Read On!

I've wanted to be in a book club for some time. I tried joining one at work when I first joined my company in 2012, only to have it disband because everyone's workload became too crazy.

Reading things other than what you must read for work and professional development is just a good thing.

Anyway, one of my running group friends suggested I join her book club. It's in Plano, where we live, and it meets monthly. Perfect!

So far I've really enjoyed the books we've selected, though this month's is especially scary.

Good thing I have a little helpful girl who is willing to lend me her fur and purrs to settle my anxiety!

Blog Reading...5 Years Later

Exactly five years ago, I wrote about the blogs I loved reading.

The blogs I love are simply fun to read. They're not work-related or family-related or news-related.

I stumbled across that post last month and wondered how much my reading list might have changed over time. It seemed appropriate to do a comparison.

My favorite blogs in 2009:

• Budget Chic-How to Do Fashion on a Budget
• Chronicles of a Curious Cook
• Décor Assist
• Fit Bottomed Girls
• How to Eat a Cupcake
• Our Best Bites
• Simply Decorated
• The Cheap Chica
• The Inspired Room
• Young House Love
• What I Wore Today
• What Would Krissie Wear
• Work Chic

My favorite blogs in 2014:

• What Kate Wore
• Kate Middleton Style
• Letizia's Closet
• Capitol Hill Style
• Outfit Posts
• Sidedish
• Young House Love
• Seth Godin

What a difference! I've obviously cut way back on what I read (a time issue or changing interests, I wonder?). I have a serious crush on Kate Middleton's clothing style and am developing similar feelings for Spain's new Queen Letizia. And I think every woman should give Capitol Hill Style a look. It's awesome.

But the one blog that appears on both lists is Young House Love. It's still as great as it always was - and that speaks volumes for its authors.

Learning About Boundaries

With relatively limited options during our extended power outage, we took advantage of the quiet and finished reading Boundaries.

I highly recommend this book. We all struggle with knowing when and how to say no, as well as when and how to say yes.

As it turns out, this book talks a great deal about the things Dr. Jim recommended we implement to clean our internal pantry this past year.

A Great Mystery

It's not every day that you come home to a package.

And it's really not every day that you come home to a package when you haven't ordered anything.

What we have here, my friends, is a mystery.

Inside? A lovely selection of books for writers.

In The Boy's words: Well, this looks like the sort of thing you'd order.

Ahem. He's right. But I didn't.

So that means someone did. Curiouser and curiouser...

If I had to write an equation for how I feel right now it would be:

2 parts excited + 1 part surprised+ 4 parts extremely curious

Hopefully someone will, at some point, 'fess up. In the meantime, I believe I have some new reading to do on my daily train ride!

At Least She's Determined

It takes quite a bit of work for someone without opposible thumbs to do this:


Pardon the poor quality cell phone photo


Now if only I could remember where I was in that novel....

Reading up a Storm

I am so happy to report that I was able to reduce my nightstand bookstack from six to two feet high.

Yes, I still have several books to read. But I'm better off than I was. And I was able to read at least one book for my pure enjoyment every month last year.

Here's what I read:

January - Twenties Girl
February - Water for Elephants
March - Quitter
April - When Helping Hurts; The Life of Pi
May - Radical; Lincoln
June - Tribes; Nine Years in the Saddle
July - Chronicles of Avonlea; Escape from Korea; First to Fight
August - Good Stuff; Voices and Silences
September - Behind the Screen; Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough
October - Harriett Tubman; Enchantment
November - Entreleadership; The People-Profit Connection
December - Tuesdays with Morrie; Good Eats III; Martha Stewart's Cooking School; Made to Stick

What did you read in 2011? What was your favorite book?

Checking the List

Not my Christmas list...that would be a miracle. I'm way behind on shopping (and decorating and cooking and...)

But somehow, I did find time to stop at the library for one last checkout for 2011: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. And with that, I had one more goal to check off my 101 list (check out a book from the public library every other month for a year).

It's hard to believe I've never read Tuesdays with Morrie. I'm going to chalk that up to living overseas when it was released. You simply miss out on several things, like best selling books and the OJ Simpson murder trial.

Since everyone's likely read this already, I thought I'd share one of my favorite passages. It relates so well to the anger and envy poisoning the world today:

Mitch, if you're trying to show off for people at the top,

forget it. They will look down on you anyhow.

And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom,

forget it. They will only envy you.

Status will get you nowhere...

Do the kinds of things that come from the heart.

When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious,

you won't be longing for somebody else's things.

Another One Done

I almost forgot! With my reading of Harriett Tubman's biography, I finished another 101 List item.

Confession: Right now this is feeling like the never-ending list. Whew.

Anyway - here's what I've read:

1. Washington
2. Lincoln
3. Escape from Korea (US serviceman shot down during the Korean War)
4. The Good Stuff (Cary Grant)
5. Harriett Tubman

If I am crazy enough to do another 101 challenge, I'm definitely keeping reading on the list!

More on Influence

I just finished another great biography - this time on the life of Harriett Tubman. The biography is unique because it was written within her lifetime by one of her supporters, Sarah Bradford.

Though I checked out a physical copy at my local library, thanks to the University of North Carolina, you can read it online here.

I knew that Harriett Tubman was one of the most famous escaped slave conductors on the Underground Railroad. But the story of her life, bravery, selflessness and absolute dependence upon God blew me away.

For the 300+ individuals that she led to freedom, plus the thousands of others that she inspired, Harriett Tubman lived a life of immeasurable influence.

It's one thing to talk (yell? rant?) about something you care about.

It's another to do something about it.

Good Stuff, Indeed

I've just finished the most wonderful biography about one of my favorite actors, Cary Grant.

Written by his only child, Jennifer, Good Stuff captures the essence of the man. And what a man he was!

In Print

It's official!

The book I previewed, Quitter, has hit the streets. And, as promised, Jon Acuff sent me a personal copy.

It was autographed and came enclosed with with a nice note.

Click photo to enlarge

Since his note encouraged me to turn to the end, I did. Sure enough - there I am! A member of the Quitter 100. Awesome.

Interested in reading my Amazon review (as well as those of others)? Click here.

A Note of Encouragement

I just finished reading Life of Pi.

Ten pages in, I decided that this was not one of my favorite books. I found it exceedingly hard to get into for the first 90+ pages. In fact, I considered giving up but thought I ought to finish a book that appears on so many collegiate required reading lists.

And sure enough, from page 97 on, it was a very fast and enjoyable read.

Anyway, I wondered if other readers had the same problem as I. Maybe they didn't have the fortitude to keep slogging through the disjointed Part One (pages 1-95).

So I decided to leave a bit of encouragement to keep plugging along.

New Reading Material

I keep a fairly full blog reader - I read decorating blogs, fashion blogs, work-related blogs, family and friend blogs and faith blogs. Every now and then I even take a bit of time to interact with my fellow bloggers.

One of my favorite faith blogs is Jon Acuff's Stuff Christians Like. It's satire {love} about a too-often taboo topic {faith}. A few months ago, Jon posted a question that dealt with the big What If question - What would you be if you weren't what you are now? (This isn't the exact question, but it's close enough.) 

Jon asked folks to send him a note that filed in the following blanks: I am _______, but I'd rather be a _______. 

Intriguing, huh?

I'm a big dreamer and I don't think I've had many days in life where I wasn't wishing I was _______ instead of _______, either personally or professionally - with the _______ determined largely by what I am interested in at the time.

So I responded to Jon with my particular _______ that month.

Imagine my surprise when I heard back from Jon a month or so later. He was writing a new book on following your Big Dream and wondered if I'd like to be part of a group that reviewed the final text, providing input and marketing direction.

Ummm.....yes! Of course I was interested.

A few weeks ago I found a large UPS package waiting outside the Hayley House. Inside was this:

That's right - a laser printed copy of the final manuscript, ready for my read-through.

{Note: you can enlarge that photo all you like and you won't see anything other than a note from Jon to me. That was, obviously, part of the deal and came complete with a non-disclosure agreement.}

I didn't imagine that one of the books I'd read for pleasure in March 2011 would be the galley of a new book. But it was - and, thankfully, reading it was a pleasure indeed! 

What I can share is that Jon's upcoming book, Quitter is an easy read. It features his typical wit and encouragement to slowly and securely embrace your dreams.

You can pre-order Quitter on April 4th. The official release date is May 10th. 

I've Got the Need-To *and* the Want-To

Isn't it interesting how a "task" or a "goal" can morph into a desire and a pleasure?

Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about my 101 List reading goal.

I love to read. I just don't have a lot of time free to read - so I gave myself a goal to read for pleasure, to work through biographies and autobiographies that have been languishing on our bookshelves and to patronize my local library.

When I was a kid, I suspect my parents were hard-pressed to get my nose out of a book and my tush in the backyard. If I had free time, I could be found curled up on the couch with a favorite book. I'd sneak in a few chapters after bedtime, thanks to a helpful mini-flashlight.

That book-reading passion followed me overseas. No television in my flat and freedom from the journal article-intensive reading of graduate school led to voracious reading. A chapter or two in the morning, a chapter or two over my lunch hour and late-night reading marathons. A book stuck in my purse to read while waiting in yet another unexpected queue. I'm sure I read at least two books a week.

There's nothing like a good book!

Even so, who could have expected that a small goal to read more - with actual "READ BY THIS DATE" deadlines could rekindle that passion?

Yet here I find myself deep in book-love. A chapter before heading out the door in the morning, a chapter before collapsing for the night.

Have you ever had a need-to turn into a want-to?

And what are you reading these days? I'm reading Water for Elephants this month, based in large part on an enthusiastic recommendation of a good friend.

Pardon Me

I have a friend who's a sucker for frogs. She has nearly every tchotchke imaginable with a frog on it.

While I don't share her Frog Fondness, I am a sucker for motivational books. I'm always looking for a book that reminds me of basic life principles that I already know, but somehow forgot.

At the booksellers, I find myself flipping through the latest from Seth Godin, Keith Ferrazzi, John Maxwell, Malcom Gladwell, and John Miller.

I recently ran across a motivational book that I'd not heard of before, Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy. His focus is on getting things done.

Now you tell me - who doesn't need help with getting things done?!?

So you wonder, what do frogs have to do with getting things done? I'll let Brian explain:

An old saying is that "If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long!"

Your "FROG" is the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don't do something about it now! It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.

Oooh...good point. Do the worst thing on the task list first, then it's uphill from there! Great idea!!

Pardon me - I'm off to eat a frog!

I have a host of books that have inspired me and given me new insight. Drop a note in the comments if you'd like to hear of other Must Reads.

Speaking of Blogs...

I do think it's time I confessed my very serious addiction to reading blogs. (And you thought I just loved to blog...)

It's somewhat of an obsession. A question that leads to a Google search that leads to a collection of really great blogs. A quick read usually satisfies my initial curiosity, but then there's the one blog that I run across.

The one that says: Bookmark me. Better yet, add me into Reader and follow everyday.

I don't even know what it is that captures my attention - beautiful photos, writing that inspires me, fun thoughts or creative ideas that I think I can co-opt for my own life.

In any case, my Reader list is embarrassingly long.

Here are the blogs that I'm following right now, minus the work-related, news-related, magazine-related, friend-related and family-related. I told you, I'm somewhat obsessed! Perhaps I should call this list:

Blogs That I Follow Written By People I've Never Met

• Budget Chic-How to Do Fashion on a Budget
• Chronicles of a Curious Cook
• Décor Assist
• Fit Bottomed Girls
• How to Eat a Cupcake
• Our Best Bites
• Simply Decorated
• The Cheap Chica
• The Inspired Room
• Young House Love
• What I Wore Today
• What Would Krissie Wear
• Work Chic

Some of these have made an appearance in my revised Sites I Visit list on my own blog.

This all makes me wonder if I've posted anything that's inspired folks to stalk my blog?

Just a Snip Away!

Ever since I left for college many years ago, I can count on one thing: Without warning, an overstuffed packet will arrive from my mom. Inside are dozens and dozens of newspaper clippings. Each has its own sticky note, with comments from Mom about the piece.

Sometimes Mom simply says: "Amen." Other times, she'll say: "This is an interesting perspective." Or: "Do you remember her?"

I love this, even though it takes hours to read through everything.

Maybe I should have included that in my "If Only Had" posting: If I only had 4 extra hours, I'd read articles from Mom...

I know what my Mom is thinking about. I know what she finds funny. I know her favorite editorial writers. Even though I live nearly 8 hours away, my Mom's thoughts are as close as the nearest stack of clippings.

Now, if only Mom had time to read the paper so I would receive a more reasonable stack more frequently instead of a mountain of clippings every three months or so!

What's Your Favorite Book?

I think I'm doing a relatively decent job of reading my monthly magazines and staying on top of professional development books (one every quarter...or so). But I don't think I'm reading enough for pleasure.

So I've joined a book club - online, no obligations, no meetings, no stress. But maybe if I get enough in the habit, I'll start a little book club through this blog. Wouldn't that be fun?

This started when a friend emailed and asked me what my favorite book was. Wow. What a tough question! Is "It depends" an acceptable answer?

I long for Africa - The No. One Ladies Detective Agency
I feel like roving - I Married Adventure
I want to be terrified by possibilities - any Tom Clancy novel
I need hope - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
I want to dream about the old days - any Laura Ingalls Wilder book

I could go on and on.

How about you? What's your favorite book?