Next up: Sally Koslow

Admittedly, I have been a little slack with the reading lately. I've been spending more time blogging and focusing on my new diet eating plan. But last night I found myself in the book section of Target and I was like a kid in a candy store. Unfortunately I had my entire family with me and I wasn't able to truly enjoy myself. I had to make a quick decision and I went through a few books before I settled on one.

This week I am going to read The Late, Lamented Molly Mox, by Sally Koslow. It is a Target Club pick about a girl who dies suddenly and relives the years and days leading up to her death from the hereafter. For some reason, it spoke to me. I'm excited to get started!

Postcard Killers by James Patterson

Ok, I'm a convert. I see why everyone who read James Patterson reads all of his stuff! His writing just flows so well. His chapters are so short that I find myself saying, "Ok, just one more chapter, and then I'll put it down." That one chapter leads to another hour of reading. It's so hard to stop!

This is the first murder mystery novel of his that I've read and I was a little take aback by the gory picture that he painted for the first killing. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't ready for it. And in hindsight, it wasn't even that bad! Fortunately, he didn't describe each murder in detail.

The other thing I didn't expect was a sex scene. Again, I'm not sure why I didn't expect that, but I didn't. I was thrilled though. As a woman, I appreciate a good sex scene in a book! The scene in this book was short, and not super erotic, but it fit the story and the characters.

Overall, this was a great book! I read it in 2 days because of my inability to put it down! I read it while my 2 year old watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse during the day, and when my husband was watching football at night! Now I have to pick out the next James Patterson book that I'm going to read. My husband has plenty to choose from, so I don't even need to leave the house! He swears by the Alex Cross books, so maybe that will be a good place to start!

Dead Until Dark

This is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I've already watched season 1 of True Blood which was loosely based on this book. I think it was actually pretty close to the book with a few character exceptions, and of course the sex scenes that were added for the TV audience.

I started reading this book long before I had watched even one episode of True Blood. For some reason I wasn't immediately taken in. It sat in my room for months, untouched. This time I was determined, and actually excited to read it. I really enjoyed it, and didn't put it down much for a few days!  I now see why everyone reads the whole series. The books aren't complete in and of themselves. They lead you to the next one with a non-ending. So now I'm waiting not-so-patiently until I can get a hold of the next book in the series. I don't even know what it's called, but I'm sure my best friend still has a copy!

On a side note, I don't know what it is about vampires, but I am hooked! I have read the entire Twilight Saga, and now I'm getting into this series. I watch The Vampire Diaries and True Blood on TV, and I own Twilight and New Moon on DVD. Seriously...it's getting a bit excessive. My husband makes fun of me, but I don't care! It's not like I'm the only one. Most of my friends are the same way! We're even making plans to get Eclipse on DVD at Midnight on December 4th.

Coming up...

It's been almost a week since I've read anything. I've been really busy with Halloween and then my son's 9th birthday party this weekend. I spent a lot of time baking and cleaning, and neglected a lot of other stuff, including this challenge. I've decided to read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. It's the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series that the show True Blood is based on. My best friend wanted me to read this series of books so bad that she bought me the first one. I started it months ago, but because I was also watching the series from the beginning on DVD, it was too much. I needed a little distance from the show to get back into the book.

Now it  has been several months since True Blood season 3 ended, and I haven't seen the first season since before that. I'm hoping that when I pick this book back up, it will feed by True Blood thirst (pun intended). Yeah, I'm a dork. This I know!

The Perfect 10 Diet

I finished this book last week, and I've been following its principles for about 10 days now. I'm down almost 7 pounds and I feel great! I'm sleeping better and I wake up feeling more rested than I ever have! My mood swings have evened out a little (still hoping for more on that front) and my energy level is increasing.  So far, I'm a believer!

So let me tell you what this book is all about. It's a healthy way of eating the puts 10 key hormones in balance to ensure overall health and weight loss. Here are the basics:
1. No sugar- real or artificial (this means no diet soda for me- which wasn't easy)
2. No grains/starches for the first 3 weeks (after that they're gradually added in)
3. No refined/white carbs such as pasta, white rice, white bread, etc...
4. 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (no more than 2 servings of fruit)
5. No manufactured oils such as corn, safflower, canola, soybean, etc. This is a hard one. They're in everything!
6. 40% carbohydrates-20% protein-40% fat intake daily
7. Increase healthy fats like coconut or macadamia oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter and avoid all trans fats
8. No processed meats containing nitrites/nitraites
9. Exercise daily (I'm still working on that one!)
10. Eat full fat dairy, but keep it to a minimum

So it's basically a whole foods kind of diet with a focus on the purest, most organic ingredients. Because of this book I have now been to Trader Joe's and fully appreciate its greatness! I am eating fish 3 times a week and drinking a ton of water! I now understand how my eating affects the hormones that keep me healthy and I have committed to learning to eat this way, hopefully for life!

One of the controversial topics in this book is Saturated Fats. For years we've been told that it's bad for us and is linked to heart disease. Dr. Aziz says that in fact there is no link between saturated fats and heart disease. He writes that the body makes its own saturated fat and it is necessary for producing sex hormones.

The thing that I enjoyed most about this book was Dr. Aziz's description of how insulin and glucagon affect so much of our metabolism and other hormones. I learned about these hormones in Anatomy and Physiology class, but it was never explained as clearly as it was in the book. It's because of this that I was able to give up sugar...at least for now. I don't ever want to go back to my old way of eating now that I know what it was doing to my body!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, etc...If you're just looking to shed a few pounds, I'd recommend it for you too!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

This book was so short that I read it in one day, within a few hours. Having read all of the other Stephenie Meyer books it just made sense to read this one as well! It fills in the gaps where the newborn vampires of Eclipse are concerned. Bree's existence is only known for about 5 minutes in Eclipse, but the reader never knows how she came to be and the life that she and the other newborns lived prior to the attack on the Cullens.

I have to be honest...this book was a quick and easy read, but it didn't provide any earth shattering insights. The most important bit of information taken from this book was the fact that the Volturi were aware of Victoria's plan and they were on board. Other than that, it's really only about 50 normal pages (regular sized print and margins) of story and it's only marginally interesting.

I'm also reading The Perfect 10 Diet  this week. If you'd like to follow my health overhaul visit my other blog, Musings of a Cul-de-Sac Mom. 

The Host

I chose The Host by Stephenie Meyer this week. I'm a fan of her other books, and really had no preconceived notions about this book. I had heard that it was good, but had no idea what the basic premise was. To put it mildly, I was shocked. It was so unlike the Twilight Saga...at first. By the end, I realized that the overall story wasn't so different.

What I love about Stephanie Meyer is her ability to write about the unbelievable while convincing you somehow not to question it. I mean, let's be serious- vampires and werewolves? body snatching aliens? I didn't think I could get into her books just by the mere mention of the subjects. Her genius lies in making the story so intriguing that you forget that the characters are supernatural. She doesn't get bogged down in technical jargon, and she doesn't spend a tremendous amount of time on the science fiction part of things. She focuses on the relationships between the characters and makes sure that you care so much for them that you overlook that they are not quite human.

To be honest, after the reading the first few pages of this book I wasn't sure I would be able to finish. The idea of aliens taking over human bodies and then living as their "host" was a bit absurd to me. I generally don't like science fiction. I didn't even watch the X-Files at the height of its popularity. It wasn't long though before I was completely wrapped up in the characters and their relationships. I found myself imagining the crazy world that Wanda and Melanie lived in. I was pulling for the characters to survive and find their way to each other.
By the end I wanted more!

One of the best things about this book was the bonus chapter. It covers the time that Melanie and Wanda are apart, before Wanda is aware of what's happening. All too often those scenes are left to the imagination, and if the movie rights hadn't already been sold to this book, chances are that chapter wouldn't have been written. It will be interesting to see what they do with the movie!

So overall, I liked this book and I would recommend it! It is exceptionally long, as almost all of Meyer's books are, but worth the effort!

Week 4...and 5, and 6, and maybe 7

Okay, so it took me a little longer to read this last book than the first 3. In my defense, I took a 10 day vacation to Florida, which in and of itself, means several more days of preparing and recuperating! I'm not sure I can keep up the book a week pace that I originally hoped for, but I'm going to keep reading until I've read 52 books. I'm still optimistic that I can do it in a year. I'll just have to double up a few weeks! Any suggestions for future reads?

I have 2 books on the list for next week. One is a self-help kind of book for my health and it's called The Perfect 10 by Dr. Aziz. I read a good bit of it in the bookstore today because it was recommended to me by a friend. She has been putting its principles into use, and has seen a marked improvement in her overall health. The other book is Stephanie Meyer's only book that I have yet to read, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella . My best friend has a copy and I'm trading her for The Host. I figure it will hold me over until Eclipse comes out on video on December 4th!

Week 3: Sam's Letters to Jennifer

I sat down with this book while my 2 year old was in the bathtub. I sat on a bath mat and leaned against the cabinet. It wasn't the most comfortable place to read, and it sure didn't hold a candle to the comfy chair that I had in the mountains last week, but it worked. Fortunately, my husband came to get my son out of the tub, so I was able to keep reading...and reading...and reading. I didn't stop until I reached the end of the book!

The thing I loved most about this book was the positive message; life is short, so live it to the fullest. One of my favorite lines in the book is a quote from an artist. It goes something like this, "Life is a blank canvas, so you should throw everything you can at it" What a great quote! I think it is going to be  my new motto.

Aside from having a great message, I really related to the main character in the book. She is an overachiever who never misses a deadline at work, and suffers from a tragic loss that has prevented her from truly reaching her full potential. The loss in my life was my father. When he died, I felt like a piece of me went with him. It took me a long time to look at the world in a positive light again. I didn't know how to live in a world where he didn't exist. It's still hard, but I am finally in a place to believe that a piece of me didn't die with him. In fact, I believe the opposite...that a piece of him remains here with me! This book really solidified that for me. It's what we do with the memories that matter, and I'm so fortunate that my dad and I were able to make so many great memories during out time together.

As for being an overachiever...I swear it should be listed as one of my nicknames (and it is if you ask my best friend)! I am always taking on more projects and I have a hard time just sitting still. When I do something, I want to do it well- the first time. What I'm working on is letting go of that. I am trying new things (like this challenge), and seeing where the world takes me! For the first time in a long time I don't have a definite plan. I'm open to new possibilities and though it's a strange place for me, I'm learning to enjoy it. I'm living in the moment and making memories with my loved ones. Life is too short to be bogged down by plans, schedules, duties and the like. I want to live while the living is good!

I did it!

I read 2 entire books in 2 weeks, and found the time to blog about it! That may not sound like much, especially since I'm committed to reading 52 books in 52 weeks, but it is a huge accomplishment for me to just get through the first 2! I can't tell you how long it's been since I've read so much in such a short time. I have 3 kids and I work part-time, so it's not easy to find time to read. I was able to finish The Doctor's Wife this weekend, while relaxing here:

Near Boone, North Carolina

We took a mini-vacation with some friends to the North Carolina mountains where we enjoyed the crisp air, a great view and good company! It was just what we all needed.  I had a big comfy chair and more down time than I would have had at home, so I took advantage of it! Not only did I finish The Doctor's Wife, but I was able to get started on another book!

This week I had planned on reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I've read the Twilight Saga that she wrote, and enjoyed them immensely. This one looks quite different, but after reading the first few chapters in the mountain, I'm intrigued! Unfortunately, due to our trip and some other commitments that I have this week, I don't think I have time to read such a lengthy book (Why does she write such long books?).  So I've decided to go with Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson. It's a book my husband bought me after I read Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas a few years ago. He reads a lot of James Patterson novels, so when I showed some interest, he was supportive!

So this week it's Sam's Letters to Jennifer.  I already took it off the shelf and dusted it off, and we are ready to go! Hopefully I'll get to The Host next week!

The Doctor's Wife

I picked this book off the shelf at Walmart one day because I liked the cover, and the synopsis on the back. It's a story about 4 people whose lives intertwine in unforeseeable ways. The doctor, is an OB-GYN who moonlights at an abortion clinic. His wife is a writer and a professor at a local college. Their relationship is strained by his long hours at work, and unwillingness to make time for the rest of the family. When he starts working at the abortion clinic, he not only pisses off his partners, but he catches the eye of an anti-abortion group who begin to target him and his family. In the meantime, his wife becomes increasingly unhappy with their marriage and runs into someone who makes her feel alive again.

The other couple that this story revolves around is a famous, but almost extinct painter, and his beautiful wife.  His wife was his muse, and the subject of the paintings that put him on the art world's map. They have a sordid, almost incestuous past, and their relationship has faded to the point that he is no longer inspired or in love. He finds new inspiration from the doctor's wife and the story begins to unfold. Throw in some mental instability and a manipulative religious figure, and you have a recipe for disaster!

The story begins at the end, which was a little confusing. Each chapter was dedicated to a different character, and I found that it jumped around a bit. Overall, I thought the book was a good read, and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The story contains themes of adultery, abortion, mental illness, religion (if you can call it that) and politics. It forces you to look at these subjects and decide which side you would be on.  I enjoyed the plot twists and the way the author took you through the sordid pasts of some of the characters.

I'm hesitant to talk about some of the topics in this book because abortion, adultery and religion are things that most people feel very strongly about. However, I will say this...Given the right situation, I believe all of us are capable of cheating.  When a person who continually feels unappreciated and lonely allows him/herself to be in a compromising situation with another person who is able, and perhaps all too willing, to give them what they need emotionally and/or sexually, the results are likely to be a torrid affair. Whether right or wrong, it can happen to anyone. The key is not to put yourself in those situations.

Similarly, it's easy to denounce the practice of abortion, but I believe that the right situation could make one change his/her mind.  Most would think twice when it was their own family member faced with an unwanted pregnancy that was the result of a deplorable situation.  It's not always black and white!

I'm going to save religion for a separate entry but I can't end this entry without noting that I detest those who use the guise of religion to manipulate and/or harm others. It happens everyday, and I have no tolerance for it!

Okay...I'm getting off my soap box now!

My Final Thoughts about Eat Pray Love

The point of this blog is not to critique the books I'm reading as a whole, but I find that it's hard not to write at least about my reaction to the books. This week, the book I read has been made into a major motion picture, and I saw the film first. I'm glad I saw the film first, and read the book second. In this case, it worked.

The only thing I didn't like about seeing the movie first was that I pictured the characters as they were cast for the film, instead of how they are described in the book. The one character in particular that is markedly different is Felipe. In the movie, Javier Bardem plays the character, and although he looks like he's older than Julia Roberts, you definitely don't see the almost 20 year age difference that the book describes. He doesn't have white hair and isn't balding like the real Felipe. I have to say though, that I'm glad he was cast the way he was for the movie. If I had read the book first, it would have bugged me, but seeing the movie as a separate entity, I understand why they made the change for the big screen.

I could spend a lot longer on the differences between the book and the movie, but that's not really what I'm here for, right?!

So overall, I really enjoyed both the movie and the book. I love that it made me think about my own life in a way that I was desperately trying to do on my own, but didn't have the strength, or know-how, or whatever it was that I needed to do so. I love that in the end, she found the balance that she was looking for, and she changed the lives of others along the way. 

"So that's the final lesson, isn't it? When you set out in the world to help yourself, you inevitably end up helping...Tutti (everybody)." p 274

I am looking forward to the sequel to this book, Committed, but I want to sit with this one for a while before I jump into it. Next week I'll be reading The Doctor's Wife, by Elizabeth Brundage. I picked it up at Walmart today, and it looked like a good read. Hope I'm right! 

Some of My Favorite Quotes

Eat, Pray, Love is full of great quotes. So many, in fact, that I'm going to share a few of favorites here.

 "It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else's life with perfection." Page 95

I think this is so important for so many reasons. As a woman, and more importantly as a mom, I find myself trying to live up to the expectations of others. And by others, I really mean my own misguided expectations of what I think people expect of a mother in her thirties.

As little girls, we all picture our grown-up lives and what we want it to include. For me, the fantasy always included a handsome husband, a couple of kids and a full-time job where I was able to be prove how wonderful and smart I was! Even though not everyone wants what I wanted, I still thought that that is what was expected of me. I didn't work long and hard in school to be a stay at home mom, living on my husband's money! But somehow, that's what I'm doing. Sort of.

The older I have gotten, the more that fantasy has changed. Being a stay at home became a privilege and a luxury that many mothers wished they could afford. I can now appreciate what I have and I feel so lucky to be the one that has raised my children- every day. I still feel the need to try and show the world how wonderful and smart I am, but I'm trying to live MY life better-- not the life I think I should have had, or the one I thought society/my friends/my family may have expected of me. I no longer strive for perfection, which is remarkably freeing!
                     ______________________________________

"You're like a dog at the dump, baby-- you're just lickin' at the empty tin can, trying to get more nutrition out of it. And if you're not careful, that can's gonna get stuck on your snout forever and make your life miserable. So drop it." page 149

This little bit of wisdom can be applied to so many situations in life. Whether you're hanging on to the "one that got away," or you can't let go of the guilt from past mistakes, it's usually just better to drop it! Let it go and accept it for what it is. Life is too short to stay focused on the negative.

                  _______________________________________

This next one pretty much speaks for itself. If we could all do this there would be a lot less religious strife in the world.

"I have good idea, for if you meet some person from different religion and he want to make argument about God. My idea is, you listen to everything this man say about God. Never argue about God with him. Best thing to say is, 'I agree with you.' Then you go home, pray what you want. This is my idea for people to have peace about religion." p 241

In other words, can't we all just get along?!
                   _____________________________________

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around  the world looking for it." p 260

I believe this whole heartedly. Happiness isn't an accident or a stroke of luck. Like most worthy things in life, one has to put in some effort...take some personal responsibility. I think that it is up to each of us to decide our own destiny.

Perhaps this is a concept that is easier for me to subscribe to, since I don't put my happiness in God's hands.  I know enough people who give Him the glory for all good things in their life, and fault themselves for any negative happenings. I don't get that. But if you think about it, you can believe in both. If you believe God will provide the happiness that you seek, then your job, your  personal responsibility is to pray, and do the things that make you feel closer to God. Either way, happiness doesn't just land in your lap.
                        
                         ___________________________________

And finally, a quote about love. That is, after all, what this book was about, right?

"To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life." p 298

I love this quote in particular because I think that's the beauty of love...it's knocks you off your feet, making you unbalanced, but without it, there is no balance in your life.
                      

52 Books: I’m not the only one

When I started this blog at 2am on a Monday, I didn't have the wherewithal or the forethought to Google the name that I had chosen to find out just how many other people are doing exactly what I'm doing. Apparently, there are a TON of people who have taken the '52 books in 52 weeks' challenge. I'm not sure where the challenge originated, and I don't really care, but I find it fascinating to read why others have chosen to take the challenge. It seems that many of the blogs dedicated to this challenge are set up to review the books themselves. I am definitely no competition there! I'm not sure how many of these writers are trying to make a name for themselves, or how many are searching for the balance that I seek. The problem is that I don't want to read too many of their entries, because I don't want to be influenced. I don't want to read a book because I liked someone's synopsis, or their reaction to the book. Similarly, I don't want to not read a book based on someone else's reaction to it.

So I am going to pretend that this is an original concept and there aren't hundreds of people all over the world doing precisely what I'm doing at this very moment. After all, they don't have the same frame of reference that I do. They hopefully don't have the same take on life either, making my blog interesting for what it offers that other do not. I will perhaps browse those other blogs when I have finished my journey, but I will resist for now.

The Permeable Membrane

For many reasons the following passage speaks to me. I loved it in the movie and I couldn't wait to find it in the book, so I could read it, chew on it for a bit, and then fully digest it. I know people who always live like this, and I have been guilty of it myself from time to time. It's dangerous, and it doesn't typically work out.

"To have issues with boundaries, one must have boundaries in the first place, right? But I disappear into the person I love. I am the permeable membrane. If I love you, you can have everything. You can have my time, my devotion, my ass, my money, my family, my dog, my dog's money, my dog's time—everything. If I love you, I will carry for you all your pain, I will assume your own insecurity, I will project upon you all sorts of good qualities that you have never actually cultivated in yourself and I will buy Christmas presents for your entire family….I will give you all of this and more, until I get so exhausted and depleted that the only way I can recover my energy is by becoming infatuated with someone else." Page 65, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I am sharing this passage because I think it's important, for women especially, to take control of their own happiness. Being in love shouldn't be a chore, and it shouldn't deplete you. It is supposed to lift you up, keep you warm at night, and keep you sane during the tough times. If you lose yourself in that one person, in that love, then what's left to be lifted? If your only way out, is to start all over loving someone new, then what have you gained?

Finding balance is a huge theme in this book, and now in my life. I want to feel whole…content… fulfilled. But I won't rely on someone else to make me feel that way. I am in control of my destiny. I will love with all of my heart, whether it's for my husband, my kids, my extended family, my friends, or my neighbors. There is a joy in loving openly, and I intend to welcome it. And just as fiercely as I feel that love, I will protect it. I have worked for the life that I have and no one will take it from me without a fight.

So I would say that my membrane is selectively-permeable, allowing some things to pass through and keeping others out. It allows me to maintain my boundaries, while being open to new experiences. It's permeable to the love that I have for others, and the love that they share back with me. However, I will retain my shape, and do my best to keep out those who would do me harm, however inadvertently. I will resist the urge to melt into my husband, taking on only his interests and sharing only his views. I will not allow myself to live only for the joy of my children, negating what is fulfilling to me. I can have it all, and I'm on my way to figuring that out…finally!

Week 1: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Not the original cover, but the
one that I prefer.

I mentioned in my introduction that seeing the movie that was based on this book inspired this journey. It's the reason I am examining my life under a microscope, and the book is the reason that I'm using books as my guide. I saw the movie before reading the book because that was how I chose to do it. I've done it the other way around and find myself comparing the movie to the book the entire time I'm in the theater, instead of enjoying the movie for what it is: entertainment. Sometimes it's fun to dissect movies and compare them to the original work of art, but more often, for me anyway, it's more fun to watch the movie first and fill in the gaps with the book after. I know many of you won't share that view, and that's okay. It works for me.

So back to the book… I am now over half way through the book and I can't seem to put it down. Having seen the movie, I know (or at least I think I know) how it ends, and yet, I'm still drawn to the story like I don't know what's going to happen. That's the beauty of books, I think. You can know the overall story line, but it's how the author takes you through the story that makes it interesting. I have found that this book in particular, is kind of all over the place. There is a predetermined organization to the book that I understand, and expected after reading the introduction, but I still get a little lost trying to follow the author's thoughts sometimes. In spite of that, I have already dog-eared several pages that contain passages that I want to revisit, to either discuss here, or share with people in my life. This book is full of insight, inspiration and wisdom.

While I don't share the author's despair and history of depression, I do share her longing for a bigger purpose in life. I have what I have always wanted, yet I still feel like something is missing. In the book, Liz was missing the ability to truly experience pleasure. She was missing a connection to God and needed to find the right balance between the two. If I am honest with myself, I have to say that, like Liz, I am often guilty of not letting go and experiencing the full pleasure of a given situation...Hence, this journey. I am also searching for the right balance, but not between God and pleasure. For me, I seek a balance between living in the here and now, enjoying the ride along the way, and challenging myself to find fulfillment through learning, working, playing and loving. If I can find that balance, I hope to find the sense of calmness in my inner self that I crave.

An Introduction

For most of my life, I enjoyed the books that I read, but each book was usually a means to an end. In the very beginning, books taught me vocabulary, and then how to read. Eventually I graduated from learning to read, to reading to learn. As I got older I read books so that I could write the paper, that would get me the grade, that would get me into college, that would get me the job that would allow me to help support the family that I would one day have. And that’s how I have lived most of my life…like a kid at a theme park wondering what ride I would go on next, instead of just simply enjoying the ride that I was on. The end, to which I have most dedicated the means to, was the adult life that I envisioned.

Now that I’m here, in the place that I always imagined I would get to, I find myself constantly wondering what’s next. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy getting to where I am now, or that I’m not enjoying being here, because I did, and I am. I have what I have always wanted…a wonderful marriage, 3 beautiful children, and a home in the suburbs where we are all safe and happy and healthy. So what is it that I’m searching for?

I’ve been wondering this question for a while now but it wasn’t until I saw a movie in a theater by myself for the first time that I found the inspiration to delve deeper. I recently spent an afternoon alone because my friends were busy and I needed to get out of the house without the kids tagging along. I decided to go see the movie Eat Pray Love with Julia Roberts. I had seen the preview for this movie several times. In fact, I think it was 6 times; once for each time I went to the theater to see Eclipse, the 3rd movie in the Twilight Series. Each time I watched the trailer I thought about how I would like to see it. But I got tired of waiting for the opportunity to present itself, so I took matters into my own hands, and went to see it on a Sunday afternoon…by myself. Did I mention that this was a first for me? The experience was cathartic, not only because of the content of the film, but because I felt like I had “crossed over,” like I was more enlightened somehow because I went to a movie alone. Strange, isn’t it? Something so simple made me feel like a different person. In all actuality, I think it had more to do with the movie, and how it spoke to me, but who knows?!

So I tell you all of this because this film, Eat Pray Love, inspired me. When the movie was over I went straight to the book store to get the book. Most people would say that was doing it backwards. That I should have read the book first and then saw the movie. I disagree, but I’ll save that for the next entry. The movie, and the book, inspired me to do more than just read. It inspired this blog, and the challenge that I am setting up for myself. I will read 52 books in the next year, one each week, and I will blog about it here. I will start of course, with the book I am currently in the middle of. Each book thereafter will be a book that I want to read for any reason or no reason whatsoever. I will write about how each book touches me, and pertains to my life, or to the lives of those around me. When the year is over, not only will I have read far more books than I ever would have otherwise, I will have a synopsis of my life for the year, as it pertains to what I was reading. I hope to be able to find what it is I am searching for (even if it is in hindsight), or at least be able to recognize what it is. That is why I am doing this in such a public forum. I am asking for your guidance and insights along the way.