Category About Book Blogging

Things that Made Me Smile…

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I don’t know what it is about April, but I love it.  Maybe it’s because April 1st is six months from my October 1st birthday, so I feel a yin and yang or something. It’s a transition month, moving from winter into full-on spring. It’s poetry month, and I once wrote a poem about April (which I’ve probably shared here before, but I’m sure I’ll share it again before I’m through tonight!). April 1st is about pranks and jokes, and I love to laugh. I know some good people who were born in April.  It’s just all good.

Last year I posted about Things that Make Me Smile, so I thought I’d do round 2.  I’ll stick to the recent past…

Smile Español: Sonrisa

Smile Español: Sonrisa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Things That Made Me Smile Recently:

  • Hearing Rees read. Wow. So fun to have kindergartners around!  Can’t wait to be around two of them next weekend!
  • Intentionally letting my plant die. It’s not really funny, except that I’m not a plant person and I’ve had it for 3 1/2 years (today!) and I’m done taking care of it. It’s growing all wonky and needs more care than I’m willing to give it at this point. Maybe I’ll look for some potted African violets and a pretty little stand for my bedroom.
  • Reading the April Fool’s jokes on Facebook… many of them started by pregnant women!
  • Knowing I have a few days off work and then GET to work overnights three nights in a row!  The night owl in me is excited for the first time!  Talk to me next year to see how much I like three nights a month of staying up all night!
  • Feeling so mentally stimulated and exhausted by a great new job!
  • Book club last week with former colleagues and upcoming plans for get-togethers!

I know there’s more… I’ll reprise it another time.

I’ll leave you with my original poem about April, written circa 1984:

Umbrella

Umbrella (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

April
The April skies
are much to despise
as they’re full of many surprises.

They look awful grey
as they start out the day,
and leave us to making surmises.

Some days it may shower,
some days with more power
its buckets of wet do explode,

and once in a while,
God looks with a smile,
and shovels of snow He unloads..

This Dystopian Life

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dys·to·pi·a [dis-toh-pee-uh]

noun

a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression,disease, and overcrowding.
****************************************************
Ok. There’s nothing about my life that is Dystopian, absolutely nothing. Except that I have a little misery in my knee, which I finally went to the doctor for on Tuesday and found out – guess what? – that I’ve got a little arthritis and osteopenia!  Yes, my knees, especially my right knee, is feeling old and frail.  Ugh.  So I will start a strict regimen of calcium and Vitamin D. I’ve never been a milk lover and used to force myself to drink some, but the last few years it has bothered my tummy so I stopped drinking it altogether. Even ice cream doesn’t appeal anymore, which isn’t a bad thing, although I will indulge sometimes and know I’ll pay later.  Has to be well worth it. No simple vanilla for me.   🙂
Chocolate ice cream

Chocolate ice cream (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I stated in my last post, I went to see The Hunger Games in the theatre on Friday night. There’s nothing like a sold out theatre on opening day or in its early days.  I tend to go to the more independent movies, so I have been the only person or with a small handful of people at a showing many times, so going and sitting shoulder to shoulder with people excited to be there is another experience altogether.  There were a lot of teens at this movie, as expected, and the boys behind us felt like talking through most of the movie, which was unfortunate.  A little loss of manners. Or maybe they didn’t have them?

Cover of "The Hunger Games"

Cover of The Hunger Games

I thought the movie was pretty good.  Dystopia isn’t my favorite genre of book or film. And there were a lot of things I didn’t understand fully, so I had my daughter and niece explain them to me. And now I’m reading the first book and its interesting.  I’ll keep you posted on my thoughts…
A map of the fictional nation of Panem from Su...

A map of the fictional nation of Panem from Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I finished reading “Still Alice” for book club and we discussed it for a few minutes.  I truly lost sleep one night after reading before sleep, so I didn’t do that again. It is a painful story about early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.  Sad.  I guess I’ll have to look at the author’s other books because they were recommended.
My TBR pile just doesn’t go down… and I almost ran to the library today to pick up a light easy read, but I used self-control and focused on The Hunger Games.  We’ll see how long that lasts.
Another day off tomorrow… there is just something indulgent about being off during the week. So far I haven’t minded the weekend work… we’ll see if it gets old.  I will watch a little Letterman tonight – haven’t watched him in ages – because the cast of “once” from Broadway will be on there.  Good stuff!
Well, off to read!

Pop Culture Tidbits

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Where have I been?  Working and learning and learning and sleeping!  It’s so fun and tiring and wonderful and exhausting.  Ah.

Cover of "Still Alice"

Cover of Still Alice

I honestly haven’t done much else, including reading or movies or TV watching but I’m feeling like I’m getting my brain back a little.  For example, I have almost finished my book club book for Tuesday night (“Still Alice” by Lisa Genova), I’m watching the season premiere of Mad Men we speak, I saw the Hunger Games on opening night, and I’m keeping up with my blog reading (after some culling) and trying not to wait a week between Words with Friends moves.  The important stuff, right?  I also celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with good friends, celebrated family birthdays, and watched some Derby Dames.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I haven’t been blogging lately as it’s been hard to find time to put together coherent thoughts. And I haven’t been reading books or seeing many movies, and I don’t think people are really interested in reading about my new work environment or how much I have yet to learn.

Mad Men

Mad Men (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I do like blogging so I will find more time, especially now that my training on the floors is done and I’m on the crazy Emergency Department schedule (I love twelve hour days with days off!) I think it’ll happen.

Typical scene at a local emergency room

Typical scene at a local emergency room (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For example, Friday was a day off and I was so excited to read on facebook about a play that was being performed that day at noon at the library!  I went down there and was amazed at the intentions of the play and will tell others about it so they can experience the same.  It should be seen by many with much discussion to follow.  Just incredible writing and acting.

christmas candles on the morning table

christmas candles on the morning table (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marissa and I went to see “Wanderlust” during her spring break and another of my days off during the week and that was very fun. I just love Paul Rudd.

Paul Rudd at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Ann...

Paul Rudd at Hollywood Life Magazine’s 7th Annual Breakthrough Awards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So all is well here. Hopefully I’ll make time to write – and have interesting things to say!

But now, I must be off to bed!  Worked 12 hours today and again tomorrow… then book club / supper with book club Tuesday night!  Yay!

Off to read!

What have I been doing??

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Cover of "Mildred Pierce (Keepcase)"

Cover of Mildred Pierce (Keepcase)

A Moveable Feast

I checked into Goodreads tonight and was dismayed to see that I am 9 books BEHIND in reaching my book reading goal of 75 books in 2012!  Yikes.  I know that it’s still early in the year and that reading goals can be amended, but I wonder what I have been doing lately!

I guess the big answer is: I’ve been busy!  🙂  I started working on January 30 and have now finished five weeks of training with one more to go!  The training has been great and I’m learning so much, that it’s almost all I can focus on.  My evenings have been full, as well, but I am still keeping up with the blogs I follow (although I culled a few) and mostly keeping up with twitter and facebook. I listen to podcasts in the morning and  I participated in a readalong with Wallace at Unputdownables.net.  I can’t believe that “A Moveable Feast” is the only book I read in February!

Well, I guess I also listened to an audiobook – Mildred Pierce – and I’m now watching the HBO mini-series that is based on the book.  Kate Winslet was a big winner last year for her performance in the miniseries.  It was an interesting book and the miniseries is pretty good.  Two more episodes to watch.

But things are changing. After this week of working 8-5, my crazy all-over-the-place Emergency Department schedule begins. I work next weekend and will work many 12-hour shifts, which means fewer actual days worked.  The pile of books – 10 high – is still waiting for me to delve into and I can’t wait.

Our next book club book is “Still Alice,” so I have to get my hands on that and hopefully read it before the end of March!  I know I can do it and can’t wait to read it and see my book club friends soon!

I hope that you are reading everything that you want to be reading and enjoying every minute!

Off to read – Oprah magazine!  🙂

Books: A Moveable Feast

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English: Winter, 1922 Ernest Hemingway and Had...

Image via Wikipedia

 

It’s February and I’m reading A Moveable Feast with Wallace at unputdownables.net.  We’re halfway through the book now and I am enjoying it, although I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I hadn’t read The Paris Wife and heard the author tell of her experience in writing the book!  Many are not enjoying it as much – his writing style, his attitude and self-importance.  Below are the comments that I made on Wallace’s blog on this week’s reading (to chapter 17).

 

 

*****************

 

I am caught up!

 

I am enjoying the reading and find myself looking things up all the time! From words that he uses (inaccroachable:http://www.fictionaut.com/groups/matchbook/threads/307) to the phrases that he uses (clearly marked for death: http://secondandpark.com/2010/02/hemingway%E2%80%99s-delightfully-callous-disses/ ).

 

Some things that I’m keeping in mind about him as I read this come from listening to the author of The Paris Wife and my suppositions that I arrived at while reading that book. He is very young during this time and had already faced tragedy in the Great War. He was injured and fell in love with his nurse, who wrote him a Dear Ernest letter after his recovery and return to the US. I think he probably had some “demons” (read: PTSD) from the war that affected how he had relationships with people. Paula McLain also talked about how he could never be without a woman. He went from relationship to relationship, never ending one until another was started. It is noted that he hated his mother, his father committed suicide (as did Hadley’s) and he received ECT (shock treatments) at Mayo Clinic in his 50s.

 

He’s definitely not a sympathetic character, but that last paragraph (see below) does give insight into the depth of his feelings for Hadley and his acknowledgement of her hurt. I guess he contacted her late in his life – a few weeks before his suicide. It’s hard to see much of Hadley in this book (so far… I haven’t read ahead!) but I guess I keep in my mind other accounts of their relationship.

 

Hadley and I had become too confident in each other and careless in our confidence and pride. In the mechanics of how this was penetrated I have never tried to apportion the blame, except my own part, and that was clearer all my life. The bulldozing of three people’s hearts to destroy one happiness and build another and the love and the good work and all that came out of it is not part of this book. I wrote it and left it out. How it all ended, finally, has nothing to do with this either. Any blame in that was mine to take and possess and understand. The only one, Hadley, who had no possible blame, ever, came out of it finally and married a much finer man than I ever was or could hope to be and is happy and deserves it and that was one good and lasting thing that came out of that year.

 

Off to read!

 

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World Book Night

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I signed up to be a “giver” on World Book Night in April.

I read about it on another book blog and when I looked into it further, I thought it was a worthy and great thing!  The goal is to get copies (20 per giver) of a great book in the hands of non-readers or light readers on April 23 (UNESCO’s International Day of the Book – the date Shakespeare and Cervantes died).  There was a list of books to choose from and it is important to choose a book that you are passionate about sharing with others – which was pretty easy for me!  I could have easily picked 6 or 7 on the list that I have loved and have recommended to others already.

The Book Thief

Image via Wikipedia

I chose “The Book Thief” as my first choice, because I think that, although there are endless stories about the Holocaust, they are all worthy of hearing so we never forget.  I chose “Bel Canto” and “Little Bee” as my second and third choices, because they are just wonderful books that really touched me emotionally.  Just so great.

The deadline to sign up is February 1 and they will be notifying people mid-February if they are chosen to be givers of books and more details on where to pick up the books.  Click below if you’re interested!

http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/

Off to read!

Books: Flood and Food

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The first book I read in 2012 was one written by and about the Rushford Volunteer Fire Department and their response to the flood of 2007.  Their thoughts were collected by Bonnie Flaig Prinsen and the book was published with help from the Rushford Community Foundation.  It is a great document for posterity and it was good to read it.  I entered the information into Goodreads, which is something I haven’t done before, so I hope it gets other views!

The next book I had was terribly overdue to the library so I did some intense browsing/speed reading so I could return it today.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home CooksView a preview of this book online

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks

It was a great book about creating meals from real ingredients.  It is something that I like to do – bake bread, make cakes from scratch – and I thought it was very well-written.  I loved reading about the evolution of cake mixes and how in the 1950s the women could tell the difference and didn’t like that they just had to add water, so they created them so that we could add eggs, oil AND water.  The rest of the ingredients should read flour, sugar, salt, soda, but the ingredient list goes on and on.  Crazy.

It was a great book and would be a great gift for someone who is wanting to change their fast-food ways and to learn how simple it is to really prepare real food.

Next I plan to read my back issues of magazines and dig into the pile of books that are on my nightstand!  They are books I own, books I was given as gifts, and books I borrowed.  And I’ll read the next book for book club – The Center of Everything.  Again, I love the book club in a bag concept!

Cover of "The Sun Also Rises"

Cover of The Sun Also Rises

On a book and movie related note – I mentioned that I read and loved “The Paris Wife” and I’m excited about meeting the author on Sunday!  Tuesday night I watched the movie “Midnight in Paris” (love it! own it!) and watched carefully the scenes featuring Ernest Hemingway and I ordered the movie “The Sun Also Rises,” based on a Hemingway book of the same name.  Very interesting to put it all together – Hemingway living in Paris, with his first wife, drinking in bars and his melancholic diatribes, and the wounded expatriate living in Paris and going to Spain for the bull fights.  I hope to actually READ some Hemingway in 2012 – not just read about him!  I love it when one book leads you to another…

Off to read!

 

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and it’s 2012!

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English: The logo of the blogging software Wor...

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Well I set my Goodreads goal for the number of books to read in 2012 (70) and that’s the only goal or thought I’ve put into goals so far.  It doesn’t mean I won’t “resolve” to do other things, I guess it means that I’m just working on each day as it comes and not doing much planning for 2012 – yet.  I’ll get to it, maybe even next week after the busy-ness of life settles down.  I’m sure I’ll keep you posted.

One more reflection on 2011 came from WordPress in the form of “Your Year in Blogging – 2011”.

  • I wrote 130 new posts in 2011!  Wow.
  • The blog had 1900 views!  Wow.
  • People found the blog by searching for “accordion naked” (among other things)!  Wow.
  • Most visitors were from the US but Germany and the UK weren’t too far behind!  Wow.
  • The blog had visitors from Africa, Asia and Australia as well!  Wow.

I like blogging but I don’t know how important it is to me to have my blog seen around the world.  It’s kind of fun.  I do check stats.  And today, for some reason, I’m getting a lot of hits because of a Hungarian site which linked to my post about movies!  Crazy… It’s turning into a high traffic day.  If you’re a blogger who reads this, how did you decide you wanted to go BIG with your blog rather than keeping it personal?

One thing that I woke up thinking about this morning (and will probably turn into a plan for 2012) is that I read way too many blogs and twitter feeds.  It’s becoming cumbersome, so I will do something about that.  I love technology but when it feels cumbersome, it’s time to pare it down.

Many of the blogs that I read are aspiring to many book-related challenges and it just wears me out!  Non-Fiction challenge; Fiction challenge; Bookshelf challenge; European challenge; Classics challenge; etc. etc. etc.  I participated in a few challenges/read-alongs in 2011 and I probably will participate in a few in 2012, but I’m certainly not joining any right now.  A year long challenge sounds like a little much right now.  I liked the seasonal or book-specific challenges and I think that’s where I’ll stick.

Well, off to read (something besides tweets and blogs!)!

The Last Book Blast from 2011

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The Uncoupling

The Uncoupling

I liked this book enough, but it wasn’t great. I’ve read another Meg Wolitzer book and have another on my TBR shelf. She picks interesting topics. This one is about a high school production of a Greek comedy about a sex strike that women start to try to bring about the end of a war and the “spell” that it casts on the community that it is being performed in.
The Book Thief

The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
Finally finished this – we discussed it at book club last Tuesday. What an amazing book. I underestimated its heft, both in the number of pages and in the content. I loved the writing style of Zusak and am hearing great things about his next book so it will be added to my TBR list!
Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness

Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness

by Dominique Browning (Goodreads Author)
I honestly skimmed this book. I read the beginning but didn’t connect at all with the author so then I just skimmed through before returning it to the library. It may be helpful to some, but I didn’t find any great insight in there. 🙂

I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

I Feel Bad About My Neck: and Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, with Nora Ephron narrating her own writings. Until the end. Yikes. Then I was just depressed, thinking about getting older and the “d” word that eventually happens to family and friends. Not that it’s a surprise, but it just was a depressing chapter to end on.
The Paris Wife
View a preview of this book onlineThe Paris Wife
by Paula McLain (Goodreads Author)
I really liked this book about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife – The Paris Wife.  The author captured Hadley’s voice so brilliantly and you can really feel their love for each other.  I want to know more about this era and the “characters” that inhabited Paris during this time.  I cannot wait to meet the author at the Rochester Public Library next Sunday!
Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy, Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky(Translator)
I’m thankful for the readalong that was organized by Wallace, as I don’t think I would have tackled or finished this book without the deadlines and the discussion along the way! Everyone added such intelligence and insight to the book and it made it more interesting and enjoyable! 

I knew very little of the book so I encountered many spoilers along the way. It is what it is but I wonder if I would have enjoyed more without the spoilers? 

I look forward to watching some movie versions of this classic!
Well I’ve been a bad blogger in December.  It’s been a good year and a good month of reading, so I’ll simply recap the rest of the books that I haven’t blogged about, using goodreads reviews.
Check out my new page above listing all the books I read in 2011!  It’s fun to see them all in list format.  Fun for me, anyway!   They’re also attached at the end of this post.  Happy 2012!
1 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy (12/30/11)
2 The Paris Wife Paula McLain (12/27/11)
3 I Feel Bad About my Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman** Nora Ephraon (12/13/11)
4 Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness Dominique Browning (12/12/11)
5 The Book Thief* Markus Zusak (12/11/11)
6 The Uncoupling Meg Wolitzer (12/6/11)
7 What a Woman Must Do Faith Sullivan (11/16/11)
8 Bossypants** Tina Fey (11/12/11)
9 Gift from the Sea Anne Morrow Lindbergh (11/10/11)
10 A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life Donald Miller (11/10/11)
11 The Wisdom of My Grandmothers Adriana Trigiani (11/2011)
12 Vaclav and Lena: A Novel ** Haley Tanner (11/2011)
13 A Vintage Affair: A Novel Isabel Wolff (10/22/11)
14 Then Came You Jennifer Weiner (10/17/11)
15 My Life in France** Julia Child (10/13/11)
16 Loving Frank * Nancy Horan (10/11/11)
17 Ella Minnow Pea Mark Dunn (10/4/11)
18 Summer and the City (The Carrie Diaries #2) Candace Bushnell (9/29/11)
19 Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People ** Amy Sedaris (9/28/11)
20 Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes Elizabeth Bard (9/22/11)
21 The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake ** Aimee Bender (9/20/11)
22 Attachments Rainbow Rowell (9/7/11)
23 The Lover’s Dictionary David Levithan (9/7/11)
24 Rich Again Anna Maxted (9/3/11)
25 The Invention of Hugo Cabret ** Brian Selznick (8/29/11)
26 The Piano Teacher Janice Y.K. Lee (8/28/11)
27 Anybody Out There? (Walsh Family #4) ** Marian Keyes (8/24/11)
28 The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin (8/17/11)
29 Wedding Season Katie Fforde (8/16/11)
30 Wild Designs Katie Fforde (8/14/11)
31 The Housekeeper and the Professor Yoko Ogawa (8/7/11)
32 The Art of French Kissing Kristin Harmel (8/4/11)
33 Love Letters Katie Fforde (7/31/11)
34 The Girl Who Fell From the Sky Heidi W. Durrow (7/30/11)
35 House Rules Jodi Picoult (7/27/11)
36 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See (7/23/11)
37 A Visit from the Good Squad ** Jennifer Egan (7/19/11)
38 The Girl in the Garden Kamala Nair (7/16/11)
39 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7) ** J.K. Rowling (7/12/11)
40 Olive Kitteridge * Elizbeth Strout (7/9/11)
41 Second Thyme Around Katie Fforde (7/2011)
42 Highland Fling Katie Fforde (6/28/11)
43 Stately Pursuits Katie Fforde (6/23/11)
44 Minding Frankie Maeve Binchy (6/16/11)
45 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) ** J.K. Rowling 6/16/2011
46 The Carrie Diaries(#1) Candace Bushnell (6/11/11)
47 Sweet Revenge (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery, #14) ** Diane Mott Davidson (6/9/11)
48 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Jamie Ford (5/31/11)
49 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoneix (#5) ** J.K. Rowling (5/25/11)
50 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4) ** J.K. Rowling (5/4/11)
51 Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand ** Helen Simonson (5/2/11)
52 The Hundred-Foot Journey: A Novel Richard Morais (4/19/11)
53 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3) ** J.K. Rowling (4/13/11)
54 Saving CeeCee Honeycutt * Beth Hoffman (4/9/11)
55 Heart and Soul Maeve Binchy (4/2/11)
56 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2) ** J.K. Rowling (4/2011)
57 Jane Eyre ** Charlotte Bronte (3/24/11)
58 Mockingbird Kathryn Erskine (3/24/11)
59 Juliet, Naked Nick Hornby (3/20/11)
60 Plain Truth * Jodi Picoult (3/9/11)
61 Traveling With Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story ** Sue Monk Kidd (3/4/11)
62 One Day David Nicholls (2/27/11)
63 Brava, Valentine: A Novel ** Adriana Trigiani (2/22/11)
64 Faking It (Dempsey’s #2) Jennifer Crusie (2/15/11)
65 Every Last One ** Anna Quindlen (2/9/11)
66 The Summer We Read Gatsby: A Novel Danielle Ganek (2/6/11)
67 The Position Meg Wolitzer (2/2/11)
68 The Magicians ** Lev Grossman (1/29/11)
69 The Virgin of Small Plains Nancy Pickard (1/16/11)
70 Her Fearful Symmetry ** Audrey Niffenegger (1/13/11)
71 Sarah’s Key Tatiana de Rosnay (1/8/11)

What I’ve been Up to!

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Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (left) and Amy Poehler...

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It’s been nearly a week since I last posted!  Wow.  I’ve looked at the “new post” page over the week and haven’t had too much to say.  I had an enjoyable four days and three nights babysitting in St. Paul and had some good quality reading time while there.  I finished a few books so I’ll catch you up on what I’ve read.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

I listened to this on audio (a MUST if you’re going to read the book) and I even took time to look at the PDF and watch the SNL clip included on the last CD.  Tina Fey is a brilliant comedian that is fun to listen to and reminisce with.  I enjoyed her perspective on women in comedy, specifically women on SNL (and Second City).  She not only talks about the changes that she saw during her reign at both institutions, but also tells really funny stories about her life.  I drove around smiling the entire time I listened and even laughed out loud a few times.

A great listen!

I first read Faith Sullivan’s “Cape Ann” book ages ago and when I came across this one in the library I quickly picked it up.  It was a sweet and easy read about three women – Bess (18), her aunt Harriet (40 something) and great-aunt Kate (59).  They live together in a small Minnesotan community and the story takes place in 1952.  The story is told from all three women’s perspectives and conveys a lot of emotion in few pages.

A sweet story.

I’m still plugging through with the Anna Karenina readalong and last week even finished my pages on time and was the first one to post on the blog!  I’m not sure that will happen by morning, but you never know!  The segments we read each week average around 80 pages and are very do-able.  I found last week’s segment very thought-provoking and it has led to several conversations throughout the week.

I stopped at the library yesterday to pick up the book I had on hold

Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness

and then grabbed an audiobook The UncouplingThe Uncoupling.

I refused to be lured into the stacks to find more books to add to my ever-growing TBR pile by my bed.  I have several books that I want to read, either my own or on loan from friends, and I have to make some headway in Anna Karenina, read my November O Magazine, and read “The Book Thief” for book club in a few weeks.  I was successful in leaving the library without books, but I did grab three DVDs!  Ah, the library lure.  Good stuff.

Well, off to read!