10-30-2026 – free yourself from your

free yourself from your
vanity, greed, recognise
deep companions, friends

Reading the feature, The Books of my life, where people get to talk about the books that had impact on their lives, I was intrigued in todays column titled, Philippa Gregory: ‘I read 100 of the best 18th century novels – the perfect author’s apprenticeship’ where novelist Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) was asked: The book I reread … and she responded:

Great writing gives any experience a significance, and a good novel can take us into another place and time.

I read and reread Iris Murdoch’s The Sea, the Sea, whenever I need comfort.

It’s a book that is far away from my own concerns and yet entirely about the human struggle to own the person you love, when you know that cannot be achieved, to free yourself from your own vanity and greed, to recognise those who are your deep companions and friends.

At the same time it’s a deeply engaging story about a gossipy, vain theatre director in his retirement home at the sea.

My go to rereads would include all the Hornblower books by CS Fosterer and The Caine Mutiny but this weekend I am looking for something new as I will be having a slow weekend in the low country with plans to kick it off with flu shots this afternoon.

I have loaded up The Sea, The Sea for this weekend.

Truly I would love to free myself from my own vanity and greed, to recognise those who are my deep companions and friends.

Been deficient in those endeavors or late.

I shall sit by the sea and read The Sea, The Sea and we shall see.