Sharing your Story and Owning your Past

As August comes to an end, I finished The Glass Castle. The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls. In her personal account of a not so perfect childhood, the reader is given a glimpse into the life of living below the poverty line.

Walls lived a life of supporting her siblings, dealing with an eccentric mother and an alcoholic father. They lived a nomadic life across the southwest and eventually into West Virginia. Almost every horrible thing that could happen to a family happened. It is inspirational and amazing to see how Walls survived and succeeded after her past.

She mentions struggling with her past and not accepting it. Our past shapes who we were, are, and will become. The story is a great reminder that everyone has a past that is not perfect. Jeanette wrote a beautiful story as she accepted hers. I would encourage everyone to give this book a try, you won't be disappointed.

September books will be posted tonight or in the morning! Currently reading and old favorite: 1984

Happy Reading

When psychology intersects human nature

Charles Gordon is not your average guy. After his family could no longer keep-up with handling his mental disability, a family friend takes him in as a janitor at the bakery. When a new science experiment promises to make him smart after Algernon becomes the smartest mouse alive, Charlies's world is turned upside down. And so begins, Daniel Keys great story: Flowers for Algernon

Photo credit: Goodreads

What a great book! To question so many grown-up issues in the eyes of an emotional 6-16 year old and pair it with a good plot is amazing. In a few short months, Charlie's intellectual capacity grows exponentially while his emotional side struggles. During this experiment, many researchers seemed to have lost the human  component of Charlie. As a reader this is ironic since the story is told at the intersection of this struggle with his Progress Reports. 

 Learning and education is so important to everyone, but this book sheds light on a topic that is not well addressed in main stream media. How do we support those with mental disabilities?  Charlie is bullied and eventually loses his sense of self.  (Read the book..  I don't want to give away to much here) It is a great book with excellent writing and character development. Flowers for Algernon reminds us that there is a person behind every new discovery. What is the sacrifice they were willing to make?

Happy Reading!

I am almost half-way done. I didn't make it to the library today so I think The Little White Horse will be my first book of July! Sneaking in Nicholas Sparks to end the first half of my Adventure!

Let me use my super-human powers for good...

Page one. Myfanwy Thomas is in a new body, well kind of. Then a story of supernatural powers, mystery, government agencies, and treason emerges.  I read all 480 pages of O'Malley's The Rook and am surprised by how much praised it has received. It was a good book, it was not a great book. The plot was heavy in details and you are left with a story that is so far fetch you cannot believe. I was a little disappointed as I wanted a page turner.

I might be a little hard on this book because I am not a huge fan of paranormal or crime. This book has both. It held my attention, but it started to get out a hand with a little bit of  " I can make a bigger twist than you" mentality. Read it especially if you like mystery/crime novels.

Happy Reading!

Have a Heart

 So I guess I should preface the post with saying, I love the Wizard of Oz. Gregory Maguire is a fabulous fantasy fiction writer. Wicked has inspired millions and recreated the Wizard of Oz for an entire generation. A Lion Among Men  is the third of four books surrounding an atypical world of Oz.  For those of you that have read LL Balm version of Oz be prepared everything is not shiny and emerald green. Maguire creates a world of government corruption, war, famine, and hard times throughout all three books. Magic and mystery surround the familiar characters but their story is not always the same.

If you are just getting started this is a series that has to be read in order. Wicked, Son of Witch, A Lion Among Men and finally Out of Oz. Wicked is my favorite and a true classic. Son of a Witch is good and gives you a closer look at Dorthy and some of your favorites from the classic movie. A Lion Among Men however is shaping up to be my least favorite.

A Lion Among Men follows the cub,Brr, that Elphaba saves at Shiz University through his long life throughout Oz. Brr turns out to be the same cowardly lion that helps Dorthy defeat Elphaba years later.  Through his long pursuits he searches for the links to his past and his long connection with the Wicked Witch.

After starting to write this, I realize I cannot write to much about this without giving away to much about this great series. The Lion is not written to be a favorite character in this portrayal. He is cowardly and leaves those he cares for many times. Many questions are left unanswered and many stones unturned.

In the end, the coming of the fourth book will be the salvation for the series. I will read the last book next month. Until then Happy Reading!

Photo credit: Goodreads

( I had to make a quick swap for Maus II to the Alchemist because of  a book delay) 

Redefining Success

I come from an education and communication background. I like exploring hard issues and looking at new ways to find solutions. Malcolm Gladwell Ouliers: The Story of Success was a truly outstanding book. Gladwell takes stories from everyday life and shows how we need to refine our notions of success, wealth, and even to some chance.


Let me start by saying I loved this book. Malcolm is an amazing writer with a great ability to talk about hard issues with stories. However, I didn't think anything he said was earth shattering. Stable homes present more stable environments. Stable home environments produce cultures of success. We are all impacted by our culture for generations. Hard work pays off.

Gladwell illustrates that great people are often back-up by some pretty important life events that led them on the path of success. Even if they grew up in a simple urban home in the South or Midwest.

Anyone interested in better grasping the idea of cause and effect and life impacts should read this book. The world is not black and white and neither should our definition of success.


(Gladwell's blog is also awesome!)

Happy Reading!

Photo credit: Goodreads

Books are not quite the same as they were in 1924

Photo credit:Goodreads

So I finally finished a Passage to India by E. M. Forster. Wow, this is one of the hardest books I've read in a while. America is different, India is different, Great Britain is different. This book is ten steps back on culture, race, and women relations.

In A Passage to India, Miss Quested wrongly accuses Dr. Aziz of misconduct while he takes Ms. Moore and Miss Quested on an adventure into the India caves. What results is the portrayal of Indian and British relations during the Indian revolution from British rule.

This is a long book. You feel like you are traveling through India. This was not one of my favorite books as the writing was great but heavy on the detail. The content and context of the material has changed so in many areas from the US to India and everywhere in between.

Fielding and his moral compass in the book is a bright spot. Many times I take some time and I have more to say about a book. With this book, I struggled to put to words exactly how I felt. It was okay. I am not sure I would ever read it again.

I am finishing Outliers today!

Happy Reading!

A Mole, A Rat, A Beaver, and that Toad

I have a secret. I love children's literature. It may be a young adult series or a kids book or a fable, but there is something magical in books written toward the kid audience. Grahamae's The Wind and Willows has that magic. As a kid, I know I saw the movie and heard the tale of the wreck-less Toad and his loyal friends.

In the fable tale, Rat takes in Mole as they go through their daily life on the River. Toad wrecks his way through life and other adventures. In the end, his friends help him learn a valuable lesson. One of my favorite ideas about this book is the simple messages the author created to teach children and adults a like.  The great descriptions and charterers have been for ever instilled into children's literature.


Happy Reading... Finishing Cat's Cradle Tonight

Langdon's return..and my trip with Inferno

Photo credit: Goodreads

Let me start by saying Dan Brown is one of my favorite authors. With that being said, I do not think he is an amazing writer but he does have a great way of connecting a story to history. Inferno takes Dante's greatest work and creates a fairly unpredictable tale surrounding a biochemical disaster.

Many of Brown's other books are formulaic guy meets girls, work to solve a life or death puzzle, science and history are brought together, oh wait there is a twist, and they save the day. Inferno did not disappoint. The plot moved fast and we were entertained by our favorite symbolism and art professor, Robert Langdon.

If you have yet to read Angels and Demons or The DaVinci Code,  I would read these first as they explain Langdon's mannerisms better. Overall, this is a great, fun book, but not an earth-shattering meaningful book.

Happy Reading... I am almost done with The Wind and the Willows

Just what is that Catch 22?

So I decided it would be a great idea to read Catch 22 on the beach...

Let me tell you this was one of the harder books I have read. Joseph Heller wrote and published this WWII novel in the late 1950s and released the book in the early 1960s. All 400 pages describe a not so patriotical view of military life primarily in the 1940s Mediterranean Sea.  The story is centralized around Yossarian desire to quit the war since he has flow his required number of missions. His support group of friends and comrades allow the readers to see how Yossarian boarders on brilliance and craziness. Morality, respect, family, loyalty among others come together to shape this interesting book.

Catch 22 refers to the idea that he is crazy for constantly flying out to the war zone to have the chance of being killed, yet he will be called crazy for asking to leave the war as well. In a sense, it is a lose-lose situation. Reflecting back, I have heard this phrase used before and it is part of everyday slang or lose American language. I am not sure everyone uses it correctly. When you are stuck with no good solution, you are forced to chose the best alternative. These situations are not always Catch 22s as sometimes they are portrayed. Looking back at Stephen Covey and The Secret, they would tell us there is always an alternative if we try hard enough. I'm a pretty positive person and I look for the good in things. I say try to avoid the Catch 22 in your life.

Heller is well-praised and sited for this work in Catch 22. It is an atypical portrayal of military life. This book however, did not make my favorite lists. It is tough book to manage with non-chronological story telling, detailed character descriptions, and weird plot twist. I appreciate this book and I am glad I read it, but it was not a good choice for the beach.

Reading this book made me appreciate the amazing English teachers I have had in the past. I was able to navigate this book just fine because I learned how to read literature for themes, plot, characters  etc. through their guidance. This book showed me I was okay doing it on my own. Read the book if you like classics or if you want to understand Catch 22 a little more.

Happy Reading!

(Vacation put me a little behind on blogging. Lovely Bones post and June Books coming today!)

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!

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!

When a book changes your perception of the world...

Half the Sky is a real life look at the horrors of the oppression of women across the world. It was a truly moving and inspiring book, yet it was one of the hardest books I have read in a long time. As you can see from the blog,  I started the book and had to take a break in order to finish. All in all it was a life changing book and makes me want to do more for the our  local community but even our world.

Throughout my life, I have seen documentaries , read news articles, and just in general tried to be exposed to the greater problems of the world. I know we are blessed and fortunate to live in the United States. I've always tried to give back and support the bigger picture. This is hard sometimes to remember and grasp. After reading this book and I've sure watching the documentary, it is hard to believe that in America slavery has been gone for almost 150 years and women have had the right to vote for over 90 years, yet there are huge amounts of oppression, slavery and rape of women going on across the world. 

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Across the World was a close hand account of women and their inspiring stories primarily in Southeast Asia, China, India, the Middle East, and Africa. Nicholas Kristof an Sheryl WuDunn share amazing stories of women surviving families who disown them, rape and sex trafficking, child marriages, and many other horrors that are still happening now. This was written in 2009 with fairly recent stories. More than that great NGO are named as well and a call to action is given.

This week I plan to spend some time doing some time researching all of the NGO to decide how I want to make a difference. I love the idea of supporting a girls education. Additionally, the idea of supporting global micro-financing for women has been shown to  greatly improve the quality of life.   

Below are many amazing links which I think will help you explore Half The Sky. Go out and make a difference. 

Half the Sky Movement Website

Half the Sky Documentary

Donation Links

Micro-financing- Kiva             GlobalGiving

Education- Room to Read ( There are many, many more)

Ted Talks

Sheryl on Half the Sky

Sunitha on Sex Trafficking

Happy Reading! Off to The Audacity of Hope

I am not sure how this one skipped High School Required Reading...

Well as everyone can tell, I am a little behind on reading. So I finished Treasure Island last night and was so impressed. Let me say it was not the best book I ever read, nor was it the deepest book I ever read, but it was so much fun.  I laughed and finally discovered where so many TV/movie life references come from.


Any true pirate lover has to read this book. (PS I am pretty sure Long John Silver the restaurant name came from this silly little book.)  No Way...

All in All it is a fantastic book written as a means for Robert Louis Stevenson to entertain his son. The target audience was young boys, what was created were accounts of many of the first portrayals of pirates in literature and later movies.

When Billy Bones leaves young Jim in possession of a map, the Squire and Dr. Trelawney decide they will go on a quest to find the treasure. In Bristol, the squire recruits soon to be pirates on this voyage across the Atlantic. The hunt for the treasure and the fight for survival on the island is your adventure to discover.

All in all it is a great fun book. Pieces of character development were missing outside of Silver and Jim. All female voice and presence is lost. These factors together, I believe, create cause for it sometimes being skipped in reading curriculum.


All in all good book. I am off to finish Half the Sky..

Happy Reading!

Learning to Lead or Should I Say Lean

I first heard of Sheryl Sandberg after watching her TED Talk a few months back.

  I was a little distracted, but knew this was a great. Then a few weeks later, I watched the video again without any distractions with my roommate. I was empowered, amazed and questioning my life.  Some time that week, I discovered Lean In was coming out as an entire book and I immediately added it to my 100 list adventure.

Just what exactly is Lean In and why is there so much buzz around this book? Finally, someone is speaking out and saying the cultural revolution that was fought for centuries is not over; in fact, we are close to heading in the wrong direction. Worse than that, study upon study is showing that men and women and viewed completely different in the typical business workforce. I have so many thoughts, issues and opinions on this topic. I did not agree 100% with every that was said in this book, but I did laugh out loud at parts, my heart broke at others, and I did question parts of life at others. One of the best part of this book was the real and honest conversation of creating a real life partner and having honest conversations about bringing kids into your career. Brilliant advice and empowering. Everyone should read  this book. It is not just for women or those in business or leaders. Everyone has something to add, share, learn, and gain from this amazing book.


One of my favorite quotes from the book is something like:
"Discussions change minds, minds change behaviors, behaviors change institutions...." Lean-In has created a create Facebook community along with great support to change how women and men support each other, talk about these issues, and discuss gender differences. To see other great quotes from the book check out this link.


Happy Reading...(Onto Half the Sky and Harry Potter 7)

(I started this blog at lunch on Monday...life is so precious. praying and thinking of all of those tragically impacted by the explosions in Boston. Such a sad horrible day as I finished this motivating post.)


For an extended look at my Lean In thoughts check back here, but here is a preview.

As an 8 year old, I figured out how to set of my family computer on the internet. (ok I just really wanted to figure out the answer to my homework, but I did it.) No one everyone ever told me this could be a career until I was almost done with college. Hence I became a statistics and lost my curiosity  in science and math.
I never even thought that men and women had different careers until I realized that many of guy friends were engineering. Now my current career helps all students find internships but I have had the privileged of working with great people help women excel in technology. Women in STEM... new passion to help the next generation.

Balancing a career and family.... well Happy Christmas. My mom, sister and I were on our way back from a movie when I was in high school Christmas day. My mother at this point told me I did not date enough, I was to involved in school, life, and everything else. I was driven, ambitious  My mother told me I would never have a career and a family. I said watch me. While I am not married right now, I can not wait for the day that I have both. I know it will be hard. I know that sacrifices will be made, but I know it can be done. Lean In showed me it was possible even more.

There may be more thoughts including with I ended up in service not in business or politics, but that is all for now..

When books are not what you expected...

After nine long days of reading, I finally finished The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling.  I am not sure what I was expecting, but it was not this. I love how JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and all in all I think she is a great writer.

On a whole some people criticizer her for writing the Harry Potter books with not enough character development. However, they are children's books and have growing character development and interwoven depths as the characters age.

While I was not expecting Harry Potter, I was expecting an entertaining plot with a different story and maybe some of JK Rowling signature details. Instead JK Rowling decided that we should all know she can and will spend pages developing her characters even if it sacrifies the plot.

On a whole the basis of the book surronds Barry Fairbrother dies and his local seat in the Parish Council goes up for election. In this rural community in England, dirty politics, discontent for the poor, rape, welfare, scandals all sound like they would make an excellent plot. Instead tedious details and chapters of information make the first 350 pages drag. While the last 100 pages are pretty good, final answers to some of the stories questions are not always.

All in all this book was ok. If you like character development and literature read it, if not skip it.

Happy Reading! Off to catch up... Guy Not Taken and then Lean In (so excited)

Playing a Game of Cat and Maus

I admit I have never really taken the world of graphic novels seriously. When the book, Maus kept appearing on list of books you should read before your 30 or top 100 list I was intrigued and added it to my list. (For those of you that have not read all of my post, this was one large way I created many of my 100 books. After reading this survivors tale of a Polish family's attempt to escape the Holocaust, I was completely intrigued and impressed at the power of Artem Spiegelman words and pictures. He artfully portrays his parents fight for life in the 1940s as they hid, bartered, fought, and survived Germans taking over Poland and wiping out the Jewish population.

I read many books about the Holocaust both Fiction, memoirs  and historical accounts. The comics juxtaposed with the tough subjects make this book the Pultizer Prize winning novel it became. All in all the story is easy to connect with as parental relationships, marriage and lost make the loses in the story human.

 After reading the book, I realized there is a Maus Part 2, I think this will be on my list this year as I want to know how the story ends. (Here is the link for the complete set).

All in All a great book.

Happy April Fools and Happy Reading...

Off to explore some JK Rowling...

Listening to the Quite Voice Within

Every so often you find a book that reminds you that every person you meet in life can impact your future. There is sometimes a quite still voice reminding you to smile or wave or even just listen. Small acts or in Ron Halls and Denver's case large actions cause amazing, unforeseeable actions to occur.

Yesterday, I finished the true account of Ron Hall and Denver recount the unlikely meeting in a mission home for the homeless in Fort Worth, Texas in Same Kind of Different as Me.  With great character development, immense attention to historical detail, and an overall feel good story, I was left with a smile on my face and a reminder that God does amazing things everyday.

While this book as a whole has a happy ending, there are hard parts as Denver lives a rough life from almost Day 1. Deborah Hall, who brings these men together dies, but brings great good to the city.

In my youth and college days, Iwas involved with work in justice and homelessness and poverty. This book spurred me to look into the justice movements to ensure I was spending enough time supporting causes I truly cared about each day. I hope you all do the same.


Happy Easter and Happy Reading!

(Finishing Maus tonight and then onto April Books!)

It is never to late..

.. to mend a quarrel, start a relationship, forgive yourself, or say I love you.

I first read Tuesday with Morrie I was 14 years old. I am not sure I was old enough to really understand and appreciate everything this book was teaching about life. Now 10.5 years later, I have lived some life, lost, loved, made some mistakes, and this book still makes me smile and reminds me of the true goodness in  people.

Mitch is one of Morrie's favorite sociology students in college. After graduation, they lost touch for many years until Mitch sees him on the Nightline interview suffering with ALS. Then Mitch begins meeting with Morrie as they delve into the meaning of life and accepting death.

If you are not into multiple life sayings scatter throughout the book or reading a feel good book. I get it, but this book reminds us of the power of compassion, the need to listen, and the power of others in our lives. Morrie wanted to share his values with others and teach until the end of his days. This book and others went on to impact millions. Teachers (and mentors) at all levels tend to have this impact. I could not even begin to list the teachers who lead me to where I am today. Along the way, they taught to pay it forward, respect others, read, and love learning. I will be forever grateful and now forever teaching in my own way.

My two sentence synopsis is Go Read This Book. Even more, Read this book every 10 years as life changes. In order to give you a taste of this book, I encourage you to see the Nightline Interview that is often reference in the book.

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” 
― Mitch Albom, Tuesdays With Morrie

For more Morrie aphorism try Morrie :In His Own Words

That is all for this amazing book!

Happy Reading! On to Same Kind of Different as Me and Maus

(P.S. Mitch Albom is one of my authors. I considered adding all of his book to my list. Check out his website or Goodreads site for more titles. All are fabulous)