Summer 2016

Well, this summer did not turn out as I expected.

I was hoping to take some time off, get some projects done around the house and set up shop in my friend's store.

Unfortunately (?) I got a job.

(I know, that's not actually a bad thing.)

Anyway, I got a phone call about a potential position, met with them on a Tuesday, got an offer on Thursday and started on Monday.

I'm working in the mortgage division of a real estate company.  I've done this before - many years ago - and actually really liked it.  At one point I even thought that if I won the lottery, I wouldn't quit my job.

(I do not feel this way now.)

The good part is, it's in the same town where my family lives.  The bad part is, that town is about an hour from where I live.

So, instead of living in Bellevue and coming to visit my family on the weekends, I flipped it and now I live in my dad's house (he's in assisted living and really likes it), and just go to Bellevue on the weekends.

I actually like it!

Before, I'd drive an hour, stop by my dad's, run out to get him whatever he needed & take it back to him, go visit my mom, go to my dad's house and take care of anything that needed to get done there - go through the mail, mow the lawn... Maybe stop by my brother's. Then I'd run my own errands and drive the hour home.

It was stressful and exhausting.

Now, I do all that running around during the week and when I go to Bellevue, I have to mow the lawn.

That's it.

The rest of the time I do whatever I feel like doing - read, watch tv, hang out with friends...

It's relaxing!   So, I officially have a "weekend home"!

The process of starting the little business in my friend's shop has been grueling - the paperwork! - but the end is (finally) near.

We're actually moving in some merchandise this Friday and will be open for business in time for the Labor Day weekend.

I'm so excited!!

You can follow the progress at lili (of course!).

In all my spare time (ha!), I've read a couple of really good books - The Light Between Oceans (can't wait for the movie!), and All the Light We Cannot See.

I've also tried a few new recipes that were just ok.  Except for this one - this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup was awesome! And, it's so easy - just throw it all in the crock pot and walk away.  (I do love those!)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

As predicted, the latest book I read was in the "less than 150 pages" category.

I know it's been over a month since I said that. It hasn't taken me that long to read 132 pages (that took a few hours). It took that long to find a book I really wanted to read.

I found The Diving Bell and the Butterflyat Goodwill one day last weekend. I'd seen the movie, but it's on so many "Best Books" lists, I was curious.

And as is usually the case, the book is SO much better.

The book tells the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French Elle.  In 1995, he suffered a stroke that left him with "locked-in syndrome". Permanently paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking his left eye, he dictated the entire book one letter at a time.

By page 38, I knew this book would be life-altering.

(I hate when people say this or that "changed my life", but sometimes it's true.)

In this case, he describes being fed a "brownish fluid" through a tube into his stomach. But in his mind, he can go to any restaurant at any time, eat any meal - tender beef, fresh vegetables, wine, fruit...

At the time, I was eating stale microwave popcorn.

I rarely cook for "just me". And I'm too cheap frugal (sigh) cheap to eat out often, or even get takeout. At grocery stores, I balk at expensive cheese (and I love cheese!), the olive bar, and even those $5 bags of little clementines. Instead I eat whatever is cheapest and easiest (i.e. microwave popcorn).

But, that (among other things) is going to change.

Towards the end of the book, he describes the day of the stroke - it was "gray, muted, resigned" (can you picture it, and your mood on days like that?), and how he and his girlfriend, "embarked like zombies...".

Side note: If you've never seen the movie Shaun of the Dead(first of all, you should! It's awesome!), it also depicts people going about their everyday lives as zombies (before many actually become zombies).

He then "mechanically carried out all those simple acts", like shaving and dressing, and goes on to describe his plans for the night, the weekend... He thinks about calling his girlfriend, but decides to call her later...

The morale of the story is, of course - just live every day, savor everything (even the small, insignificant everyday events and abilities), and don't wait for a "later" that may not come...

The Goldfinch

At 771 pages, The Goldfinch is epic.

It took a while - almost a whole month - but it really is good.

Not perfect, but good...

PROS

• The main character is really not likable.  That may sound like a con, but it's actually a refreshing change.
• It's very suspenseful. (I was so nervous!)
• Donna Tartt is so descriptive. I could picture it all in my head. (This probably contributes to why it's 771 pages, but I wouldn't take any of that out.)
• Some of it is really depressing. 

CONS

• Some of the dialogue is really (really) far fetched.
• There's one part where the timing is just too perfect.  I mean, it could happen, but it was just too lucky.
• There's a too long (in my opinion) section about the main character's (author's?) thoughts on life.
• Some of it is really depressing.

Anyway, that satisfies one of the books on the 2016 Reading Challenge.

I'm not sure what's next.

"A book that's under 150 pages" sounds good.

Life in a Jar

Every once in a while, I go through a stage where I just can't get into a book.  I have stacks and stacks and stacks (and stacks, and...) of books, so I'll pick one up, read a page (sentence?) and know that nope, that's not going to do it.

Then I revert to my list of books I want to read, dig one of those out and no, none of them will work either.

That's when being in a book club comes in handy.  Those books I HAVE to read (many times I wish I didn't, but that's another story).

Recently, I was in one of those stages, but a friend lent me a book, and I'm one of those people who feels obligated to read a book that someone loans me.

I am so glad I did.

The book Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project is the story of a woman named Irena Sendler, a Catholic woman living in Poland during WW2.

We've all heard of Oskar Schindler (Schindler's List), who is credited with saving 1,200 Jews during the war.

Irena Sendler saved over 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto, but most people had never heard of her (including me) until a group of teenage girls in Kansas came across her story and brought it to light.

The book is incredibly well written and captures both the best and the worst of humanity.  It's easy to read, but also really, really hard to read.

The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945, the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman that was made into the movie The Pianist (Single-Sided Version) was also set in the Warsaw Ghetto during the war.  If you haven't seen the movie, DO!

And, read Life in a Jar.  You'll be glad you did.

What I Read - 2011

Part Two of my "What I Read" series (read Part One here).

This is a list of all the books I read last year, along with my thoughts and opinions.  (But, don't take my word for it!)


An interesting book if you're at all interested in the newspaper industry or personality flaws.  Read my book report here.

Washington Square

A short book, about a love story (or is it?).

The 2nd book in the Millennium Trilogy.  Didn't love the 1st, didn't love the 2nd.  But, that's just me.

I took my friend Kerri (also an avid reader) to see this author speak at a Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side (now closed, and sadly becoming a discount department store).  I didn't love Jane Eyre.  I just couldn't understand why she would fall in love with Mr. Rochester - he was such a jerk!  (Oh. Yeah.  Now I get it.)  This book about Charlotte Brontë was very interesting, though.

Thankfully, the last of the series.  (Don't listen to me, though - everyone else loved it.)

I love Charleston.  This is a cute little book telling the history of the city.

Duchess: The Story of Wallis Warfield Windsor
Such an interesting woman.

I thought I would love this book - Paris, piano...  But it is SO boring. (Sorry Thad Carhart.)

LOVED this book!  It totally cured me of any desire to live on a farm (SO much work!), but I loved it! Read my book report here.

Complete History of Jack the Ripper
Maybe I'm completely macabre, but I loved this book.  I mean, how did he do it?  And who was he?  What a great mystery.  (Gross, but great.)

I hated the ending, but LOVED every single word until then.  Read my book report here.

A semi-interesting story about "Love and Madness in the Gilded Age".

A modern classic, really.  All about greed and arrogance.  And so funny!

This is really a collection of short stories, all taking place within one town, and all featuring Olive in one way or another.  It's not a happy book, but it's SO good.

This book was the basis of the play (and subsequent movie) Chicago (which I loved!).  It's good...

After reading Grapes of Wrath, I went on a bit of a John Steinbeck bender.  This is a really sweet book about friendship.

A very different Steinbeck book, about WW2.  Disturbing.  (But what isn't disturbing about WW2?)

Ok, last Steinbeck (for now).  Sad, but a classic.

Not "high literature", but an interesting story.

Daisy Miller
Henry James might have written this to send a warning to free-spirited girls.

Part 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy.  

And, part 3.  I liked this series more than Twilight (ugh!), but less than Harry Potter.

Oddly written, which is interesting sometimes.

Siddhartha

Maybe Hermann Hesse's most famous book (it was the only one I'd really ever heard of).  It was good - I liked the "money doesn't buy happiness" theme.

Again, if you want to read any of these books too, just click on the image. 

(And let me know what you think!)