Quarterly Reading Update

This year, I’m letting you know what I’ve been reading every three months. I’m running a little behind where I need to be, so for this update, there are only 19 titles to include.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey: This is a dystopian novel recommended by my daughter-in-law, Tiffany. She knows I like these kinds of books. This is the first in a series (as most dystopian novels these days are), and that’s fine by me. I’m not-so-patiently waiting for the second title to be released so I can see what happens next.

The Inferno by Dante: This is one of the titles my AP students chose last year for a group project. Since I reread all the books they are currently reading, a reread of this one was required. As usual, this one makes you think. Hell is definitely not a place you want to go.

The Natural by Bernard Malamud: This one has been on the AP list for a while, but this is the first time it was chosen, so it was my first opportunity to actually read it. I had watched the movie before. It stars Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs. This movie was one of my favorites.  And then I read the book. I always say the book is better than the movie, but I’m having a hard time with this one, mainly because I saw the movie first. I knew as I was reading that the movie was vastly different but after finishing the book, I re-watched the movie just to be sure. The character of Roy Hobbs is much more likable in the movie. He’s not a very nice guy in the book. That being said, I could probably justify why the movie changed things up, but I’m still a purist, and I still believe movies should stay true to the texts they’re based on. Granted, I would’ve had a hard time watching Robert Redford play such an unlikable character, but I believe Redford could have pulled it off and made Hobbs more sympathetic, even if he played him as written in the original text.

Life Lessons from the Bradys by Anthony Rubino, Jr.: This is a short book of witty life lessons that can be learned from watching The Brady Bunch, and those lessons are articulated and are just as cheesy as the TV show. However, this is my all-time favorite sitcom from my childhood, and I’ll read anything related to this show or these characters. That said, there are many good life lessons to be learned from the Bradys. The book, however, will make more sense and be funnier if you’ve actually watched all episodes of The Brady Bunch, and especially if you’ve watched them often enough to quote them verbatim.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway: This is another of the AP books for last year’s projects, and this is also the first time I’ve read this work. I liked the story but I was very disappointed in how the book ended. Given what I know of Hemingway, it makes perfect sense that he would choose to end the book the way he did, but I still didn’t like it. Nor did the group who presented this book.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote: This is another of the AP books for last year’s projects. Many of the students are intrigued by this one because they’ve heard of the movie or they recognize Tiffany’s jewelry store. It’s a short, easy read, and overall, it’s much more pleasant than other Capote works I’ve read.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: This is the final book that was used for an AP group project. This is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was appreciative of the opportunity to read it again. It’s a fresh read every time. I will always look forward to a visit with Scout, Dill, Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia, Boo, and the rest of the residents of Maycomb, Alabama.

Good Call: Reflections on Faith, Family, & Fowl by Jase Robertson: I’m a fan of Duck Dynasty. There, I admitted it. I love the family-friendly atmosphere of the show. I appreciate that there can be a show of good, clean fun, with no cursing. When the Robertsons have put out a book, I’ve been one of the first to buy it, and I have to finish whatever I’ve been reading quickly so I can get to read it. I like how the books show they are just ordinary people getting to have an extraordinary experience. They haven’t always had it easy, but they don’t act entitled, and they believe they are responsible for their actions. What a refreshing point of view in today’s society.

The Women of Duck Commander by the Robertson Wives: Here’s the story of the ladies married to the Robertsons. Again, they haven’t always had it easy, and some of them make some hard confessions, but it just shows that they are real people, faced with real problems, who stand by what they believe in. This is another good read.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: I needed a short book to get another title in May, so I went to this classic, which believe it or not, I’d never read before. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I was shocked, yet not shocked, by the end of this one. I can see what it happened the way it did, but wished there’d been another option.

Matched, Crossed, Reached by Allie Condie: These three books are more dystopian novels, and again, these were recommended by my daughter-in-law Tiffany. I really enjoy all the different ways these authors present their dystopian novels, while at the same time, wondering how much longer before we actually live in a society such as the ones presented in these novels. Everybody always wants to believe that it can’t or won’t happen, but I’m not so sure. I did enjoy these books, and as usual, we can learn a lot about the importance of taking action to ensure our society doesn’t become a dystopia. Apathy will be the death of us.

The 8th Confession, The 9th Judgment, 10th Anniversary, 11th Hour, 12th of Never by James Patterson: I had gotten really behind on Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club books, and so I finally decided to catch myself up on the series. I love Patterson’s books. They’re fast-paced which makes them easy to read. There’s enough mystery to keep a reader wondering what’s going to happen next and guessing at who the bad guy really is. If you haven’t read any Patterson, particularly the Alex Cross or the WMC books, I highly recommend them.

A book I can’t tell you about just yet by an author I can’t disclose: I also had the pleasure of reading a book written by a friend of mine. This book is not yet published, and I had the opportunity to read it and offer proofreading and feedback services. It was a great read, and I hope that sometime in the future, I can reveal more about this book to you because I’m hoping to see it published.

And there you have it, what I’ve read between April 1 and June 30. I have eight books already chosen for reading in July, and I’m certainly looking forward to getting started. After all, when I do this again at the end of September, I really need to have 23 books to include. So with that, I’m off to continue reading.

A New Year Brings New Resolutions

Happy New Year! 2013 has arrived, and with the arrival of the New Year comes the arrival of new resolutions. I’ve spent a lot of time over the past month thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2013. Coming to terms with the resolutions of 2012, what was successful and what was not, was a month-long task, but it was one that allowed me to determine what I wanted to put on my list of resolutions for 2013. Again, I think the list should be a rather short one. The more things we include, the more difficult it is to achieve them.

It would be easy to include my two most successful resolutions from last year as resolutions for this year. The two successful resolutions were trying a new recipe every week and updating readers every month about the success, or lack thereof, of keeping my resolutions. It would be easy to tweak the recipe resolution to trying two new recipes per week, but I think that now that we are in the habit of trying at least one new recipe per week, we will continue to do so just because we like trying new dishes. Since the goal was such a success (85 new recipes in 2012), I don’t think simply increasing the number of recipes would make for a great resolution for 2013. Therefore, this will not be on the resolutions list for this year; what is now a habit cannot be a resolution. There’s not a lot I could do to tweak the updating goal. However, just because it’s not a resolution does not mean you will not be updated. As with the recipes resolution from last year, this one has become a habit, and as a result, at the end of the month, you will get the update on my success or failure for the month. It’s just not a resolution in and of itself this year.

That said, there were three resolutions where I did not achieve the blaring success that I had with the aforementioned ones. Those resolutions related to my writing, my reading, and my weight loss. As such, those three will be tweaked and new resolutions will be set. Because I like having five resolutions, I will also add two new resolutions for 2013.

Resolution # 1 – Writing. I will continue to write something every day, and I will continue to post to the blog every day. These things have become habit for me, and habits cannot be resolutions, so while I will continue to do them, they are not the resolution for 2013. Last year, I said I wanted to work on my project at least two days per week. As we know, that did not work out. Here’s the thing. This project has now been in the works for a year and a half, and that’s just since I revived it. It had been sitting there for a while before its revival. I guess the good news is that I have been working on it over that year and a half, while the bad news is that I haven’t been working on it nearly enough. Therefore, my resolution for writing is to finish the project. When I update you about the success or failure of my writing resolution each month, I’m not going to focus on whether I wrote every day or whether I missed a blog. The real goal here is to finish the project by the end of 2013. And when it is finished, I will reveal what it is.

Resolution # 2 – Reading. I set a goal to read 75 books in 2012. Although I did manage to break my personal record for number of books read in a year, I did not meet my goal of 75 books. Because this resolution failed in 2012, I’m going to give it another shot in 2013. Once again, I’m going to set a goal to read at least 75 books during the year 2013. Again, if I can just manage to read 6.25 books per month, I should be able to reach this goal. I managed to make a late run and came closer to 75 than I thought I would for 2012. Therefore, I will simply pace myself and will meet my goal of 75 books in 2013.

Resolution # 3 – Weight Loss. This resolution was the biggest failure for me in 2012. I managed by the end of the year to weigh a whopping one pound less than I did at the beginning of the year. I know I can do this, and I’m going to work a lot harder at it. My goal for 2012 had been to lose 20 pounds over the course of the year. I’m going to put more pressure on myself this year. My goal is to lose at least five pounds every month. If I can do that, I will lose 60 pounds by the end of the year. That still won’t put me at my goal weight, but it would be a heck of a start. I’m going to use two apps on my Kindle Fire (the WWPP – Weight Watchers Points Plus – Calculator and Lose It!) to help me track what I eat so that I can make sure I’m staying within the appropriate boundaries to lose the weight I want to lose.

Resolution # 4 – Classic Movies. Every year in December, I show the movie It’s a Wonderful Life to my classes. It’s a classic, and many of the students have never seen it. This made me think about other movies that are classics, ones that I have not seen. As a result, I have compiled a list of classic movies that I will watch by the end of the year. It is possible that I may watch other classic movies that are not on this list, but after reviewing several online lists of classic movies, these are the ones I have decided I should watch. They are: The Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, Schindler’s List, Citizen Kane, A Streetcar Named Desire, Sunset Boulevard, Rebel without a Cause, Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and White Christmas.

Resolution # 5 – Food. Since trying a new recipe every week is now a habit for my family, my food-related resolution for 2013 will deal with restaurants. With three of our four children living in Lexington, we make frequent trips there. We have our favorite restaurants, and we usually make it a point to visit one of those whenever we happen to be in Lexington. For 2013, we are going to diversify. We are usually in Lexington at least twice a month, and at various times throughout the year we are in places other than Pikeville and Jackson. At least once per month, we are going to go to a new restaurant. By the end of the year, we will have visited 12 new restaurants and may even add a new favorite to the list. If we’re feeling really frisky and adventurous, we might even order something that we would never ordinarily consider ordering, though I’m not going to make that part of the resolution.

There you have it. My five resolutions for the year 2013. Five is a manageable number. Three of the five are more difficult and will require a significant amount of work on my part. The other two are fairly easy and shouldn’t be difficult at all to achieve. Remember, though, that we do need to feel good about ourselves, which means we have to have some success along the way. Hopefully the ease of the last two resolutions will help keep me inspired and motivated to achieve the more difficult first three. Either way, I’ll keep you posted.