Tag: read

quick lit – next page, please {january 2016}

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For those who are new to the blog, and we have quite a number of new readers (Yay!), every Friday, I like to post Friday’s “Secret” to enjoying life. But today, Friday’s “Secret” is being preempted by this month’s Quick Lit post. I am thrilled, once again, to be linking up with Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy to share what I have been reading this month.

Last month was a little sparce. The only books that I completed were the books that I was reading to Buddy Man. Thank you for the suggestions of new story board books for him. Please keep those suggestions coming.

Like last year, I have set a reading goal for 2016. I would like to read 36 books this year, which amounts to 3 books a month or 1 book every 10 days. This, I believe, is doable for me; especially if I can stay off Netflix and Amazon Prime!

I am also participating in the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2016 Reading Challenge. There are some very cool categories this year; I am particularly excited about “a book you previously abandoned” and “a book you own but have never read”. You can check out her other categories here.

Read:

  • The Round House by Louise Erdrich: So, last month, I really didn’t have many good things to say about this one. It wasn’t one that I picked for myself; it was a book club selection. However, I must say, that my mood about it has changed and it was a very fine book: insightful, thought-provoking, and on a subject matter, the effects of a sexual crime on a family, particularly, the Native American community, that I previously knew nothing about. When I first started the book, I really liked Erdrich choice of words but as I continued, it became harder to follow. I have figured out why. Erdrich does not apply the use of quotation marks so it was very difficult for me to determine when someone was speaking. That was very annoying to me. Yet, as I continued to read, I began to follow the rhythm a lot better and in the end, I am happy that I read this book and was exposed to Louise Erdrich as an author! I especially enjoyed this turn of phrase: “The thought came again, more insistent, and this time I let it in and reviewed it. I thought this idea through to its conclusion. I stood back from my thought. I watched myself think. The end of thinking occurred.”
  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George: A book about everything to do with books, one of my favorite type of books, this one was written wonderfully. I like to write down thought provoking quotes and beautiful phrases/sentences and this one had so many that it would be impossible to write them all here. So I will have to pick one of my favorites: “Love requires so much courage and so little expectation.”
  • 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help that Actually Works – A True Story by Dan Harris: I was pleasantly surprised at how open and forthcoming Harris was in this memoir. I picked up the book for two reasons: one, in large part, due to a review by Modern Mrs. Darcy and two, the fact that title was very intriguing to me because the voice in my head is always going non-stop as well. In the book, Harris’ discusses his journey into finding and beginning a mindfulness/meditation practice. While his journalistic background was evident (he used a lot of words I know and love but rarely use in every day life but wish that I did) Harris was authentic and humorous! I read this book on the way to our annual family vacation at the beach while riding in the car with my extended family and laughed out loud so many times my dad kept asking me what was so funny. Definitely a contender for my personal Book of the Year! A quote I need to remember: “Make the present moment your friend rather than your enemy. Because many people [including me] live habitually as if the present moment were an obstacle that they need to overcome in order to get to the next moment.”

Currently Reading:

 Paused Reading:

  • Daring Greatly by Brené Brown: Paused this one in December. Will pick back up at some point this year! Still enjoying lighter fare this month.

 As always, don’t forget to stop by the Quick Lit link-up over at Modern Mrs. Darcy and check out other great book recommendations. I am on Goodreads and would love more friends, and again, please keep those story board book recommendations coming for a 15-month-old.

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {december 2015}

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 My reading was super light this month. I do need to finish two books before December 31 to meet my amended goal of 35 books in 2015 which I am confident that I will do. I have smashed my original goal of 12. I have just been in a reading slump this month.

I have identified myself as a reader for as long as I can remember. I read everything I could get my hands on, bottom of the Kleenex tissue box not withstanding – a story for another post. Since I am a “real reader”, I have always read everything that I have ever started through to completion, even if it was a struggle. Then, my girl, Gretchen Rubin (Hey! Her Happiness Project changed my life, I have read most of her books, I listen to her podcasts, and I have emailed her twice and she has been gracious enough to respond each time, so yeah, that’s my girl!), talked about how she had decided to stop reading books that she didn’t enjoy. She talks about it here. So after much debate with myself, I have decided to do that too. My reasoning: Even if I live to be 100, I will NEVER be able to read all the books I want to read. My TBR (to be read) list on Goodreads is over 125 books right now. I need to make better use of my time! So with that being said I…

Stopped Reading:

  • The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: Yes I know, in last month’s Quick Lit, I was extolling the beautiful writing and vivid setting descriptions and I said that I would finish even if I had to check it out of the library again, which I did do by the way. But the story was moving to slow for me and ultimately, when I was honest with myself, I just didn’t care about the Mud Man enough to find out who or what he was. Although my first exposure to Kate Morton ended with me not finishing, this book does not discourage me from reading more of her work. The Lake House is on the TBR.

Currently Reading:

  • The Round House by Louise Erdrich: I am reading this for a book club and I feel bad saying this but that is the ONLY reason I am still reading this book. My original plan had been to keep my reading light this December, and that is not happening with this one. The subject matter is very serious. Erdrich is the most prolific writer of novels about Native Americans, and the book has won numerous awards. A “real reader” like myself, should be eating this one up. I’m not. I just don’t think I am in the mood for it. But it must be read by December 31 so that I may contribute intelligently to the discussion, so I struggle on.
  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George: Thanks to Modern Mrs. Darcy, I have discovered that one of my favorite types of book is a book about books and all things dealing with books. This one is in that category and it makes me want to own a little bookstore one day. And I wish there was such a place as the Literary Apothecary and someone like Monsieur Jean Perdu who knew just what books an individual needed to cure what ailed them emotionally! Although in researching whether there was such a thing as a literary apothecary, so that I wouldn’t look like an ignoramus, I stumbled over Read It Forward and their Book Apothecary. I will be checking that out. Has anyone already done so?

Paused Reading:

  • Daring Greatly by Brené Brown: Not in the mood right now for all the introspection required to fully savor and digest this one. It’s the Holidays! Will pick this up again in the new year.

Read:

I’m just realizing that the only books I have completed this month are from Buddy Man’s personal library; and I have read them over and over again. Can these count toward my yearly reading goal?

FYI, this December, The UPS Store and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation are teaming up! For every social media post sharing a children’s book with the #ReadItForward, The UPS Store will donate $1 to the Toys for Tots Literacy Program.

For more interesting book reviews by other readers across the blogosphere, check out Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit Link-up.

And I wish I had some more friends on Goodreads. I am at www.goodreads.com/shannanenjoyslife

AND, I need some more story books that would be good for a 14-month-old. If they are board books, better and better.

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {november 2015}

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quick lit-november 2015Today I’m linking up with one of my favorite haunts on the web, Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy. The site is great for a bookman like me. Anne reads a ton; I mean, I thought I read a lot but there really is no comparison.

This year, I am on target to read 35 books. Initially, after the birth of the Buddy Man, I lowered my expectations dramatically and set a goal of 12 for the year. Well, needless to say, I have smashed that goal and am still going; and a lot of the books that I have read this year have been based on reviews and recommendations by Modern Mrs. Darcy. Thanks Anne!

Once a month, she hosts a monthly link-up on her site called Quick Lit where she and other bloggers, like me, let you know what we’ve been reading lately. So here’s my round-up for the month. It’s weighing heavily on the self-help shelf. I’m planning to lighten it up bit over the Holidays.

Read:

  • Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin: A re-read because I used it extensively during that presentation I made in October. I talk about what I learned from that experience here. A quote that hit close to home: “Stress doesn’t necessarily make us likely to indulge in bad habits; when we’re anxious or tired, we fall back on our habits, whether bad or good.”
  • The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson: Read this as a part of a Facebook 21 Day Personal Development Challenge Group. Thanks, Randi! Very easy read for me and due to the inability to sleep a couple of nights, pulled this off in a little over three days. I appreciated the concept that our actions, however insignificant they may appear at the time, are always tending us either up or down, positively or negatively, forward or backward, and through the compound effect, these actions will determine whether we are successful or unsuccessful at life. Not a new concept, but I appreciated the simplicity of the writing and the reminder to keep working on the things that I am working on, even though I don’t see the changes or results right away. They will happen if I don’t get give up! Favorite Quote: “It has already been proven that information and technology alone are not going to create real change….Information needs to be coupled with a community to have any real life-changing effects.”
  • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert: Even though I read it early last month I am including it in this month’s edition because Elizabeth Gilbert and her podcast, Magic Lessons, where Brené Brown was a guest, is one of the main reasons I had to pick up Rising Strong. I have to say that these two books go very well together. Quote I try to remember every day:“…my fear was boring. Mind you, my fear had always been boring to everybody else,…”
  • Rising Strong by Brené Brown: I have failed at so many things so many times that I was interested in the research about what it took to keep trying in spite of failure; to get back up on one’s feet and do it again. I have completed the book but know that I am going to have to reread it again to really digest all that was there. I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the meat of it in the new year after digesting Daring Greatly. One of my favorite quotes:“…absolutely no amount of experience or success gives you a free pass from the daunting level of doubt that is an unyielding part of the process.”

Currently Reading:

  • Daring Greatly by Brene Brown: After reading Rising Strong, my first book by Brown, you know I had to go back and read the one before it. I must say that I would probably have preferred to have read this before I read Rising Strong. I was reading this one at my usual pace and then realized that I wanted to study and really internalize the material. So I am slowing this one way down and thus it will take a while to read it.
  • The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: This is my first novel by Kate Morton and I must say that she writes beautifully. I love books that describe settings vividly. It helps me visualize the story. However, I am having trouble moving through this book due to the sheer volume the descriptions. The story is moving a little slow for my taste but the writing is lovely and I will eventually finish this one, even if I have to check it out again from the library.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the following:

  • L M N O Peas by Keith Baker: This one is read, and reread, and then reread again almost every day! Favorite quote and the one that sparked the title for these Quick Lit posts: “We’re readers! Next page, please!”

What books have you been reading lately?

enjoy life…