Too Soon To Think About Summer Reading?

In Ohio, it's often hard to tell which season it is outside. Wind, snow, sleet, hail, sunshine, tulips - any of those things can pop up just about any time. When Mother Nature confuses (and she does!) I rely on manmade clues. My calendar says it's April and my brain is begging for more time in the hammock, so we must be approaching summer.

And what's a hammock without a book?

Summer Reading 2016

Here's what's on my list:

• The Secret. Yeah, I know it's not a recently released title but since when did that stop me? Having recently read The Alchemist, I would like to compare Paulo Coelho's insights with The Secret. Are they similar? Is one more powerful than the other? If you've read both and have an opinion, boy-oh-boy would I love to hear from you! Please get in touch and let me know you'd like to send in a guest review!
• The Secret Life of Bees. Not new (see above) but been too long on my shelf. 
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Because my son said it's a good book and I could really learn a lot from it. Please, he said. Because sometimes you really bug me, mom. (Perhaps I should move this one up the list a bit.)  
• The Big Book of Culinary Medicine. I'm looking forward to finding out how this may complement what I learned from Anti-Cancer Diet. 

Light Reading or Heavy-Hitting Books for Summer? 

I tend to look for lighter reading in the summer, but I have some serious stuff on my shelf, too. Those titles include:

• A Higher Call
• Unbroken (Yes; it's still on my 2R list. No, I haven't seen the movie yet.)
• Notorious RGB
• Presidential Courage

I'll admit to having trepidation aplenty just thinking about that last title. I don't know if I should read it before the election (and risk becoming even more jaded about our current candidates) or after (whereupon I may simply run for the border, screaming). We'll see....

So what are you reading? And what do you plan to read this summer? Want to guest blog about it? That would be great! Let me know.

Guest Reviewers Wanted!

Look, I'm still working my way through The Kitchen God's Wife. And the back issues of National Geographic are piling up... if you're tearing through your 2R list, stop. Jot down a few notes about the things you've read that were worth your time, and why. Who would love them. Who might not. That's what I try to do here - and I could really use some help! 

#guestreviewerswanted!

Please drop me a line and share your suggestions here, for the sake other time-crunched readers. Thanks!! 

Happy I Found The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Just a page or two into the narrative, "lyrical" was the word that came to mind to describe it.

Not exactly surprising, considering Coelho worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist before  he claimed "author" as his full-time job. 

While the book is about pursuing your dream - and the story was lovely - I found the language itself as inspirational as the book's message. This is not a snarky way of saying I thought the book was weak (although quite a few Goodreads reviewers said just that). I'm very glad I read it. 

The Alchemist was on my radar several years ago, but so were dozens (hundreds?) of other titles, so I might never have gotten around to reading it if I hadn't gone grocery shopping downtown.

Happy Pharrell Mentioned It

That's a long unimportant story; the point of it is this: a magazine I picked up along the way had a great article about Pharrell Williams, in which he lauded the book. Currently, Williams is touting his own book, Happy (what else?), and his literacy campaign with FirstBook.

According to the article, Williams told Rhonda Price that before he read The Alchemist, he felt the universe might be conspiring against him. He credits the book for helping him turn around a general and pervasive frustration at the way his life and career was going.

Happiness is an attitude that is accessible to all people. It's a state of mind and it's real. You don't have to doubt it.  

Pharrell Williams said that, but it sounds almost like a page from Coelho's book.

You can read the whole interview with Williams in vol 26 of Extraordinary Health magazine, and see more quotes from The Alchemist on Goodreads.com. And if you're looking for a short, somewhat inspirational book that will make English sound almost as enchanting as a romance language, check out The Alchemist. 

January Reading & Help Wanted

What are you reading? I'm happy to announce that I made it through all of my National Geographic issues. From 2014. Here's the positive spin: I'll never run out of reading material. Yay!

Food for Thought

I've just begun reading Anticancer: A New Way of Life and I'm hooked! A smart friend who is a very selective reader recommended it highly (hi, Bekah!) and once again, she proves the master of understatement. "It's good," she said.

"It's awesome!" is more accurate, I say.

Author David Servan-Shreiber, MD, PhD, was a recognized and rising research physician when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. That's when he discovered how little he (and fellow medical professionals) knew about nutrition and its role in preventing and treating disease.

The book's website provides a nice example of how to provide credible information without giving too much away for free. In this case, the book is worth the price!

What the website doesn't say, at least not overtly, is that the book is positive - never preachy - and well-written. In short, it's a pleasure to read. If you've read it, and would like to offer a more thoughtful review of it, please let me know.

2016 Help Wanted

What are YOU reading? Anything you'd like to share? Guest bloggers are welcome! If you'd like to write a review to be published here, please (please!) contact me via my Dumb Facebook page or on Twitter.

The Martian Keeps Readers Reading, Writers Dreaming

I didn't realize The Martian was one of those wonderful self-published success stories! Sweet.

Now, I have to admit I haven't read it...yet. You know my rule: before I see the movie.

So, who's read it, and seen the movie adaptation? And who wants to share opinions here?

Still open to guest bloggers...

#please

Tidying, Joy, and What ARE you reading???

I've been feeling extra busy lately. Since reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,  I realize I have some closets to sort through. (If I'm not back next month, please send a search party.)

In fact, I didn't read the whole book because (1) I got really excited and cleaned out my drawers and a bookshelf!! and (2) I had to return it on time because someone else requested the book from the library. Clearly, the title struck a nerve. A dysfunctional one, at that. But no worries, Psychology Today is on top of it.

So, if you're just hanging out here reading book reviews (when you really should be discovering the joy in trashing all that stuff you've collected over the years), check out Marie Kondo's petite primer on paring down and prettying up your collection of ... well, stuff.

What's that? don't feel like cleaning out the closets today? Why don't you write a book review, then?

Guest reviewers always wanted!! Please contact me on Facebook or Twitter. Please?!

Thanks! 

A Mini-Review and Important Nugget of Advice

Marie Kondo's self-help book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, like many runaway bestsellers, is not packed with groundbreaking new research or information. It is a commonsense argument, presented in an undeniably logical and appealing way. 

Synopsis: 

You have too much stuff. You'll feel better when you ditch a ton of it. Get 'er done. 

Image: https://konmari.com/books

Well, you see now why the book is such a hit. It's a clearly a great idea, and Kondo has a better way with words than I do. 

She also offers a bunch of very practical, how-to tips her a small and unassuming little book - in itself something of a study in design, methinks. 

I particularly appreciated her detailed descriptions of not only which clothing items should be folded or hung, but precisely how. I've been twirling my shorts and shirts into tight little less-likely-to-wrinkle shapes (that remind me of egg rolls) ever since I read it. 

And I truly appreciated the firm but gentle lectures that pop up every few pages. Damnit! How did she know that I still have clothes I haven't worn in the past 4 years? Well, she's right - no joy in those...

I have to admit that I took off into closet-projects before I finished reading the book; so this can't be a proper review. However, I think it's only fair that I get points for taking the intended action. 

Rather than sum up the title here then, I'll leave you with some very important advice: 

Don't give the book to your mother as a gift. 

I have it on very good authority that when you give this particular title as a gift to the woman who has spent your whole life cleaning up after you, she is likely to use it immediately - to smack you in the head. 

So noted? OK. Well. Why don't you go see about one of those closets now, mmmmhm? 

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Fact Makes Great Fiction: Number the Stars

Lois Lowry's 1990 Newbery Award winner Number the Stars is a short fictional account of Denmark's Nazi occupation and resistance.

I was an adult when the book was published, so I'll shake off my guilt as I admit I've only recently gotten around to reading this.

If you haven't read it, or haven't read it in years, you should. Never mind your age. 'Nuff said.

Certainly enough reviews are out there; another isn't needed. So I'll get on my historical soapbox, instead, and say: respect the history, writers.

Fact Check This

Number the Stars is the best kind of fiction, laden with facts.  In the brief afterword, Lowry described enough about the documents she used to get the message across: this happened. And we can prove it.

In a variety of writing projects, I've had my frustrations with fact-checking (hint: everything isn't online, and lots that is online is wrong). But since this is a reader's blog, I'll leave it at this: historical facts make for some mighty fine fiction.

Speaking of Online Resources

In case you missed that link up above, go back and click. It's not intended to sell books; it points at the excellent McGraw Hill guide to Number the Stars, included by the Holocaust Education Resource Council among its many fine reference materials.