At the Lake: A Boo...

The Stories We Tell in Photographs Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m delighted you’ve joined me. I recently read an article by  Thomas Germain  for the BBC that explored how modern smartphones now edit photographs automatically using artificial intelligence, adjusting light, colour, and clarity before we ever see the image. The article asks whether this changes our sense...

S6 E17: Saturday Afternoon by Emily Dickinson Welcome. Today’s reading is Saturday Afternoon by Emily Dickinson. The images you will see were taken at Park & Tilford Gardens — a special place where my mother, my sister Sarah, and I shared many happy Saturday afternoons. Emily Dickinson’s poem celebrates youthful joy and freedom. For me, it is also a remembrance of love, family, and moments tha...

S6 E16: Lochinvar: A Ride Into Legend Today’s feature is Lochinvar by Sir Walter Scott, recited by writer and poet Paul Andruss. This beloved classic takes us back into the legends of the past, where courage, love, and risk move at full gallop. Great stories allow us to step into other times and live other lives for a while. Thank you for listening in! Until the next poem, Rebecca 📚Rebecca’s Read...

S6 E15: The Moon is distant from the Sea # 387 by Emily Dickinson Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today I’m sharing a poem by Emily Dickinson titled  “The Moon is distant from the Sea.”  Dickinson had a remarkable ability to take something from the natural world and transform it into a meditation on human feeling. In this poem, the moon draws the sea toward the shore, not by force, but through...

S6 E14: The Drowsy World Dreams On by Walter Everette Hawkins Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today’s reflection began during a quiet walk through the campus of Simon Fraser University. I paused at the Trottier Observatory, surrounded by maps of the stars and the turning seasons, while students passed by on their way to class. In that moment, I was carried back to my own university days and rem...

S6 E13: Looking Up - A Garden Meditation at Park & Tilford Gardens, North Vancouver Welcome to Garden Meditations, a quiet series from Rebecca’s Reading Room. In this reflection, filmed at Park & Tilford Gardens in North Vancouver, I invite you to pause and look up. Beneath a canopy of spring blossoms, this moment becomes a gentle reminder that not all growth is visible at eye level. Somet...

S6 E12: Walking Toward What Must Be | A Reflection on Rodin’s Burghers of Calais Filmed in the garden of the Musée Rodin in Paris, this short meditation reflects on The Burghers of Calais by Auguste Rodin. Rather than focusing on history alone, this piece explores a quiet but powerful moment — the walk toward what feels inevitable. There is no despair in these figures. Only acknowledgment. Each ma...

S6 E11:: Up in the Air: A Poem, a Mother, a Memory The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! Up in the air and over the wall, Till I can see so wide, Rivers and trees and cattle and all Over the countryside— Till I look down on the garden green, Down on the roof so brown— Up in the ai...

S6 E9:The Power of Reading Spaces A reading room is a designated space in a home or public area specifically designed for reading and quiet contemplation. It typically contains comfortable seating, good lighting, and shelves for books. My definition of a reading room, however, is more expansive. Whenever I have a book in hand, I am in reading room. Taking a few minutes, in a busy day, to read give...

S6 E10: Walking in Nature with Myra Viola Wilds Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. I’m Rebecca Budd, and this is a quiet moment from Rebecca’s Reading Room. A poem has a way of returning to us. Not always when we expect it, and never in quite the same way. Several years ago, I recorded this poem by Myra Viola Wilds while walking along a forest path. Recently, it found its way back to me—and I bega...

S6 E8: Forgiveness by John Greenleaf Whittier Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today’s reading is a poem by the American poet John Greenleaf Whittier titled Forgiveness. I recorded this recitation while walking through a cemetery in Bath, England, a place where the quiet presence of history invites us to reflect on our shared human journey. Whittier’s poem reminds us that life is brief, that pri...

S6 E7: Welcome April with the reading of poetry. April is National Poetry Month! Spring, with its renewed energy after a Winter’s rest, awakens our hearts to the words of poetic inspiration. Poetry is one of the oldest creative endeavors – an art form that has the benefit of diversity. Haiku, sonnet, spoken word, epic, limerick, ode and so much more. Each generation adds to the collection that has...

S6 E6: Lady Godiva by Alfred Lord Tennyson - A poetry Recitation Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room. Today I am sharing a recitation of “Godiva” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a poem first published in 1842 among his early works. Tennyson wrote this poem after visiting the town of Coventry in England, where the legend of Lady Godiva had lived for centuries. According to the story, Godiva pleaded with he...

S6 E5 A Garden Meditation - Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Welcome to this quiet reflection. Today’s meditation comes from the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, a place where architecture, water, and stone come together to create a space of stillness in the middle of the city. The images and sounds you will experience invite us to slow down, to notice, and to remember that calm a...