Library list

I'm always reading, spending tons of money on Chapters.ca. And getting a legit thrill when there is a new book at my library.

Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed. Loved it, loved it so much. I really loved Wild, and I maybe loved this even more. It's just a bunch of letters she got when she had an advice column, but her answers are so good. I mean, the gist is to live your life messily and happily and intensely, but you just have to read it.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. So I loved Eat Pray Love just like the rest of the world. I read Committed, and it was OK, not the best. I thought Big Magic was decent, maybe especially if you are a creative. I actually really feel like I get to be creative in my job every day. Sometimes when I am working, I get into the zone, and 45 minutes will pass without me even being aware of time. My job feels so much more artistic than maybe people think when they think about dentistry. Maybe it's just me. But basically the book is all about putting yourself out there and making something.

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. This book was actually mentioned in both the Dear Sugar book and the Big Magic book. This book is a life-changer in my opinion and also the opinion of a billion people who watched her TED talk. The gist is that you need to love yourself, but you really have to read it. Maybe read it twice.

Library list

Room:
I am just starting this one. I am hopeful! I read 50 pages into this book, and kept falling asleep. So I bailed. Room promises not to be about Canadian politics, which is nice.
Update: I loved this book. I plowed through it in just a few days, and was hooked from the first page. I would highly recommend.

The life-changing magic of tidying up:
When I was around eight, we moved from Germany to New Brunswick. We stayed in a hotel for a month or two, and every day the bathroom in the hotel would be restocked with those little cute bottles of shampoo. I saved/hoarded every single one, until my little suitcase was filled. When we arrived days later in a new hotel room in NB, and I opened my suitcase, all my stuff was covered in shampoo. Of course. I remember that moment every time I am tempted to get my hoard on and save something, especially something free.

I kept thinking about that whole scene when I was reading this book. She is all about getting rid of all the papers. So I pulled my two cardboard boxes that I have been carrying around since I was a teenager out of my closet and got to work. I found so much crap in there. Letters. So many letters. Letters from old boyfriends. Letters from my best friend when I was lonely and living in Texas. Also, a letter from an elementary school teacher explaining why I didn't get as good a grade as I wanted on a test. The instruction manual from the cd player/double cassette deck stereo that I got for Christmas when I was maybe ten. Pictures of a pen pal I was assigned in middle school, who I never actually met. A silver bracelet that is nice, but has an inscription in it that is no longer accurate. A huge pile of pay stubs from my year working at Subway. It all went in the garbage. And it feels so good! I would highly recommend it.

PS: The Clarenville public library pretty much never gets new books, so Jon and I usually buy our books online, then donate them. Our library does have a crazy amount of DVDs, and they just keep coming. The librarian is even shocked by how the library is starting to feel like a video store.

Library list

Two solitudes: Just starting this one. Comes highly recommended by my husband.

Daily love: I am sorta into the Daily love website, so I thought I would like the book. It was just OK. The main message I got from it was that I need to check out Tony Robbins, the motivational speaker.

Wheat belly total health: I read the first wheat belly, but this one is so much more intense. He recommends you eliminate all grains from your diet, and also all gluten-free items. So no more bread, rice, oatmeal. And he says to reduce your fruit intake way way down. Since we are now a nut-free and egg-free household, it's almost impossible to follow this book. We did it for like a week, and we probably lost weight, but we didn't even want to.

Yes please: I can't pass up a female celebrity memoir these days. Tina Fey's was the best by far. Amy's was pretty good, but I laughed out loud exactly once. I expected more. Still, I would recommend this book. I liked hearing about her struggles with motherhood and working.

Library list

When the evenings start to feel colder and darker, I feel more like reading. And we are in this really sweet phase with Cohen where he is happy to play by himself near us, which means we can read magazines beside him. Such a small thing, but I really love these moments in our house with Cohen sitting on the floor piling blocks on top of each other while talking to himself, and Jon and I sitting with our backs to the wall, reading magazines and drinking a coffee. It's the best.

I am loving the Orenda so far. Jon just finished it, and loved it. I love the way he writes so much that I know Jon and I will end up with all his books. I liked Mindy's book, though it wasn't nearly as hilarious as Bossypants. I found it about as funny as The Mindy Project, which makes me laugh out loud maybe once per episode. But weirdly, if you want a book that makes you laugh super hard out loud, I think the best I've found was Let's pretend this never happened. The best, the weirdest.

library list

I've been reading a lot, as usual:

1. The sleepeasy solution. We got this book because of of my favourite bloggers* recommended it. What I liked about this book is that it was simple to read, and gave really clear instructions.

2. The girl with the dragon tattoo. I know I am a little late to this book. It was soo good. I read it in a few days.

3. Stitches. I got this one for J for Christmas. It is a really quick, interesting read.

4. Maus. Another graphic novel. This one is amazing. I would highly recommend it. Be ready to get a little emotional though.

5. Catholic all year. This is actually a blog that I just can't get enough of. I am not religious at all, and I strongly disagree with some of what she writes, but some posts are interesting and helpful. I mean, she has like a dozen kids. She knows what she is doing.


* I have been reading Jo since she was single and writing for Glamour.com. Now she is married with two kids. I love her, and referred to her posts on motherhood so many times since getting pregnant. 

reading and feeding

breast-feeding is really time-consuming. i had no idea. our little guy eats every few hours, sometimes for 45 minutes. that's a lot of time for me to sit and read. i am going through magazines like crazy. we ordered ten books from indigo, and we will need to place another order soon at the rate i am reading. i am starting to embrace it instead of think about all the things i am not doing while i sit and feed cohen. what i have read in the past few days:

1. let's pretend this never happened by jenny lawson. soo funny. like, i was laughing out loud at 3 am. i haven't found a book this funny since tina fey's memoir. i recommend

2. let's explore diabetes with owls by david sedaris. also, so funny. i loved that it was short stories and essays. jon and i read a few out loud to each other. we both found the essays hilarious. so good.

3. wild by cheryl strayed. the true memoir about the girl who hiked the pacific crest trail. this book was an oprah book club selection, so it got a lot of publicity. i am currently in the middle of it. i am completely addicted. it's one of those books where you don't want to read it too fast because you don't want it to be over.

library list

i loved checking out the library of our new town. the magazine selection is good, and there are a ton of cookbooks. i had to stop myself from signing out 50 books.

obviously my latest selections reflect that i am a new mom. i like reading how-to books, though i think breastfeeding and parenting a newborn is more about instincts than knowledge. now i have some things to read during the many feedings that have taken over my nights!

library list

i am starting to feel really greedy whenever we go to the gander public library since i know we are leaving soon. man, i love libraries.

so i read battle hymn of the tiger mom in seriously about 5 hours. i couldn't put it down. so good. i always love memoir-style books.

i perused through my ideal bookshelf, and ended up with a huge list of books i want to read. they include:

A movable feast by Hemingway
Flappers and philosophers by Fitzgerald
A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again by David Foster Wallace
Heartburn by Nora Roberts

and i am currently reading eckhart tolle because i am such a sucker for that oprah book club sticker. can't resist. i also weirdly like self-help books.

library list

i am soo not the type to research vacation destinations. but our fifth annual vegas birthday trip is coming up in a few weeks, and i happened to see some vegas travel books at the library. the thing about vegas is that everyone will have the same top ten attractions. you have to see the lions at MGM, the fountains at Bellagio, the roller coaster at New York-New York, etc. this year i am really looking forward to eating pancakes on fremont street, breakfast at the pool every morning, and watching the LOVE cirque de soleil show. also, loving the funny book of little essays by nora ephron.

on this weekend

 (j at a lobster restaurant near Summerford, NL)

(what i am assuming is lobster catching paraphernalia outside the restaurant)

 (dad recently gifted us this album. my absolute favourite album of childhood)

(the situation in the backyard) 

(post 5K run sunday morning) 

(medals. ps: j came in first, i came in 25th or so) 

(the latest book we are reading to each other)

it was such a good tiny town weekend. saturday we drove a few hours to check out a lobster restaurant that recently opened for the season. we listened to cheap trick on the way. i grew up listening to this record, and i know every word, even the little comments they make between the songs. sweet road trip music. soo the lobster restaurant was pretty cool and we will totally go back even though it is two hours away. sunday we did our 5K, which was a breeze for j, but a struggle for me. it felt awesome to finish. i was trying to keep pace with this one 10 year old girl. she totally beat me. then sunday afternoon we did a little reading out of our latest book. i am looking forward to watching the movie now.

when we drove by the airport this weekend (which is at least twice a day since this town was basically built around the airport) we both looked longingly. there's nothing quite like jumping on a plane to somewhere. our next trip is our costa rica honeymoon, which i am basically already packed for. quite looking forward to that one.

loving lately

(amazing bowls made by my godmother-now used at least once a day. hand made. i'm not even sure how you would make a bowl this cool) 

(addictive and disturbing little book-to be honest i pretty much always like Oprah's selections*)

(the ice coming in twillingate. this is apparently sealing season**, which seems crazy dangerous to me)

(perfect juice mix: 1/3 carrot and 2/3 orange. carrot all by itself is a little too vegetable for me)

*excluding Anna Karenina, which i found really dull.

**where the fisherman see a seal chilling on the ice, jump on to the sheet of ice, club the seal, then drag it back to the boat. i am not an animal activist, but this seems dangerous for humans to do. 

new hobby

so j and i have a new hobby. reading to each other. it started with an audio book i got from the local public library. and now we are totally into having a beer and reading a few chapters. i would fully recommend it for those couples who live 3+ hours away from anything resembling a city. and if you liked james frey's other two popular books, you will like this one too.

library list

last week i read:

still alice: very good, read it in a day. the author also wrote "left neglected", which i read and loved. both made me cry

the paris wife: made me want to read Hemingway's version of their love story (a moveable feast). also made me want to go skiing.

12 simple things i want to do in 2012

1. learn a little french (with books on tape during our long work commutes)
2. run my first 10 K
3. make a garden in the summer in our backyard (tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, anything else easy to grow)
4. see more of newfoundland via hiking, camping, biking, canoeing, road trips
5. make more food at home (granola, muffins, treats, nut butters, vegan ice cream, maybe even nut milk)
6. buy less stuff (we are already pretty good with this...)
7. reduce my debt load a little (via #3, #5, # 6, and maybe working a little more)
8. read more (especially for work)
9. try snowboarding (i tried it over ten years ago, but i think it's time to give it another shot)
10. learn to use the used sewing machine collecting dust in our basement (starting with something easy like  pillow covers)
11. chill out a bit (i am pretty hard on myself)
12. all the usual things: drink more water, drink less alcohol, visit the gym 3-4 times a week, eat healthy, take my vitamins

i already love 2012. i think it is going to be the best year. a big event is in my future

library list

i read these two books on the weekend. i learned a few things from the wealthy barber. bossypants was just really funny. it was awkward to read this book in public because i was laughing so hard i was crying. i love tina fey even more now. also plowed through the hunger games in half a day. so addictive. and woody harrelson is in the movie, which i am excited for.