Morning Meandering… Birthday Weekend Check In

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

Sunday morning.  What is not to love?  Coffee, a good book planned for later, warm blanket and nothing on the agenda other than what I want to put out there in the universe.   I LOVE LOVE LOVE no commitment days.  They give me a chance to unwind, recharge, and prepare to hit it again.

So…. Friday was my birthday.  It was epically uneventful.  Its not that I had any big plans – I was just hoping to do something to make it memorable.  My day just got away from me.  My lunch date for that day had to cancel, my day went longer than I thought it would at work, and I arrived back home around 7:15 pm tired, and with no energy to do any of the things I was tossing around to make a memory.

It happens.

I was in a royal funk and had to remind myself that I am blessed in so many ways.  I have great relationships.  I am healthy.  I have a new job that inspires me and uses my creative energy. I can always make a memory and know I will push myself to continue to live each day to the fullest. 

So.. Saturday.  I made up for it.  I went to St Paul and I ran the Valentines Run with my friends Belinda and Sheila and FROZE.  We had an amazing lunch and I stopped at Barnes and Noble on my way home and treated myself to the book club read (Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls) as well as a few other books and a couple trinkets for my book room.  I went to Office Max ( I LOVE PAPER!) and purchased what I hope is a handy organizer as well as a few other things for my office.  I stayed in last night and watched TV and ate a sub.

Today… I am going to read.  I am going to maybe go to a movie, and I am going to cook something (not sure what) in my New Instant Pot that I super excited about.  I am going to organize a few things to make my week a little easier.  I am drinking coffee, and chilling in the recliner.  BLISS.  Really.  BLISS. 

What are you doing with your Sunday?  What great read is lucky enough to spend time with you?

Morning Meanderings… Weekend Unwind

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments


I have been home from vacation for 7 days now and today….  TODAY is my first day that I am commitment free AND if all goes as I plan…  I will not leave the house today.  (If I owned flannel onesie pajamas I can assure you I would be in them for the duration)

This past week had been a can of mixed nuts.  I went through a hard anniversary date, ran a book discussion on Left Neglected, moved up in hours (and title) in my marketing job,  had my heart hurt, completed the Friends Of the Library Annual Meeting, cleaned up my house, took part in a Sign Making Class, cried much, met with the Penguin Publishing rep for the area, connected with authors for Wine and Words, made a hard decision to cancel an event, had lunch in St Paul with the AMAZING Sue Hall (no… that was not meant to rhyme) who was/is my connection to Opus and Olives the event I modeled Wine and Words after, had a positive meeting about one of the magazines I write for,  and returned to my regularly scheduled work out yesterday morning after being out for almost a month.

Yeah.  That’s A WEEK.

So….  today, and well the weekend, the plan is to lay as low as possible and re-energize.  Of course laying low for me does not mean snuggled up in that coveted onesie eating Cheetos and drinking Diet Dr Pepper while watching hour after hour of Netflix or video games….  Damn tempting though…

No.  Alas, to me it it still firing on all cylinders….  just no public involvement.  For example…  I made a list of weekend goals.

Of course this list will fluctuate as the weekend continues.  Already I am thinking…  “Oh, I should add on there that I need to do laundry” and “I need to create a Stride and Seek hand out for next Thursday,” and “I need to fix the mailing address info for Camp B’s GiveMN.”

Yeah.  Sound familiar?

Anyway on a different note… books came in while I was away…


Lovely lovely reading choices….  🙂

How are you spending your weekend?

What Do YOU Say Is A Must Read In A Lifetime?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)31 Comments

I love lists…. little check boxes to see where you land…  those ridiculous addicting quizzes on Facebook that tell you what House you are sorted in, that movie star you are most like, or the one that predicts what will happen in 2018 for you… 

silly really.. but still.. occasionally I do them. (insert blush here)

Yesterday I posted Amazon’s 100 Books To Read In A  Lifetime list.  A meme has been made and it going around so you (me, whoever) can check off the ones that we have read on this list.  I liked that – however it made me look at the books that were not on the list that I thought would be.. or should be.

Being me (yes.. still me, I checked this morning 😉 ) I wondered if we… the BIG READERS of our communities would have other suggestions.  What if you or I were asked to say what we thought was a book that we feel should be read in one’s lifetime.  How would our list differ?  Or how would it be the same? 

So… yeah.  Here we go.  I am asking…  because I am curious what we would come up with.  You do not have to be a book blogger to do this.  If you LOVE books, please share a title or two or three of what you would tell someone is “a must read in a lifetime”.  I will compile these responses for a few weeks and then release our top choices.  I know I value my friends and other book reviewers opinions when it comes to books.  I have read many an amazing title or been introduced to a new author that way. 

I for one – would LOVE a list like this.  SO…..let’s do it. 

Please take a couple of minutes to fill out the form below.

100 Books To Read In Your Lifetime

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

 

 

I was snooping browsing around and found this link to the list of Amazons 100 books to read in a lifetime.  I thought the list looked interesting and being a sucker curious about such things I decided to try this myself.  Thank to Perfectly Tolerable for making this into a meme.

I have marked the ones I have read.

Which have you read?  Which books would you add to this list as must reads in a lifetime?

 

Title Author Read?
1984 George Orwell
A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Ishmael Beah  Yes
The Bad Beginning Lemony Snicket
A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L’Engle
Selected Stories, 1968-1994 Alice Munro
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll Yes
All the President’s Men Bob Woodward
Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir Frank McCourt  Yes
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Judy Blume  Yes
Bel Canto Ann Patchett  Yes
Beloved Toni Morrison  Yes
Born to Run Christopher McDougall  Yes
Breath, Eyes, Memory Edwidge Danticat
Catch-22 Joseph Heller
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl Yes
Charlotte’s Web E. B White Yes
Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese  Yes
Daring Greatly Brené Brown
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney
Dune Frank Herbert
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Yes
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson
Gone Girl Gillian Flynn Yes
Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brow
Great Expectations Charles Dickens
Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond Ph.D.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling Yes
In Cold Blood Truman Capote  Yes
Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth Chris Ware
Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain  Yes
Life After Life Kate Atkinson Yes
Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder  Yes
Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez Yes
Love Medicine Louise Erdrich
Man’s Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl
Me Talk Pretty One Day David Sedaris  Yes
Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
Midnight’s Children Salman Rushdie
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game Michael Lewis
Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham
On the Road Jack Kerouac
Out of Africa Isak Dinesen
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Marjane Satrapi
Portnoy’s Complaint Philip Roth
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
Silent Spring Rachel Carson
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
Team of Rivals Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon
The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm X
The Book Thief Markus Zusak
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz
The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger
The Color of Water James McBride
The Corrections Jonathan Franzen
The Devil in the White City Erik Larson  Yes
The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank Yes
The Fault in Our Stars John Green  Yes
The Giver Lois Lowry  Yes
The Golden Compass Philip Pullman
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald Yes
The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
The House at Pooh Corner A. Milne
The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins Yes
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Rebecca Skloot  Yes
The Liars’ Club Mary Karr
The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan  Yes
The Little Prince Houghton Mifflin
The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 Lawrence Wright
The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien Yes
The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat Oliver Sacks
The Omnivore’s Dilemma Michael Pollan
The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster
The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
The Power Broker Robert A. Caro
The Right Stuff Tom Wolfe
The Road Cormac McCarthy Yes
The Secret History Donna Tartt
The Shining Stephen King  Yes
The Stranger Albert Camus
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway
The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami
The World According to Garp John Irving
The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee Yes
Unbroken Laura Hillenbrand
Valley of the Dolls Jacqueline Susann
Where the Sidewalk Ends Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak

Books & Beans: Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments


Books and Beans is a book discussion I host at a local coffee shop once a month.  This is our second month doing this and this mornings discussion (with a great cup of coffee) was with the book Left Neglected by Lisa Genova.

If you have not read Lisa Genova, you are certainly missing out.  Lisa is the author of Still Alice (which was also a movie), and Inside The O’Briens ; both of which I have read, as well as the author of Love Anthony and the soon to be released, Every Note Played.  she is one of those authors that once you have read one of her books, you will more than likely be searching for another.

Today’s discussion was good.  We had a great group of women who were highly engaged in discussing the novel.  Left Neglected, the story of Sarah Nickerson, a highly driven business woman who while trying to squeeze in one more phone call while driving looks away from the road a second too long and her overfilled life suddenly comes to a halt.  When Sarah awakens in the hospital she finds that she has had a traumatic brain injury, one that has left her without the use of the left side of her brain referred to as left neglect.  Sarah finds that her once carefully scheduled to the minute world is now one she must release to the control of others while she struggles to rehabilitate herself in a whole new world.

We touched on some pretty important topics through our discussion.  One of these topics was status and what drives people to the point of feeling they need that acceptance form the outside world to feel complete, useful.  One of the ladies in the room said something that stuck with me.  She said,

Status, relies on other people.

I had never really thought of it like that before.  The discussion continued on that this need of acceptance/approval can stem back to childhood. 

Another one that stuck with me was about the loss of a child. 

Losing a child changes how you view the world.

 

This is also something that hit me.  It’s true… 100%, I just never quite put it into these words.  But yes.. absolutely yes, the world becomes a different place.

We had a wonderful 2 hour discussion on this book and probably could have went longer.  Left Neglected brings much to the table to talk about.  If you have not read Left Neglected, I highly recommend it.

 

Morning Meanderings… I wish I had Book Pics By The Pool

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

It’s Sunday Morning.  I returned in the very early morning hours this past Friday from 10 glorious days in St Lucia.  It was sun, and fun, food, laughter, tears (of course), and friends.  It took me from running in 26 below weather on January 1st in the Polar dash, to basking in Sunshine and rocking the sunglasses on January 16th:

I read….  oh I read.  I read Interview With The Vampire and Still Me.  Both books I have talked about recently here.  I normally love to show where I read a book, but alas… due to a brain fart by me, I sat my phone in the sand of St Lucia to pose for a picture my friend was taking and the water came up and saltwater soaked it.  Yes…  day 5 of the 10 in St Lucia… I was phone-less… which meant I was camera-less as well.  *insert sigh here*

Turns out…. one can live without their phone.  Who knew?  I was still able to read (HUZZAH!) and bask in the sun (HUZZAH!) and zip line and dune buggy ride and be on a boat and feel sand between my toes. I was able to  eat great food, swim, and play games with the entertainment staff.  Thanks to my friend Wendy, I do have pictures she sent me from her phone.
It is of course, good to be home.  While Minnesota is not exactly sunny these days, and I have no desire to feel snow between my toes…  it is home.  It is comfort, and dogs, cozy blankets, and my library of books at my finger tips.  It is also – trying to create a schedule for myself that is not overwhelming, but exciting – it is new opportunities that astound me as I dreamed it, I hoped it, I prayed it – and now it is coming true larger than I could have imagined, faster than anticipated after a long wait… and now yeah….

but that is a story for another day.

Fellow readers, what are you reading?  Where are you reading?  And what is happening these final days of January 2018?

Still Me by Jo Jo Moyes

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments


Jo Jo Moyes had me with Me Before You all those years ago… the follow up of After You did not spark such a light in me, but held me for what I think turned out to be this moment… this moment where Jo Jo Moyes once again blows my mind and this time… I felt strongly connected to Louisa and fully got what she was doing in Will’s memory.  Smoking hot 3rd in this series do not pass go – THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ.  ~Sheila

 

In Still Me, Louisa Clark has taken on a job as an assistant to the wife of a well to do family in New York.  At first Louisa is unsure what her role will be and why a woman of Agnus’ status needs someone to be with her all day but very soon this is all made crystal clear.  Agnus, the 2nd wife to the very rich Mr. Gopnik is having a hard time keeping up with her expected status.  She has not made friends with those that fall into the first Mrs. Gopnik’s circles, and has nothing in common with her friends she had before she was given everything she could have ever dreamed.

As if that is not enough, Louisa is also struggling being away from her boyfriend Sam the paramedic who is still back at home while she seeks for her calling in New York.  When an attractive woman is partnered with Sam, things become even more difficult, and when a good looking guy who looks much like Will starts flirting with Louisa – well… there is much to sort out as Louisa learns that not all is as it seems at face value and the only way to your goals – is to start by taking a hard look at yourself.

Insert wow here.  Maybe it was the fact that I read this on vacation in St Lucia….  but I don’t think so.  Still Me wowed me.  And honestly it wowed me because some of the quotes or memories Louisa has of Will… hit me right in the heart – to the point I decided  that Louisa and I were in a way, kindred spirits, both trying to do the right thing while honoring and remembering someone who lived so large… it is incredibly hard to feel the space they left behind.

Like Louisa, I am still willing to try.

…briefly, I understood what Will was trying to explain to me two years previously:  for those few moments, my mouth full of unfamiliar food, my eyes filled with strange sights, I existed only in the moment.  I was fully present, my senses alive. my whole being open to receive the new experiences around me.  page 11…

Seriously… the wisdom in Jo Jo’s words…. you can find MUCH of it in all her books..

When people we love die young it’s a nudge, reminding us that we shouldn’t take any of it for granted, that we have a duty to make the most of what we have.  I feel like I finally get that.  ~Louisa Clark Still Me

Bottom line, if you loved Me Before You – you will LOVE this book as well.  It left me wanting more of Louisa Clark…  and I hope we do see her again.

 

My reviews of:

Me Before You
After You

Interview With The Vampire by Ann Rice

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Ann Rice has been on my hit list for quite a while.  She feels to me like one of those authors you should experience at least once.  I tried reading this one a long time ago and it didn’t take.   For Christmas, one of my friends sent me her beautiful copy of the Vampire Chronicles so  could give it another try as she said I must.  Wanting to read the book, as well as the beauty of the book and gesture brought me to this moment… where I can tell you – yes, read Interview With The Vampire.  ~Sheila

 

As the book begins, Daniel Malloy is set to interview the vampire named Louis.  Louis is wanting to share his life story from the time he was human and the details surrounding his change as well as the time and events that followed.  Daniel, nervous (as one would expect) yet excited for this opportunity, records the telling.  Louis shares his life from human form, to the events surrounding his change and the time and happenings that followed.

 

The copy I received form my friend Amanda
The copy I received form my friend Amanda

It’s still a little hard for me to explain all that this book is even though I finished it a few days ago.  I always have enjoyed reading stories that are not a cookie cutter outline of other stories and this one certainly fits the breaking the mold description.  Ann Rice’s idea to write a book about a vampire sharing his life (and death) story is in my opinion, brilliant.  I devoured the book.

I preferred Louis to the Vampire Lestat, not only because it is Louis’ story – but that Louis still for the most part, maintains some feelings for the preciousness of human life and does not (for the most part) use his new ways for evil.  I think that helped me ease into this book, knowing that Louis still maintained somewhat of a heart and feelings.

I found the book to me enlightening. Once into it – I could not put it down.  I wanted to know what would happen to all of them involved and in the end…  it was somewhat sad.

My rule on spoilers is you need them if the book is less than 20 years old and not well-known you dont allow them in a review.  In this case, I feel it is safe to say that I wish Louis would have found love and I hoped he would in Claudia, or in Armand, and I was saddened that as much as he wished to find others like himself, when he did, he found them wanting and for the most part – lived a life of solidarity pushing others who cared for him away.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and I am glad I finally read it.  There are three books within the book I was given – The Vampire Lestat is the second and Queen of the Dammed is the third.  While I am taking a break from them at the moment, I do plan to one day return to this book and read on.

 

Turtles All The Way Down by John Green w/ Bookies Book Club Review

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments


Ahhh John Green… you are one of those authors that can do no wrong.  When I hear you have a book coming out my spidey senses tingle and I eagerly await the release date to see what brilliance you are going to add to my life as well as how the tears will this time form in my eyes.  ~Sheila

 

16-year-old Aza is constantly in a battle with her own mind… germs, ways to die, diseases occupy her thoughts beyond her control.  She is trying so hard to be like everyone else but if they only knew.

When her friend Davis’s billionaire dad disappears and there is a hundred thousand dollar reward on the line, Aza’s best friend Daisy is eager to get involved solve what happened and claim that reward.  Imagine what they could do with that kind of money!  Aza wants to be a part of it all despite all that goes on within her, and doesn’t it just feel good to be of something?

A long time ago I was told that when someone reads John Green, their first John Green will be their favorite.  I will never know if that is true as my first John Green was The Fault In The Stars and yup – that was my favorite.  I have since read all of his books and still feel while they are good, nothing has come close to The Fault In The Stars.

Coincidence?

I still hold to that after reading Turtles All The Way Down.  The book is good, it is a John Green after all which is like owning something classy and name brand, like “OOOH… is that a John Green?”    Yet my thoughts, as well as my book club who recently read it, is there is no big WOW.  Much happens, and perhaps this one is sadder in its own way as a John Green book goes – and plenty to think about – yet left none of us with a big WHOA.

Should you read it?  Yes.  If you have liked John Green in the past, or even if you are new to John Green – yes.  It is after all a John Green… it is deep, it is about young adults, and it hold its worth, for me however it landed as an average read.

In Bookies fashion of course we had food for our review… there were plenty of Turtle candies, a mock turtle soup, and extras.  One of the girls even made turtle bars… gooey caramel and chocolate… need I say more?

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

This book hit the spot and was the right mix of quirky crazy physiological craziness to make me laugh and cringe and SOOOOO glad I chose this book as my first book of the year.  ~Sheila

Paul Strom is so excited.  He is finally getting away for a lovely weekend with his wife Mia.  She has not been feeling well lately and Paul feels that perhaps this break from the pressures of running a household, working and their children has been perhaps a little too much for her lately.  This day- THIS DAY, will be the best day ever.

Yet things are not as they seem.  Mia seem out of sorts and edgy, and Paul is having interference from people calling him that know they should not be calling him.  He has already gone over this.  How can he keep their day on track and keep it the best day ever?  And if they could just get to their special place so he can give Mia the wonderful surprise he has awaiting for her.

Oh I needed this.  I absolutely loved listening to YOU by Caroline Kepnes  and reading this synopsis made me wonder if lighting could possibly strike twice.  The answer, is awfully darn close.  While Paul does not quite hit the craziness level of Joe in YOU and Hidden Bodies, he sure is a good runner up.

I devoured this book.  I could not get enough of the story line and where it was going.  I wanted badly to know what was going to happen.  Paul made me laugh and he made me think…  professional crazy at its finest.

If you love a good physiological thriller, that is not over the top graphic or gory – this book is one to try.  An absolute delight on audio – Graham Halstead (Narrator),‎ Amy McFadden (Narrator) nailed it.