How I Sort of Attacked The Stack

On January 8, 2012, I published the post, Stack Attack.I suggest you read it first so you will have a clue as to what I'm talking about. As the year winds down, I thought it would fun to see if I conquered or cowered. I'm proud to report that I did well! Check it out!

 

Sanctuary - William Faulkner Update: Read it, loved it, watched the movie again.

 

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy Update: Read it, loved it, want to read more!

 

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins Update: Read it, liked it.

 

The Help - Kathryn Stockett Update: Read it, loved it. Even liked the movie!

 

Basic Teachings of the Buddha - Glenn Wallis Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

Selected Letters of Martha Gelhorn - Caroline Morehead Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin Update: Didn't reread, BUT I read Happier At Home

 

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

The Wonders of Solitude - Dale Salwak Update: Didn't even crack it open.

 

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins Update: Finished it, finished series (see above). I'm 1 billionth on the library list for the Hunger Games DVD.

 

Hobby Farm: How To Create and Maintain Your Hobby Farm or Great Estate - Kristen Hampshire Update: Read it, enjoyed it, learned from it.

 

 

This isn't to say that I didn't read a ton of other stuff. Jennifer Brown's Perfect Escape, Seth Godin's Poke the Box, Lisa Lutz' Trail of the Spellmans, Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds and Rebecca Nichols Alonzo's The Devil in Pew 7 are just a few that come to mind. 

 

I still plan on tackling Selected Letters of Martha Gelhorn. I love Martha. Need to read more Martha. But, I also have a super duper giganto reading project lined up for 2013. I'm super excited about it, and I can wait to share it with you by year's end. I alluded to it in my Stack Attack post.  Can you guess? Can ya? Can ya?

 

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.

 

 

 

 

 

Real Reality ThursdayFriday

My Real Reality Thursday posts have been hit or miss lately, haven't they? Well, I have a reeeeeeeeeeeealy good reason this week.

Last night, my friend, Heather, and I listened to Gretchen Rubin speak about her new book Happier At Home. Gretchen autographed our books, and agreed to take a picture with us. No one else was getting their picture taken, so we thought maybe she didn't do that sort of thing. But Heather said we should ask (Heather is brave, and she embraces life). So, I blurted out, "Do you take photos with people?" Eloquent, yes? And Gretchen said, "Sure!" We started a trend. Lots of people behind us started having their pictures taken with her.

It was a lovely night. Gretchen came across as an articulare, intelligent, curious person. I am fascinated by how she grasps onto seemingly simple ideas, researches them, dissects their different angles, and shares her findings and thoughts. Her voice is rather relaxing and calm, and she possesses a wonderfully understated sense of humor.

I can't wait to dive in her book!

 

Gone Girl Interruptus

I've been meaning to jump on here and dazzle you with my stories of powdered peanut butter and dinner parties gone wrong. But my friend, Heather (of Battery Brains fame), challenged me to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn by September 20, so we could discuss it over din din before we see Gretchen Rubin, (author The Happiness Project and Happier At Home). I told Heather I would TRY to get it read, or at least most of it.

Uh, well, reading this book is almost all I've done for the past several days. I usually shy away from books that everyone and their Aunt Millie like, but I gave this one a chance. A big chance. A "Why  must life interrupt my reading of this book?" chance. All I can think about is when I will have another opportunity to sneak away with my book. Can we say ADDICTED?

I'm almost done ... and then I'll be back to regale you with stories about powdered peanut butter and dinner parties gone wrong.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing ... Keep It Real.

Ideal Reality Becomes Real Reality: Meeting Gretchen Rubin

 I've mentioned several times around this blog how much I love the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's one of my all-time favorite books because it just makes sense to my world. It's well-written and well-researched. It's just a uniquely intelligent literary work.

So you can imagine how super excited I was to read that she has a second book coming out on September 4: Happier At Home. I cannot wait to get my hands on this!

But wait, there's more ...

Gretchen, a  KC native, is coming to Unity Temple on the Plaza! She will be in town September 20 to talk about her new book. I ordered up a couple of tickets and a copy of the book yesterday from the local bookseller, Rainy Day Books.

But wait, there's more ...

My friend, Heather, who writes the brilliant blog, Battery Brains, is driving up from Jefferson City to come with me! I love spending time with Heather and hate that our visits are way, way, way too rare. (By the way, if you haven't been reading Heather's blog, you are missing out. She is a crazy-talented writer with life wisdom beyond her years!)

It doesn't get much better than this!

Oh ... and I have an extra ticket to the event if anyone is interested!

Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, keep it real.