Searching for Direction & Purpose in Life's Sea of Opportunities
A couple of years ago, I encountered a paper assignment from a class taught by my literary hero, Kurt Vonnegut. In reading the assignment, I realized that as an undergrad I would have dropped the class. It would have terrified me. Even just thinking about it made my chest tight. Out came my Adventure Girl cape. I… Continue reading Adventure Girl Disappoints Vonnegut
The end of the year is such a good time to think about where I’ve been and where I’m going. For me, there is nothing like a deadline to get things done. I’ve read a lot of books this month to boost my annual total even higher, and even though I’ve been working at a new… Continue reading Forward and Back
Two weeks ago I finished reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. I am all about throwing things away and everything having a very specific home. Because of that, I put this in my library queue. In the four months it took for me to make it to… Continue reading Tidying Up
Tomorrow is Friday the 13th. To me, that ominous day is more associated with scary things than Halloween. That association is the direct result of the movie franchise. I used to love scary things. I read Stephen King religiously starting in junior high. He is such a good author: He is able to make things jump out… Continue reading Friday the 13th
I've mentioned before that one of the ways I find new books is to check out the long list for the different book awards. When the Man Booker Prize list was released, I was tickled to discover that I'd already explored two of the ten finalists. Admittedly, I didn't like one (Satin Island by Tom… Continue reading And the Winner Is
I love learning about soon-to-be released books. I have a list that I periodically check against my library's catalog so that I can claim my spot in the queue. Occasionally I get to be the first person to read a copy, which is such a huge treat. My love for reading newly released books does… Continue reading The Martian
While I was listening to my fun new-to-me podcast BookRiot, I heard an ad for Scribd, a service that allows for unlimited audiobook streaming for only $8 a month. I listen to a LOT of audiobooks, and the library has been slow in getting me titles lately, so I figured I'd give the one month… Continue reading Free Option is Best
Last Friday I experienced something I hadn't in a long time: I considered calling in sick so I could finish reading my book. I typically drive in to work a bit early to take advantage of lighter traffic. I spend that extra time either writing blog posts (like this one) or reading. Friday I was… Continue reading Book Bug
In reading an interview with my favorite Japanese author, Haruki Murakami, I became obsessed with one of his lines: When I start to write a story, I don’t know the conclusion at all and I don’t know what’s going to happen next. He writes so he can find out what happens! How cool is it that the… Continue reading How Does It End?
Over the weekend I finished Seveneves by Neal Stephenson, all 861 pages of it, with only two days to go in my three-week borrowing period from my local library. There were times when I wasn't sure I would be done in time, but taking vacation last week made it possible. (That's not why I took vacation, but it… Continue reading Book Discovery
Grown Up, Now What? 