Taking a look at the 7 habits

So I think it makes since to put everything in perspective: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has now been out for almost 25 years.

There are 3 habits that revolve around improving yourself and creating a private victory and three habits surrounding the public victory of working with others. The last habit is sharpening the saw and constantly improving yourself.n

All in all I had a hard time discerning if this book shaped much of the other leadership and communication literature I have  read before or if the other literature came first.

The basic principles of emphatic communication, synergy, and win-win are all ideas that I can support.

Additionally, planning out your day and putting first things first are all great things. The way the book was written is not my favorite. There were long anecdotes about personal all-american family stories or business deals. All in all it was okay, but not my favorite.


I'm ending my crazy beach vacation. Catch 22 was not great. I will finish Lovely Bones today and then ready on the plane tomorrow.

Next week I will catch up more on the blog!

Gone...What?

Currently, I am back in the real world for 3 more days. (Side note: it took me 3 days to actually publish this post. Now, I leave for the beach in the morning!) During my first beach vacation, I read The Secret and Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl was a 2012 and even 2013 best seller that received so much hype. Amy and Nick may be two of the weirdest characters that I have ever seen come into literature.

With a twisting plot, characters who are not what they seem, and all in all weird book, this book does not leave you wanting more  for action. Nick and Amy live a wonderful happy life in New York. After their career's tank and the trust funds falls apart, they move back to Nick's Missouri hometown. The drama unfolds as Amy suddenly disappears on their wedding anniversary. While this can be a good beach read because of its fast pace mentality, overall the plot was just a little too cliche yet to far fetch for me.

I leave you to be the final judge.

In other news, I am leaving for the beach and will post in the morning on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that I just finished. My week long family vacation will however include some great reading!

Below are my 4 Beach/Airplane Books for the trip. (Depending on the vacation will depend if I make it to number 4)

Catch 22
Inferno (I know I am cheating, but I can't wait!)
A Lion Among Men
The Lovely Bones

Happy Reading!

Belief in the Power of Positive Thinking

...or as others would say The Secret. Like many of the books I have read this year, this was a book that had received press and media attention for years before I read it.  Now, I realize that much of my life I have lived part of the mantra of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.  Growing up you would be hard pressed to find me without a smile on my face or faith that good things happen. With life growing on me this was sometimes hard to keep, but I pressed on most of the time. And life is great. Well most of the time.
All in all, this has been one of my favorite books. The Secret reminds me of the power of the mind and how much it can do. I have always believed what you put out into the world you receive. This book truly shows all of this.
I'm wrapping up a great vacation and will add more to this post I believe,  but all in all in all.. great book.


Another book down! Happy Reading!

Before he was POTUS

I'm on vacation and back at the beach. I've been able to catch up on some serious reading, but now I'm a little behind on blogging. 


Yesterday morning, I finally finished The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama.  I know, I know I'm about ten years late on this book fad, but I read it.All in all it was a good book. It was great to hear his story and see how our now current president became who he is today. However, it is interesting to hear him speak of Hope and the future and lost before he started his run.
I'm on vacation so this is a little short,  but I would say read this book if you want to learn more about Obama's history and how he was shaped by his past and each person he met, but I think his next book would have been better. It still gave me hope that one day politics can and will change though!


Happy (beach) Reading! On to Gone Girl (The Secret blog post is coming up soon)

A Mother is not always who it seems

A tragic accident and long road to a peaceful discovery. A new life. These are just some of my thoughts as Sue Monk Kidd takes us into the The Secret Life of Bees.

In this gripping story of family, civil rights, and finding yourself, Lily is left taking care of her father after her mother is tragically taken. Mother figures play a central role in shaping this book from the Queen bee to the three black bee-keeping sisters in South Carolina who take in Lily and her runaway nanny.

All in all this book was great. I am from the South and I love reading about the different parts of the south and the struggle that occurred for hundreds of years. (The Help is also one of my favorites) It makes me appreciate how far we have come and how far we can still go. Race is always seen as the major issue, however, poverty was just as big as an issue as race. I truly believe the main reason race card was played and fought so long and so hard in the South was for two reason: poor education system and the cycle of poverty. Police were allowed to beat up Rosaleen. No one said anything.

 Lily ran out of a home that told her she would never succeed. Yet she thrived with the sisters. We are a product of our environment. Kidd reminds us that bad things happens. We can live in doubt and fear or either work hard and find the honey in life. I choose honey.

Read away...

Happy Reading..finishing up The Audacity of Hope!

The thief in the dark of the night...

A mother, a brother, and a little girl. A Stranger following them throughout their life. And by the way we, The Holocaust has started as the family is traveling across Germany. The brother dies, maybe the stranger isn't really such a stranger, and the book thief strikes for the first time.

So starts the first pages of Markus Zusak The Book Thief. Liesel goes on to live with a truly amazing foster family who treats her as her own. In this gripping story of Death, love, family, and coming of age, Zusak brings you into the book and portrays and entirely different side of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.

Over the years, I have read books on the Holocaust, yet I had never considered there were normal everyday  people who lived in Nazi Germany but may not have supported it. This book is another book to change your perceptive.

I am going to warn you. All does not end well, but it a book that should be read.

Happy Reading... on to The Secret Life of Bees

My favorite classic of all time..ok well so far

The classic debate does human nature rule the good versus evil debate or does human society...William Golding creates a page-turning story in Lord of the Flies. Boys stranded on a deserted island have to come together and find a way to survive. Leaders come forward, roles are given, groups divide. However, this is not Treasure Island survival. Ralph, Jack, Piggy, Simon, and the rest of the gang lose their innocence in the search for order and the need for survival.

As a high school sophomore, this was a book where I realized there are such things as great books. I studied this book and learned how to appreciate symbolism, setting and multiple meanings in books. Now almost ten years later, I am still in awe of this book. The lush setting provide food and poison to the body and the soul. Even different areas of the Island had specific names to correlate to specific actions and time. Golding was truly brilliant. I do not want to spill this book for anyone, but everyone MUST read this book....

In parting thoughts, I think everyone has the choice to be good or evil. It is our actions over our nature that determines our person. Symbols can indicate power even false power. The black hats were the first sign of power on the island. What are false signs of power you see in your life today? Books can change your perception. Great books need to be re-read every so often!

Happy Reading all!

Off to start the Book Thief!

May Books

April lead it self to some great books and some great weather. Now May is here and vacation and the beach are in sight! I cannot wait to read and catch up on my 2 % I am behind. It is hard to believe I have read 31 books. It has truly been a great run. As you can see, a few books were left off from April. Here is the new May list. It is a little lighter and longer than normal and may spill into June as I am going to be at the beach and traveling some!

Enjoy!

Lord of the Flies William Golding

The Book Thief Markus Zusak

The Audacity of Hope Barark Obama 

Gone Girl Gillian Flynn

The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd

7 Habits of Highly Effect People Stephen Covey

Catch 22 Joseph Heller

The Secret Rhonda Byrne

The Lovely Bones Alice Seabold

Happy Reading!