One of my favorite things to do is curl up with a great book.
There are a lot of books that I truly have loved, but my all time favorite is The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss.
A few years after graduation I was going through a difficult time and as I came across that book. It actually cheered me up and helped put things into perspective.
A few years after THAT two of my friends were going through a very difficult time, we sat on a couch together one night, had a good cry together then they each put their heads on my shoulders as I sat between them and read them that book.
It helped, we laughed about 3 adults (kind of... if you count early 20's as being an adult...) sitting together reading Dr. Seuss, gave each other hugs and moved on so they could continue to heal in the way that they needed to.
So that's my all time favorite, but I can't just keep reading that over and over (especially since it takes about 10 minutes to read) so I keep reading other books to find new favorites.
I have a really bad habit of reading a few books at once. If I'm really into a book I'll read it in a night or a weekend, but that's pretty rare. Usually I have between 2 -4 books going at once. I don't know what that says about my attention span... lol
Anyway, here's what I'm reading right now.
The China Study - T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II
I've been reading this one for a few months now, because it's very detailed and I want to absorb as much of the information as I can - plus I'm not a very "sciencey" person, and he spends a lot of time at the beginning explaining his work (which I appreciate).
If anyone is considering adopting a plant based diet, I strongly suggest that you read this book. If you're not considering adopting a plant based diet... I even strongly-er (what?) suggest that you read this. I think it's important to be informed about the choices you're making.
I’ve just started this book but I think I’m going to like it. I’ve read Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet In Heaven and thoroughly enjoyed both of them.
I borrowed it from the library – it’s a new thing I’m trying. lol
I also borrowed this from the library (I kind of wish I had bought it, purely for the irony)
Anyway, I’m about half way through.
It’s interesting.
It’s about a married couple that choose not to buy any non-essential items for a year; the author is very candid about the experience. So far I’m not inspired to take on a similar experiment, maybe that will change by the time I finish the book.
I’m not so much reading this book as I am using it.
It’s actually really great; it’s well laid out, and full of excellent tips.
I love to organize and purge our apartment of useless things, but I sometimes find it difficult and need an extra little push so this is perfect for me.
Update November 6, 2011
So I kind of forgot about this part of my blog... LOL ... whoops!
That doesn't mean I haven't been reading though.
Here's a quick update on the books that were in my last post.
I'm STILL reading The China Study by Colin T. Campbell... I know it's taking me forever - but it's super interesting, but I only read a little bit at a time ... like 3 pages little bit... hahaha (ps. awesome sentence right!? HA)
Anyway, it's taking me a long time but I'm still plugging away at it - and I still recommend it to everyone!
I finished Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
It was really good. I liked the other two books I read by him better, but I would still recommend this one to others.
I finished Not Buying it by Judith Levine
I wasn't in love with this book, I liked the voice of the author - I think that she was really authentic, but it certainly didn't inspire me to purchase less (actually, I don't think it was ever her intention to inspire people to buy less) and after I finished it, I really felt kind of 'meh' about the whole thing. *womp womp*
And of course I'm still using Organize Now by Jennifer Ford Berry, I've organized my cupboards, under my bathroom sinks, my closets (most of them anyway) but alas, I have no pictures of any of it to share - my camera's still broken... (again... womp womp)
So, what else have I read you may ask.... WELL... I've read some AWESOME books in the last month or two...
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
LOVED this book!!! It was a great read, and I loved the relationships between the characters.
It's about black women who care for white children in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60's - for a book about race relations in the American South in the 60's, it's surprisingly light hearted... but not in a way that demeans the underling topic. You'll see... you'll love it.
There's also a movie, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet - I hear it's great - but you should still read the book... always read the book first!! :)
Room - Emma Donoghue
This was an incredible book... it was one of my book club reads (yeah... so I'm in a book club... that's cool right... lol)
anyway, we had some really interesting discussions about this book and why or why not people liked it.
I really liked it, it's about a women and her child who are held captive - so a pretty dark topic - but it's told through the eyes of the child.
It's a really interesting perspective for a book that could otherwise be really dark, but the little boy brings an innocence and sweetness to it.
One of my book club members couldn't get past the language (because, of course, a 5 year old's language is quite different than an adults) but I'll let you judge for yourself - it's definitely worth a read though.
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
So, this is a book for teens... don't judge... it's awesome! And Harry Potter is a book for kids, and I think we can all agree that it's amazing...
Ok now that I'm finished being defensive, I'll tell you about the awesomeness that is The Hunger Games
It's also a really dark book, it's about this futuristic society that's broken up into districts, and once a year each district has to send one boy and one girl to the Hunger Games where they have to compete against all of the other contestants to the death... dun dun dunnnn....
I didn't think I'd like it at first, (it was another book club pick) but then I read it and could not put it down!
So I went out and bought the other two books in the trilogy Catching Fire and Mocking Jay I loved them too... and now there's a movie coming out - sweet!
Tara Road - Maeve Binchy
My mom actually recommended this book to me - it was lovely.
It's about a women living in Ireland (on... you guessed it... Tara Road) who ends up trading homes with an American women for the summer while they both deal with circumstances in their lives.
I loved the characters in this book... well, I was frustrated with some of them... and down right hated others - but isn't that the point of a good book, to make you feel strongly about the "people" in it? So I guess I should rephrase and say "I felt strongly" about the characters in this book... lol
It's a great rainy Sunday read. At least that's when I (mostly) read it, and it was exactly what I was looking for.
That doesn't mean I haven't been reading though.
Here's a quick update on the books that were in my last post.
I'm STILL reading The China Study by Colin T. Campbell... I know it's taking me forever - but it's super interesting, but I only read a little bit at a time ... like 3 pages little bit... hahaha (ps. awesome sentence right!? HA)
Anyway, it's taking me a long time but I'm still plugging away at it - and I still recommend it to everyone!
I finished Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
It was really good. I liked the other two books I read by him better, but I would still recommend this one to others.
I finished Not Buying it by Judith Levine
I wasn't in love with this book, I liked the voice of the author - I think that she was really authentic, but it certainly didn't inspire me to purchase less (actually, I don't think it was ever her intention to inspire people to buy less) and after I finished it, I really felt kind of 'meh' about the whole thing. *womp womp*
And of course I'm still using Organize Now by Jennifer Ford Berry, I've organized my cupboards, under my bathroom sinks, my closets (most of them anyway) but alas, I have no pictures of any of it to share - my camera's still broken... (again... womp womp)
So, what else have I read you may ask.... WELL... I've read some AWESOME books in the last month or two...
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
LOVED this book!!! It was a great read, and I loved the relationships between the characters.
It's about black women who care for white children in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60's - for a book about race relations in the American South in the 60's, it's surprisingly light hearted... but not in a way that demeans the underling topic. You'll see... you'll love it.
There's also a movie, but I haven't had a chance to see it yet - I hear it's great - but you should still read the book... always read the book first!! :)
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| Movie Cover |
Room - Emma Donoghue
This was an incredible book... it was one of my book club reads (yeah... so I'm in a book club... that's cool right... lol)
anyway, we had some really interesting discussions about this book and why or why not people liked it.
I really liked it, it's about a women and her child who are held captive - so a pretty dark topic - but it's told through the eyes of the child.
It's a really interesting perspective for a book that could otherwise be really dark, but the little boy brings an innocence and sweetness to it.
One of my book club members couldn't get past the language (because, of course, a 5 year old's language is quite different than an adults) but I'll let you judge for yourself - it's definitely worth a read though.
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
So, this is a book for teens... don't judge... it's awesome! And Harry Potter is a book for kids, and I think we can all agree that it's amazing...
Ok now that I'm finished being defensive, I'll tell you about the awesomeness that is The Hunger Games
It's also a really dark book, it's about this futuristic society that's broken up into districts, and once a year each district has to send one boy and one girl to the Hunger Games where they have to compete against all of the other contestants to the death... dun dun dunnnn....
I didn't think I'd like it at first, (it was another book club pick) but then I read it and could not put it down!
So I went out and bought the other two books in the trilogy Catching Fire and Mocking Jay I loved them too... and now there's a movie coming out - sweet!
Tara Road - Maeve Binchy
My mom actually recommended this book to me - it was lovely.
It's about a women living in Ireland (on... you guessed it... Tara Road) who ends up trading homes with an American women for the summer while they both deal with circumstances in their lives.
I loved the characters in this book... well, I was frustrated with some of them... and down right hated others - but isn't that the point of a good book, to make you feel strongly about the "people" in it? So I guess I should rephrase and say "I felt strongly" about the characters in this book... lol
It's a great rainy Sunday read. At least that's when I (mostly) read it, and it was exactly what I was looking for.
And last but certainly not least, I just finished reading The Year of the Flood by Margret Attwood. Now we need a little bit of background story for this one.
This is the second book in a trilogy (the third one isn't out yet) I read the first book Oryx and Crake when I was younger, and totally fell in love with it.
Oryx and Crake is about a dystopian civilization; the story line keeps switching back and forth between "present day" where there's almost no one left alive and the years leading up to this event.
It's amazing.
The Year of the Flood starts at around the same time that Oryx and Crake started, but it's from a different point of view. So the reader is picking up on some of the events that were mentioned in Oryx and Crake, but we're seeing it from a different perspective.
We also get to see the lives of the main characters of this book intersect with the lives of the main characters of Oryx and Crake. It's interesting, because in the first book, they were just mentioned in passing, where as in the second book, we get to see a much deeper meaning in those interactions and relationships.
*Sigh* Margaret Atwood is a genius...
I really loved this book and I can not wait for the final one!
