Literary Gems

About the Book

Most of the contents of this book are jokes, short stories, essays, dialogues, and poetry. They are original literary pieces, written and compiled by the author over the years. The quotations, sayings and words of wisdom that appear in the latter part of the book are works of renowned authors, poets, and philosophers of all time. Their writings are timeless, and the writers, universally acclaimed. They had been gathered and kept by the author since she was in her teens. She had since considered these writings her treasures or gems. These works of great literary geniuses who were prominent and outstanding in their era, had impressed and left imprints on the author so much that she aspired to become a writer one day. The ambition was finally realized decades later. On the whole, the book contains a variety of fiction and non-fiction literary pieces, intended to offer the reader variations in type, style, content and organization that a novel or piece of literature with a single plot is not able to provide. The continuous flow of the same idea or plot in a novel can sometimes bore the reader. “Variety is the spice of life,” so it was said. Variety in the taste, flavor and appearance of food can enhance the appetite of even the most picky eater. In a similar vein, variety as those offered in this collection offers changes in mood, line of thoughts and feelings of the reader and cuts or minimizes monotony. So I hope! May the reader find this collection funny and enjoyable, informative, and nourishing food for the mind and the soul.

About the Author

This is the sixth book written by the author. Her first was a family drama entitled Where Miracles Grow. The second and third are memoirs: Grandma Series I and Grandma Series II. The fourth is a romance fiction, Love Born on the High Seas, and the fifth is an epic romance novel entitled Love Born in the War Front. She was born and grew up in the Philippines and has been living in the US since in 1985. She was a teacher for seventeen years in Manila, worked as an education officer in Nigeria for nine years, then was employed by the Department for the Aging as a case manager, benefits/entitlements specialist, and food and nutrition lecturer at four senior centers in Queens, New York, for eighteen years. She has traveled extensively within the United States and to many countries around the world. Her book Grandma Series II: Grandma’s Travels details her travel experiences. In between writing her books, she attends meetings with a writers’ group at McHenry College and hosts a radio show called The Homemaker with Lydia. This show is available at 101.5 FM, Huntley Community Radio, every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and at HuntleyCommunityRadio.com.