Bibliophilia 2012: Books 33 - 41

33: Tao of Pooh and 39: Te of Piglet

I try to read The Tao of Pooh once a year. Why? Well, it makes me laugh and think about the important things in life - a perfect combination. Benjamin Hoff is able to describe the Taoist principles in clear and entertaining examples, and the beliefs and ideas make sense to me. Plus, I love all of the Pooh characters. I read The Te of Piglet less often; it is equally interesting, but it doesn’t jump off the page quite as much as The Tao of Pooh. The books always inspire me… this time reading the books, they inspired A Walking Meditation.


34: Scar Tissue

I have always enjoyed the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but in my younger days, I absolutely loved them. I’m pretty sure that aside from my Beatles obsession, I didn’t listen to much else than Blood Sugar Sex Magik in the 8th grade. It was pre-Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam, and I remember watching the Under the Bridge video over and over again (I had taped it – VHS style). It was different from everything I had ever heard; the music was amazing. I was completely mesmerized by Anthony Kiedis; I loved his tattoos, long hair, and the way his face looked when he was running shirtless and all funked out.


A couple of months ago, I was reading the Wikipedia page about Anthony Kiedis and was floored at his life story. I noticed that he had written an autobiography, so I bought it. For the first 25% of the book, I was pretty mad at myself for buying it; he had a severely messed up childhood, and I found his nonchalant attitude towards the crappy things he did to people really revolting. However, as the book progresses, you can tell that he went through some serious hell and he seemed to progress and grow in the book. It gave me a new respect for him and a new interest in the awesomeness of Flea.

I am a little weirded out that my favorite RHCP song, I Could Have Lied, was written about Sinead O’Connor. It is still not as weird as the Alanis Morissette/Dave Coulier bomb.


35: We Bought a Zoo

I’ve written about this book a bit (Finding some inspiration…) because I loved both the book and the movie. I like to read stories about people learning and growing, but I also learned that I really love to read stories about people’s interactions with animals. This book is sad in places, yet funny and beautiful. Although the movie’s storyline is different, I felt like Cameron Crowe did a wonderful job of transferring the story, with all of the feelings and important bits, to film. Only problem is now I really want to go to England and visit the real zoo.



36: Eat to Live

While on vacation at Universal Orlando (Universal Studios Orlando), I met a lady who told me about Eat To Live. We were discussing being vegetarian/vegan, and she suggested that I might want to check out the book. I wrote it down and completely forgot about it. 


Well, I have been eating horribly lately (eating crazy amounts of sugar and processed foods), which has made me feel awful and gain a bunch of weight. A few weeks ago, I got frustrated and happened across where I had written down the book title. As I read the book, things clicked in my head and it all started making sense; the main premise is that to be healthy we have to eat nutrient pack foods (vegetables, fruits, and beans) and it will heal our bodies. I started eating according to the plan, and only two weeks in, I’ve lost six pounds and am feeling tremendously better. I have more energy, I’m not hungry all the time, and my body is seems really happy.


37: Appetite for Reduction: 125 Fast and Filling Low-Fat Vegan Recipes

I bought this cookbook awhile back because I was interested in how a lot of vegan recipes sweeten food using fruit. Turns out that most of the food in the cookbook is perfect for my Eat to Live eating plan, so I’ve been using it for inspiration and trying all kinds of recipes. Apparently, my interest in veganism (although I kept denying it) was because I knew where I was headed.


38: Bridget Jones's Diary

I have read this book many times. It makes me laugh in that obnoxious, uncontrollable, out loud way that makes people look cross at me like I'm making fun of them. I love that Bridget is bumbling, impractical, hypersensitive, imperfect, and completely inappropriate. She is real and that’s what makes me cheer her on.




40: PS, I Love You

As with the movie version, I enjoy the concept of this book. It’s a love story, but from the opposite end of the spectrum. Usually, the story is about how people meet and finally bumble together, but this story is about saying goodbye and learning how to move on. Life is a constant up and down, so it was refreshing to read about a character who is doing her best to successfully pulling herself back together.



41: The Witches

As a child, I always loved Roald Dahl books. He was blessed because he was able to hold on his childlike imagination and relate to it. It allowed him to remember what it was like to be small and to create bizarre, oblong worlds. I remember a teacher reading us this book in class and feeling like it was so hysterical and inappropriate. It made reading fun and interesting. It is the same for all of Dahl’s books.

Finding Some Inspiration...

I am feeling quite inspired lately. I’ve had some amazing experiences (Discovery Cove and Busch Gardens), watched a fantastic movie (Cameron Crowe’s We Bought A Zoo), read a great book (We Bought a Zoo - Benjamin Mee), and listened to one of my favorite songs on constant repeat (Simon & Garfunkel’s At The Zoo - also see Songs for Planning My Escape and From a Sad Cafe). Are you sensing a pattern yet?

            

I have always loved animals, so going to the zoo gives me a magical, childlike feeling. It is one of my favorite places to be. I just bought a season pass to the Lowry Park Zoo, but the crazy tropical storm has kept me away.

With my new camera and the places I’ve been in the last few months, I’ve captured some amazing photographs of the animals. When I take photos, I love to paint my favorites. In a photo, I can capture a moment and a feeling, but when I paint, I like to mess with the colors and the perspective. I started with an elephant, and then a flamingo, and I’ve just kept going from there. I’m obsessed with the birds, but I have crazy, fun ideas for the big cats.

I recognize that there is something special about my own story in all of this. It is a piece of my childhood that I still love so much. It has ignited a story in my head.

So, with my inspiration, I’m working on two of my bucket list items to write and illustrate a children’s book. It's not to sell, or morph into someone else's idea of what it should be, it is a project that has come together in a fantastic way that makes me feel excited in the most amazing way.

I am still in the initial stages, but I thought that I would share two of my first paintings:

A Walking Meditation

I have always used my daily work breaks to take walks. At first, it was because I wanted extra exercise; however, I’ve found that it also relieves stress, clears my head, wakes up my brain, and gives me 15 minutes to myself each morning. In  The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron suggests that these types of daily walks as a meditation. It feels true; when I walk, I find a special kind of inspiration and clarity.

Last week, I reread The Tao of Pooh (for about the 100th time). I have been feeling stressed and a little lost, and reading the book always grounds me in goodness. In an effort to be more Pooh-worthy, I’ve been inspired to slow down and appreciate things more.

So, while walking earlier this week, I tried to slow down my thoughts and look around. I started during my morning walks, and first thing, I really saw was all of the beautiful, old oaks trees surrounding work. Their trunks are interesting knots of branches that are topped by oblong, airy groupings of leaves. It helped me to stop and respect the moment, so I painted a few of my favorites to remember. I might have improvised on the color a bit.

Bibliophilia: Books 27 - 32

27:  Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir)

If you’re not reading Jenny Lawson’s blog (The Bloggess), I’m sorry. It is definitely the funniest thing that I’ve found on the internet. There are lots of things that cause me to laugh out loud, but her writing makes me uncontrollably laugh and usually when I’m alone at Starbucks at lunch, which causes me to get a lot of weird looks.

I read this in a day. There were moments where the amount of laughter coming from me was embarrassing. Interesting, considering that I am one of the inappropriate laughers ever. It was definitely bizarre, but it was in the most wonderful, perfect, honest way. I appreciate her honesty and her ability to laugh at herself. It is both entertaining and refreshing.

28: Jane Eyre

When I started reading The Eyre Affair, I realized that I would never understand the humor until I read Jane Eyre. I’ve never been a fan of literature from this time period because I find the reading stilted and dense. To my surprise, I was immediately drawn into this book. I loved Jane, but more I adored the gruff, lovelorn Mr. Rochester (the movie version with Michael Fassbender... sigh). I spent an entire rainy day on the couch, engrossed in the book. And then, even though my eyeballs felt like they would fall out of my head at any moment from reading for so long, I wanted to spend the next day rereading it.

 29: The Day After and Other Stories

I’m a big Stand By Me fan and a closet Next Generation fan, so when I see anything by Wil Wheaton, I tend to snap it up. He is definitely one of the most interesting “celebrity” tweeters and I totally dig his last.fm music collection. Anyway, this was a book of short stories. I really enjoyed the title story but wasn’t excited about the other ones. However, it did make me interested enough to want to read more of his work.

 30: Vampire

Sometimes, I read dumb books. I can live with that. I love silly, girlie vampire fiction. So, last Halloween when iTunes had specials on “scary” books, I might have (totally did) bought up a bunch of these types of books. I'm always nostaligic about the Fear Street novels, because I couldn't get enough of them in middle school. I remember one about a photographer and his model/girlfriend tied him to a bed and forced cocaine up his nose until he died. Seriously, what the frick was I reading in those formative years. Anyway, this book was far from the best book I’ve ever read, but it did entertain me at lunch for a few days. 

31: Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D: From Snapshots to Great Shots

I gifted myself a new DSLR camera. I absolutely love it despite the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing with it yet. This book was great for getting me started. Now, I just need to read it about 15 more times until I retain all of the camera jargony information and process it into information that my brain will actually retain.

 
32: The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel

I think that the marketing on the front of this book killed it for me. When you compare your book to Buffy The Vampire Slayer, you put yourself on quite a pedestal in my mind. I’ll forever respect it for making me want to read Jane Eyre, but overall I just sorta liked the book. Dear publishers, unless your book opens up and actually plays episodes of Buffy for me, do yourself a favor and don’t ruin a book by comparing it to it.

2012 Reading Goal - Books 1-26

Last year, my goal was to read 26 books. Two books a week sounded like a lot, but once I got started, it was a lot of fun. I also ended up reading 36 great books.

In my typical overachiever mentality, I wanted to do better this year, so I bumped my goal up to 52 books . Whenever I mention it, people look at me like I am crazy (except for my family members who are equally crazy).  It is only April, and I'm 26 books in. I'll be golden. Here's a rundown of what I've read so far this year.

1: Codependent No More and 2: If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules

Sometimes, I wish that I had studied psychology in college. It's not that I wouldn't want to be a writer, but I find human emotions and motivations fascinating. Reading books like this gives me a glimpse into one of my alternative realities.


3: Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

Rob Sheffield is funny and  has great taste in music. This is a memoir set in the 80's to a most bodacious soundtrack (each chapter is a memory based on a song). I enjoyed the format and would love to read one for the 90's too.


4: The Book of Joe

Apparently, despite the similarity, this book wasn't the inspiration for Beautiful Girls or October Road. I seriously love that movie (Happy piano players work the circus...) and the show. Anyway, the stories are remarkably similar and enjoyable. I loved this book. It was both hysterical and heartbreaking, which is exactly the kind of bipolar novel that I love.


5: Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff

I subscribe to Before & After magazine. It is a a level of design awesomeness that I aspire to, and I always find the articles inspiring. I have McWade's other books, so a lot of this book was a repeat of the articles and books that I already have. The book was still packed with useful information. However, I bought the Kindle version and was surprised to find that it wasn't formatted very well...  I wish they would fix that.


6: Little House on the Prairie, 7: Farmer Boy, 8: On the Banks of Plum Creek, 9: By the Shores of Silver Lake, 13: The Long Winter, 14: Little Town on the Prairie, 15: These Happy Golden Years, and 16: The First Four Years

Confession time. I love Little House on the Prairie. I loved the show and have always had a crush on Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls (what a man!). It still amazes me that these are the stories of real people and are probably typical of many of the first American settlers. I love the adventure of the time period and was totally consumed with the whole series. My favorite book was These Happy Golden Years because it focuses on Laura and Almanzo falling in love. Ahhh sigh.

10: Socs and Greasers

Rob Lowe and The Outsiders. Two of my favorite subjects in the world.

11: Beastly

I enjoyed both the movie and book version of Beastly. It is an interesting, modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast that really worked. It was a fun, light read at lunchtime.



12: The Help

Everyone I know who read the book first disliked the movie. For once, I watched the movie first and ended up loving both the movie and the book. I would suggest you go that route too. The book is both funny and shocking. It makes you think, which is pretty rare for anything making the book club rounds these days.


17:  The Creative Writer's Survival Guide: Advice from an Unrepentant Novelist

I was lucky enough to have John McNally as a writing professor in college. He always had good advice, was fair in his critiques, and gave great advice. His book reminded me so much of being in his workshop class, reminded me of old friends (Jonas), and filled my head with good advice. It also made me rethink panning a book (or anything really) too quickly on my blog.

18: The Hunger Games

Ok, yes, I read this book again. My sister was reading it, and I wanted to read it along with her. I was also about to go see the movie (enjoyed it). After a second read, I still love this book. It is accessible to many readers, but it still is able to make a lasting point. I respect that in any writing.


19: The Chosen and 20: The Diary of a Young Girl

These books did something magical for me because they made me think about the past and sprouted an interest in my grandparent's lives (Family History). I have always been interested in their lives, but after reading both of these, it made me ask questions and wonder about things in a totally different way. In addition, it pushed me to learn more about the Holocaust, which is a important to never forget about. They taught me about things that I didn't even know that I should be asking about.

21: Tex and 25: Taming the Star Runner

S.E. Hinton is one of my favorite writers. Her books are straightforward and simple enough for anyone to read, yet she is able to pack them with characters, situations, and emotions that are so vivid and wonderful that you can't help but be sucked into their world. I've written about her before (No Jazz Before The Rumble) and feel that both of these novels hold their own. They make me want to run away to Oklahoma to ride horses and hang out with the cowboys.

22: What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?

I love the guys from The Buried Life. They are silly and a bit crazy, but they do some pretty awesome things. I had to have this book. Canadian boys seem so lovely, I think that I need to run away to Canada too.



23: Franny and Zooey

I enjoy Salinger's writer because he knows how to capture a character on a page and make them feel so real in my mind.  I've read Catcher in the Rye more times than I care to count (It's history. It's poetry.), and Holden Caulfield is like an old friend (granted a nutty one). I haven't read much of his other work, so that's one of my current goals. I want to get acquainted with the Glass family.


24: Cat's Cradle: A Novel

This was my first Vonnegut novel. I was always worried that he was too weird. This book was totally weird, but it was also hysterical and poignant. At first, I was lost and confused. I wanted to give up on it, but I am so glad that I didn't. Now that I know that Slaughterer Five isn't about working with dead animal carcasses, it will be my next Vonnegut novel.


26: Burning Bright

I appreciate the way that Steinbeck saw the world. He loved his characters and his readers. After reading one of this novels, I  feel like I have been transported to their world. I feel like I have lived their life. I read The Winter of Our Discontent  when I was 15, and I have carried Ethan Allen Hawley with me ever since. This one wasn't quite as powerful, but I still enjoyed it.

If you want to follow along with my reading, follow me on shelfari (awdylanis). Also, if you have any book recommendations, add them to the comments below. I'm always looking for interesting books to read.