Vacation

Me and the captain are such a good team.  I think that a lot.  We balance each other out.  I'm kind of a pushover; he's a little too strict.  He's kind of private; I am...not.  He's my yin to my yang, and I'm grateful.  But here's what we're really good at.  Seriously, awesomely simpatico:  packing for vacation.

I'm good at the week-before prep. I make lists and pack clothes, and swimming stuff, and beach gear.  I organize meals, and pack the right seasonings and tin foil, and baggies.  I make sure the laundry is clean and put together.  But I swear, he picks up everything I leave off.  All electronics.  Nightlights. Fans.  My pillow.  All the last minute stuff.  And he can pack that car like a boss.

We had such a great vacation this year.  Dreamy, really.  Here's what I did:

Watched my kids swim.
Watched my baby splash in her baby pool.
Eat lots of food, including locally-made summer sausage and my own homemade guacamole
Read three books:
The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (five stars!)
Bad Monkeys (highly recommended by my cousin Chris on his blog The Gamer Cave) (four stars -- it got a little sci-fi for me in the second half!)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (still reading)
these were amazing summer vacation books.  happy sigh.
Spent quality time with my husband
Spent a little time working; sold a house remotely!
Floated on the lake
Slept in
Took 200 photos.

I wish I could do it all over again.  It was pure perfection, even the vicious mosquitoes and deerflies.  Perfect Up North vacation.  Can't wait for next year!

Goodreads

If you're a reader and aren't on Goodreads, you're missing out.  I know because I just finally joined it this week.  Heh.  But still.  What fun!  What good fun!  I was able to rate the books I've read and meet up with a bunch of friends so I can see the books they have rated highly.  What fun!  (I don't know if my auntie Anne reads my blog, but if someone who knows her does, tell her to find me.  I know she loves to read and I'd love more of her recommendations.  Also, Elizabeth!  Are you on there?)

Anyway.  In the process, I realized a few books I recommend that I may not have previously:

Snow Flower and Secret Fan by Lisa See
Kite Runner and Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Angels & Demons and Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

These are some wonderful reads.  I wish I could pick them up and read them again for the first time.  Except Snow Flower. That book is kind of sad.

Man, I love to read.  Find me on Goodreads!

Remembered one!

Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin.  Grab this book and a box of Kleenex.  It's a heartbreaker of a memoir, but its an inspirational love story.  Worth the day it'll take you to read it.

(Long Overdue) Reading Update

It's been 18 months since I updated.  I will never remember everything I've read since the last one, but I'll try.  And I'll update when I think of more.

Fearless by Eric Blehm.  My friend Chuck made me read this book (Hi, Chuck!), and I'm glad he did.  It's a weighty one, yo.  It's about a fallen Navy SEAL who was so far above extraordinary, there almost aren't words for it.  And his journey is pretty incredible.  I basically cried my way through it...I am in awe of other peoples' journeys.  And it personalized servicepeople a little, which is never a waste.

Seriously, I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres.  Just read it.  You will thank me.  I read it on the plane to LA and my seatmates thought I was crazy.

Bossypants by Tina Fey.  If you love Tina, read it.  I loved it.

Stories I Only Tell my Friends by Rob Lowe.  If you love Rob Lowe, read it.  I thought his was a great read!

Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Young Adult.  It was a book I was excited to get to each night.  But nowhere near as good as The Hunger Games.

The Last Word:  A Spellman Novel by Lisa Lutz.  The latest in one of my favorite series; the Spellman books.

Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin.  Not something I'd typically choose, but I had heard such great things about it.  I read the first two books in the series and loved it.  Then it got kind of heavy, so I'm taking a break.  May resume the series one day.

The Century Trilogy (Fall of Giants and Winter of the World) by Ken Follett.  I'm just starting the second book (the third is not yet released).  I enjoy this series, but they're no Pillars of the Earth or World Without End.

Between Two Worlds

Once in awhile, a book socks me in the stomach.  This was one of them.  It's the memoir of a woman who is the daughter of Saddam Hussein's former pilot.  Her parents were intimately close friends of the dictator, and it's a facinating look into his private life and rise to power.  It will shock you.  It will make you cringe.

How this woman escaped Iraq and not came to live a "normal" life, but to thrive and do such wonderful work astounds and inspires me.

This story is why I hate war.  This is the woman I've always thought of when we decidedly hate all Muslims, or carelessly drop missles in other countries.  The collateral damage of war is real and prevalent today. 

Additionally, this book reminds us that there are still oppressed women everywhere.  We must spend some of our resources to help them. 

I finished it late last night and went to bed sad.  Sad that we continue to hurt people so deeply.  That one man can rise to power and destroy a nation.  Both the physical attributes and the people in it.  That we, as human beings, have that much potential to destroy.  I was feeling really depressed about the state of our world and overwhelmed with the responsibility of changing it.  Because I must.  And we must. 

It's a powerful book. I urge you to read it.

Turning pages...

I have been terribly remiss in updating you on my reading lists, but honestly...very little has blown my literary socks off for this summer (trust me -- I'm more disappointed than you are).  I commented on a couple, which you should run out and pick up or reserve at the library.  The ones without comments, you can probably just breeze over.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

Facinating.  Absolutely brilliant. I had no idea anything like this situation existed.  It will make you think!

Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand

You know, my sister couldn't put this book down, but I quit 100 pages into it. 

The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly

The Pilot's Wife, Anita Shreve

Dog On It, Spencer Quinn

Super fun. A man runs a detective agency and this book is written from his dog's perspective.  Brilliant, and hilarious.  A great summer read.  (Way better than The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein).

Sister Mine, Tawni O'Dell

House Rules, Rachel Sontag

This was a good book.  A little sad, but a good memoir.

Swallows of Kabul, Yasmina Khadra

Between Two Worlds, Zainab Salbi

You should read this book.  The author is the daughter of Saddam Hussein's former pilot.  The intimate social relationship with the dictator is facinating. Probably the best book I read this summer.

The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff

I'd recommend this book.  It's hard to get into, but about 100 pages in, I was hooked.  Another FLDS book...

Pages Update

I must update this before I forget what books I've been reading!

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Wonderful books. Absolutely riveting. Early on someone said that there were parallels between Panem and America. And I have to admit, shamefully, that I see it. I even saw myself in the Capitol. As horrible as the storyline was, it really made me think about our world today and its excesses, while so many in the world struggle. Facinating stuff.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

As I've said before I really love historical fiction, particularly from this time period. But neither the White Queen nor this one captivated me like I would have liked. I think its because I don't hear the old English dialect in her writing. When I read Alison Weir, for example, I find myself talking and thinking in that dialect...it's so catchy and wonderful. A good read, but not great.

The Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

The House at Riverton was good but The Forgotten Garden was magical. I absolutely loved this book. I love a book that I can't wait to lie down at night to dig into. This was one of those!

As always, looking for more recommendations!

Turning pages...

I’ve read a few books since the last update. Last week, I received four of my library requests at once.  I am pleased to say, I am on the final book (although I didn't read Freedom (see below)), and read the other three in a single week.  Oh, how I love books.  (Although I am thrilled to have learned that I can suspend my requests so there's not so much pressure in the future!)

Here are the latest and my comments on them:

The White Queen, Philippa Gregory

I love this historical period and the novels that so many talented authors present to us.  I really appreciate this author (The Other Boleyn Girl), but the style of Alison Weir is preferable to me (The Lady Elizabeth and Innocent Traitor).  If you love historical fiction and haven't read either of those, I highly recommend them.

Fall of Giants, Ken Follett

I liked it. It’s the first book in a trilogy. This first book takes place during WWI. It’s pretty history-intense, and the personal plots are a little thin, in my humble opinion. It didn’t compare to either Pillars of the Earth or World Without End in the way they captured my attention, but I did finish it and I will try the second book in the trilogy when its released.

Dirty Sexy Politics, Meghan McCain

This was a really fun non-fiction book. It’s the story of the daughter of John McCain’s experiences during the 2008 campaign. She’s a young American who is fairly disenfranchised with the Republican party. She thinks the party could use some energy and needs to try harder to keep up with the issues of the young people in this country. I like some of her ideas, and it was really fun to get a sneak peak into what happened behind the scenes and her take on the political process, and her view of Sarah Palin. I highly recommend this book.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

My friend Molly insisted I read this book.  She's a avid reader like I am, and I've loved every book she's recommended.  I read the synopsis of this book many months ago, and decided against it.  But when Molly pressured me, I agreed to try again.  I read a lot of books…many of which I enjoy. But it’s been a long time since I read a book that I could not put down.  I was horrified at the subject matter, but there was no way I could stop reading it; and I can’t wait to read the next book, Catching Fire. There are evidently parallels to the world we live in today, but to me they are not obvious, so I'd love to discuss this in a book club someday.

Freedom, Jonathan Franzen

Ugh. Couldn’t do it. Partially because I was coming off the intensity of the previously mentioned book, but it was a total bore. I read the first 70 pages before I quit. I don’t get what the hype was over this book...I thought it was very laborious to read, and the reward wasn't worth it.

I'm currently reading Sold by by Patricia McCormick, for an online book club.  I'm a third of the way through and will give you my thoughts when I finish it.

I recently thought of a book I read a long time ago, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’s such a good read. If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend this as well.

On reserve for me at the library are Catching Fire and Mockingjay (the second two books in The Hunger Games trilogy), Ape House by Sara Gruen (author of Water for Elephants, which I adored -- read it if you haven't!), Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman, The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard, The House at Riverton by Kate Morton (a recommendation from my friend Krista, another avid reader), and The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory.

Reading Update

It dawns on me that I haven't shared my reading list with you recently!  These are the books I read the past two months:

Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay
Liked it.  I thought the first half was better than the second, but it's definitely thought-provoking and reminds us that there has been/is much suffering in the world.

Spellmans Strike Again, Lisa Lutz
Loved all four books in this series!

The Millenium Trilogy, Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Loved all three books in this series!

The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein
Good, not great.  I found myself skimming it, and it was pretty sad.
 
Comanche Moon, Larry McMurty
I love all of his books, although nothing will ever top Lonesome Dove.
 
Pigs in Heaven, Barbara Kingsolver
I'm having a love affair with this author.  She's amazing.
 
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Books on reserve at the library:
 
Ape House, Sara Gruen
 
Choosing to See, Mary Beth Chapman
 
Dirty Sexy Politics, Meghan McCain
(this woman intrigues me...an strong gay woman with a powerful father, both of whom are Republicans.  I'd like to get inside her head for a moment and find out why she supports a political party that )
 
Freedom, Jonathan Franzen
 
The Good Daughters, Joyce Maynard
 
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
 
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At home I have:
 
Streets of Laredo, Larry McMurty
 
I, Elizabeth, Rosalind Miles (love me some good historical fiction!)
 
How about you?  Read anything good lately?  I love recommendations!

Barbara Kingsolver

I'm having a love affair with Barbara Kingsolver.  Of course you know I loved The Poisonwood Bible.  Yesterday (at the beach!), I finished Prodigal Summer.  I loved every minute of it.  Do yourself a favor and read this one too. I'm half way through her book Pigs in Heaven as well, but it keeps getting put on the back burner, since library ones keep coming in and that's one is a garage sale model...

(I picked up Half-Broke Horses and Girl Who Played with Fire at the library this week.  I'm already tired thinking of all the sleep I'm going to miss to get these back to the library in three weeks!)

The Poisonwood Bible

Every once in awhile, there is a book that just gets you in the gut.  This one did for me.  Since I read it, several other friends have read it or considered reading it.  At Julie's suggestion, we're going to try an online book club for this book here, on Bits and Pieces in one month.  We'll use the bookclub questions written for this book.  Should be a great discussion...get reading!

Also, an update on what I've been reading:

Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Baybery
Couldn't do it.  Got half way through before I gave up.  I like intellectual reads, but I'm not smart enough for this book.

Hundred Secret Senses, Amy Tan
Eh.  I'll probably finish it, but it's not holding my interest very well.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
YAY!  I got books 1 - 6 from my sister and am half way through the first one. I think I am going to enjoy this series.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
LOVED it.  Can't wait to read the next two.

Book Recommendations

A friend asked me to bookmark all the recommendations I got for summer reading, and it's a great idea. For me, because I'll surely never be able to find that list again as it gets buried on my wall, and for you, because...well, they're great recommendations. I added a few of my favorites as well.

One Thousand White Women, Jim Fergus
(just picked up from the library today)

Spellman Books, Lisa Lutz
(The Spellman Files, Curse of the Spellmans, Revenge of the Spellmans, Spellmans Strike Again)
(read the first two, have the third in my vacation pile. These are super fun, easy smart books. Perfect summer reading!)

The Millenium Trilogy, Stieg Larsson
(Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest)
(I'm on the reserve list at the library!)

The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
(read it, loved it.)

The Historian, Elizabeth, Kostova
(in my vacation pile)

Authors: Sparks and Jodi Piccoult
(Can't read Jodi Piccoult.  I read My Sisters Keeper and said I'd never read another.)

Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurty
(I just finished this book.  No, I had a love affair with this book. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.  You need 50 - 100 pages to get to know the characters, but I actually miss this group of characters and wish Mr. McMurty had done a sequel.)

Author: Wally Lamb
(I read She's Come Undone, but will eventually try others.  I liked it, but wasn't blown away.)

Same Kind of Different As Me, Ron Hall

Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

The Power of One, Bryce Courtenay
(in my vacation pile)

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
(in my vacation pile)

Pollan’s In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan

The Water is Wide, The Great Santini, and Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Summer Sisters, Wifey, Judy Blume

The Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
(read it, loved it.)
 
The Tender Bar, J.R. Moehringer
(read it, loved it.)

Summer Reading

Last week, I asked for summer book requests on facebook. I got such great recommendations!  Here are the books I'm holding until vacation...it's going to be really hard to keep my paws off of them for the next month!

Also, I just read:

The Tender Bar (a memoir) by J.R. Moehringer, a lovely book.  Might be my favorite memoir ever.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.  A must-read.

On my list at the library, waiting to come in:

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Baybery
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Thank you to all my friends for the recommendations!

Reading Update

Awhile ago I posted what I was reading. Thought I'd give you an update.

Dive from Clausen's Pier: Read it. Loved it.
Lucky: Read it. Loved it.
Twilight: Tried it. Couldn't do it.
The Other Boleyn Girl: Liked it. The first half was hard to get through, but the second half made it worth it.
Friday Night Knitting Club: Eh.

Also, not from this list:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: Read it. Loved it.
Angels & Demons. Read it. Loved it.

Holy crap. I've been reading a lot!

Read this one!

I stayed up way too late too many nights the past week reading this one. Captivated from page one. A very thoughtful novel; I definitely recommend it.

Books I'm working on...

I was spring cleaning my room today and made a nice pile of the books I'm reading or waiting to read.

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Dive from Klausen's Pier by Ann Packer (on loan from a friend)
Lucky by Alice Sebold (on loan from a friend)
Inside the Jihad by Omar Nasiri
Blind Spots by Madeline Van Hecke
Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano

Updated after Libby's comment: I have Change Your Thoughts, Change your Life on CD in this picture. It's written by Dr. Wayne Dyer. He has a dreamy voice and and an amazing heart and I can't wait to listen to it!

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Friday Night Knitting Club: Don't bother. I quit half way through. Mindless.
Twilight: I tried. Honest. It just doesn't do it for me. (Less the subject matter, more the style I didn't like.)

Beautiful Boy

I am now recommending Beautiful Boy by David Scheff. One of the saddest, most eloquently books I've ever read. I learned a lot, and it made me extremely thankful for today.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Libby was asking what the best gift was that you gave yourself this year. I couldn't really think of anything...sad. Not that I'm without gifts (quite the opposite), but I don't know if I purposely gave myself one specific thing. After lots of consideration - probably unhealthy how much "think time" I dedicate to some things - I decided it was probably the gift of learning. I learned a LOT this year. I learned about the electoral process, I continued to learn about real estate markets, I learned a little about myself and I learned about people in general. I read a lot of books. I talked to a lot of people. I know they say you shouldn't talk about religion and politics, but I kind of think they're both too important, so I ignore that rule :). And I don't think any one of us is worse off for having the discussion, are we? I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm not. I'm much better for it, so thanks for having the conversation. You taught me a lot.

But that's not why I started this post, and I apologize for the swing in subject. I started it because I just re-read To Kill a Mockingbird. I had not read it since high school. (Help me out, Andy...Joanna...Anna...?, was it Intermediate Comp or Novels??) Anyway, that book and that class changed my life. It's probably another entry for another day, but it was the first time in my life I started thinking. Where I realized that the world was big and there was a great and real need for love and charity. When I look back, it was an absolute changing point. I just found a picture that we took in Mrs. Teal's classroom with Mrs. Jensen and pictured were: Heath, Andy, Tony, Melissa, Nicolle, Anna, Joanna, Ben, Justin, and Kris. I'm sure that's not everyone in that class, but I'm sure I never said an appropriate thank you. I'm actually sure that there is no appropriate thank you. You all gave me a special gift back then.

Anyway, if you haven't read it, read it. It's beautiful. It's smart and funny and sad and true. I'm sure I read it differently as an adult than I did as a teenager, and the lessons were as strong as I remember them. Interestingly, I didn't remember the story very well. It was familiar, but it felt like I was reading it for the first time. Harper Lee wrote it as a simple love story, but it's become a great literary work.

If you don't have it, pick it up. If you can't pick it up, let me know...I'll send you my copy. It's worth it.

PS I've decided that I want to be Atticus Finch. And I want my kids to be Jem and Scout.

Read Much?

Here's what I've read this year that I'd recommend. I love a lot of books, non-fiction, memiors, fiction (especially if there's a good lesson) and once in awhile just a good fluffy novel. I've left all real-estate related literature off my list:


Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett (historical fiction)

Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (memoir)

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah (memoir)

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen (fiction)

The Lady Elizabeth and Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir (historically accurate fiction)

The Shack by David Gregory (novel)

Escape by Carolyn Jessop (non-fiction about the FLDS)

Suggestions, anyone?