October Books

Wow it is hard to believe, we are heading into the last stretch of 2013 and the last 27 books. That is technically 9 books a month. I am not sure how the last months will play out, but I am excited. Choosing some of the last books has been interesting. Goodreads is my savior. It is great to take in suggestions and filter out what I want to read this year and what I want to read in the future.

Right now, I have 11 books on the October list. I am not sure how far I will get on the list, but I would love to knock out 10 with the holidays coming up. We will see. Thanks for always reading the blog and supporting me along the way. As always, send me your suggestions, feedback!

On a side note, I spent the weekend at the Baltimore Book Festival. It was amazing.

Keep Reading!

Happy Reading!

Fellowship of the Ring,  J.R.R. Tolken  (I am still working on this from September)
The House of Hades, Rick Riordian
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Trip to Heaven and Back, Todd Burpo
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Morrie in His Own Words, Morrie Schwartz
Fish:A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results, Stephen Lundin
Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?  Beveley Daniel Tatum
Beloved, Toni Morrison
The Shinning, Stephen King
Middlesex,  Jeffery Eugendies

The Classic Key to a Girl Becoming a Woman

Growing up, I loved to read Judy Blume. I read many of her books growing up. Somehow I missed Are you There God, It's Me Margaret? When I started reviewing list of must read books, It came up multiple times. I decided it was time to check out this classic.

Blume as always does an amazing job blending together a short plot and character development with few pages. She leaves the reader wanting more. Even better, every girl and woman can relate to her coming of age story of "becoming a woman." Finally, her religious crisis and need for answers reminds of that we don't always have all the answers. There is some God out there that everyone interprets differently.

It is truly a brilliant coming of age book. I encourage you to pick it up.

Happy Reading!

When A Book Causes Stress

Most of the time I think I am pretty productive person and manage life fairly well. I know I can always improve and streamline the process, but I make it work. When life gets crazy for future reference, I do not recommend reading a book with multiple action items that you cannot act upon immediately. David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity is a good book in theory, but I am not sure people live there lives like this realistically.  Technology and instant communication drives our input range to new highs. While I agree there are some great take aways from this book, some would take days and weeks to complete stop your current system to implement.

Focus on week to do list.
Keep paper handy to empty your mind.
Create a system for managing work flow.
Act on items that can take under 2 min,
Remember a "Do it, Delegate it, or Defer it" mentality.

There is more advice in the book. All is good, but I am not sure I could suddenly implement this all this week. Hence this book stressed me out reading, but it was a good read. Overall, check it out if you want to know more.

Finished Are You There God It is Me Margaret? I hope to put the post up in the morning.

Hard to believe September is almost over.

Happy Reading!

Laughing All the Way

Sometimes you just want a light read and a time to laugh. Sometimes you can stay up late and read a book in 1 or 2 nights. For me this book was Tina Fey's Bossypants. It was fabulous!

While I have heard from multiple people that the Audio book is great, I decided to read it. I literally laughed so hard I was crying at points. Tina Fey writes like she is sitting next to you. It is refreshing to see how she became such a great comedian from such a humble background, yet she never forgets her roots.

I highly encourage all to read this book. If you are not a fan of comedy, this may not be your favorite, but it is well worth the 2-3 hours it will take you to read.

Happy Reading!

Jumping into Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity. Still aiming for 9 books in September. Cross your fingers.

When I Don't Agree with Mainstream.

If you haven't noticed, I like to read. For the most part, I tend to read fairly mainstream books, classics, and a little bit of everything in between. Sometimes I stray and find a treasure. For the most part, I like a book to represent humanity but still end well. Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner which has been praised universally was a rough read this past week.

While the writing was one of the better books I have read this year, the story and up and down roller coaster of the plot left me disliking Amir and the overall climate of the book. The book reminds us that there is an innate good and evil and each of us and there is incredible power in forgiveness.

The Kite Runner has  received praise from all over. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it was not what I received. Read this book, but be warned it is not all sunshine and rainbows. It is a critical look at two different worlds of pre 9/11 Afghanistan and even pre/post Russian Afghanistan.

I am about to finish Bossypants. It is hilarious! Love it!

Gladwell..Round 2

A few days ago, I finished Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.  It was a good book, but it was not earth-shattering. I loved Outliers, but The Tipping Point, I realized, was full of ideas and concepts I had heard and learned most of my adult life. A few people can influence thousands. One change can impact many. I studied marketing and communication in undergrad, and these brillant ideas are researched in school.

I am not saying his anctodotal stories are not great, but I think this book has changed over the last ten years. Social media and technology has revolutionized the impact of connectors and maverns. We are no longer six degrees away from any one person, but closer to two or three.

Overall, if you want to understand the value of an idea and influence, read the book. Otherwise, I think this book has been updated over the last few years.

Happy Reading!

Finishing Kite Runner soon!

Cuckoo's Calling.. Different type of Character Development

After about a week of reading and socializing, I finally finished J. K. Rowling's The Cuckoo's Calling. It was a good book, but it was very detailed oriented and character driven.

Strike and his assistant Robin re-open a tragic case of a suicide or possible murder of a famous model in London. Overall, the book seemed to drag a little bit. I had a hard time getting through the first 200 pages. However, the last half of the book was great. The Cuckoo's Calling is much better the Rowling Casual Vacancy, but it was still not the magic of Harry Potter.

I'm about to finish The Tipping Point.

Happy Reading!