Category: Quick Lit

quick lit – next page, please {october 2018}

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My reading has taken a back seat this month due to preparations for the wedding I helped coordinate. I did manage to finish three books, so I guess that’s not too bad. And I also completed my Goodreads Reading Challenge of reading 38 books this year.

Currently Reading

  • Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness. This is the second installment of the four books of that rabbit hole Leigh Kramer led me into. Must admit, I didn’t get any further with this one.
  • Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen. Still working through this one.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I have got to finish this one before the year is out.

Read

  • This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth. I have enjoyed this one so much, I am currently going through it again. Geneen asks a lot of questions that I have been taking the time to journal my answers.  Very eye-opening.
  • Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson. This was a Rocket City Mom (RCM) Book Club pick. And boy! Was it a good one! It was humorous but poignant and very relevant for the times in which we find ourselves. Here’s the full review link in the RCM website.
  • Indestructible: Leverage Your Broken Heart to Become a Force of Love & Change in the World by Allison Fallon. I had the pleasure of attending a workshop that Allison presented two years ago. She is one of the reasons that I began writing again.  And her new book is a great read for anyone who is wanting the courage to listen to the voice within. I wrote a full review for the #write31days project: This Bookman: Meditations & Miscellany in October.  Check it out.

So, what have you been reading this month? 

Every month, I highlight what I’m reading in these posts: Quick Lit – Next Page Please. And per usual, I’m linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy.  Head over there see what others are reading. Maybe you will find something that will pique your interests.

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {september 2018}

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Oh, the rabbit holes of the reading life!  You can have a plan but one Instagram post – I’m looking at you, Leigh Kramer – a beautiful new book out that week, and my well-devised plan goes out the window and I am smack-dab in the middle of an outstanding series of four books that are all around or over 500 pages.  I’m not complaining; I’m just saying.

Currently Reading

  • This Messy Magnificent Life: A Field Guide by Geneen Roth. This picks up where Women, Food, and God left off, and has been good. I was moved by Women, Food, and God and with everything that has been going on, the title appealed.  This life is messy. But it is also magnificent.
  • Shadow of the Night by Deborah Harkness. This is the second installment of the four books of that rabbit hole Leigh Kramer led me to.
  • Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen. Still working through this one. The idea of the “Coffin Communique” was intriguing: what would you say if, after you died, you were given five minutes to say something at your memorial? That’s your message. Thought-provoking, isn’t it.
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This will fulfill Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2018 Reading Challenge category of a classic you’ve been meaning to read but I got to tell you, I am struggling. I had decided to tackle it in the same way that you eat an elephant: One bite, uh, chapter, at a time.  That is until I read Time’s Convert. Hopefully, I will get back to it by the end of the year.

Read

  • 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady. Finished this page turner in one day. I’m interested in the treatment of women in religious circles and a friend loaned this to me as a part of my research.
  • Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness. This is the book Leigh Kramer recommended on Instagram that sent me down that rabbit hole-the series is over 2000 pages. The fourth book stands-alone well and is the first one that I read. I have also completed the first one, The Discovery of Witches. Nothing like I expected but with a lot of elements that I love: time travel, thoroughly researched and rich with historical details, and it’s a book about books. Win-Win. It was also the nice break that I have been craving from emotional and mind-bending reads.
  • Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brené Brown. This one was good. Brené’s work on vulnerability and courage has helped me in my journey by giving me practical tips and strategies to live a more authentic and meaningful life.  I generally read, on GP, any books that she writes.
  • Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. Lovely printing of the journal of May Sarton. This gave me insight into the mind of a writer and help me know that I’m not alone in my crazy as I thought. Will definitely be reading more of her journals in the future.

What have you been reading this month?

Every month, I highlight what I’m reading in these posts: Quick Lit – Next Page Please. And per usual, I’m linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy’s.  Head over thest see what others are reading. Maybe you will find something that will pique your interests.

I’m participating in #write31days for the month of October on my love of books and reading.  Check out the series: This Bookman: Meditations & Miscellany.

til tomorrow, enjoy life

quick lit – next page, please {august 2018}

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Quick Lit {August 2018}

I feel like my reading life has been weird this month.  I have felt the urge to plan my reading for the rest of the year: looking at the three books that I need to finish the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s (MMD) 2018 Reading Challenge, meeting my goal of reading 38 books this year, and reading books for my work.  However, random books have appeared in my life that just had to be read right now, throwing off my carefully-laid plans.  Well, at least I am only six books away from my yearly goal and it’s only September.

Currently Reading

  • Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton. “I have time to think.  That is the great, the greatest luxury.  I have time to be. Therefore my responsibility is huge.”
  • Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen. Just beginning this one and while I have no desire to a transformational speaker, I am working to be a transformational writer. Hoping this will help.

Read

  • The Girl Who Takes and Eye for and Eye by David Lagercrantz. This one wasn’t as good as the others. As I write this, I am having a hard time remembering the storyline. That tells me something.
  • Write Happy, Write Smart by Cheryl St. John. The kick-in-the-rear I needed to get my writing life together. And the catalyst for prompting that reading plan I talked about earlier. Written for writers, St. John shares some interesting truths about conquering fear, releasing perfectionism, and others that are applicable for everyone.
  • Still Lives by Maria Hummel. A dark and twisty novel that was August’s Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick. Boy, does Maria Hummel have a way with words: “Most days pass in a pleasurable blur of words and pictures” – that’s a good line. But the book paced a little slower than I prefer.
  • The Mind-Gut Connection: How the Astonishing Dialogue Taking Place in Our Bodies Impacts Health, Weight, and Mood by Dr. Emeran Mayer. Very interesting scientific facts regarding probiotics and your digestive system. The most fascinating thing that I learned was that your digestive system has its own nervous system, known as ENS, that is practically independent of the brain. And is often referred to as the “second brain”.  Thus the accuracy of such statements like, “I feel it in my gut.” WOW!
  • How to Walk Away: A Novel by Katherine Center. One that entered my life quite suddenly and that I just had to read. Which I did. In two days – I absolutely loved this novel. Center takes a difficult and depressing event in her character’s life but somehow makes it an enjoyable read with lessons to boot.  She is also majorly gifted in writing from a character’s point-of-view.  I was inside Maggie’s head and was thoroughly impressed.
  • I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel, of Modern Mrs. Darcy fame. This sweet little volume of Anne’s reflections of her reading life inspired me to do my own reflection of my love of books and reading which led to some pleasant and even tearful experiences. Coming soon.

 Abandoned Reading (Temporarily)

  • The Odyssey by Homer. Translated by Emily Wilson. I have been reading a lot (6 books this month alone) and I want to slow down and savor this one when I don’t have as much of a reading agenda.

What have you been reading this month? And I really could use your help with the MMD category: Book nominated for an award in 2018. Thanks.

enjoy life…