Over the Hills and into that reading rainbow
Its raining lightly and Joseph is napping completely dead to the world on the couch so I figure its the perfect moment to force myself into the habit of writing in my poor abandoned journal.
We are going to Patrick's house later for a thrown together dinner which is always a good time, we did the same yesterday but couldn't contribute anything other than peas and popcorn (Joseph's specialty tossed with cinnamon and brown sugar) because we slept in (which we usually don't ever do) and it through us for a loop.
Today I (we) will make up for it we have a salsa verde made which will knock Patrick's socks off and hopefully Jay's & Sophie's as well because they will be joining us, I still have to make some guacamole and we decided to go with popcorn again instead of a heavier desert I am really excited and hope we can play some board games.
What I wanted to write(talk) about today was a few books I am reading/finished lately. Often I think of books as an escape its my absolute favorite thing to do and I can get lost for hours in description and fantasy. My family was fairly dysfunctional and I looked to books as stability, as proof that it isn't this way everywhere.
Even still my favorite place to be is the public library because I am horribly cheap and could never afford to read as much as I do if I bought everything. Nothing feels better than leaving with a stack of books up to my chin and the anxious excited feeling I get thinking of all the possibilities and new things to learn.
I have library rituals which are weird in of themselves I always have to check new additions, then cookbooks, then non fiction (which is the most fun!)and then if Joseph isn't throwing me his dagger eyes because my pile is too big and he's ready to go, I'll end up in the fiction shelves.
I try to balance my reading with a 'serious' book and a 'fun' book of course these terms are completely subjective because my ideas of fun and serious are totally different than say Joseph's.
I just finished a 'serious' book on Joseph's recommendation that he would without a doubt categorize as fun.
The book (image above) Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer chronicles the joining of the war by Pat Tillman who was playing pro football for the Cardinals and left it all behind on principle. The book is incredibly interesting although I do not watch or know much about sports he seemed like such an honest person that gave everyone the same respect and questioned everything. He was shot as a result of "friendly fire" by someone in his unit less than 20 yards away. The military then proceeded to try to cover it up and hide the truth from his family and then to play it up as if he was shot by insurgents. Krakauer does a great job weaving in the history of the events that lead up to the war which included a botched first attempt to bring down the wtc towers along with Tillman's life. The ending was a little lackluster because I guess it didn't seem to have a resolution which I shouldn't expect. What I really got from the book was an even greater distaste for the military as an institution and how what they sell us on tv as war is nothing more than public relations and saving face for what is essentially destroying a culture and trying to gobble up its assets and resources before another industrialized Country gets there first. I don't mean to knock anyone that is in the military because it is a great sacrifice and one I honestly could not make I just think we all as a whole got fleeced for the benefit of very few. I was incredibly moved by Tillman's account of the war which were in the book as his personal journal excerpts and as the veil was removed and he was able to see what was happening he still dedicated himself because he gave his word and it actually meant something to him and his family. That was what I would say I took away the most. I am going to dedicate a lot of time and effort to becoming a truer, authentic and as loving a person I can possibly be.
On a much lighter note the 'fun' novel I am ...this.... close to finishing is by Megan McCafferty entitled
Perfect Fifths. It is the fifth in the series chronicling the tumultuous romance of Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. It was serendipitous to find the book on the new fiction shelf because I didn't think there could even be a fifth installment with the way it ended. Jessica the main character is cynical and witty which makes it fun to read and doesn't fall into the "why doesn't he love me I'll do anything!!" trap.
I also have developed a new fear towards all of my beauty products and perfumes thanks to this book Green Beauty. I am afraid to even use my deodorant so I can escape the horror of aluminum poisoning, I kid, I kid. Joseph made the switch a few years ago so after reading that it does actually go INTO your skin I am going to make the switch too. Its hard to make the change from wanting to smell nice and yummy to plain ole' me but I think I can do it. It does make it seem fun to make your own products though and am going to as Rickey Gervais would say 'Give it a go yeah'.
I have picked and started my next 'serious' book by Raj Patel entitled Stuffed and Starved. I am very excited it has been pretty informative so far and his premise is that as more and more nutrient deficient food is consumed people are becoming obese and their bodies are still literally starving for nutrition. We'll see where he takes it and what changes he sees needing to come in the future.
And lastly to hit on media changing my personal behavior Joseph and I saw the documentary Flow a few weeks ago and it was really moving and frightening almost to see what a precious resource something like water is when it is easily taken for granted. I would recommend watching it if you get the chance.
I am always looking for new books to read so if anyone has any recommendations please leave them!!
We are going to Patrick's house later for a thrown together dinner which is always a good time, we did the same yesterday but couldn't contribute anything other than peas and popcorn (Joseph's specialty tossed with cinnamon and brown sugar) because we slept in (which we usually don't ever do) and it through us for a loop.
Today I (we) will make up for it we have a salsa verde made which will knock Patrick's socks off and hopefully Jay's & Sophie's as well because they will be joining us, I still have to make some guacamole and we decided to go with popcorn again instead of a heavier desert I am really excited and hope we can play some board games.
What I wanted to write(talk) about today was a few books I am reading/finished lately. Often I think of books as an escape its my absolute favorite thing to do and I can get lost for hours in description and fantasy. My family was fairly dysfunctional and I looked to books as stability, as proof that it isn't this way everywhere.
Even still my favorite place to be is the public library because I am horribly cheap and could never afford to read as much as I do if I bought everything. Nothing feels better than leaving with a stack of books up to my chin and the anxious excited feeling I get thinking of all the possibilities and new things to learn.
I have library rituals which are weird in of themselves I always have to check new additions, then cookbooks, then non fiction (which is the most fun!)and then if Joseph isn't throwing me his dagger eyes because my pile is too big and he's ready to go, I'll end up in the fiction shelves.
I try to balance my reading with a 'serious' book and a 'fun' book of course these terms are completely subjective because my ideas of fun and serious are totally different than say Joseph's.
I just finished a 'serious' book on Joseph's recommendation that he would without a doubt categorize as fun.
The book (image above) Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer chronicles the joining of the war by Pat Tillman who was playing pro football for the Cardinals and left it all behind on principle. The book is incredibly interesting although I do not watch or know much about sports he seemed like such an honest person that gave everyone the same respect and questioned everything. He was shot as a result of "friendly fire" by someone in his unit less than 20 yards away. The military then proceeded to try to cover it up and hide the truth from his family and then to play it up as if he was shot by insurgents. Krakauer does a great job weaving in the history of the events that lead up to the war which included a botched first attempt to bring down the wtc towers along with Tillman's life. The ending was a little lackluster because I guess it didn't seem to have a resolution which I shouldn't expect. What I really got from the book was an even greater distaste for the military as an institution and how what they sell us on tv as war is nothing more than public relations and saving face for what is essentially destroying a culture and trying to gobble up its assets and resources before another industrialized Country gets there first. I don't mean to knock anyone that is in the military because it is a great sacrifice and one I honestly could not make I just think we all as a whole got fleeced for the benefit of very few. I was incredibly moved by Tillman's account of the war which were in the book as his personal journal excerpts and as the veil was removed and he was able to see what was happening he still dedicated himself because he gave his word and it actually meant something to him and his family. That was what I would say I took away the most. I am going to dedicate a lot of time and effort to becoming a truer, authentic and as loving a person I can possibly be.
On a much lighter note the 'fun' novel I am ...this.... close to finishing is by Megan McCafferty entitled
Perfect Fifths. It is the fifth in the series chronicling the tumultuous romance of Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie. It was serendipitous to find the book on the new fiction shelf because I didn't think there could even be a fifth installment with the way it ended. Jessica the main character is cynical and witty which makes it fun to read and doesn't fall into the "why doesn't he love me I'll do anything!!" trap.
I also have developed a new fear towards all of my beauty products and perfumes thanks to this book Green Beauty. I am afraid to even use my deodorant so I can escape the horror of aluminum poisoning, I kid, I kid. Joseph made the switch a few years ago so after reading that it does actually go INTO your skin I am going to make the switch too. Its hard to make the change from wanting to smell nice and yummy to plain ole' me but I think I can do it. It does make it seem fun to make your own products though and am going to as Rickey Gervais would say 'Give it a go yeah'.
I have picked and started my next 'serious' book by Raj Patel entitled Stuffed and Starved. I am very excited it has been pretty informative so far and his premise is that as more and more nutrient deficient food is consumed people are becoming obese and their bodies are still literally starving for nutrition. We'll see where he takes it and what changes he sees needing to come in the future.
And lastly to hit on media changing my personal behavior Joseph and I saw the documentary Flow a few weeks ago and it was really moving and frightening almost to see what a precious resource something like water is when it is easily taken for granted. I would recommend watching it if you get the chance.
I am always looking for new books to read so if anyone has any recommendations please leave them!!