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40 Things (6)

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Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challengeleading up to her 40th birthday, her next question is:

6) A book that changed my life

Hmmm.  Not an easy question!  I’m not sure I can point to a book and claim that it changed my life in any big way.  I know that the very presence of books has changed my life.  Books have brought me comfort in times when I needed it and have brought me joy in times when I needed that.  I have lots of vivid memories of the books that I read as a child and have always been known as a reader or a “book worm.”  So does the first book that hooked me in and made me a reader become the book that changed my life?

Being in book club has changed my life.  Connecting with great people over great books (or even not-so-great books) has been a great experience in the past ten or so years.

#6 on my list of Things to do before turning 40 was to “Say YES more – be ready!”  Yesterday I wrote about how “saying no” to an overbooked life was on my list.  This one is about being ready for adventures and the life I want.  It isn’t always easy for me to be spontaneous, as I do like to plan things.  I know that when my daughter went away to college that I adopted the philosophy that “I can do whatever I want,” which was pretty freeing (after the initial despair over bringing her to college).  It was nice to be open to adventures without feeling tied down to responsibilities.

Off to read!

40 Things (5)

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Non-Fiction Section

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Following along with Boof’s40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday…her 5th question is:

5)  A favourite non-fiction book?

Non-fiction isn’t something I read often.  Should I be ashamed? Because I’m not.  The few that I have read, I have enjoyed.  Probably non-fiction books that I don’t enjoy don’t even get finished, thereby they don’t make my “Read” list.  🙂

Here are a few good books:  “The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and Friendship,” “No Journey is So Far: Two Women and their Historic Journey Across Antarctica,” “A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table,” and “Reading Lolita in Tehran.”  (When I look further at the non-fiction books that I have read, there is a common theme of a title with a colon (:) and a subtitle following.  Is that requisite in non-fiction?  Have to explain the title further to get people to read them?)

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table

“The Girls from Ames…” inspired me to invite a group of women to commit to getting together monthly in order to nurture relationships, so that’s kind of a big deal.  I met Ann Bancroft and she signed my “No Horizon is So Far” book, so that’s kind of a big deal, too.  I refer to “My Homemade Life” often, and in fact, it is with my cookbooks rather than on my bookshelf.  It is full of recipes that are fun to dream about (and do-able if a person were inclined to cook).  And “Reading Lolita” is a wonderful glimpse into the lives of women in Iran.
Any #5 on my list of 40 Things was SAY “NO” MORE.  This was something that I was consciously doing before I made my list, but also something I needed to keep in the forefront of my mind.  There was a time when I said YES to everything and had many volunteer commitments and work commitments.  I was busy and getting a lot done but the joy was taken out of it so I needed to evaluate what was important to me and pare down the things that were sucking the life out of me.
Again, no great shakes, but the list made it a conscious choice.
Off to read!

40 Things (4)

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Cover of "Persepolis"

Cover of Persepolis

Following along with Boof’s 40 Day Challenge leading up to her 40th birthday… her fourth question is:

4) A favourite translated book

Hmmm..  Not sure how many translated books I have read, but there have been a few.

I own and LOVED reading “My Life as a Dog” by Reidar Jonsson.  A Norwegian book whose movie adaptation won best foreign film in 1987, I believe.  I loved the movie and the book even more.  I have memories of riding on public transportation in Madison and literally laughing out loud and also having my heart break.

I really enjoyed “Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi and translated by Mattias Ripa.  A story about growing up in Iran.

I read an abridged version (shameful, I know) of “War and Peace” by Tolstoy and didn’t really enjoy that much.  It was a long hot summer and there are so many names …

I’m sure there are others, but “My Life as a Dog’ wins.  🙂

And on my list… my #4 was “Learn some Ukranian / Russian” and I failed miserably. Again, I listened to Russian podcasts and downloaded vocabulary sheets.  Not much stuck.  We had a foreign exchange student from the Ukraine so that was the motivation to attempt it.

Off to read!

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40 Things (3)

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Elizabeth tells her father that Darcy was resp...

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Playing along with Boof’s 40 Day Book Challenge for her 40th birthday, day 3 –

3) A book with a favourite character

I’m sure that there are others but last summer I read the book “Love Walked In” by Marisa de los Santos and I remember vividly that I wanted to be friends with Cornelia.  She was spunky and fun and kind and quirky and I wanted the best things for her.  There are a lot of other favorite characters, too.  Elizabeth Bennet (AND Mr. Darcy) in “Pride & Prejudice,” Lizbeth Salander in “The Girl…” books, Harry Potter, Oskar Schell in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” and I could go on and on.  But these are a few favorites.

Looking back on my list of 40 Things, my #3 was to “Learn some Italian.”  Not a very good goal – not specific or measurable – but again it’s more about the big picture than the minute steps.  I listened to a bunch of Italian podcasts and downloaded some vocabulary lists and that’s as far as it got.  I’d love to go to Italy someday and think that would be incentive to actually get the words to stick in my head.  I think my Italian Ferragosto holiday at the lake each August will also help inspire me to learn more Italian and get to Italy some day.

Off to read!

40 Things… (2)

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[St. Stephen's Green Park, Dublin. County Dubl...

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Following Boof at Book Whisperer, I’m participating in her 40 day book challenge leading up to her birthday.  Her second question is:

2) A book I wish I could live in

Well, bouncing off yesterday’s post of my favorite book of 2011, I’m going to say anything by Maeve Binchy.  Those quaint little Irish villages are so seductive (as are some of the villagers!).  I would love to live in Ireland for a bit…

And reviewing my list from my 40 things… My #2 was

2) Read “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
and I did!  In August of 07 (reflecting my belief that Austen is best read in the summer!).  Again, no great shakes, but a purposeful wish to do important things.

Off to read!

40 Things…

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My Year in Lists

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Boof at the Book Whisperer turns the big 4-0 this year and is counting down to her birthday in October (shortly after mine!) with a 40 Day Book Challenge!  I think I’ll play along (when I can) and also will write about my own list of “40 things to do before I turn 40” from a few years ago!

Her first question was:  1) A favourite book of 2011 (so far)
When I looked through my Goodreads “read” shelf, the books that had five stars include all the Harry Potter books, which I listened to on audio this year, two Maeve Binchy books, and “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky”.  So I’m going to say my favorite of the year is “Finding Frankie” by Binchy.  I’ve expounded on my love of all things Binchy before, so I’ll just leave it at that.

My friend Deadra and I were both looking at turning 40 in 2008 and wanting to commemorate it in some way.  We love lists so decided to each write our own list of 40 things to do before turning 40.  We wrote the lists in late 2006, giving us plenty of time to accomplish them.  Looking at my own list of 40 Things Before 40, my #1 started out simple –
1)  Re-read “Pride and Prejudice.”
And I did.  To me, Austen is a great book to laze away the summer with, absorbing each word, paragraph and page.  It’s relaxing and a lovely way to spend time.

My list of Things was a lot of fun to write and accomplish, even though they were pretty small feats, for the most part.  Some of them were more about a way of thinking than doing.  It’ll be fun to relive it a little here…

Off to read!

 

Books: For when you need a life coach

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self help is sometimes impossible

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I received the book, “Where Will You Go From Here?” by Valorie Burton, through Blogging For Books. I chose this book over the others offered because of the subtitle: Moving Forward when Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.  It seemed appropriate that I get some advice as I move through this latest life change.  I am currently looking for a job and evaluating career goals, etc., so I thought using this book to help examine things would be good.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the book for me.  As a social worker, I have always looked at the power of thoughts, words, actions and relationships in daily life as well as in difficult times. One thing I didn’t consider much was the power of prayer, so that was a good lesson for me.  The book was pretty basic stuff but I would feel very confident recommending it to others who don’t have a background in counseling or social work, as I do.

It definitely was good information, presented well, with great opportunity for insight and reflection.

Catching up on Book Talk

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Cover of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan:...

Cover of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

It seems that I haven’t written about the books I’ve read lately!  I do post quick little reviews on goodreads (it’s just so easy to keep that site updated and write some thoughts) so I’ll recap here…

Reverse, chronological order 🙂

House Rules – I’m currently reading this book, after attempting to listen to the audiobook.  I was given the book and its heft made it pretty easy to grab the audiobook that was sitting on the shelf at the library, in order to replace my Harry Potter listening time!  But, oh!  How awful it was to listen to this book, narrated by four individuals, and told at a painfully slow pace.  Sometimes I thought the disc must be done but it was simply a pause – between sentences or paragraphs or chapters.  No matter.  Ugh.  So I picked up the book and have been ripping through it!  It is a fast read and I’m sure I’ll finish it tonight or in the morning. It’s hard to put down.  Isn’t it great when a book grabs you like that?

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – I have loved books about the Far Eastern culture for a long time.  Probably at least since I returned from my visit to South Korea, if not before. Lisa See has written some great books about the Chinese culture – in America and coming to America in recent history and in a more historical China. “Snow Flower” ia the first of Lisa’s books to make it to the big screen (I believe I’m right) and I am excited to see it. (I may have to make a trip to the Cities if I want to see it in the theatre!  Durn limited releases!) This book is about Snow Flower and Lily, who are matched as laotong or “old sames” as young girls. They communicate to each other mostly through the “women’s language,” nu shu, written on a fan.  The match is made so that one girl may rise up and the other may learn the ways of those lower than her.   A good read about these two women through their lifespans – one reaches 80 years.  I look forward to reading Lisa’s newest book – Dreams of Joy – a sequel to Shanghai Girls.  Yay!

The Girl in the Garden – Kamala Nair, an author who grew up in Rochester, wrote a charming and sweet story about a girl whose troubled mother brings her to her home village in India for a summer. Now an adult, Rakhee writes the story of the Girl in the Garden to her fiance as she returns to India to obtain resolution for the secrets that she learned as a 10 year old during that fateful summer.  I am also fascinated by the mid-Eastern culture and have read a lot of books set in India.  This was easy to read and a sweet story.

Olive Kitteridge – A book club pick that was lukewarmly received.  It was good.  Not great. Not gonna be something I will remember a year from now (well, maybe the fun time we had at book club not discussing it will be remembered!). But it was well-written and kept me reading, looking for Olive in the short stories.

Second Thyme Around; Stately Pursuits; Highland Fling – These three books by Katie Fforde were light and fluffy and predictable.  Good summer fare, but again not great.  I think in another post I listed other similar authors that I would recommend before Fforde (Jane Green; Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy) . Of these three books I would recommend Second Thyme Around as the most interesting.

I think I’m about caught up.  I will remember this spring/summer as being very full of Harry Potter, and now I’m done talking about that.

After I finish House Rules I will pick another book from my ever-growing pile and will let you know what’s next!  I encourage you to be my friend on goodreads and let me know what you’re reading!

Off to read!

It All Ends 7.15.11

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"the end" mosaic

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The famous tagline for the “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” movie, which premieres in the US on 7/15.  Last week I watched some of the UK Premiere Red Carpet hoopla and heard the speeches given by the cast and writers and directors.  Tears! Yesterday I finished the audiobook of Book 7.  Tears!  I found myself in the car, listening and crying.  I found myself walking around the house listening – and crying.  And now it’s done.  I am excited to see the movie – although I have found that listening to the books and watching the movies right after has made my head hurt a little.  The changes in plot and circumstances, while necessary to keep the movies under 2.5 hours, are very noticeable when you’ve just finished the book.  Will I see the movie at midnight on July 15?  Maybe.  If not, I’ll wait until an evening next week, when I will be more awake and coherent.

So now, back to my regularly-scheduled podcast listening for a while!  I am behind (although I’ve cut back, with getting back into audiobooks again) so I’ll catch up and then start listening to “Snow Flower and Secret Fan” before that movie comes out!  I’m attempting to listen to “Visit from the Goon Squad,” but finding it difficult to follow on audio. May need a physical copy to read.

I started “The Girl in the Garden” on Monday night and it is a fast and easy read!  I love books set in India or about the Indian culture, so it’s a given that I’ll enjoy it.  I’ll keep you posted about how much!  Kamala Nair is from Rochester and I purchased the book at her book signing at B&N in June. She’s coming to the library the end of July so I may go again and see if she has more to say at that time.

Well, my TBR list continues to grow!  I’m looking forward to some time spent with “The Girl in the Garden” on this beautiful day – not too hot but brilliantly sunny!  Yay!

What are you reading???

Off to read!

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Blogs

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I added links to my page with some of the blogs that I “subscribe” to. I only included BOOK blogs, although I do subscribe to others that I really enjoy. Maybe that’ll be another list sometime.

I feel like I’m kind of hodge-podgey in my subscriptions to blogs – whether or not I’m “following” via google, “subscribing” via email, anonymously stalking… I’m not sure why. It’s very random, based on how I am feeling at the time. Most of the blogs were found when I signed up for a challenge – I checked out all the other blogs that signed up for the challenge and subscribe to those (through blogger) that I felt had the most interesting blogs or the most similar tastes to me.

I went back to using blogger after my utter frustration with wordpress subscription’s slooooooooooooow loading. Also, blogger is the feeder for the reader app I use on the iPad. SO I moved “booky” blogs over to wordpress and back again. This summer I check the reader twice a day, reading (or skimming) about 20-30 new blog entries at each time. I star those that I want to read more thoroughly or whose books I want to add to goodreads TBR.

So, tell me about your blog reading? How do you keep up? How long do you give a blog before you “unsubscribe”? What reader do you use, or do you read via email?

Do you have any suggestions for more great blogs for me? I’m always open to a few more!!!

Off to read!