How is reading going for you in 2021 so far? I read seven books in January. I’m going to give some brief thoughts on each one here, then I need to get to reading some fiction, because six of my seven January reads were nonfiction. The images on these are huge. I don’t know why and I’m not skilled enough to change them, but if you click on the image, it will conveniently take you to the book on Amazon via affiliate link. Happy reading! Monsters of Men is the third book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness. Read More
Tag: audiobook
Gettin’ Gritty
Do you have grit? I imagine that most people like to think they do, but maybe I am projecting, because I want to be gritty. I can point to numerous situations in my life that have called for grit, times when I persevered. There have also been times when I quit. Times when I dropped one goal for another, games I lost, balls I dropped. Does that mean I don’t have it? This post is a sort of two-fold review. I listened to Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. It has been on my list for Read More
Crawdads in Context
I imagine you know what it feels like to be overwhelmed. Everyone living today knows the feeling, and I might be biased, but I think this is especially the case for women. The past several months have been my busiest time of year at work and there have been extra complications that made this year’s process more stressful. Add the fact that I was getting a divorce and dealing with a lot of personal stuff (stress) and that I am leading a book study of The Calling and participating in one for Warrior Heart Practice, and I’ve fallen behind on Read More
Recently Reading
My last blog was about watching terrible television, so you might think I haven’t been reading much. In fact, my television watching is less bingeing and more carefully planned portions (like Bright Line Eating.) This means I am *still* watching my way through Highlander. Meanwhile, I have actually been reading several books. I currently don’t have the wherewithal to make a whole blog post about any one of these books, so this week you get a run-down post compiling several of my recent reads. Enjoy! Scary Stuff Since this post covers things I read in October, it includes some creepy Read More
My Favorite Fantasy
This month for book club, I read two fantasy books. Is it right and proper for someone with a degree in English literature to admit that they prefer fantasy books above all others? That’s not going to surprise anyone, is it? It is a close call between fantasy, horror, and sci-fi when trying to pinpoint my favorite genre. Yes, I love the classics and have even been known to argue in favor of a literary canon – everyone should read Shakespeare, even in high school – but fantasy is the genre I return to when I want to lose myself Read More
My Must-Own Albums
When I recently upgraded my cell phone I lost a lot of music that I had imported from my CD collection and transferred from computer to phone for years. I also lost one of my favorite audiobooks that I listen to repeatedly. This has me pondering if I should pull out the old CDs or if I should just pay for these again in a digital format that can live in the cloud. Of course, when it comes to music, I am also a subscriber, so I find myself making more playlists and stations and not buying albums. Sometimes I Read More
Self Help Fest
In the first half of this year, I read 27 books. Twelve of those were non-fiction books that I think qualify as “self help.” Maybe a better way of describing these books is to say they are for my personal or professional development, but isn’t that just trying to put a spin on the fact that I am, in fact, trying to help my Self. I have always enjoyed this type of book ever since I read I’m Okay, You’re Okay in high school. I have seriously considered joining or starting a Self Help book club. Here are the books Read More
Epic Road Trip Adventure
When I chose the word ADVENTURE for my 2019 theme, this road trip was already in the works. Last year, I attended the Bright Line Eating Annual Family Reunion in San Diego all by myself. It was my first vacation alone, and while I loved spending time with my Bright Lifer roommate, it felt like a waste to pay for a nice room at a resort with all these amenities and not get to use them. I got the crazy idea in my head that my family could come with me and enjoy the resort. Naturally, we thought it would Read More
A Woman’s Words
Dystopian fiction is social commentary with a side of terror. It uses hyperbole to try and help us see that we are the frogs in the water that is starting to boil. It takes situations that some people are currently giving the side-eye, projects them into the future, and magnifies them x100. According to Rare Books Digest, the first dystopian novel was written in Russian but was banned and had it’s first release in the U.S. in 1924. What better way for such a form to make its debut than as a banned book? Aldous Huxley and George Orwell quickly Read More
To Kill a TBR… What’s On Your List?
If you are a book-lover like me, then you can relate – there are so many books and so little time. Listening to audiobooks on 1.5x speed can only help so much. Any faster and I literally start to panic. When I see a book that I want to read, I know it will be a while before I can get to it, so I like to pop the book on my TBR list. You should already know that means “To Be Read.” And you should already have a method for tracking it. If you don’t do this yet, just Read More