23 posts tagged “books”

Here I am again, two weeks in a row - woohoo!  I probably won't get to do this next week since I only have three days in the office, but I am going to relish it today!

Notes from The Noticer:

"...a true friend holds you to a higher standard.  A true friend brings out the best in you... A best friend...will tell you the truth...and a wise best friend will include a healthy dose of perspective." (p. 30)

"We grow up expecting everyone else to be just like us.  And they aren't." (p. 42)

"I just think it's amazing...that a person could lose everything, chasing nothing." (p.49)

"...smart people get tripped up with worry and fear.  Worry...fear...is just a misuse of the creative imagination that has been placed in each of us.  Because we are smart and creative, we imagine all the things that could happen, that might happen, that will happen if this or that happens." (p.52)

About 8% of what we worry about are legitimate concerns (p.55)

"Most people spend so much time fearing the things that are never going to happen or can't be controlled that they have no energy to deal with the few things they can actually handle." (p. 55)

"...the seeds of depression cannot take root in a grateful heart." (p. 56)

Big takeaway from today's time: Perspective is everything.

I've been trying to finish my E book for my A-Z reading challenge...

(Yeah, yeah, I know I am woefully behind, but anyway...)

The book is Emma.  I started reading it and immediately felt like I was back in a freshman Lit class.

Not that I didn't enjoy freshman Lit classes, but life is so frenetic right now, I need reading that is stimulating, yes, but a bit - how can I put this delicately...?

Easy to read.

(Yes.  I said it.  I want fluff.  So, sue me.)

I've already renewed the book twice, watched the movie, picked it up and read a bit, only to put it down for days on end, and now  it is due back at ye old library on Wednesday.  Period.  No renewals left.

I really want to enjoy this book (I liked the move, for crying out loud!), but I just can't wrap my brain around it right now.

Anyone have an alternative E suggestion?

The book I chose to read for the letter C was The Choice by Nicholas Sparks.  It had been a while since I read a Sparks novel (I am thinking the last one was Nights in Rodanthe a few summers ago).  And after the challenging and thought-provoking Blue Like Jazz, I was looking forward to some lighter fare.

The book opens with small town North Carolinian (as if there was any doubt what state he'd be living in!) Travis Parker arriving at the hospital where his wife has worked for ten years, bearing flowers and a bundle of nerves.  The reader is then catapulted some eleven years back to watch Travis and his new neighbor, Gabby Holland get to know each other, complete with the requisite stumbles and miscues.

About halfway in, I began to feel like I was reading one of his other novels, just with a change in names.  I found some of the writing cliched, such as Travis' musings over an evening he and Gabby had spent together:

If conversation was the lyrics, laughter was the music, making time spent together a melody that could be replayed over and over without getting stale.

Lovely thought, but hasn't that been said before?

I spent the next few evenings reading just a chapter or two, determined to finish, and in the end I am glad I did not cast this book aside.  Sparks eventually brings the reader face to face with a timely and delicate situation, even if he does take his sweet time to get there.  He handles the difficult subject matter with grace and compassion, and while my first impressions of Travis and Gabby fell a bit flat, I found myself rooting for them in the end.

While not my favorite Sparks novel by any means, The Choice will take the reader on a gentle slow dance of hope - just the right kind of read for a quiet spring evening or while relaxing by the pool this summer.

Yes, I am a bit behind in my reading challenge.

But, I plan to plow through, even if it takes two years to complete the reading list!

Anyway, my B book (and the third book I've read) was Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.

One of the things I loved the most about this book is that it was not unlike reading a blog.  Each chapter was written almost like an online journal, inviting the reader in, yet still introspective enough to allow one a real glimpse into the heart of the author.

Miller takes us on a journey of religiosity, doubt, faith, and grace.  He does not shy away from sharing his own struggles nor the propensity for the church to esteem rules over relationships or make traditions, truth.  He is unashamedly honest that he has oftentimes found non-Christians more loving than those who typically fill a pew on Sunday.

Ouch.

I was reminded that Jesus was radical and revolutionary in His approach to loving and calling people.  Using humor and accounts of his own failings and foibles, Miller encourages us to see God in the unexpected places.

If you are curious about Jesus, you should read this book.
If you are a faithful church-goer, you should read this book.
If you think Christians are self-righteous jerks, you should read this book.

If you could care less either way, read this book.

I've decided that if nothing else, I will try to pop in here some time on each Saturday and write.  I feel like life - nothing great and nothing horrible, just life in general - is sucking the creative juices out of me.  By the time I get home from work each night and finish the tasks to be ready for the next day, I am too tired to do much more than read a few blogs and look at my facebook newsfeed.  Then Friday rolls around, and I am running errands while trying to take a "sabbath" of sorts and just recoup. 

Saturdays really should be spent working on the many projects I would like to accomplish in this house.  Some times that happens; sometime it doesn't.  But regardless, I am realizing that I need to stop and write.  Just because.  Just for me.

And if for nothing else than to allow me to process the week's events and be ready to tackle a new week head-on come Sunday morning.

Sometimes I think I hesitate to write here because there is nothing exciting to talk about.  Life has settled into a basic routine, and there isn't a lot of drama - which is a good thing!  But it doesn't make for many interesting entries.

Then this morning, it hit me.  While it is fun and encouraging and a real charge to receive comments and feedback on insightful or humorous entries, that shouldn't be the main motivation to write.  As "boring" as my day-to-day activities may seem right now, one day I will enjoy looking back and reading what I was doing, where I was, what my goals were.  We have one child on the brink of adulthood - in a few years, I will enjoy reading how she dove into the world of licensed drivers and prepared for her SATs, though today it just seems like something every kid eventually does, so-what's-the-big-freakin'-deal?

All that to say, feel free to check out at any time for this one - this entry is for me; it is my attempt at grasping back the enjoyment of journaling and writing just for the sake of it.

About two weeks ago, I, with much trepidation knowing that this past winter had not been kind to me in the arena of diet and exercise, tiptoed on to the scale.  My fears were realized - the tightness in my jeans was not a mere fluke.

So, I logged back into "My Plate" at www.livestrong.com and started logging the things I eat each day.  The weather has still not been very cooperative when it comes to running or walking in the mornings, so I started utilizing various exercise "videos" on-demand. 

I also started eating a lot more fruits and veggies each day.  When I want to crunch on something, I am trying to reach for carrots or a colorful sweet pepper, rather than pretzels and chips. I've been taking a multi-vitamin in the morning, washed down with some non-fat milk.  When I get home from work, I make myself a green tea latte rather than gulping a diet soda or making another cup of coffee.

I already feel better.  To the point that when I ate a bit too many "white flour carbs" on Thursday evening (still within my quota for the day, but heavier than I've been eating at one meal), I immediately felt over-stuffed.

I am not necessarily looking to lose a lot of weight.  I did that 6 or 7 years ago, and when I look back at the photos now, I wonder why I thought I looked healthy.  Sure, my legs and butt were super-trim, but my face was narrow and drawn and my arms look skinny and scrawny to the point that even Rob got worried.

I am not interested in being there again.

Certainly, it was a charge to see those numbers click down and down and down into teenager-levels.  But it wasn't healthy for a woman of my age and height to be able to wear a size 3.  I don't care what the magazines and America's Next Top Model seem to say.

My goals this time around are simple:

1) Trim a few inches, especially in the area of the badonkadonk so that my summer clothes fit well and I am not embarrassed to wear a swimsuit on our cruise at the end of the summer.  This will likely also mean the loss of 10-15 lbs, however, I am not so much concerned with that if everything is trim and muscular.

2) Make eating fresh fruits and veggies a normal part of life, not just something I am doing while I am working on trimming.

3) Have exercise be an integral part of my life, with 20-30 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity 3-5 times a week being the norm.

Ways to realize you are getting old in about 10 seconds flat?

Your eldest turns 17 and starts driving on her own, your "baby" turns 11, and your spouse is rapidly approaching his 40th, all within the span of a month and a half.

Honestly?  I don't really *feel* older - or that I could be just over a year till my 40th.  Except when I look at those dratted thighs, but as previously mentioned, I am working on that! 

All of those events make me feel like I *should* feel old.  And so sometimes, I think, "Man, Nicole, you are getting old."  Then I immediately respond (though not out loud - yet - ha!), "But I don't feel old".  And I look in the mirror, and I think that I don't look so old either.

Sure, I haven't been carded in a while, but just last weekend, I was told that The Daughter and I look like sisters - to which my darling child replied, "Does that mean I look older or she looks younger?"  The kind stranger responded, "She looks younger."

(I am happy to report that I restrained myself from hugging and kissing the woman.)

I used to think it silly and cliched when folks said age is a state of mind.  Now I understand.

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Speaking of 40th birthdays, yes, indeed, Rob will be 40 next month.  And we are having an 80s party for him next Saturday. I am so excited!  We are having a best-dressed contest and trivia games, and hopefully dancing...there will be 80s music playing, of course, so we'll see if folks indulge.

I am going to try to make a PowerPoint of my guy through the years to run on an endless loop - I think folks will get a real kick out of it.

We were going to keep things low-keyed with just a small get-together here at the house.  But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to celebrate with something silly and fun.

Pictures will be forthcoming, I am sure.

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It seems there was something else I wanted to write about, but I am drawing a blank.  And seeing how this little entry is quickly turning into a book....

Oh!  That was it!  Books!  The reading challenge!

So, the short of it is, I suck.  I am still on book 2!

But I have just one chapter to go.  Will try to finish that today and return some time this weekend with a review.

I am probably not going to get 26 books read this year, but I am going to read those 26 books, no matter how long it takes me.  Reading is another thing I love-love-love that I have not been taking the time to do.  And I really need to.

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So there you have it: what happens when Nicole hasn't written any thing of substance in over a week.

If you've made it this far, feel free to resume your weekend now.

I finished The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold last night.  It is the first book I've completed for the challenge, and one of two A books I plan to read.  I started this back in October - purchased it in the airport gift shop because I'd forgotten to bring something to read on the plane.  I'd wanted to read it since it came out, and would eye it at the bookstore, then put it back.

I got several chapters in during our flight then didn't pick it up again until last week.  Once I opened it again, I immediately wondered why I didn't do so sooner.  I guess the heavy subject matter wasn't exactly conducive to palm trees and Caribbean blue waters.  Then there was the catch-up from taking a vacation.  Then the holidays happened. 

The turn of the new year and the beginning of the reading challenge left me with no excuse (and I am glad).

This book is as gripping as it is haunting.  Sebold tackles the difficult subject matter with the same honesty as in The Lovely Bones.  She finds a way for you to feel for the characters in spite of the horrendous things they have done.  There is no hero or heroine.  There are no easy answers.  You will not close the book content that all the strings have been tied up into neat little bows atop pretty packages.

You will close this book thinking about relationships, family, life, death, and the incredible ties forged by all, especially in the parent-child relationship.  You will think about your mortality.  You will consider how one's actions can start an avalanche of events that no one can stop.

Due to the intense subject matter, I can't say I enjoyed it, but I am glad I read it.  I will read more of Sebold's books (assuming she will write more - and one of these days, I will tackle her memoir, Lucky).  If this book were a movie, I'd give it an R-rating, so proceed with great caution in considering if your children are ready to read it.

A few remarks concerning the book challenge I am undertaking:

I plan to read in alphabetical order.

I plan to read mostly fiction.

If the book begins with "The", I will make the next word the "letter" word used for the list.  (For example, I could use The Adventures of Tom Sawyer for A, not T.)  But I don't think I will do this with "A".

I know I said I was going to try to read all new books.  And I do still plan to do that.  However, my first book will be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  I read this book once a year, every year, because it is my all-time favorite.  So, I am going to incorporate it into this, since the main purpose to this challenge - for me - is that I read at least 26 books this year.  A repeat here and there shouldn't be too big of a deal.  I am also going to finish reading The Almost Moon, which I started on the plane when we were leaving for our cruise.  So, I guess I may just read 27 books for this challenge.

I plan to read several classics that I haven't yet read as a part of this.

My planned list so far:

A - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith) completed 2/10/09 AND The Almost Moon (Alice Sebold) completed 1/11/09
B - Blue Like Jazz (Donald Miller)
C - The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)
D - The Deep End of the Ocean (Jacqueline Mitchard)
E - Emma (Jane Austen)
F - Fall on Your Knees (Anne-Marie MacDonald)
G - Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
H - The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
I - Icy Sparks (Gwyn Hyman Rubio)
J - Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
K - The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
L - Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) 
M - Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
N - No Country for Old Men (Cormac McCarthy)
O - The Other Boleyn Girl (Philippa Gregory)
P - Persuasion (Jane Austen) OR The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver) (I own both, but haven't read either)
Q - The Queen's Fool (Philippa Gregory)
R - Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)
S - Snapshots at St. Arbucks* (RG Ryan) OR Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen)
T - Tar Baby (Toni Morrison)
U - The Uglies (Scott Westerfeld)
V - The Virgin's Lover (Philippa Gregory)
W - What Matters Most (Luanne Rice)
X - Exit Lines (Joan Barfoot)
Y - Ysabel (Guy Gavriel Kay)
Z - Zoya** (Danielle Steel)

I haven't figured out what to do for X and Z.  It will probably have to be something with each letter in the title - there just aren't many books that I'd read that start with these letters.

I am still open to suggestions for those, and any other letters for that matter, as this list isn't set in stone.

*I don't know if I want to wait all the way till S before I read RG's book.  So, if I tackle that while reading something else, Sense and Sensibility will be my S book.  Which would then make 28 books :-).

**I am not really a Danielle Steel fan, but unless something else comes along, that is the only Z title I can find in fiction.

The A-Z Reading Challenge.  I am going to do option B, which is book titles.

I have no idea yet what books I will read - you will just have to stay posted :-).  But I am going to do my best to read books that I have here that haven't yet been read.  I need to re-read the rules more closely to see if I can read books I've already read as long as a certain amount of time has passed.