Just Finished: "I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman"

It become apparent about 5 pages in that I wasn't the demographic for this book. Ephron talks about sagging necks, plastic surgery and everything else about the aging process. Nevertheless, I continued to read because she also discussed her failed marriages, living in NYC, and food.

I found myself giggling about her views on owning a purse-expensive and they highlight how unorganized we are.  I totally agree!

I also discovered cookbook author Lee Bailey because of Ephron, and put one of his books on hold at the library.

Some of Ephron's nuggets of wisdom:

*Keep a journal

*Take more pictures

*There's no point in making pie crust from scratch

*"Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was 26. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don't take it off until you're 34."

*Eat, drink and be merry

*Consider the alternative. It could be worse.

Quick read and her essay on planning her own funeral was eerie.

RIP Nora Ephron

Just Finished Reading: The Prisoner's Wife

The Prisoner's Wife is a true story about a young woman who meets and marries a convicted murderer while volunteering at a state prison.

Bandele has a very poetic style and this is most definitely a love story.  She doesn't go into great detail about her husband's case or his remorse (or lack of), but we do get a glimpse into the financial constraints, loneliness and judgement from family and friends that she deals with.

She and her husband didn't start dating until they knew each other for 2 years and connected over social and political issues.  They married during their 4th year-right there in the prison.

My only gripe is that Bandele gave her husband, Rashid this "perfect" persona throughout the book. I guess I can understand though because he helped her a lot with self-esteem issues and depression.

The book was written in 1999, so I wonder if they're still together.

"Wild" Book Review "It Was Ok"

I wanted to stop reading this book more than a few times over the last few weeks.

It's the story of Cheryl Strayed, who hiked over 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail without much planning or purpose (in the beginning).  The writing was decent but the author drove me crazy with all the selfish & reckless behavior and entitlement. She whined a lot and most of the problems were self-inflicted. Go figure!

After seeing Wild listed on Amazon's "Top 100" several times over the last few months and Oprah selecting it for her virtual book club, I figured it couldn't hurt to check it out from the library.

Overall, I was glad to finish the book, but I can't say I recommend it. I admire her courage and strength because there's no way I could've done it the same way myself, but she complained too much for my taste. I do like the way the story ended, and felt she redeemed herself in the end. It wasn't horrible per say, but it was very easy to put down and pick up other books. lol

My notes...

*I giggled when Stray referred to her younger brother as "irresponsible" and as "hard to reach"  Umm, that's you, boo! lol Who goes on a 1,100 mile solo hike without testing their equipment and with no hiking experience? *shaking my head*

*The kindness of strangers is prevalent in this book and it warmed my heart over and over again. I had the feeling a lot of it was due to Stray's pretty face, and this was confirmed by other hikers on the trail later in the book. I didn't really care though, because I enjoyed reading the stories.

*Stray was very candid about her drug use, horny thoughts, and random sexcapades. She even took a huge roll of condoms on the trail with her. Who does that? lol  I'm no prude, so I was happy to get the details *shaking my head* lol

*I teared up more than once when Stray talked about her mother.  How much she loved her, how much she hated her for leaving (dying), and her journey to healing (somewhat) from her death.

2 of the best quotes...

When an attorney marveled at the idea of Stray hiking the trail and blamed his job for never doing it himself, Stray told him,  "You could. You should. Believe me, if I can so this, anyone can."

While hitchhiking, a lady gave her opinion on hiking the trail solo

"...I think it's neat you do what you want. Not enough chicks do that, if you ask me-just tell society and their expectations to go fuck themselves.  If more women did that, we'd be better off."

"Steal Like An Artist-10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative"

I reread Steal Like An Artist after Eric finished it.  Since it's such a quick read, I decided to take some notes this time around.  I appreciate books that get to the point with quality information.

 

Some quotes/notes from the 2nd time....

*Step away from the computer and tap into your real creativity using pen and paper to avoid continuous self editing. Let those creative juices flow! I remember Maya Angelou saying she writes all of her books on a yellow legal pad. :-)

Quotes

"If you're free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running from it."

"Your job is to collect good ideas.  The more good ideas you collect, the more you can choose from to be influenced by."

"Carry a notebook and pen with you wherever you go. Get used to pulling it out and jotting down your thoughts and observations."

"Don't wait until you know who you are to get started." I LOVE this one!

"You have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and you have to start doing the work you want to be doing."

"You can't go looking for validation from external sources. Once you put your work into the world, you have no control over the way people will react to it." This one struck a nerve! I'm working on it. lol

"Not everyone will get it. People will misinterpret you and what you do.  They might even call you names.  So get comfortable with being misunderstood. disparaged, or ignored-the trick is to be too busy doing your work to care."

If you have an hour to spare, I highly recommend this book.

Also, Ignore Everyone is another quick read.

Transferring Addiction

I don't know how scientific this is, but I get the feeling you're never really cured from addictions. We just simply transfer it to something else.  That something else can be good or bad.  

I'm hoping to transfer my addiction to something good.  

It feels funny saying I have an Internet addiction.  I mean how silly is that? It's fairly accurate, though. I can very easily spend all day and night surfing the net.  Checking my email constantly, watching Youtube videos, lurking on Twitter, and giggling at celebrity gossip on endless blogs and message boards.  

I'm really so tired of it all.

After getting my new library card several weeks ago, I've fallen back in love with reading hardcover books. I browse the library every few days with the family, and feel so thankful that this valuable free service is literally right next day to our new home (we don't officially move until this weekend). 

I'm hoping to transfer my Internet addiction to books. 

Who knows-maybe I will read 52 books next year (one a week) without much effort.  Achieving that goal will a lot better than the 1/3 of the number I read this year.

I started a board on Pinterest to track my progress.