Rebecca's Reading Room

S2 E6: #WarAndPeace2022 February 15, Update Photography and Reading by Rebecca Budd Music by Christian Anderson “Big Passion” #EpidemicSound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/3KZaoOvogC/ Reading Taken from Penguin Classics: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Translated by Anthony Briggs Part 1 Chapter 25 p 114

S2 E5: Celebrating Love with Elizabeth Barrett Browning How Do I Love Thee, Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  I love thee to the depth and breadth and height  My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight  For the ends of being and ideal grace.  I love thee to the level of every day’s  Most quiet need, by sun and candle-ligh...

S2 E4: 2022 is the year of Leo Tolstoy. #WarAndPeace2022 Readalong I am involved in a global community reading War and Peace, which began on January 5, 2022 and will end on the stroke of midnight December 31, 2022. Chapter 1 welcomes us into the drawing room of the elegant Anna Pavlovna Scherer, maid of honour and confidante of the Empress Maria Fyodorovna. It is an evening in July 1805. There are...

S2 E3: Welcoming 2022 with Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke Photography and Poetry Recitation by Rebecca Budd Music by David Celeste “The Bloom of Her Skin” #EpidemicSound Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke (Public Domain) How can I keep my soul in me, so that it doesn't touch your soul? How can I raise it high enough, past you, to other things? I would like to shelter it, among remote lost objects, i...

S2 E2: Welcoming 2022 With Poetry  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Happy New Year! I love beginnings, a fresh start, a new adventure and promises of open roads and opportunities. Energy, anticipation, and hope are all wrapped up in “firsts.” Oh, the rush of adrenaline as we race into the future. I am thankful that we begin each new year in the winter season. I seek the winter walks where I meet wi...

S2 E1: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening By Robert Frost Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some...

S1 E3: Asking for Roses by Robert Frost Robert Frost once wrote, “ In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” These words are a profound testament to his courage for living. As we enter 2022, may we be reminded of the beauty that comes when we read a poem,  Asking for Roses by Robert Frost A house that lacks, seemingly, mistress and master,    ...

S1 E2 Welcome to my Reading Room. Thank you for joining me to recite ”In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti. Several years ago, the Queen ended one of her Christmas speeches wit’s this poem.  From my house to yours, Merry Christmas and all the very best of the special season to you and yours. In the Bleak Midwinter Poetry by Christina Rossetti Music Composed by Gustav Holst In the blea...

Welcome to Rebecca’s Reading Room.

S1 E1: Welcome to the Launch of Rebecca’s Reading Room. Welcome to my reading room, a virtual space that has been set aside for reading and reflection. It is a place where stories and poetry are given voice. Over the years, I have found reading rooms come in many forms, from a city library to a park bench, a seat on a public transit, a stool in a coffee shop, to a cozy corner of home. Whenever I h...