10 for 2019

I think I use this every year, but I love it, so here it is again

Hello,

It's once again Resolution time here..........

and once again, when I finished there were ten.  At this point, I think it will be that way every year.  :)

2019 Resolutions....

(in no particular order)

1.  15 Minutes a day Lettering

In 2018, I learned how to, now I need to practice, practice, practice...and find my own style.  The only way to do this is consistency...hence the 15 minutes a day

2.  15 minutes a day Yoga

'If you practice yoga once a week you will change your mind.

If you practice twice a week, you will change your body.

If you practice every day, you will change your life."

This quote was the catalyst, and I'm curious to see this unfold.  Some days my practice will not be an Asana practice, but one of the other limbs of yoga.  I will let my heart and body guide me....  This is not about perfecting a pose, but something so much deeper....

3.  Finish the "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust (it's a novel in seven volumes with a total page count of 4.215 pages....I read the first one and LOVED it) and the 51-100 Best Novel list I have been working on for the past few years (I have 6 left)

4.  Gratitude Journal...  

I have kept one for years where every day write down 5 things that happened that I am grateful for, but for the last year and a half to two years, I have been MASSIVELY inconsistent.  I want that to change.

5.  Bucket List items...

This should be no surprise.  The surprise of this are the ones I complete, it's never the ones I thought it would be

6.  Continue with practices set up in 2018. (water goals, novel, meditation, etc)

This has everything to do with the progress I made in 2018 and want to keep going....

7.  Put myself out there more.

I've recently come to realize that I've lost a little of my bravery and for lack of a better phrase, my right to be seen...  I've been hiding to a certain extent and it's all on me, so it's on me to change that.

8.  Let go of the things I no longer need (physically, emotionally or mentally)

Clean it out, let it go, so I can live the life I want.

9.  Travel somewhere I've never been before.

Travel is essential to me.

10.  Practice better self care and love.

A lot of the other resolutions build into this but the adage of putting your own oxygen mask on first is vital to a well lived life....

Oh, if you are interested in how 2018 turned out, I've updated my 2018 Resolution Blog..

Here's to a fantastic 2019 for all of us...

Melissa

Oh October....

Hi...

A very exciting migraine update, I have not had a migraine since the August disasters!!!  This is soooo huge for me.

The Utah Football team has stopped giving me ulcers and started giving me reasons to cheer-the last three games we have won and have scored at least 40 points.  Go UTES!

It wouldn't be a monthly update without a Red Butte Garden mention, so here it is, I volunteered a couple of times at Garden after Dark this month.  It had such a cute and informational theme this year, visitors attended Oak Lore Academy (it was a twist on Harry Potter, but without all of the licensing issues).  They attended classes such as Wand Theory (where they got a wand), Potions, Magical Creatures (where in the Herb and Fragrance gardens, the staff had made creatures and as a really cool addition, HawkWatch was there with birds.  I saw a really cute small owl and a Merlin) and finally (and how could there not be at a Conservation garden) Botany.  Our villain for the evening was Myrtle Spurge, a noxious witch and ever so conveniently an invasive weed that is attacking the Wasatch front.  This is such a popular event and every year it just seems to get better.

Now it's time for you to have your eye roll or face palm moment and say Oh, Melissa......during October, I went on a massive cooking and planning binge.  The result 16 freezer crockpot meals are hanging out in my freezer ready to go, along with 6 mini lasagnas, taquitos, and breakfast burritos.  Needless to say my freezer is full, but on days that are crazy or nights that I don't feel like cooking I have a healthy home cooked meal ready to roll.........

Next moment, thanks to Pinterest (I know, I know, I need an intervention) I taught myself a new knitting technique.  It's called Intarsia and basically it's multi colored knitting.  It is the most basic of multi colored knitting but hey I can do it now....and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.  I wish I had done it sooner....

Speaking of knitting, I dropped off the animals, monsters and other assorted creatures that my Mom and I have been knitting throughout the year to the Utah Highway Patrol for their Teddy Bear program.  They were overrunning the place so we decided not to wait until December.

A bit of sad news....last night I only had 15-20 Trick or Treaters, but they all loved the Play Doh they got.  I was a bit nervous to switch it up, but last year I had soooooooooo much leftover candy that I wanted to do something different.  Enter the Play Doh and this year my leftovers will be going to Toys for Tots in a couple of weeks instead of my hips.  :)  Win Win....

A few random items before I go.... CenterPointe Theater knocked it out of the park with their production of Ragtime!  Bacall continues to amaze and spread joy.  Meeko is actually visiting people who stop by and not hiding.  If you are looking for a book to read, try "The House on Mango Street' by Sandra Cisneros.  It's a short, about 100 pages, coming of age novel of little vignettes.  I have no idea how I have missed it until now.    One last plea, Now that it's November, please vote......

I hope all is well...
Melissa

latest page in my art journal....

June Bug....

Please stay away from me for the rest of the summer......

Ouch...
that was my motto of June.  I got stung by a bee and a wasp and got spider bite.  NOT COOL insects of the world!!!!!!  And an added bonus for all of this, it turns out I am allergic to wasp bites, my finger where I got stung got blisters, doubled in size and ITCHED like no tomorrow, I about went cra-cra.  The test is if I ever get stung again, my doctor said I could have the same reaction or worse, I don't even want to think about worse.............

In other news, Red Butte concerts are rolling along.  In June, I worked shows for Ryan Adams, Violent Femmes, BareNaked Ladies with KT Tunsdall and Better than Ezra, and Michael Franti.  The Violent Femmes are one of my all time favorite bands and I had a job that was after the show, so I got to attend and sing along and just be a fan, but the BEST part happened after the show.  I was finished with my work and headed to the area where we check out, which is behind the stage.  Meanwhile, the band had been signing autographs after the show and were just finishing when I was done.  Can you tell what happened?  I GOT TO MEET THEM!!!!!! and have like a 5 minute conversation with The Violent Femmes!  I completely forgot to take my phone out and take a picture, but I don't care, I have the memory embedded in my brain.  They were so nice, asked if they had played my favorite song (they did and I have about 5 favorites of theirs), asked if I had ever seen them in concert before (I hadn't) and just chatted about how much they love being on the road again.   I Love when things like that happen............ The other shows have been amazing as well!  I had forgotten how many songs of Better Than Ezra I knew and the Michael Franti show was just a feel good/high energy night.

Miss Bacall wants me to tell you that she is ok but wants someone to turn down the heat.  I am vigilant about the signs of her not being ok and happy.  She is just the happiest dang soul I have ever encountered.

If you live along the Wasatch front, have you ever been to the CenterPointe Theater in Centerville?  I went for the first time in June with my mom, some aunts and a cousin.  We saw their performance of Crazy for You.  It was cute and well done!  You might want to check it out.......

Rowing is still happening, but not as much as I would love to.  The wind has been blowing here and long skinny boats do not get along with wind, plus the firefighters battling all of the fires around here would probably appreciate the wind going away.  The club cancelled 5 scheduled club rows due to wind in June.  UGH....

I know this will come as a bit of a shock, but I am still reading a lot....if you are on Facebook at all, you will have noticed that I did 10 days of my favorite books on there.  It was about the only time I have been consistent with FB in a while.   A book I read in June that  I highly recommend is "Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice by Raymond Arsenault". It's the book the PBS special was based on.  Phenomenal book!!!

I know this post was a wee bit disjointed, so I apologize for that, but writing at the end of the month and remembering what happened leads to that.

I hope your summer is going well and that you are able to stay cool!!

Hiding from all insects and bugs from here on out.....
Melissa

First one is on the Books...

Hello,

Are you in shock that you didn't have to wait for 9 months for the next blog?  :)

I thought I would try something this year to keep the posts coming in a consistent manner, a month in review post.  It will be a book review, resolution update and life in review kind of a thing.  It sounded like a good idea in my head so I'm doing it.....

First, did January fly by really fast for you as well?????  It's like I blinked and January was over, however, I did get a lot accomplished.

I signed up thru Salt Lake School District Community Education in partnership with my Rowing Club for Winter Training.  It started on January 17th and it will run thru late March.  On Monday and Wednesday evenings, I go to West High School for ERG/rowing machine training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training,  or as I call it weights on speed).  It's kicking my butt in a very good way and more importantly getting me ready to hit the water in late March when the Rowing Season begins.  It's been really fun to reconnect with my rowing buds and has also reminded me how much I LOVE to row.  Resolution, Get outside more.......

In late December, a friend of mine brought to my attention a program called 'Creating for Happiness' which is a creative challenge to get you to form a daily practice.  I have a ton of supplies that I wasn't really using at home or truthfully, at all, so I initially thought this would be a great way to bring value into something I already own.  It turned into something quite a bit more and I'm going to be incredibly brave soon and do a post about my art, including pictures to share more about this 30 day challenge I did in January.   Resolution, Try Something New a Month...

I also challenged myself to drink at least 48 oz of water a day in January (I figured I would start small and set myself up for success) and did not have one day where I did not make my goal and on Rowing training days, it was WAY more.  I did two 'Something to Think About' Journal entries.  I chose them at random and they were very appropriate for the things going on in my life, so Ya a resolution that is being more than I thought it would be.  I am still on schedule for my Penny Savings Challenge, doing 1 week from January, a week from December, and two weeks from March.  Remember my plan was to be flexible on the route, but not on the destination.....  Resolutions, More water, At least 26 'Something to Think About' Journal entries,  Penny savings challenge

Now onto other things....
I read Les Miserable by Victor Hugo in January.  HUGE, HUGE book and could of used a bit of editing (I really could of done without the extensive information and history of the Paris sewers), but if you love the musical, do yourself a favor and read this book.   After that 1300 page plus book, I read a few others, but as I write this none of them are jumping out at me to say, recommend me, so I guess that's the end of that.

Work continues to be Nirvana and I am diligently studying and preparing for my new certification I am undertaking.  So WAHOO!  A happy work life!

I am in shock about the weird, warm, dry winter we are having.  It's quite honestly scaring me about our future water.  By the way, have you heard about the situation in Cape Town, South Africa?  They are running out of water!!  They actually have an end date for water.  It's scary.

I hope you have avoided the flu that has been ravaging the country!  I had a bit of a dental adventure but thanks to a very good dentist/oral surgeon I am well and good now and have avoided the flu, so I can't complain....

I hope 2018 is off to a good start for you...
Melissa

Curled up with a Good Book....

If you read this blog at all, one of the first things you soon realize is that I love to read.  I mean, I LOVE to read.  I have documented multiple reading challenges, books I have loved and books I have loathed in separate posts.  Books have had a significant profile here on my blog.  Since I didn't write much in 2017, I've missed talking about the books I have read, so I thought I would close the year out with some of my favorite books of 2017.

Just FYI, I had a record year of reading...180 books read.  Yes, 180.   I think it was my highest total ever.  Yes, I read almost everyday.  I also read fast.  I don't watch a lot of tv, so ta-da, reading time.  I will also give up sleep to read...

Without further ado, here are my favorites of 2017, 17 of them to be exact....

1.  The Emerald Mile:  The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

This book is sooooooo much more than the speed run in a wooden dory boat, it is a love story to the Grand Canyon.  It is a non fiction book that reads like fiction.  I LOVED this book.

2.  The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
     and  The Love Song of Miss Quennie Hennessy both by Rachel Joyce

These two were some of the last books I read in 2017 and I inhaled both of them.  They are books about regrets, things not said, things said, life, love, death, moving on and letting go.  They are set in England and filled with some memorable characters.

3.  Trigger Warning:  Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman

I love Neil Gaiman anyway, but this collection is just pure perfection.  Some were created for events, others in tribute to writers that influenced Neil, and others were just stories that needed to be told.  If you are already a Gaiman fan, you will love this, and if you have never read him before, this is a perfect introduction.

4.  Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Have you ever had a book come along at the exact moment you needed it?  This one whacked me upside the head, in a good way, and woke me up.  It resonated with me in how to deal with conflict, emotions and just life.  I have since chatted it up to others and some have liked it and others not so much, but this is my favorite thing about books, you never, ever know when a book will reach your soul..

5.  One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty

I love this book for a couple of reasons, the first is how it came to my attention.  I was at the Mary Chapin Carpenter concert at Red Butte Garden this summer and she mentioned it multiple times as an inspiration for writing....  The second is this line found within the book..'Ever since I was first read to, then started reading to myself, there has never been a line I didn't hear'.  It summed up something I have experienced since I started reading, I hear the characters in my head.  They have distinct voices and it's why I don't always like movie adaptations.....

6.  Antigone by Sophocles

I actually read the trilogy of The Theban Plays by Sophocles this year and liked all of them, but chose Antigone for this line...
'I cannot side with hate.  My nature sides with love.'
This is an ancient play, but it travels through time so well and applies to life now.

7.  Flowers of Evil:  A Selection by Charles Baudelaire

Do not let the title deceive you, this is a beautiful selection of poetry.  I continued with my quest of reading #51-100 books and this was on it.  My favorite poem is "Get Drunk" and trust me, it's not about drinking, it's about diving fully into life.

8.  Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

You may know the author as an actor/comedian from the tv shows 'Parks & Recreation' or 'Master of None' but this is a science  and real life based look at dating and romance today told with humor.  Texting, dating sites and all of the other new ways to find love are examined and how we are kinda missing the point of it all.  Whether you are single or in a relationship, you'll find things to apply to your life.

9.  Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

Thank you Melissa Rasmussen for telling me about this brilliant novel!  A updated take of Cupid and Psyche that is just magical.

10.  The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

I adore this book.  Two tales are told simultaneously, one set today and the other, the tale of Rumi, the Sufi mystic.  I don't buy many books anymore, because I would have no room, but this one will have a permanent home wherever I go.

11.  Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

I'm actually recommending the entire African Trilogy, but this is the first one so I will start here.  One of my favorite things about reading is how it makes you realize how we are more alike than different. This novel is set in late 19th century in Nigeria, but it resonates today.

12. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This book took me completely by surprise!  I am not a graphic novel fan, so when I opened it I almost didn't continue.  I would of MISSED out!!!!

13.  Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

I find Jenny Lawson hilarious.  Others might find her a bit of a potty mouth, so this book comes with a disclaimer, if you don't like swearing--Stay away, stay far away.  I, however, now want a taxidermied raccoon named Rory thanks to this book.

14.  The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell

This is actually a children's book by the comic who draws 'Mutts' that is simply beautiful and now my favorite gift book.

15.  Some Writer!:  The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet

A biography of one of my favorite author.  It's actually a young adult/child's book but adults will love it too!

16.  How to Eat
       How to Sit
       How to Love
       and the entire How to series by Thich Nhat Hanh

I have purse books now and this series is why.  They are little, both in size and length.  They are exerts of the Monk's talks, teachings and other books.  Made in snippet size and sheer perfection.

17.  West with the Night by Beryl Markham

I read a slightly biographical novel about Beryl earlier in the year and then I read her autobiography 'West with the Night' and was reminded that information may be not as polished or organized when written by the source, but the truth will shine so much brighter......

I could go on and on and on about the books I read this year, but will stop now.  My Goodreads to read list still has 175 books on it and I wouldn't have it any other way......

Curled up with a good book,
Melissa

The Home Stretch...

or Part 4 of my Literary Challenge....


#38 . The Aeneid by Virgil

I have a bit of a confession on this one, I scanned some sections.  I am on my third variation of the Trojan War this year with The Odyssey and The Iliad already completed.  I started it and then recognized a weird underlying theme....so I did some research into the Aeneid and found that one of its criticisms is that it is a not so veiled pro Augustus, the Roman emperor, tale.  I then realized why I was not enjoying it...we are having our current political season shoved down our throats and I can take no more.  I may put this on my reading list in the future when I can read it without the two other poems so fresh in my mind and also without the politics so fresh in my mind....

#46 . Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

As you may remember, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my least favorite books EVER!  So I approached Jane Eyre with trepidation and very quickly found that having a different Bronte sister as the author makes a world of difference.  I LOVED this book!  The descriptive words, the gentle, yet never boring, pace, and tale of knowing your own worth, even when others do not, and standing by your principles.  I cannot recommend this book enough!!!


#11. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

There are books that even though you really didn't enjoy or like reading, you can appreciate what the author is doing, 'The Brothers Karamazov' falls into this camp for me.  As much as my reading challenge has taught me that I love French authors, I am realizing that Russian authors are not my favorites.  I found this book to be rambling and overly dramatic at times.  It poses a valid questions of how to balance religious and a secular life.   I have friends, whose opinions and preferences I respect and generally agree with, that have this and other Dostoyevsky novels as their all time favorites.  I now can say I have read him and appreciated the experience, but have no plan to do it again.

#42 . The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

I have started the first Tale multiple times due to the fact that the version I am reading is in Middle English and it has taken me a bit to get used to it.   Once you get past the language, it flies and is quite entertaining with humor and lessons abounding (even women's rights)...the best tip I received, read it aloud.  It helps you find the rhythm and helps with the comprehension too.

#49 . The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka

I have read more short stories this year than I have in my entire life this year due to this challenge.  As with the other collections I have read this year, some stick out and some you just read and leave.  The surprise of this collection was the unexpected humor, granted a bit dark and sarcastic at times, but humor none the less.....

#39 . David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Well, I read it...and it was good, but I wasn't wowed by it.  David Copperfield is believed to be an a thinly veiled autobiography story of Dicken's life.   It is his most popular book, but it isn't mine.  It's going to end up one of those books that I read, but don't really remember.......

#50 . Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

We all have someone in our life that when telling a story gets sidetracked at the slightest distraction and as a result you often don't always get the whole story from them but it is generally entertaining.  Tristram Shandy is like that person, it is supposed to be his life story, but when you haven't even gotten to his birth over a third of the way thru the book, you know you're in for an adventure.  It is laugh out loud funny and quite the satire with profound wisdom scattered throughout.  It was a thoroughly enjoyable way to end this year's challenge.

Still reading...
Melissa

A Literary Discussion, Part Three

Can you believe how fast this year is flying by?  Here are links to the full challenge, part one, and part two.

#9.  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alleghieri

There are some books in which you know that while you may get the gist of it when you read it for the first time, you probably won't get all of the complexities of it, The Divine Comedy falls into that for me.  Scholars spend their whole careers studying this book;  I spent a week and a half reading it....

So, here is my take...  It's basically a mid life crisis book that ends up giving us a guide for life.  Dante has reached the mid point of his life and is asking and pondering some pretty deep questions.  He is taken through Hell, and gives a pretty gruesome and gory vision of it and some say, our idea of hell,  Purgatory and Heaven.  I found things to take from each section to incorporate into my life...

Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown (a book club's selection)

This book robbed me of sleep!  What a fun, light, yet never lame summer read!  A chef is taken hostage by a female pirate....the bad guys turn out not to be such bad guys and as for the 'good guys' just read and find out...

#30 . The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov

A collection of absolutely amazing short stories!  You are taken to Czarist Russia and given glimpses into everyday life with mastery of plot and the execution of words.  Some stories are only a few pages long, but others are 20.  He knew how to stop, not give to much, but at the same time, not to have a story feel incomplete.  Ironically, I had meant to read a couple of stories a night and then read something else, but I inhaled this collection of Anton Chekhov's....

#40 . Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

For the first little bit of the book, you feel like you are on a merry-go-round with characters jumping on and off and feeling a little lost, but then you see through the chaos and once again the brillance and gift of Virginia Woolf shines through.  Simple moments, like a walk through a park, can trigger a thousand and one memories and choices taken or not taken.....

The Food of a Young Land:  The WPA's Portrait of Food in Pre-WWII America
           (a food challenge item) by Mark Kurlansky

Did you know that FDR's New Deal had a provision in it to help writers get back to work as well?  It was know as the Federal Writer's Project (FWP).  Their first task was to complete guidebooks about the entire United States and some of them are still in use today.  Their second was never completed, a documentation of what Americans were really eating in 1940, not the flashy, trendy food, but what they were having dinner every week.  The organizers sent writers out to find out but the beginning of WWII ended the project and it was lost to oblivion until the author stumbled upon a box in the Library of Congress.....


#43 . Collected Fiction by Jorge Luis Borges

Another collection of short stories for this challenge, but this one I did not speed through, but slowly absorbed and contemplated.  Jorge Luis Borges is a master of words and of the short story.  I would only read one a night because they took all of my concentration and I didn't want to miss a word.  There were some stories I liked better than others, but I think that is the case in most collections....

#4.  Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Call me Ishmael, nope, I'll call you someone who ignores all signs and warnings.  Captain Ahab, take some advice from Elsa and 'Let it Go!!'.  The Whale, maybe you could take some anger management classes.  I read the true story last year that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick and enjoyed it soooooooooooooooooooo  much more than this.  I was actively cheering for the whale....  Moral of the story, vengeance never ends well, pay attention to signs, and if you're a whale avoid big boats...


#26 . Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

Pull up a chair, relax, sip an iced tea or a cocktail on the porch and enjoy this Southern masterpiece.  There are multiple narrators with varying degrees of fact, but each tell their own truths and isn't it interesting that a person's truth may not always be fact.  Faulkner's gift (or the thing that drives non Faulkner fans crazy) is his ability to tell a story in an non linear sense...you jump all around the time line of this story of a man who wanted to build an empire without learning from not only his mistakes from the the past, but a collective community's .


#31 . The Red and the Black by Stendhal

A tale of a young man who doesn't fit into his family, he is teased for reading, and has ambitions for a different life.  He is taken in by his town's mayor as a tudor and proceeds to make some questionable decision, like starting an affair with the mayor's wife.  There are times you are very angry at the main character, but as the book progresses you become more sympathetic, even as he commits a very surprising crime, because you see that the rules of the life he wants don't apply to him because he wasn't born into that life.....

I have to admit that reading these classics one right after another has been more challenging than I thought....it has slowed my reading down quite a bit.

10 Random Things...

My writing binge of June has faded away, and ideas have come in but not enough for a whole blog, so I decided to revive a 10 random things entry, so July doesn't fly by without at least one.

#1.  Holy Cats has it been a HOT HOT and DRY summer!  It rained for about 5 minutes the other day and I was excited as a kid at Christmas!

#2.  Ice Blocks are back in stores...  I searched and searched last summer when family was in town last summer to no avail, this year, as they were visiting again, I FOUND them!!  We were able to revive a summer time tradition of tempting fate and injury and ice blocking down the hill at Sugarhouse Park.

#3.  Did you know that at the Winter Olympic Park in Park City you can do extreme tubing?  You cruise down the ski jumping hills and can reach speeds of 50 mph...  Here's a little video.. and I did it!

#4.  Sometimes you need visitors to come to town to become a tourist in your own area again.  It's fun  to do the things that on the surface seem touristy...  My tip, don't wait until someone comes to town, get out and explore your area so you know the really fun stuff.

#5.  I've started knitting stuffed animals to giveaway.  I'm leaning towards donating them to 'The Teddy Bear Cops Program' which gives them to cops for them to give to kids in accidents and other stressful incidents.  I've got to check to see if SLC has a program set up, if not I may start one up....

#6.  My tv viewing has plummeted this summer and I haven't even missed it....  It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the fall.

#7.  I have joined the ranks of Red Butte Garden Volunteers...  I am a second generation volunteer as my Mom is a volunteer as well.  I have done one shift and had a wonderful time.  I can't wait to have more opportunities to get involved.

#8.  Miss Bacall's favorite summertime activity is hanging out on the porch, so it has been a lot of fun to talk to all my neighbors and dogs as they stroll past....

#9.  My health journey is an adventure....  I am recovering, not as fast as I would like, but I am recovering.  There have been a few hiccups, but no major setbacks.  The main thing that has come out of this whole thing, I LOVE my medical team.  They are a mixture of traditional and for lack of a better word non traditional approaches and they work together!

#10.  Don't go into shock, but I am still rolling forward on my New Year's Resolutions!!!  My pushups are almost there!  My bad habit just got another reason to stay away.  My book challenge is going nicely, and for the most part, I have enjoyed the books.  I've seen movies in theaters!  My food challenge is keeping me on my toes in the kitchen.  My daily walk has had some misses, but has started a wonderful routine that connects me to my neighborhood.  The Weird Holidays have been SO MUCH FUN!!!!  and I now have others giving me suggestions now!

I hope your summer is going well!

Melissa

A Literary Discussion, Part Two..

It was a bit of hit and miss for my reading time this quarter, but I still managed to get some good books in....

Links to First Quarter and the Challenge List


#45.  Candide by Voltaire

Oh what a fun read!!!  A little over 100 page satire about suffering, it was a hilarious and quick read.  I knew nothing about it going in and couldn't of been more surprised and happy about this book.   Voltaire accomplished in such a short amount of pages something that I'm not sure that no one else could of, he left out all of the fluff and left only substance.

#18 . Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

One of the hardest challenges of reading books that are so well known and have adaptations of them is to let go and not try to put parts of a movie into a book, having said that, however, this short first entry into the Alice series was enjoyable and confusing, easy yet deep, fun and thought provoking.  I will be continuing on with Alice as soon as I have time.

#35 . Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Prepare to be uncomfortable, really uncomfortable, but just buckle down and read...Make it through the violence of the first chapter and take a breath and continue and read...Cringe at the cruelty both in your face and the more subtle but just as damaging cruelty of not seeing someone...Read on, and make it through this heartbreaking book about a man who becomes invisible due to the fact that society only sees one thing, the color of his skin.   This is probably a book that needs to be read more than once to truly appreciate everything in it, but I'm not sure I can read it again, but I'm glad I made it through once.

#32 . Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

When is an adventure book not just an adventure book?  When it's a top 50 book....then it becomes a satire on travel books (everything is perfect, even though we are stranded in a strange land), politics, society, education, and religion.  It's short but packs a lot in as Gulliver starts out as an idealistic travel and ends up a bit bitter and having little faith in people.

#33 . Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Absurd, yet entertaining...  This is either the most brilliant book I've ever read or the dumbest and I'm not sure I'll ever make up my mind about it.  There is a crazy cast of characters and a plot that takes a while to figure out and you are introduced to the origin of a phrase that I'm pretty sure that you've used before...Catch-22...

#21 . The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

My first thought about Holden Caulfield is that he is a spinning top reaching the end of its run and is wobbling trying to hang on.  You know it's all about to fall apart and even Holden is aware that sometimes he is a bit too much.  The book is a fascinating read of teenage angst and pain that made me react in two very distinct ways.. first, I was drawn back into my teenage years and struggling to find my way and I was right there with him, although my experiences were quite different from his....and then second, I wanted to look him in the eyes and tell him to for just a second breathe and realize it may not be as bad as it may seem...  This book has been loved and controversial since it was published, and I found that I am a fan of this coming of age story....

#23 . Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell

War is Peace.  That line alone scares me the most, because it was written a long time ago, yet it is the phrase that is used over and over again to justify wars today.  War is the path to Peace.  No, not really.  Somehow peace isn't popping up after the bombs drop.  This book is just chilling because it show what happens when you just go with the status quo and follow like sheep.  Pay attention and speak up!  Horror flicks don't scare me, but books like this do....

#25 . To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Chaotic beauty describes the first 30 or so pages of a dense, yet never boring, 200 page novel.  It's a novel of detail of the mundane, yet never boring, lives that we live, and the unexpected consequences of losing someone.  I LOVED the beauty of the prose, it almost read like a poem and the celebration and understanding that life is truly lived in the little moments of life....

#36 . The Stranger by Albert Camus

What an utterly baffling book for me.....  The main character is both sympathetic and completely dislikable.  It's a weird balance of feeling sympathy and wanting him to be anything other than he is.  It's also a book about the meaning of life and finding peace where ever you might be and what ever your circumstances are, but the theme that is resonating for me the most is this, 'what happens when you don't react in a way that society expects?'  Are you judged and condemned for simply not following societal norms?  A short novel of less than 150 pages that packs a punch.

#6.  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Well, I finished it... By the end, I felt like I was reading two separate books, one I really enjoyed and the other, I could not wait for it to be over.  Tolstoy said back in the day that he did not consider this a novel, and I agree with him.  There were aspects of a novel, but the other part was like a droll, boring history teacher....  Ironically, it's not a hard read, so don't let that intimidate you when you see that it has over 1300 pages.  I'm glad I read it, but doubt I'll read it again.

#28 . The Trial by Franz Kafka

What would you do if you were arrested for a crime, but never told what you are accused of?  What would you do if the people that are charging you with that crime are not a normal court, but have the power to destroy your life?  What would you do with the unrelenting pressure that goes along with all of this?  Would you give into paranoia?  All of this and more are brought into question into this dense novel.  I had always been a bit intimidated by Kafka, but found 'The Trial' to be deep and thought provoking, but readable.

#15 . Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

DID NOT FINISH...  I couldn't read this book.  I gave it 100 pages, but felt sick to my stomach as the narrator, Hubert Humphrey laid out his reasoning for finding a 14 year old girl sexually attractive.  .  ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?  Life is too short to feel like you need to take a shower after you read.  The ironic part in all of this, Nabokov's writing is amazing and I am going to find another of his books to read, but I can not stomach Lolita.

#1.  In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
       Swann's Way (book 1)

I had never heard of Proust or this book, so I am immensely grateful for this challenge for bringing it to my literary life.  I ADORE this book!  And the more French authors I read, the more I come to realization I love their writing style.  This is a subtle, slow moving novel about memories and time.  I cannot recommend it enough.  I cannot wait to continue this 7 part series of novels...


#29 . One Thousand and One Nights by India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt

I read it over the span of a month and really liked taking a tale or two a night.  I loved all the creative and smart women who outwitted arrogant, and sometimes mean, men.  I loved the learning that both the men and women did.  Fables and tales hold a great place in our history and it was fun to read ones from another part of the world.

It was an interesting 2nd quarter of reading.  I was introduced to authors I had never read before, books that challenged me, and once again, books that I fell in love with....

Still reading,
Melissa

2016 Reading Challenge

My reading challenge of 2015 was one of my favorite adventures of the year and as I approached the end I knew that I had to find another one this year.  I decided pretty quick to read the 'Best Novels Ever Written', but soon found that there are A LOT of book list that do not agree.  There were common denominators on every list, and then I stumbled upon a website called 'The Greatest Books'. It takes 107 different lists and crunched the numbers and came up with a compilation of the Top Books list.  You can even break it down by decades if you choose.  Below is a link if you are curious and want to check it out....

http://thegreatestbooks.org

Now, onto my challenge, I decided that if I had read the book in the last 5 years, I did not need to read it again.  My challenge of last year added to the list of the book I do not need to read now.  :)  I'm going to continue my 'book reports' of last year as well....

#1.  In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust  COMPLETED 6/25

#2.  Ulysses by James Joyce     COMPLETED
 
        Since I finished my challenge early last year, I started in on this list and chose this to start me out, and realized something really quick, it's a LONG book, but not that hard to read.  I ended up describing it this way, it's the Seinfeld of books.  There are episodes you love and quote and think are hilarious, there are some that are ok and you think it could of been better, and then there are the episodes that you just slog through.  I probably won't ever read it again, but it was a mostly enjoyable 900 plus page read.

#3.  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes COMPLETED 1/26

#4.  Moby Dick by Herman Melville  COMPLETE 8/27

      I read 'In the Heart of the Sea' last year that was the true story that inspired Melville to write Moby Dick, so it's a nice continuation this year.

#5.  Hamlet by William Shakespeare       COMPLETED

       I read Hamlet periodically, for reasons I don't really understand, so I am counting it read.  I can quote parts of Hamlet's speech that I learned in high school, so needless to say this play has impacted my life.

#6.  War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy  COMPLETED 6/7

#7.  The Odyssey by Homer    COMPLETED 2/21

#8.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  COMPLETED 2/14
     
        I can't believe it's been over 5 years since I read this book!!!  I put it on the list happily.

#9.  The Divine Comedy by Dante Alleghieri  COMPLETED 7/20

#10.  Madame Bovery by Gustave Flaubert      COMPLETED

        Read during my challenge last year.  :)

#11. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  COMPLETED 10/30

#12 . One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez COMPLETED 1/11

#13 . The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain  COMPLETED

         I might reread this for the challenge if I have time.  I love this book...

#14 . The Iliad by Homer  COMPLETED 2/13

#15 . Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov DID NOT FINISH, NOR WILL I EVER attempted 6/10

#16 . Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy     COMPLETED

         Read during the 2015 challenge

#17 . Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky  COMPLETED 3/17

#18 . Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll  COMPLETED 4/16

#19 . The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner   COMPLETED

          My first Faulkner read that made me a fan of his.  I just read this again two years ago..

#20 . Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen     COMPLETED

         Love the book, Love the adaptation with Kiera Knightley, Love Jane Austen....

#21 . The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger  COMPLETED 5/3

#22 . Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë   COMPLETED

          I unaffectionately call this book, 'Moping Thru the Moors' and tried it again a couple of years ago to see if my opinion had changed, it hadn't....  This book is the reason behind the 5 year rule, I couldn't bear the thought of having to read it again.  The only acceptable version of this book is by Monty Python and is done with nautical flags (trust me, it's hilarious)....

#23 . Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell  COMPLETED 5/4

#24 . Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad  COMPLETED 1/17

#25 . To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf  COMPLETED 5/17

#26 . Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner  COMPLETED 9/14

       Wait a Faulkner book I haven't read?  This is the reason I do these things...

#27 . Middlemarch by George Eliot     COMPLETED

         Another 2015 Challenge book.

#28 . The Trial by Franz Kafka  COMPLETED 6/8

#29 . One Thousand and One Nights by India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt  COMPLETED 6/26

#30 . The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov  COMPLETED 7/23

#31 . The Red and the Black by Stendhal  COMPLETED 9/29

#32 . Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift  COMPLETED 4/23

#33 . Catch-22 by Joseph Heller  COMPLETED 4/29

#34 . The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck      COMPLETED

        The first paragraph of this book is one of the best, in my opinion, descriptive paragraph in literature.  You can feel the dryness and hopelessness of an area destroyed by drought.

#35 . Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison  COMPLETED 4/17

#36 . The Stranger by Albert Camus  COMPLETED 5/30

#37 . Great Expectations by Charles Dickens  COMPLETED 3/31

#38 . The Aeneid by Virgil  COMPLETED 10/10

#39 . David Copperfield by Charles Dickens  COMPLETED 12/23

#40 . Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf  COMPLETED 8/5

#41 . Beloved by Toni Morrison          COMPLETED

         Oprah either gets the blame or credit, depending on how you look at, for my reading this already.  Before I found challenges, I tried to read all of the Oprah Book Club books.  I am strangely ambivalent about this book...

#42 . The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer COMPLETE 11/10

#43 . Collected Fiction by Jorge Luis Borges  COMPLETED  8/16

#44 . Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman  COMPLETED 3/31

#45 . Candide by Voltaire  COMPLETED 4/2

#46 . Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë  COMPLETED 10/18

         I read this a long time ago, so it's on the list to read....

#47 . As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner     COMPLETED

         A third Faulkner book and an incredible read...  If I have time, I'll read this again.

#48 . The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway      COMPLETED

         When I visited Key West in January of 2014, my first priority was to go to Sloppy Joe's and then to the Hemingway House, so yes, I've read this book and yes, multiple times.

#49 . The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka  COMPLETED 11/21

#50 . Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne  COMPLETED 12/26



If you did the math and subtracted the completed books, you know that I have 37 books on the list to read.  I will be reading other books this year as well, since I should have the time, with H is for Hawk leading that to read list.  I thought I would put them in the book reports as well...

It's an intriguing list to me.  There are some books that are long, but others are pretty short...  I have a feeling I will discover some new loves and put others on my why is this a classic list, but that's the whole point of reading, to me, to discover what you love.....

Well,  I'm off to read....
see you at the end of the first quarter!

Melissa

Here We Go Again...

Hi.

New Year's Resolutions get such a bad rap and a significant number of eye rolls, but I like them, so I am sticking with them and I ask that you don't throw anything at the computer/phone as you read what is coming up in this post....

Here we go for 2016!  (ok, I guess my first one should be to type 2016 within 4 tries....)

#1.  See a movie in a theater once a month.

        I managed to see 3 movies in the theater this year.  THREE!!!  It's not like I didn't have opportunities because I did, I just never seem to make it.  This also seems like a fun resolution to do.

Update:  I saw 15!!!!!!!  It was such a fun thing to do and I found out that I like going to the movies on my own.  I never thought I would say that...

#2.  Daily walk.

       As I went outside today and froze, I was questioning this a bit, but here is the thing, being outside is so dang good for me and an added little boost of exercise is never a bad thing either.  I'm not setting any conditions on this but, trusting that each day, I will make the right choice for me.

Update:  I missed on average 3 days a month but this was a sanity saver this year!

#3.  Celebrate a Weird/non traditional  Holiday a Month

        Why you ask?  Why not?  I found a great website that I made my selections from and have a plan.  I plan on writing about most of the adventures, so it will help keep me writing on here as well.
The link for the website is Here

Update:  I had so much fun with this!  I tried new things, ate new foods, and realized that there is an opportunity to celebrate everyday!

#4.  Validate the People in my life more.

        How often do you tell the people in your life they are loved? doing a good job? or that you appreciate how much they do for you?  I realized I could do a lot better in this.  I'm going to take different forms on how I do this, but I believe this is a good focus for the year.

Update: I did well with texts and phone calls, and I definitely told people what they meant to me, but I realized something this year that I really value the written word.  Sometimes you just need to put it on paper, so I will be incorporating that into my 2017 resolutions...

#5.  Classic Book Challenge

       Yep, the reading challenge is back.....  I LOVED doing this in 2015 and as I was finding my books, I realized one thing, I had not read a ton of the 'Top Books to Read' and in noticing this, I found that there are A LOT of Top 50, Top 100 book lists out there, and was wondering what list to do and then I found it.  This WEBSITE solved my conundrum, due to the fact, the person behind the website crunched all of the data from all of the booklists they could find and statistically ranked the books.  I am going to read the top 50 this year, which seems like a lot, but as you'll see due to last year and a little rule I put in, it's really quite doable.

Update:  I am not going to lie, this was rough....although I found some books that I loved, I also read some books that I never want to read again.

#6.  Don't Relapse on Things I have been Working on

       There is nothing more frustrating that having to start over once again.  My intention in setting this resolution is that I keep moving forward and not stall or slide back on any of the things that I have worked through or have found that keep me in the present.

Update:  I maintained in some areas and considering what I dealt with this year, I am a-ok with this.  Other areas, I moved WAY forward....

#7.  Break a Bad Habit

       I have a couple of bad habits that I want to break, but I am going to focus on one and then see where I'm at.  I may or may not keep you updated on here depending on which one I chose, but know that I am working on improving my life.  :)

Update:  Made progress on one, and completely eliminated one.  WAHOOOOOO!

#8.  Do a Food Challenge

      I found a Food Challenge from the same group that did my Reading Challenge last year and I decided to tackle it.   Here is a LINK to it.  I'm going to tweak it a bit, so there will be more information to come....

Update:  I have 6 items left to do, but this was a fun thing to attempt.

#9.  A Perfect Form Push Up

      Are you ready for a confession?  I struggle (and by struggle, I mean I am unable to do them correctly) with push ups, even the so-called and somewhat insulting (yet, appropriate for me) girl push ups.  It affects my yoga practice; it puts me at risk for injury due to weakness; and at the end of the day just ticks me off!!!  I have been doing research for a bit and have found a program that starts at a very beginner level and builds from there....  Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it.

Update:  I can do 1 really well!!  This was rough, especially with the health adventure I went on this year..

#10.  Bucket List stuff

       Were you getting worried that the item that has been on my Resolution list for the past 4 years wasn't going to make it?  Never fear, here it is....

Update:  Once again, I did ones I did not expect and didn't do ones I thought I would, but I still love this being a resolution, because it keeps it on my radar.

My list seems to get longer each year, but this one has a number of light hearted items, and I went with what felt right.

Here's to another year!
Melissa

Time to Review....

It's that time of year when I let you know how I did on my New Year's Resolutions for 2015...
and here is something that is very important for you to understand before we start that even if I do not totally achieve a specific Resolution, I do not in any way consider it a failure.

There is learning in the journey, not just in reaching the destination, and sometimes the errors and mistakes and missteps teach you more than the easy achievement.

I consider my life one that is always in progress.  I always want to learn, push myself and just keep trying.

Since I made these a year ago, here is a recap if you want to read it...  2015 Resolutions

#1.  Celebrate more...

       This started out good and well intentioned.  I joined an art group that I now can not imagine not being a part of.  I found my rowing club.  I attended things that I probably would not of attended, but then it sort of twisted on me...
       Sometimes you need to say no...  Saying yes when you are overbooked and overwhelmed is not a good thing.  This resolution reminded me once again that BALANCE is the key to life.  Saying yes to things that enrich and bring joy to your life is a very good thing, but don't say yes because you feel you should.

#2.  Exercise with the intention of Love, not Fear.

       I maintained my weight this year, and if you are reading this blog and are in my life, you know that there have been some major upheavals, grief, accident for another family member, and health issues this year.  I listened to my body and some activities that I used to do, I no longer do and some activities that I had never done before are now joys in my life.  I am not perfect with this, but I do feel there has been a MAJOR shift in my thinking.

#3.  Twice a month get my camera out.

      Total hit and miss with this.....  I did well some months and not so well others.  I did come up with plans of taking the pictures, but sometimes did not make it out to do it.  Need to keep going on this....

#4.  Do a Money Savings Challenge.

      I had to completely redo my plan on this one.  I laid it out here, and revamped it here, and in the end did not do a spectacular job on this one.  I had a lot of unexpected expenses this year, travel and medical, that made this VERY hard to do, but on the other hand I did not add to my debt in this year and paid some others off.  I have this set up to continue in 2016, so I believe I am on the right track.

#5.  Get the piano tuned and find a piano teacher.

       See above, but I have an appointment during January and have found a teacher.  My piano is in such bad shape that it is going to take more money than I initially planned.  I am now very excited to get this done, and play once again.

#6.  Do a Reading Challenge.

       LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this resolution!  I finished as documented in my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter book reports.  I will be doing another reading challenge in 2016.

#7.  Cross more items off my Bucket List.

       I didn't do the ones I thought, but still made progress.  I learned to row and still do it!  I visited a psychic (weird but cool).  I finished watching the top 100 movies, some of which I will never see again.  I did some personal ones that I never mentioned on here.  Life is a journey and this year's journey kept me close to home, but hopefully travel will come back in 2016.

#8.  Don't let things sit.

     I dealt with things I had no clue I was going to have to deal with and I did.  It wasn't easy, but it was easier than letting it build and explode.  This will always be a work in progress thing for me as I still seem to struggle when expressing myself when I am really emotional to get the right words out.

#9.  Journal consistently

    My journaling changed dramatically this year by introducing Art Journaling into the mix.  I could tell what was really going on emotionally by the type of art I was doing.  I still wrote periodically, both here and on paper, but art took the stage this year.  My one regret is that I let my Gratitude Journal get out of practice, but I am currently getting that back on track.

Here's to another year of trying new things and working on myself...
and yes, 2016 resolutions are on their way.

Melissa

4th Quarter Book Report...

I am in the home stretch of this challenge and it is going to be interesting to see when I finish, because I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be done before the end of the year...

As the 4th quarter starts on October 1st, it seems appropriate that I start with:

#22.  A book that scares you.

         Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The monster in the book did not scare me....

The creator of the monster, however, did.

I had to let go of my preconceived notions of what this book was about due to the movies that have been named after it.  The book begins with a series of letters from a sea captain to his sister about his adventures and a man his crew rescues.  The man, Frankenstein, begins to tell his story to the captain and we are drawn into a story in which what scared me the most the idea of just because we can, does it mean we should....

#39.  A book with magic.

        The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

I continued the October theme and finished another trilogy with this book with magic in it by reading 'The Book of Life'.  The series combines witches, vampires, daemons, oh my!, which means magic is a major plot line.  I enjoyed this series, but here's a bit of a tip, if you do take this trilogy on, read them back to back to back, as the third book brings back EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER ever mentioned...it got a bit confusing until I remember them and placed them in the context of the story.  

#23.  A book more than 100 years old.

         A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain

On the surface, it is a light and funny read, but go a little deeper and you quickly realize this is a book written by a MASTER of satire and then it gets even better!  I love Mark Twain, but had never read this and now I am lamenting this fact.  A single line singes a entire problem as seen by Twain and it is perfection.

#33.  A book from your childhood.

          Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Sometimes you just need to read about a sweet, somewhat high strung, pig and a wise and kind spider, and if it takes you back to your childhood and the remembrance of your beginning of a lifelong love of reading, it's all the better.  I love this book!  I love this book!  Have I mentioned that I love this book.  Reread it if you have a chance and fall in love all over again....

#20.  A book at the bottom of your to-read list

         Middlemarch by George Eliot

You are dropped into Middlemarch, a quaint English countryside village, and I have to be honest for the first 100 or so pages, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue.  It dragged for me and I really did not like it, but then something happened, it flew!  I don't know if it was the colloquial english that threw me for a loop or the set up of the story, but I struggled in the beginning.  At its heart, this book is about change.. how we deal with unexpected change, how we deal with change we wanted but does not turn out how we thought, how we deal with technological changes, and any other possible type of change.  It is an interesting character study of people and yes even the town they inhabit.

#2.  A classic romance.

       Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Ok, I am officially questioning how this is a romance.... I actually double checked while reading, because as far as I can tell this book is not about romance.  I googled classic romances and it popped up on every list.  For me, this is not about a book about romance, in the true sense, but the superficial chase of it.  Madame Bovary marries a dull country doctor and is somewhat content until she attends a party and sees how others live and then embarks on two very immature affairs that leave not only her life in ruin, but her husband's and the most heart breaking of all, her daughter's.  It's an interesting book, because it never once condemns or condones the character's behaviors but simply states what they are, which was very controversial at the time the book was written.

#24.  A book based entirely on its cover.

        The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele

This is not a book to speed thru, but one to absorb into your life over time.  It is an excellent introduction and explanation of the 8 Limbs of Yoga.  No it is not just about the physical practice, in fact, that is a very small part of what Yoga truly is.  This was very informative and personal for me.... multiple people that I love had told be about this book and as I read it, my connection to them was brought to the forefront for me.  I will be reading this book again, slowly and doing the work recommended in it in 2016.  If you are curious at all about yoga in its true state, please consider reading this book.

#45.  A book set during Christmas.

        Pelican Road by Howard Bahr

Two trains, one heading north and the other heading south, are on a collision course on Christmas Eve in Louisiana.  There are multiple characters, which at times got a little confusing, but in the end creates a rich, yet sad, story.  Howard Bahr has a gift of story telling and the selection of the right word to enrich the tapestry of the story.  It is not a happy, spirit of Christmas book, so do not read it if you are looking for happy happy joy joy....


With that, I conclude my reading challenge, officially on December 14th...
I loved this challenge and the books that it brought into my life.
I loved the suggestions that you gave me...
I loved the questions that came throughout the year as I was asked how the books were...

I will be doing another Reading Challenge in 2016 and will be revealing it soon...

Still with my nose in a book,
Melissa

Third Quarter Book Report....

My reading challenge continues and I am thoroughly enjoying it!  I can't believe I have only 19 books left, I think I may be done way before the end of the year.....

Anyway, here we go with the Third Quarter....
and I start with pure fluff, no substance in this one....

#15.  A popular author's first book.

  Irish Thoroughbred by Nora Roberts

I'll admit it, I'm a Nora Roberts fan.  I think I have read all of her books, and some more than once.  Yes, they are fluffy; yes, you know who is going to end up together on page 3; and yes, the plot lines in the early books are a bit iffy, but sometimes when I read, I just want to shut off my brain and enjoy, and her books fall nicely into that category.  Reading her very first novel again showed me how far her writing style has come.  Her female leads have always been feisty and Adelia is no exception, but what I realized the most is how much the male characters have evolved throughout the years... It was nice to see.

#7.  A book with nonhuman characters.

Fluke by James Herbert

A puppy is born into this world and you follow his life and thoughts as he grows up.  There is a major plot twist that I can not give away, but this is a great book.  James Herbert is akin to a British  Steven King, known more for his horror books, but this is a tale of connections and kindness and the legacy we leave.  I loved this book and can not recommend it enough!

#5.  A book with a number in the title.

 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

So it goes....life that is, and this book.  Buy your ticket, take a seat, buckle up and enjoy the mastery that is Kurt Vonnegut.  World War 2, time travel, aliens, of the outer space kind, are all in this.  So it goes.  Life, death, heartache, success..... So it goes.  I have read Kurt Vonnegut before, 'The Sirens of Titan', and will do so again, and I get the feeling that at the end of the next one, I will say, like I have with the previous two, 'It was an adventure and I'd do it again.'

#13.  A book set in a different country.

(France)  Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda

You are dropped into people's lives without all the details and as you, the reader, and the characters gain trust, you begin to gain an understanding of what made them and why they are they way they are.  The book does not really have a plot yet it works, because it is such a great character study of how people, who on the surface have not a lot in common, can come together and heal and form very strong bonds.   I'm finding that I love authors who are French and the way they tell stories, so I'm going to hunt up some other French authors when my challenge is done.

#4.  A book published in 2015

 The Season of Migration by Nellie Hermann

A short (250 pages) dense book about a period of Vincent VanGogh's life in which he was estranged from his brother, Theo, who was his greatest supporter.   The book was at times very slow and chaotic, it jumped around in time, but in spite of that or maybe because of it, you get a real feel for the angst and frustration of a man who deeply wanted to make a difference, yet had not found his place.

#42.  A book you own but have never read.

              The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

I've owned this book for a couple of years now and it has sat in digital purgatory on my kindle bumped by library due dates and other books that had captured my attention.  This challenge has gotten me to read books I hadn't thought to read or made time for and it has shown me what I have missed by keeping to my normal reads.  

'By telling stories, you objectify your own experiences.  You separate from yourself.  You pin down certain truths.  You make up others.'  This selection sums up this collection of short stories perfectly.  A narrator who is based on the author, but not really.  Stories of Alpha company in Vietnam that may or may not be real.  The stories have a way of showing the horrors of war, but also the absurdity and yes, even the humor of men just trying to survive....

#1.  A book with more than 500 pages.

 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I'm not going to lie, I was not sure I was going to make it thru this epic novel.  The story was easy enough to follow, but it was a slow and heavy read for the first half of the novel.  Now that I have finished, I can't really say that I loved it, but I didn't hate it either, and with the greatest of irony, the title character is the one I liked the least.  It is a novel about a game and the written and unwritten rules of it.  The heartbreaking and frustrating part is that the game is love.  Family love, romantic love, love of God, love of country, really love in any form are all explored....and the saddest part is that the majority of the characters do not seem to 'grow up' for lack of a better phrase and accept and protect the love in their lives.  It is a novel well worth reading, and I am glad the challenge got me to do so.

#28.  A book with antonyms in the title.

 Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

Through a series of memos, suggestion slips, and actual letters you are submerged into a first year teacher's adventures in a New York City High School in the 1960's.  While I appreciated the struggles, it felt disjointed due to the way it written and  it felt incomplete in some ways.  As the book nears the end, the main character is torn between staying at the high school or taking a new job at a college, and by the words and feelings presented, I was shocked and a bit confused why she stayed.....  I think teachers, who read this book, might appreciate it a bit more than I did, but in the end, I am still recommending it.

#50.  A book you started but never finished

 Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

I have no idea what my problem with this book was before...  From the first chapter, I was hooked! Technical information delivered with humor and a bit of snark, this is right up my alley.  Some of the footnotes made me laugh out loud.  Yes, there are 2 whole chapters to pooping in space, which at times got a little old, but there were practicalities (and gross ones) that had to be dealt with and NASA is still dealing with.  I thoroughly enjoyed the author's writing style and humor and will be reading more of her books in the future.

#47.  A play.

   A Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

I saw the play preformed at the Utah Shakespeare Festival years ago and fell in love it due to the fact that no one had to die in order to learn the lessons needed to be learned.  Reading it, however, it was not as wonderful as I remembered.  The first half is a very serious tragedy, then it falls into a farce.  It is very uneven and contradicts itself multiple times.  The only good thing, I really found was that it is a short play.....  It was very interesting to revisit this play.

#9.  A book by a female author. 
    First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

This is a sequel to one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors and it did not disappoint.  It did not, however, wow me.  I enjoyed seeing where the characters went and it let a child in the first book take a larger role, but there was a bit of an unneeded character that distracted from the characters I wanted to spend more time.  Overall, an enjoyable read!

I read in streaks this quarter, due to the fact life has gotten very, very, very busy, but putting a book in my hands is something that will be always a priority...

On to the 4th Quarter.
Melissa

2nd Quarter Book Report Part 2

Here it is, Part 2 of the 2nd Quarter Book report....
If you are confused, the following posts will bring you up to speed.
The whole list is found here,
The First Quarter report is here
Part 1 of the 2nd Quarter link is here...

I was really lucky in this quarter to read books that really resonated with me and this next one exemplifies it perfectly...


#14.  A non fiction novel


A General Theory of Love by Drs. Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, and Richard Lannon

How to describe this book?  It blends poetry and literature with hard and detailed science...  It goes into great length in the power and fragility of the limbic brain.  I struggled at times with the discussion of the animal testing and the cruelty it described, so if you are at all sensitive to that, be forewarned.  However, the underlying message of this book can not be missed---connections matter.  The connections we form with our parents, partners, and people around us, they matter,  A LOT, and modern life is telling us that we don't need them, but we do.  A definite must read.

#37.  A book with a color in the title.

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

The prose started out like poetry, beautiful and haunting, but quickly became manipulative and just wrong.  I get there are issues with the foster system, and I understand that some parents are not meant to be parents and are cruel and unkind, but do they all have to happen in ONE book.  The main character, Astrid, is 12 when her very messed up life falls even farther apart.  Her mother, Ingrid, a selfish *****, is there ever was one is convicted of murdering her ex boyfriend and Astrid is put into the foster care system.  The book is well written, the writing style enjoyable to read even if the content wasn't.  So, I say to you, be forewarned and proceed with caution.

#38.  A book that made you cry.

               
Nobody Don't Love Nobody by Stacy Bess 

Read, just please read, this book.  The author, who was a teacher at Salt Lake City's Homeless shelter school, weaves stories of her student's heartbreaks and setbacks with a paradigm shift for the rest of us...   It never gets too preachy or unrealistic about the problems, but it poses some hard questions for you to answer.  Please just read this, and really take to heart pages 221-228.....

#10.  A mystery or thriller

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I LOVE this book, so my review may be a little slanted in that direction, but hey, it's my blog, and I can be biased if I want to.  This book is a nod to the Gothic classics, ironically of which I'm not a huge fan, especially Jane Eyre.  It is set up as a book within a book with the main character, Margaret, unraveling the mystery as the reader is.  

#29.  A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit. (Ireland)

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy (updated)

I had seen the movie with Minnie Driver years ago and as I read this book, memories and details came flooding back to me.  It took me a while to let go of the movie and enjoy the book.  1950's small town Ireland and Dublin then revealed itself to me.  The is a story of friendship, duh, and of a young woman finding her own....  The ending is SO much better than the movie, I gained quite a bit of respect for the main character, Bennie, with it...

#32.  A trilogy

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Material's Trilogy

Book 1 The Golden Compass
It took me a bit to get into the story, I had seen the movie when it came out a while ago and it is just wrong when compared to the book, but when I fell into the story, it FLEW!  A parallel universe, animals that are a part of you, corruption, and friendship drive this story.  It reminds me of the C.S. Lewis series 'The Chronicles of Narnia' where you might read it as a child and only see a fun story, but if you read it as an adult, you realize the stories are full of symbolism and allegory.

Book 2 The Subtle Knife
Well, I am officially hooked on this series and flew thru this book.  I read it on a flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City....  I always love book 2 of a trilogy, due to the fact that you have all the background, you understand the situation, so now you can get to the heart of the matter.  Characters grow and make big decisions, plot lines start to come together, and you get a glimpse of the future.  You've probably noticed that I haven't talked much about the actual story line and it is for good reason...one of the reason the movie messes the The Golden Compass up so bad is that it introduces things in trying to simply reduce the time to tell a story when they really need to be revealed at the right time...  Writing a book review is somewhat like that, I don't want to ruin a wonderful story by revealing things too soon....

Book 3 The Amber Spyglass
My least favorite of the three....it got a little chaotic with elements that did not seem to be needed and some of the characters got a little cliched, but my main issue is the force used to drive home the point of the trilogy.  During books one and two, it was there, but subtle, in this one is was like a sledgehammer to the side of the head.  The subtlety worked better in my opinion.  I am recommending the trilogy despite my reservations with the third book, however.

#16.  A book from an author you love that your haven't read.

Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich

This book is pure fluff;  this author is pure sugar, but sometimes, in life, you just need that.  This is the third book in a series that spun off of her popular Stephanie Plum series.  Lizzy and Diesel are on the hunt for stones that represent the Deadly Sins, yes those deadly sins, and in each book of the series they are on the trail of the greed stone.  If you have ever read a book by Janet Evanovich, you know there are crazy supporting characters and in Wicked Charms, there are a Broom, with an attitude, and Carl, the bird flipping Monkey.  It's screwball comedy that wouldn't work in a long book, but in this fairly short novel it's ok.

#3.  A book that became a movie. (will be released 12/15)

 In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Phillbrick

A non fiction book, that read like a thriller, of an event that inspired Herman Melville to write 'Moby Dick', that is the simple way to describe a complex and interesting book.  Mr. Phillbrick pulls from multiple sources and the survivor's accounts to piece together what happened.  He is balanced in his criticism and praise, yet also understood the basic danger of whaling in the 1800's.  A definite recommendation!!!!

If you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed that in the first two quarters, I've read quite a few books.  This challenge has 52 books, and I have only have 19 left.  I have a feeling that I will finish early, but that's ok, because my to read list is kind of long.......

With my nose still in a book,

Melissa