Rebecca's Reading Room

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,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.

I recently recorded this beloved poem outdoors, surrounded by the living signs Dickinson herself noticed so keenly: gentler mornings, ripening nuts, brightening leaves, and that subtle turning in the air that tells us summer has slipped away.

What I love most about this poem is Dickinson’s closing touch of humour and grace. As the world dresses itself in scarlet gowns and gayer scarves, she decides not to be left behind:

“Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.”

How like Emily to notice nature’s pageantry and join it with a wink.

This recording is offered as a small autumn pause: a moment to listen, to notice, and to welcome the beauty of seasons that do not ask permission before they arrive.

Thank you for visiting Rebecca’s Reading Room, where poetry still walks beside us.

Rebecca

📚Rebecca’s Reading Room

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Smell of Morning Coffee” by Franz Gordon

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/c56a59ac-d55b-44c2-b40e-083f23daae8a/

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 its value is discovered years later, when someone stumbles across an old blog post and finds exactly the words they needed?

I’ve found myself returning to the writings of bloggers who haven’t published anything new in more than a decade. Their voices still speak. Their stories still encourage. Their words continue to live quietly, long after the analytics have faded.

So, pour yourself a cup of tea, settle into a comfortable chair, and join me as we look beyond analytics to discover what really counts.

Rebecca

🎙️Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“For All We Know” by More than Family

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8082dacc-d3a1-3470-977b-970879a925bc/

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 of Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory. At first glance she seems to commemorate an Olympic celebration, but her story reaches back more than two thousand years to the sanctuary of Olympia, where athletes sought not wealth or fame, but honour earned through discipline, courage, and perseverance.

As we explore her story together, we may discover that victory is not always found on a podium. More often, it is found in the quiet determination to begin again, to persevere through difficulty, and to continue becoming the people we are meant to be.

So, wherever you may be, pour yourself a cup of tea, settle into a comfortable chair, and join me as we reflect on an ancient story that still has something to teach us today.

Rebecca

🎙️Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“For All We Know” by More than Family

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8082dacc-d3a1-3470-977b-970879a925bc/

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. They’ve become part of the landscape of everyday life.

That simple observation led me to reflect on a question: How do extraordinary ideas become ordinary?

In this episode, we’ll explore the journey from skepticism to acceptance, and from acceptance to something so familiar that we almost forget it was ever new. Along the way, we’ll discover how one small word can change the way we think about technology, creativity, culture, and even ourselves.

I’m Rebecca Budd, and I’m so glad you’ve joined me.

Until the next word…

🎙️Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“For All We Know” by More than Family

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8082dacc-d3a1-3470-977b-970879a925bc/

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 as though touched by sea wind, she seemed at once ancient and astonishingly alive.

But beyond the beauty of marble and artistry, I found myself thinking about something deeper: the stories we carry, the stories we inherit, and the stories that help us remember what it means to be human.

Today, I invite you to join me as we reflect on Winged Victory not simply as a masterpiece of art, but as a story in stone, one that has travelled across centuries to speak to us still.

Pour yourself a cup of tea, settle in, and let us step for a few moments into a story that has outlived empires.

Rebecca

🎙️Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

Location: The Lourvre Museum, Paris

Photography & Voice: Rebecca Budd

Music: Edgar Hopp “Eyes of Yours” Epidemic Sound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/ef6c8b56-fdb6-44ca-80d8-0a94d43215a8/

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 continue to invite us to slow down and remember what truly matters.

Today, I would like to share a simple recitation of this beloved poem. Rather than analysing its meaning, I invite you simply to listen. Perhaps a line will speak to you differently than it has before. Perhaps you will hear something you need today.

The photographs accompanying this reading were taken during a walk through Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia—a place whose quiet beauty seemed a fitting companion to Ehrmann’s timeless words.

Thank you for spending these few moments in Rebecca’s Reading Room.

Rebecca

Desiderate by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Photography by Rebecca Budd

Location Beacon Hill Park, Victoria, British Columbia

Music by Epidemic Sound

Yonder Dale "We Carry On"

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/5ebe8dfb-5a21-307a-84e7-a8ed973dacee/

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 Book Meditation is not a book review or a reading list. It is a gentle meditation on reading as companionship, reflection, and lifelong discovery. I hope you’ll find a comfortable place to sit, perhaps with a cup of tea nearby, and spend a few moments beside the water with me.

Thank you for visiting Rebecca’s Reading Room,

Rebecca

🎙️ Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

📚 Rebecca’s Reading Room

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Kasuga Rain” by Candelion https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8d672430-a97e-47c4-9b24-e7c736879945/

“Never a Goodbye” by Gavin Luke. https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/23d78dc4-1dce-48cd-a10a-9bded0529d84/

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 of reality.

As I reflected on that idea, I found myself asking a different question altogether.

How has photography changed the way we tell the story of our lives?

Previous generations filled boxes with letters and journals. Today, many of us fill hard drives and cloud storage with photographs. Yet both are expressions of the same deeply human desire:

“I was here. This mattered. Let me share it with you.”

So, pour yourself a cup of tea, settle into a comfortable chair, and join me as we explore The Story We Tell in Photographs.

Rebecca

🎙️Rebecca‘s Reading Room podcast

Music by Epidemic Sound

“For All We Know” by More than Family

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/8082dacc-d3a1-3470-977b-970879a925bc/

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 that continue to bloom in memory.

I hope you enjoy this reading.

Saturday Afternoon

From all the jails the boys and girls

Ecstatically leap,—

Beloved, only afternoon

That prison does n't keep.

They storm the earth and stun the air,

A mob of solid bliss.

Alas! that frowns could lie in wait

For such a foe as this!

📚Rebecca’s Reading Room

🎙️Rebecca’s Reading Room Podcast

Photography by Rebecca Budd

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Sylarna” by Ström

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/69982e98-a358-3eb4-b6ea-a9faf617734e/

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 Reading Room

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Reunited We'll Prevail” by Kikoru https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/5824d377-b2bd-31e7-b8f5-f098dbe3b514/

“Never a Goodbye” by Gavin Luke

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/23d78dc4-1dce-48cd-a10a-9bded0529d84/

“The Bard's Tale” Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/443f9e43-c88a-4fb0-8728-5345837b643f/

“The Fellowship” Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/2b47cb34-005e-4186-8631-4c4841115e72/

“The Portal” Bonnie Grace

https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/6adf42f0-177c-38cf-94db-26d212fedb9d/