Book 12 of 52: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Okay... I've gotten myself out of my whiny woe is me fest (mostly by making some seriously awesome lists related to moving... yes, I recognize I need help).  I also, finally finished this book (4 days after it was due... don't worry, I renewed it today so hopefully I won't get charged for it).  I now have 2 books to read my next book before it's due.

This book was really interesting.  Like really, really interesting.  It's one of the most well-written books I've read in awhile, but it's also a book I couldn't in good conscience recommend to anyone I know.  In Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides tells the story of a hermaphrodite and the path that leads to this boy discovering that he is in fact a boy and not the girl he spent the first 15 years of his life thinking he was.  Enough said for way I couldn't recommend it to anyone.  Like I said though, the writing was really really captivating... and so was the story line.  Who didn't struggle in middle school with feeling like they didn't belong?  Who didn't at some time wonder if they were maybe supposed to be someone else? 

The most interesting part of this book though, was the narrator telling the story of how he ended up with 2 recessive genes that caused him to be a hermaphrodite.  He tells the story of how his grandparents met and got married and how his parents met and got married (hint, there's a lot of inbreeding).  The author is able to very convincingly tell these stories through the narrator. 

Overall, I liked the book.  It's definitely not a book for everyone, but the English major in me really enjoyed the themes it explored and how well it was written.

Next up though... back to the YA lit.  WOOHOO!  Then my Nook should be here and I'll have some fun with classics (I may or may not have 118 books ready to load onto my Nook when it gets here... gotta love the free classics).

Sometimes...

Sometimes I wish authors would all collaborate and decide not to publish anything new for a year.  Wouldn't it be nice to get caught up on all the books on your to-read list without new books being written and printed?

Sometimes I wish I wasn't a compulsive list maker.  Even if authors and publishers didn't print anything new for a year I would still discover a whole realm of books to read that I hadn't looked at yet... just because I need to make a list (Have I mentioned recently that I'm extremely Type A??  My children are probably going to hate me for that.).

Sometimes I wish I could just reread all my favorites from when I was younger without feeling guilty because there are so many books I've never read.  I really want to re-read the Anne of Green Gables series, Little House on the Prairie series, The Kingdom and the Crown series, Little Women series... the list goes on and on.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that I also have over 120 books on my to-read list I feel guilty whenever I think of re-reading those books.  I tell myself that this year, once I hit my goal of 52 books then I'll treat myself by reading all of those books again.

Sometimes I wish I had never even thought of going to graduate school because then I would feel like I had a whole lifetime to catch up on my reading rather than trying to cram it all into the 18 months before I hopefully start grad school (and then spend the next 2-6 years with my to-read list growing ever longer... the curse of being an English major... no matter how much you read, your to-read list will never get any shorter).

Sometimes I hope and pray, that if I'm good enough, I'll get an eternal assignment in that big library that I just know exists in heaven (I know we're going to be busy and all, but we're still going to be able to have some time for reading... right?).  I mean... someone has to catalogue all the books?  Unfortunately, my to-read list would grow impossibly long since since I'll have access to millions and millions of books I'd never heard of.  Fortunately, all the worthless/crappy books wouldn't be allowed there AND I'll have all of eternity to get caught up. 

Sometimes though, I am so grateful to live at this time in history where it is so easy to have access to books!!  Sure, there are times when I think that I'll never have enough time to read all the books I want to, I also feel incredibly blessed that I have access to pretty much any book I could ever want to read.  Could you imagine living before the printing press?  Or heck, even in the 1800s?  I love the fact that I live across the street from a rather good library (and that I'm still going to live across the street from it when we move!) and if that library doesn't have the book I want, I can get my husband to check it out from the BYU library (I may or may not steal his ID card before he goes on his internship so I can check out books there during the summer).

What do you sometimes hope for?

Happy Early Birthday to Me!

I would like to start off by saying that I am fully aware of the fact that my birthday isn't for another 3 weeks, but sometimes you just need to start the celebrations early... so I did.  It may also have something to do with the fact that the day after my birthday we get the keys to our new apartment and once that happens we'll be busy packing stuff up, buying practical stuff like a washer and dryer, and moving stuff over... so there will be no birthday celebrations after my birthday.

Last night, after many hours, days, and weeks spent in deliberation, I bought a Nook!  Barnes and Nobles sells certified, pre-owned Nooks at a bit of a discount, so I bought one!  In just a few short weeks (or hopefully less) it'll be here!

I decided to go with a Nook mostly due to the fact that it gives me more options.  The Kindle (as much as I love it) doesn't support ePub format, which means there are a lot of books that aren't accessible to you if you have a Kindle.  The Nook on the other hand, does support ePub format.  The best part about it is the fact that the Provo library (and I think all libraries in Utah) have a eBook component, so I can borrow relatively new books using my Nook just like I'd check them out from the library!  This is really important if you'd prefer not to spend oodles of money buying books. 

The biggest reason I'm excited about this purchase though?  I no longer have to spend hours before any trip agonizing about what books to take with me on a trip and how many books I'll realistically read on a trip.  I can just make sure my Nook has some interesting books and I'm good to go!  Yay for not needing an extra bag just for books (you only think I'm exaggerating)!

Once it arrives and I get to play with it I'll let you know how I like it.  Hopefully I'll love it!

What I've Been Reading Lately

So much for being good about updating this thing... the midwinter blahs definitely set in around mid February.  I've been reading a lot, but not too much else.  My recent bout of strep throat/laryngitis probably didn't help to much either (is it bad if I thought strep was just a kid's illness since I haven't had it since 6th grade?).

Anyways, here's what I've been reading lately.

Book 6 of 52:  People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

I loved this book!  It was everything I love in a book: a slight conspiracy theory, jumps back and forth between multiple plots, slightly fragmented, a little mystery, and of course a little romance.  I also have to make a confession about this book.  Part of the reason I liked it so much is because this book talks a lot about Jewish history and I have a slight obsession with Jewish history.  If I had to be born into a family of a different religion, I would like to be born into a Jewish family.  I love the fact that I have an ancestor way back there who was Jewish (unfortunately it was a male so I can't claim to be Jewish in any way shape or form).  There's just so much history and culture in the Jewish religion to be proud of!  Sure, there are not so good things as well, but could you imagine growing up with the stories of the Old Testament and knowing that your family took part in that?  I just think it's phenomenal!  Hopefully I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Anyways, end of confession, this book tells the story of a modern day woman who is a book preserver and is called in to verify the authenticity of a an old Jewish haggadah (the book used to tell the story of Passover every year).  She finds a few random items in the book and starts wondering how they got their.  The rest of the story goes back and forth telling the story of these items and how they got into the book at various points throughout history as the book was created and also how the woman is researching the items in the present day. 

Is it worth reading?  YES!  This author tells a very good story, and this story is worth telling!

Book 7 of 52: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

This is another very good book.  It has a fragmented story line about this one man's life.  It's very interesting to see how it all comes together at the end. 

Is it worth reading?  I enjoyed it and it does have some very pretty passages.

Book 8 of 52: The Lost Hero  by Rick Riordan

If you enjoyed the Percy Jackson books, you'll love this book!  It's a new series that uses many of the same characters from the previous series and introduces some new ones as well.  It's a YA book, so it's a very enticing read.  Riordan definitely knows how to get kids reading.

Is it worth reading?  Absolutely!  This book, like the Percy Jackson books, made me feel like I was learning something about the Greek/Roman gods.  This book would be great for a kid who's learning about Greek history in school!

Book 9 of 52: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

This is the first book in the Kane Chronicles by Riordan.  It's much like the Percy Jackson series, except it talks about Egyptian gods.  The first book seems to move a little slow while he's setting up everything, but the second half is action packed!  In case you haven't noticed I've developed a bit of a thing for books by Riordan and have decided I feel comfortable buying any YA book by him without feeling like I need to read it first to see if I like it.  There are very few authors I feel comfortable doing that with, but Riordan has proven he can write good stories consistently!

Is it worth reading?  I think so!  If you're looking for a good easy read, this is definitely a good one!

Book 10 of 52: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

I've been on a bit of a YA kick lately, so this is another YA book.  I really liked it.  The book tells the story of two girls in the Asian steppes a long, long time ago.  It kind of has a Repuzel-esque story line, but much more interesting.

Is it worth reading?  If you like retellings of fairy tales, you'll probably like this book.  It's also a fairly quick read.

Book 11 of 52: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

I just finished this book today.  It's a non-fiction book about recent discoveries about life in the Americas pre-Columbus.  If you're LDS and reading this book, you'll definitely have to put away your Book of Mormon timeline in order to appreciate the book--otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy trying to decide how everything fits together.  I really enjoyed the book though, it took me awhile to get through (nonfiction and illness do not go well together!), but it was definitely worth it.  I feel like I learned a lot not only about the Indian populations pre-Columbus, but also how they interacted with the environment and what that means for us today.

Is it worth reading?  Yes and no.  It's definitely a nonfiction book, so if you don't enjoy those, I would stay the heck away from it.  However, if you're interested in the topic then it's definitely worth reading.

If you've made it this far, Congratulations!  Now go get yourself some ice cream as a reward!

Book 5 of 52: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

This book begins a group of books that I'm really excited about--books about books (yes, I have fully accepted that I am a major reading nerd).  It's also the first medium length book I've read this year.

I loved this book.  I thought it was very well written and I fell deep into the mystery of the book.  The premise of the novel is that a very reclusive author who has never told her true life's story invites a young woman (who loves 19th century literature and has written a few biographies about obscure authors of the time period) to come and hear her life story and write it.  This book has everything a good 19th century romance would have: love, madness, mystery, deaths, old creaking houses falling apart.  It reminded me a bit of Jane Eyre (which plays a big part in this novel). 

As I was reading this book, I kept thinking about what a great book this could be for a creative writing class or an Introduction to the Novel class.  The author uses so many different writing devices to make her story flow together.  There's great use of symbols, foreshadowing, allusions, etc. that are fairly easy to see and define as different things.

I'd be really interested to read more by this author to see if she has other books similar to this one.

Is it worth reading?  Yes.  Especially if you enjoyed Jane Eyre or other 19th century literature (Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, etc). 

Book 4 of 52: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This book wasn't thought provoking in and of itself.  Instead, it sparked that never ending debate in my head about what is children's literature.  This book was written for children, but I have a hard time picturing a child reading it (if you read it as a child or know someone who read it as a child I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on it!). 

Here's the thing.  It's written at an appropriate reading level for children.  It has cute pictures children would enjoy in it.  The narrator's voice is age appropriate for children.  The subject matter just doesn't seem appropriate for children. 

This book is primarily about the travels of a boy who is only referred to as "the prince" or "the little prince" throughout the book.  He's from a teeny-tiny planet inhabited solely by him, but one day he decides to travel.  He travels to several other teeny-tiny planets before ending up on Earth and meeting a man stranded in the desert (the narrator).  Long story short, the little prince causes the narrator to reevaluate his life. 

Ultimately, it feels more like a book aimed at helping adults rediscover their inner-child.  If that was the author's intent, I think he succeeded. 

Is this book worth reading?  Sure.  It'll only take you an hour or two to read it, and you won't feel like you've wasted that time at the end of reading the book.

Book 3 of 52: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I really loved this book.  It was everything I didn't find in Anna Karenina  and The Alchemist.  It had an interesting plot.  It had subplots.  All the characters were well developed.  It caused me to pause and reflect on my life.  All told, it was probably the best piece of literature I've read in awhile.

This 985 page book tells the story of a group of families and people in medieval England.  The overarching story is the building of a cathedral in the village of Kingsbridge, but there are lots of little detours into the lives of the people involved.  There are intrigues and love affairs, marriages and deaths.  Since the story stretches out over a period of 35 years, by the end of it you really feel like you know the characters better than you know some of your neighbors.  You find yourself hoping that they'll succeed in life because you've been watching them since they were 12 or 13 years old.

Unfortunately, something happened about halfway through it that will keep me from buying the book.  My mother-in-law saw me reading it and asked me to let her know what I thought about it when I finished the book.  Once that happened, I realized one very glaring problem with the book--the author is very... how should I put this... very open about his characters' sexuality.  Not in that any of them are homosexual, but he's very open about the physical relationships between different people.  I kept thinking about whether or not I could recommend this novel to her (or anyone else for that matter).  The explicit scenes are fairly rare and you usually have ample warning that they're approaching so that you can skip over them.

Ultimately, I kept remembering the poster below.  It really summed up my feelings about the book--It's great except for the bad parts.  Do I think it's a good novel?  Absolutely.  Do I think it's worth reading?  More or less... if you're stuck having to choose between Anna Karenina and The Pillars of the Earth, the later would win every time.  Would I ever recommend it to anyone though?  No.  The sexually explicit scenes are for the most part gratuitous (I'm sure the author would vehemently disagree with me on that though).  They could have easily been shortened or taken out without losing too much.  Due to that, I can't wholeheartedly recommend this book to someone.  There are some instances (such as in the book Deerskin by Robin McKinley) where the explicit scenes are absolutely necessary to move the book forward.  This isn't one of those books though.

Where do you draw the lines in terms of what books you'll recommend or buy?

Next Book: The Little Prince

Book 2 of 52: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This is actually the book that made me decide to get back into writing in my blog.  It was a thought provoking book, but probably not for any of the reasons the author intended.  After reading it I felt like I needed to rage and storm to someone... a week later and the violent reaction has left me, but I still feel like I need to share my side of the story.

Let me start off by saying that this book was the perfect book to read after Anna Karenina.  It was everything Anna Karenina wasn't--it was short, thought provoking, and had a very limited cast of characters.  I read it in one day (and I even went to work for 8 hours that day)!

Let me also say, that this book has a great message.  Long story short, this book is an allegory about the importance of finding and fulfilling your life's work.  What I like about this message is that the author recognizes that not everyone's life work is something big and grand and he says so fairly directly.  Sometimes people get it into your head that if you are a mother and a homemaker you must have unfulfilled dreams.  That may be true for some people, but for other people, being a wife and homemaker is fulfilling all their dreams.

Now that I have all of that out of the way, I have to get into my beef with this book.  Part of the premise of the book is that those who are striving to fulfill their life's work stand a much greater chance of having their heart broken because they have more emotionally invested in their work compared to those who are just slogging through life.  I believe this is a true concept, which is why this book bugged me.

For me, there is nothing more satisfying than finding some little gem in a book.  I feel about reading the same way other people feel about running or starting a new business and succeeding in it.  You could almost say that my life's work is to read all the best books in the world (I'm quite aware that this is impossible in this life, but that's why I'm hoping that if I'm really good Heavenly Father will call me to work in that big library I feel quite certain exists in heaven).  This book is an allegory, but it's a very thinly veiled allegory.  Unlike The Chronicles of Narnia which are enjoyable whether you read them as a child's fantasy novel or an allegory of the history of the world, The Alchemist is only enjoyable if you agree with the author's message.

As a result, I was a little disappointed when I finished the book.  Sure, I felt like I had gained something useful, but I can think of half a dozen novels whose messages will stick with me for far longer due to the work I put into understanding the message.

Is it a book I'd recommend to people?  Absolutely.  I think it's a book worth reading and I think that most people aren't going to be bothered by the things that bothered me.  Would I ever want to own a copy of it?  Probably not.

Can you tell I'm anxious to get back into an English program?

Book 1 of 52: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Word to the wise, don't pick an 800+ page Russian novel to kick off a goal to read a book a week.  It will take longer than a week to read.  I heard a theory once that the reason Russian novels are so long is that the authors had all winter to write their books and the readers had all winter to read the books.  As a result, they could write incredibly complex, long novels and still sell them.  After reading this book I totally believe that theory.

It literally took me a month to finish this book.  Sure, I read the entire Percy Jackson series for one of the weeks in there, but really... it took me a month.  To be perfectly honest, it didn't really inspire me when I was reading it and it doesn't really inspire me now.  Maybe it's just that the bar was set too high.  Anna Karenina is one of those books that you always hear about in connection with Literature.  The kind you know you're supposed to read and think about and then write a 20 page paper about.  You imagine that you're going to learn the secret to life by reading this book because heck, if it's so thick it had better have the secret to life hidden in its pages. 

Unfortunately, I felt like this book was the opposite of everything that it was supposed to be.  The story dragged on and on.  I felt like the author was so busy telling the story that he couldn't go into any depth about what was going on--it was a mile wide and an inch deep.  As a result, I didn't feel like it raised any thought provoking questions.  I was just glad when the book ended and I could check it off my list.  I can now say I've read Anna Karenina.

Don't you hate it when books disappoint you like that?

2011 Reading Goals and an Update

Last year I had pretty ambitious reading goals for 2010.  I was going to read all the books I own that I hadn't read yet and read all the books on my to-read list that had been on there since before 2010.  I think I finished about 25% of my goals.  I read all the books that I owned, but then Andy brought all his books from his parents' house and I never got around to reading the ones he owned that I hadn't read yet (the entire Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series).

And as for getting mostly caught up on my to-read list?  Well... let's just say it didn't happen... or come anywhere close to happening.  I am firmly stuck in 2008 (with a few leftovers from 2007).  Try as I might, reading over 100 books in one year is just too much for even me to handle.

So this year, I thought through my goals for reading before I made any.  I didn't set any grand goals to get completely caught up with my to-read list.  I didn't vow to read the entire College Board reading list (way too many books that don't look interesting).  Instead, I set what I think is a fairly achievable goal.

While at a recruiting dinner for my husband fall semester, I talked with the campus recruiter about books.  She mentioned that a few years ago a friend of hers challenged her to read a book a week and that she's kept that challenge ever since.  I was shocked.  Here I was complaining that I never had time to really read a book, when she was able to read a book a week with a super busy schedule.  I decided then and there that if she could do it, so could I.

So there you have it folks.  My goal for this year is to read a book a week.  Theoretically it's going to be the next 52 books on my Goodreads to-read list, but we'll see how that goes.  I'm already failing miserably, so if you want a bit of a challenge for yourself, I'd encourage you to join me.  If you can't commit to a book a week, try a book every two weeks, or a book every month.  You could pick a topic that you want to learn more about, read the classics, or just pick up books at random from the library shelves and read them.  You could read them on your computer, your Kindle, in paperback, or in hardback.  Whatever you do, just read.

What's your reading goal for 2011?

Getting Things Done vs. First Things First

So... I'm actually going to talk about two books today: Getting Things Done by David Allen and First Things First by Stephen Covey.  They are both time management books, but they approach the topic of time management very differently.  First a little about what I considered to be the pros and cons of each approach.  Hopefully this will help someone else out there.

Getting Things Done
I was actually surprised at how much I liked David Allen's approach to time management.  He has a very "bottom up" approach.  Meaning, he believes in focusing on the immediate tasks at hand and then thinking about long-term stuff once you have the day-to-day things taken care of (at least that's what I got out of it).

Pros

• He emphasizes writing EVERYTHING down.  Whenever you think of something you need to do or might want to do sometime, you should write it down.  His reasoning behind this is pretty sound.  If you try to keep too many things in your head, your brain can't handle it.  You will constantly feel like you're drowning because you can never accomplish everything.  If you write it down your brain will give you permission to forget about it.  He recommends having at least 3 lists: a Next Action list (where you put the specific next action you need to take to accomplish any given task), a Someday/Maybe list (to store all those thoughts about classes you might want to take, books to read, etc), and a Waiting For list (to record packages you are waiting for or tasks you are waiting for other people to complete).  [Note: I think this applies to emotions and journal keeping as well.  If you're trying to work through a problem or you're really upset about something, I've found that writing in a journal is an incredibly powerful way to get over the issue and move on without blowing up at someone.]
• He emphasizes keeping a running to-do list.  Rather than putting non-date specific items on a to-do list for a certain day, he recommends keeping them on a separate list.  That way you don't have to keep writing them down and transferring them  when you do not accomplish that task  the day you wanted to.  Allen likes this concept because you are less likely to get discouraged by how much you don't do and you can focus on the date-specific tasks instead of putting an equal claim on the things you can do any day.  I like it for the practical reason of only writing something down once.
• Since it's a fairly new book, he has solutions for people who like to plan in any way, and he makes it simple to implement his strategies.

Cons

• He doesn't believe in putting anything down on a daily to-do list unless it is mandatory to do it on that day.  Personally, I feel like this takes away some accountability for how well I'm managing my time.  If I have "buy socks" on a list of things to do at some point in time, then I'll never buy socks unless I'm forced into the store by some other urgent task.  I'll never call anyone because they're not on my list of things to do that day.  Sometimes it's good to create artificial deadlines.  Having to re-write tasks each day creates a sense of accountability.  Each day you're having to look back on what you didn't accomplish the day before and that gives you a chance to think about how you can improve your time management skills for that day.
• He doesn't believe in putting too much of an emphasis on values or prioritizing things.  Throughout the book I got the feeling that he doesn't believe in putting priority on certain events or values.  In some spots he even says specifically that he doesn't really see the value in writing a mission statement or judging some goals or "to-do" items to be worth more than others.  I guess his thinking is that if you are able to do everything on your list then you'll hit all the important things.  The whole time I was reading this book I had the following quote from Sister Beck's talk at General Conference running through my head: "A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."  There's no way I have time to do everything I need to do, so if I put everything onto a list (whether it's a Someday/Maybe list or a to-do list) then I'm only going to do the things that seem fun that day and I'll put off doing the important things.'
• It seems like it would be easy to go overboard and have too many different lists and then you're back to where you started.  

First Things First
This book was a LOT like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  A lot of the same stories, advice, etc.  So I skimmed it quite a bit.  If you're looking for specific strategies for how to implement things from 7 Habits, this book is a good one to read.

Pros

• Covey and team encourage you to first figure out where you want to go with your life before you start filling it up with activities.  They recommend first figuring out what your values and priorities are, then writing a mission statement which reflects those values, and then set goals for how you're going to achieve and live those values.  Then you make sure to schedule those things first before you add anything else in.
• Weekly review.  They encourage you to set aside some time each week to review your week, see what you want to do better and plan for the next week as a whole.  I think viewing the week as a whole unit would help to eliminate a lot of the need to transfer things from day to day. 
• It seems fairly easy to adapt the principals of the book into whatever phase of life you are currently in.  I was able to picture myself applying these principles as a student, a professional, and as a homemaker.  
• Very in line with gospel principles.  You can definitely tell he's LDS by the emphasis he puts on knowing what direction you want to go.

Cons

• There are no Franklin Covey planners that actually fit the format described in the book.  Which is just disappointing to me because it means they don't really practice what they preach.
• There's a lot of "prep work" before you get down to actually planning out a week.  Not good if you're looking to do this quickly.

Conclusion
Time management is a deeply personal thing for people.  No one system is going to be a perfect fit for anyone... the same is true for me.  There are definitely aspects of Covey's method that I love (having a plan for your life, planning a week at a time, reviewing the past), but there are also aspects of Allen's method that I already use and love or would love to use (writing everything down somewhere and having a running to-do list).  So what am I going to do? 

Well... that's a good question.  I'm still working on that one.  Once you have a clear idea about what you need to help you with your time management it's a lot harder to find exactly the right thing, but I'm sure that once I figure it out... it will be so, so worth it.

MUST READ!!: Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Note: In order to do this book justice I think I would almost need to write a book about it.  In order to preserve my readers' I've decided to just write about the impact the book has had on me.  If you've had a similar experience with this book or another book, please share!  If you're interested in reading it, go reserve it at your local library!

I don't know where to start with this book except for to say that it honestly changed my life.  This book goes right up next to The Feminine Mystique in terms of books that have dramatically altered my approach to life (which is saying quite a bit).  If it helps to give you an idea of how much I loved this book: I started reading this book as a checkout from the library, but about halfway through it i just had to go buy my own copy.  I went and scoured the DI looking for a copy of this book (I would've gone and bought it from a bookstore, but I was already at the DI looking for something else so I figured I might as well look for it).  It was actually good enough that after having read it I decided I wanted to own a copy... that rarely happens.  With most of the books I read I'm just fine reading it and then returning it to the library (I don't know how many books I've bought from a bargain book bin, read, and then given away... growing up my sister Allie would inherit loads and loads of books from me each year).

A little (or maybe a big...) back story as to why this book had such a big impact on me.  I love organization, I love efficiency.  Every year since I came to college I've worked on developing a time management system that worked for me.  Now that I'm out of college--for the time being-- I'm finding that my planner needs have changed.  I no longer faced with pressing deadlines or long lists of things that need to be read or researched in the near future.  My planner has a lot more carry over each day because it's more of a "holding place" for ideas for things to do eventually by the time I get home from work I'm too lazy to pull out my planner and actually look at what I wrote in there.  As a result, finding my planner for the next year has been much more important to me.  I've already started looking all over the internet for planners; I've drawn up a list of things I need/want in a planner; I've made lists of the pros and cons of going digital... I've done it all.

As I did research on-line I came to realize that there were 2 schools of thought when it comes to time management and productivity: the Covey method (as outlined in 7 Habits and First Things First--which is now on my to-read list) and the Getting Things Done method (from David Allen's Getting Things Done--my next read!).  So, I decided to read the books that have inspired these two methods of time management to see of they could help me figure out what I need.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, did just that.  It didn't answer my question at all of what type of planner I should buy, but it DID answer my question about how to set up my planner to make it work the best for me.  Some of the highlights of this book for me were the concepts of writing a personal mission statement, planning on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis, and spending an hour a day on your "Daily Personal Victory."

Personal Mission Statement.  I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before (well I kind of did, but not really), but the concept of a personal mission statement really resounded with me.  It makes perfect sense to me to spend a significant (several hours, days, or even weeks) amount of time reflecting on what you want to accomplish in life and what you want to be remembered for.  Covey emphasizes working backwards when coming up with your personal mission statement.  Begin by thinking about your funeral.  If you had one speaker from your family, one speaker from the community, from your job, and from your church, what would you want them to say about you.  What qualities or achievements would you want them to mention?  Once you know what you want said about you, you know where your goals and values truly lie, and then you only have to go back and figure out how to achieve those things. 

Plan on a Weekly Basis.  When Covey finally started talking about time management in Habit 3, he recommended something I had been thinking for awhile.  Planning for a week at a time makes a lot more sense than planning for each day.  He recommends sitting down at the beginning each week and deciding on what your goals are for that week, and what things you need to accomplish that week.  Once you have a master list of things you need to do, you can go through your calendar for the week and plug those things in.  When you look at the week at a whole and plan accordingly, your daily to-do list is going to be a lot more manageable.  This is something I really find applicable to me.  I have to write everything down on my to-do list as soon as I think of it or else I'll forget it.  As a result, on days when I'm really on top of writing everything down I'll end up with 20 or more things to do that day, because I just plug things into that particular day.  What if I were to set some time apart each week to do that?  Then I could actually plug things into the day they're actually going to get done rather than having that feeling of failure when I have to transfer things from day to day until they're finally done.  (This is actually something I love about 2-pages-per-day planners... you have a whole blank page for writing down all those things you suddenly think of and then at your weekly planning session you can look through the last week to see what you need to put on your plans for the next week).

Daily Personal Victory.  In essence, this is your personal enrichment time.  Covey recommends spending at least one hour each day improving yourself physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually.  I love the thought of this and really want to try to implement this!  It goes hand in hand with the two other things I mentioned (which makes sense since the daily personal victory is Habit 7).  If you know what your personal mission statement is, and if you're spreading out everything you need to do throughout the week, you're more likely to take the time to put yourself first for some portion of time each day.  Spending one hour a day on ourselves equates to 4.17% of our time, but what a difference that time makes!  If you think about productivity in terms of how much output you get for your input, then that hour each day is going to be your most productive hour of the day.  By exercising you get all sorts of benefits (more energy, more endorphins, a higher immune system) that will allow you to be more productive throughout the day.  By spending some time reading or studying something each day you will keep your mental faculties sharp and learn new things which will greatly improve your situation in life (if you let them).  By spending some time each day studying the scriptures, praying, or meditating, you'll gain a new sense of peace and purpose that will carry you through even the most stressful times in your life.  By spending some time each day focusing on building your relationships with other people you will have a network of people who will be there to help you through the hard times.  Isn't it amazing to think about what 1 hour a day can do for you?

So that's my challenge for today.  If you haven't read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People yet, read it.  If you've read it, but it's been awhile, read it again.  No matter what though, search the book for one or two things that profoundly touch your life in some way.  I bet you won't stop at just one or two though...

Mary Poppins Comes Back by Pamela L Travers and a Plea for Help

I tried... I really did.  I wanted to love Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back as much as I love every other children's book, but I just couldn't do it.  Maybe it's because Mary Poppins to me will always be an absolutely lovely Julie Andrews singing about how "a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."  The Mary Poppins I grew up with was a wonderfully sweet woman who was "Practically Perfect in Every Way," a woman I could aspire to be.  She was the perfect mother filling in for a slightly silly woman who spends all day parading around trying to get women the right to vote (which is actually an interesting issue I'm working on developing in the paper I'm revising... more on that later).

What bugs me the most about these books is not necessarily seeing one of my childhood ideals brought off her pedestal, but rather the lack of punishment for incorrect behavior.  In the books, Mary Poppins becomes the woman everyone depends on, yet she is constantly shown to be vain and sometimes downright rude to people.  She uses her magic to manipulate situations and keep the children interested in what adventures might happen next rather than using it to improve family relations and help people.  It bugs me that in a children's book an adult would be genuinely looked up to and respected while not behaving correctly.  I guess I just expect that in a children's book, correct behaviors will be rewarded and incorrect behaviors will be punished... especially in older books since children's books have had to evolve away from strictly moral stories.

Anyways, enough about that.  Now for my plea for help.  I'm currently working on revising one of my senior research papers entitled "The Rise of the Modern Heroine: How The Feminine Mystique Shaped Young Adult Literature" so I can use it as a writing sample for applying to graduate programs.  I'm wanting to bolster my paper with more samples of books that show strong and weak female characters (they don't even have to be main characters... they just need to be talked about enough that I can get a good sense of what the girl is like).  I'm trying to focus mainly on American literature since 1900. 

If you have any ideas for books that show really strong female characters or really weak female characters let me know!  I could use all the help I could get!

Love This!

Unfortunately, my major gift receiving opportunities (my birthday and graduation) have just passed.  Otherwise, I would have thrown out my list and just asked people for these books.  Random House is reissuing their Looking Glass Library series... and I want to own every single book!  Here's the article from the School Library Journal website where they talk about the series. 

Why you may ask do I want to own the books?  Well for starters, they're all hardbound, library quality books.  Which means they are meant to stand up to lots of loving.  Plus, I believe that children care less about when a book was actually published as long as the cover looks cool and it's written in accessible language.  If these books are still around and being read today, then they're worth investing in.  On top of all that, I'm a sucker for a coordinating set of books (that's a topic for another day though). 

I also love the fact that a modern author who kids are already familiar with introduces each book.  The authors have really tried to write appealing introductions meant to sound like a recommendation from a trusted friend (according to School Library Journal). 

Overall, if you like older books and want to have a well-trusted set of books in your home, this set may be for you.  Since it was published before, and Random House is just republishing the series so they can update the covers and provide new introductions to each book, I'd definitely trust these books to be ones you want to own.

P.S. If you're interested in getting periodic newsletters via e-mail from School Library Journal, Library Journal, or Publisher's Weekly, go here.  I subscribe to 6 or 7 different newsletters, and although I get some about webinars or panels, the majority of them are really great!  They have links to interesting articles, books and authors that are selling really well, and lots of advice from librarians on encouraging reluctant readers.

Stalky & Co by Rudyard Kipling

This book has single-handedly been the reason I haven't been reading books a lot lately.  It's not that this is a bad book... it's just that Rudyard Kipling is just really, really hard for me to get through for some reason.  I think it's because he moves so slowly compared to modern authors.

That being said, once I got into the book I liked it.  It wasn't the greatest book ever, but there's definitely a reason people are still reading Kipling.  I think the best part about the book is that it's very episodic.  So I could read a chapter, go read another book, and then come back to this book without feeling completely lost.  As a result, this book would be a good book to keep in your car or purse for long lines, waiting to pick someone up, or the doctor's office waiting room.  Actually, any of Kipling's works would be good books for that. 

Next up... Mary Poppins Comes Back. I really really had some problems with Mary Poppins, but I'm giving the sequel a chance in hopes that my major issues with the book will be resolved.

After that, I'll be reading a couple of the big time management books that everyone talks about.  I've started researching the planner possibilities for next year (next year starting in July or August), but before I can commit to anything I need to figure out what my time management style is and I figure reading a couple productivity books will help.  Plus, I need a break from Kipling and children's lit.

How I Saved My Father's Life by Ann Hood

I'm a day early!!  I officially feel awesome about myself. 


Anyways... I really enjoyed this book!  It follows Madeline, a 12 year old girl, who believes she has saved her father from an avalanche only to have her parents divorce and her father marry Ava Pomme, a sophisticated New Yorker.  The story mostly follows her during the first year of her parents' divorce as she comes to terms with what happened.

I really like this story because it deals with a theme every person can relate to even if their parents are not divorced.  Madeline has to come to terms with her father, who she thought was perfect, actually left his family for his new wife.  At first, she believes it's all her mother's fault for being so ordinary, but as she spends more time with her father and his new wife, pieces start to fall into place.  The story doesn't end with her having all the answers, but instead with her realizing that even though her father did something horrible, he's still her father and will be a big part of her life.

As someone who luckily didn't have to go through my parents' divorcing, I can't speak to how accurately this book portrays those feelings.  As an adult who has had to come to terms with the fact that my parents are imperfect people though, I loved how the book presented that realization.  Madeline was allowed to hate each of her parents for different reasons but decide at the end that she loved them both.  That's an important realization for teenagers to make... unfortunately too many people get disillusioned with their parents (or other people) and never get past realizing that they are real people.

This book could be the perfect springboard for a discussion between either a parent and their child or an older sibling and younger sibling about how adults aren't perfect, but you have to accept their imperfections and love them anyways.  (P.S. I own this book, but probably won't ever read it again, so if you want the book it's yours!)

New Reading Goal

A book and a post a week.  Due on Wednesday.  Don't expect one tomorrow because there probably won't be one.

I figure that maybe, just maybe that if I have something holding me accountable I'll actually read a book and think about it instead of just playing Minesweeper all night.  Now that I don't have the English program to keep me reading like a madman I need something new to keep me focused, and you all get to fill that role.  Hope you don't mind!

Also, if you read this on Google Reader, you should look at my actual blog.  I changed the whole look and feel thanks to the Google Template Designer and I LOVE it now!!

P.S. Don't be surprised if the form my reviews take changes somewhat in the future.  Just let me know what you like/don't like about the new reviews so I can take that into account.  I'm working on a project that I'm not quite ready to share with everyone yet.  I need to work through some logistics first in my head.

Saving Fish From Drowing by Amy Tan

I got this as a "whoopie" present at the 2008 O'Bryant New Year's Eve party, but didn't get around to reading it until now... which I really regret.  I'd always look at it and figure that someone had given it because it wasn't a very good book (for heaven's sake it hadn't been opened at all!).  I had only held onto it because no one else's presents looked any better.  Finally, when I decided I was going to read all the books I owned, I had to read it.  And I really really liked it.

If this book is any indication, Amy Tan has a beautiful writing style.  I loved how the story line moved.  There were two different related story lines that went back and forth beautifully, partially because there was the same narrator seeing everything.

This book really got me thinking about the way the media influences our views and perceptions of events.  In this story a group of tourists are kidnapped by a misguided group of indigenous people who believe the tourists will save them.  The story gets on the news and everyone tries to put their own spin on it.  The situation was really interesting to me because it's something that happens in our everyday lives.  The media tries so hard to make the smallest story huge, and big stories become ridiculous.  The book, true to life, told of all the different news outlets scrambling to get exclusive interviews with family members, friends, anyone connected to the people who had been kidnapped.  Any new piece of information (no matter how small) was heralded across the TV screen. 

So overall, I really loved this book.  Everything I've just told you makes it sound like a deep, serious book, but some of the situations are just so comical that you can't help but laugh.  It's not a terribly quick read, but it is worth it.

Attila by William Napier

For those of you who follow me on Goodreads, I'm sorry you have to read my review twice. I promise to make this one more in depth and relevant. For the rest of you, here goes.

If this book is any judge, Napier can write a decent historical fiction novel. Attila is the first of three novels about, you guessed it, Attila the Hun. And it's a really interesting book! I didn't really know anything about him, so this book was a good introduction. For instance, did you know it was Attila the Hun who finally brought down the Roman empire once and for all? And did you know that he was a "hostage"? Rome's way of securing allies was to trade youth from prominent families of the two nations. So Attila spent much of his youth in Rome while a Roman boy spent much of his youth with the Huns. This was done as security--if one nation turns on the other, they risk the death of their hostage.

That being said, I unfortunately can't recommend this book in good conscience. Napier has a particular love for the "f-word" that I just can't accept. As much as I would love to read the rest of the trilogy, I can't because I know he'll use it more and more throughout the trilogy as Attila grows up and goes into battle more and more. It's so disappointing, because Napier has a wonderful book other than that! And it wouldn't be that difficult to take the swearing out. He only has soldiers use it in battles and skirmishes. I know, I know, he's just using it to "stay true to his characters," but do you know what? I felt like he betrayed his characters by making them say those things. Each use of the word felt unnatural in the character's mouth. I felt like he was just using that word to stir people up and not because that's what his character would've said.

So, in the end, this great book is brought down. And now I have to find a different book about Attila the Hun to satisfy my curiosity on what happened to him.

Just So Stories for Little Children by Rudyard Kipling

I loved this book. That's all there is to it. Kipling has written a very cute collection of short stories telling how the world came to be as it is currently. Sure, it has a very heavy British Imperialist influence, but it's just so stinkin' cute that you can't help but love it.

My only problem with the book? Figuring out when I can read it to my kids without feeling bad about telling them blatant lies. Maybe if I get into the habit of reading fairy tales with my kids before bed I could slip this in as a collection of fairy tales. Because in all honesty, these stories are really the perfect model for the lies we all tell little kids when we're not ready to tell them the scientific truth about why some things are the way they are (or when we really don't know the answer).

The thing I love the most about the book? There's a clear cause-and-effect theme throughout the stories. You behaved in X manner, so now Y will happen to you. It's said out loud to the audience and in direct connection to the punishment that is usually meted out. I don't have any kids, but I imagine this might be a good way to introduce how a relatively short lived behavior might have long term consequences. If you have kids and you've read these stories since having kids, let me know if you think that works.

The saddest thing about Kipling for me is that I can only read one or two of his books before I have to read something else. I tried to start Puck of Pook's Hill, but I just couldn't do it.