Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to increase the number of days I went to the gym. I had been only going one day a week with a friend and I wanted to increase to three times a week. This past week I FINALLY fulfilled that requirement! Tuesday:  My friend wasn't in the mood to go and normally we have the bad habit of talking each other out of going to the gym but not this week.  I told her we should go to the gym and work out our frustrations.  So she upped her hill program and admitted to feeling better. Thursday:  Thursdays are my weird shift at work. I work 1-9 so I have the mornings free and normally I tend to make them lazy mornings if I don't have a doctor's appointment or something else pressing I need to do. But I know they make a good time to go to the gym so off I went. Weekend:  The third step to my plan was to get to the gym either Saturday or Sunday. I had a bad day Saturday and barely had the gumption to get up off the couch. I als...

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 My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is not a typical self-improvement book, but it had a positive affect on my own thoughts on meditation and how to calm my monkey mind. I've tried meditation. I never knew if it was worth it or not to keep at it or just give it up.  I've read a lot about how it can help with anxiety and sensory processing disorder, my two major issues. Dan Harris shares his personal journey with meditation and how it's helped change is life.  Part of his journey was reading the works of other meditation self-help gurus. Hearing about his disbelief resonated with me. I liked hearing how even though he had some disbelief he continued to pursue this path because what little he had at that point seemed better with meditation. He says that as a result of his journey he's 10% happier than he was at the s...

I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister by Amélie Sarn My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book was originally written in French and I think some of the translations caused for some awkward phrases. Besides the translation issues, this book was a quick read and an interesting read.   Sohane and Djelila are sisters. They are both close and distant with each other. While physically they live in France, they inhabit two different worlds.  Sohane is an observant Muslim while Djelila has embraced a secular lifestyle.  Both girls are facing negative feedback from the community based on their decisions. Sohane has decided to wear a head scarf. Since head scarfs and veils have been outlawed in France, her school has given her an ultimatum. She can either remove her head scarf while in the building or she must leave school. Sohane decides that correspondence classes will be a better choice for her than attending school.  She doesn't have any friends so it's not a hard choice for her ...

I joined this website a number of years ago but didn't stay active. In order to get back in to the swing of writing I thought it would be fun to sing up for their Daily Theme emails.  I'll be writing some short fun pieces over there.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman My rating: 4 of 5 stars THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS My friend read this book before me and knowing my reading taste she told me it was one I should skip.  She knew I wouldn't like the abrupt ending.  Then she found out there was a second book and I quickly put the book on hold (still waiting for book 2!). I really liked how the title played multiple roles in the story. Mia is faced with the question of staying with her family or going off to explore her music. She's questions if she should stay with her chosen musical path. But the ultimate question is should she stay alive. I think this really powerful, this idea that in a situation like hers, we can make that choice. It really made me think. I liked that she is able to walk away from her body and see how her loved ones are coping and reacting to the events.  It's almost a It's A Wonderful Life  kind of story.  She gets to see what role she plays in everyone's lives. It ...

Write a letter to a child explaining how to do one thing (for example, ride a horse or throw a punch) (This is from my thesis story. I'm working on changing a lot of it and one of my ideas is making the recipe sections into letters. This prompt gave me the idea and this is the first one I changed into a letter from a mother passing on a family recipe to her daughter.)  Baby Girl, In the tradition of the women in the family I’m writing you this letter now while you are only days old. You won’t be opening this letter until you are much older. I received the letter my mother wrote to me on the night I graduated from graduate school.  She received her the night before her wedding to grandpop.  I don’t know when you’ll be getting this letter but when you read it, you will finally learn the secret to the family gravy. The recipe currently in my possession is sadly not the exact recipe my grandmother made.  Your grandmother had made some adjustments over the years. It still...