The Joy of Reading

I posted before about how you should Kill Your TV. This could be a continuation on that. Reading is so amazing. Every time I pick up a new book after not having read for a while I say to myself, "Why have I been wasting time doing anything else?"

There is something about the way we engage with written word that is invigorating. As much as I love cinema, they do all the work for you. You are shown exactly what they want you to see, exactly as they want you to see it. In reading, we take back control of our imagination, of our own creativity. In the world of non-fiction, we are given something we can take at our own pace, contemplate in our own time.

If you don't consider yourself a "reader", ask a friend who is for a recommendation. Start with the classics, many of which are free for the Kindle. Often times becoming a reader is simply a matter of finding what style of books you like, what your favorite genre is. For me, it's Young Adult Fiction, mostly of the post-apocalyptic/dystopian variety. For a while I was ashamed, but then I learned to embrace it. Now, I am writing YA fiction!

If you feel like reading is boring, it's because you haven't found which books interest you. Don't write off the whole activity because you could never finished a book in your 10th grade English class. The variety of genres and sub-genres is endless. Find your niche and jump in, but don't get stuck there.  Every once and a while I venture out into other places in literature and non-fiction. Sometimes I am disappointed, and other times I'm glad. Luckily, there are more books than you can ever read, so if I'm not liking something, I move on. Don't force your way through it, or refuse to start another book because you are in the middle of this horrid one. Books don't mind if you cheat on them with other books, I am currently three-timing and that doesn't even take into consideration my Kindle.

Have I said Kindle enough? I was skeptical of this new-fangled device, yes another piece of electronic equipment I need to keep track of. But after I started to use it, I realized this: Kindle's are the way to go. I currently have 35 books on my Kindle. I can even check out books from the library. The convenience is unparalleled and if you don't get carried away with bells and whistles like colored screens, just buy a freaking tablet already!, you can get one for $79 and I am sure cheaper used or refurbed.*

Don't have time to read? Listen to audiobooks. I have two friends who do this almost constantly, they have "read" more than I can comprehend. If you have a long commute or mindless tasks to do at work, take a break from music and listen to a book. Unlike simply reading though, you have to be a little more  intentional about which audiobook you choose. A bad narrator can ruin the whole story. You are also giving away some of the control I mentioned earlier. You might have imagined someone's voice differently or read a description with a different feel or tone. One of the best audiobooks in my opinion is still one of the first I ever listened to, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It's a weird little story, read amazingly well.

There is no reason for you not to read. Appreciate the fact that you can, something that wasn't always the norm for this country and still isn't in parts of the world. Celebrate your literacy, not by reading another text message or Facebook status update, but with a work of art, one that a publisher deemed worthy enough to waste ink on.


What books recommendations do you have? What's your favorite genre?
I use Shelfari to organize what I have, would like to and am currently reading. Check out my shelf for recommendations, it isn't all YA fiction, I promise.



*No Amazon.com did not sponsor this post, though maybe I should be charging for the advertisement. If someone in power at Amazon is reading this and would like more posts of the sort, please feel free to contact me by clicking on the e-mail icon on your right to discuss fees and services.

The Reason for the Delay

Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted.

I've had some questions recently about why I am not writing on the Blog anymore and I thought I'd try to answer them.

Over the past 4 months I have been writing a book. It's really exciting and given me something to do with my time. It's challenged me and forced me to really think through how to express ideas. But it takes time and it makes me not want to write on the blog after writing other things all day. Also, I don't feel like I've had much to share with the greater community. In this blogs heyday, the whopping number of months that it was, I had ideas and encouragement that I felt was important enough to share with people. Now, I don't quite feel the same way. But I do feel some kind of stirring to write here again. So, I am not sure what form that is going to take or how often I will actually be posting. Hopefully more often then every 6 months and with better things than what you've just read.

Thanks for your patience, if there are any of you still reading this.

The Great Outdoors - Ebenezers

Our Ebenezer

We had an impromptu visit to Phoenix this weekend. Making a little mini Pittsburgh Reunion. Because it was Phoenix and we were with Pittsburgh friends of course we spent the whole weekend outdoors hiking. Our friend Jen happened to be in a boot from a broken foot and so we keep it somewhat simple. The last time we went to Phoenix we built an ebenezer and this time we spent our Sunday morning doing the same thing. We hiked through Superstition Canyon. It ended up being a great hidden place in the wilderness. It made you feel like you were the only ones up there, there were no signs of urban sprawl or civilization, aside from the other hikers. It was absolutely fabulous and in more ways than one breathtaking.

Diary of A Slogger, issue 6

I had a bad run today. Those ones where you aren't going any farther or faster and yet your body feels like it's doing double time. I am not sure if this happens to everyone, but it happens to me every once in a while and it sucks. Today was not one of the days that motivate me to keep running, it just gives me sympathy for those who say running and exercising sucks.

I always try to think of what I did wrong. Not enough of a warm up? Not enough or the wrong kind of food? I can never really put a finger on what is going on. This weekend we hiked quite a bit and my legs have been a little sore, maybe that has effected their ability. I also hadn't went for a run since Wednesday, I've been trying to run Monday, Wednesday, Friday every week.

I know that for me the trick to make myself keep going is two fold. First, set up a goal, like "you only have to go to the next intersection", once I get there I set up another. Yes it is lying to myself, but it certainly works. Second, I remind myself that the more days I put between this run and my next one, the harder it will be.

Do you ever have "bad runs"? What causes it? What do you do to keep going?

Writing

Pretty much since I can remember I wanted to write. I use to say that I wanted to be a marine biologist, but didn't every girl of my generation? I have been told by a few people that I can write, whatever that actually means. But I need to get over myself, more like my pride, and see what I can really do. That is why I want to start sharing things here. I know that most of the people who read this blog know me really well. I would rather you guys break my heart, than some random person I don't know. So don't look at it as breaking my heart, though I just used that phrasing, rather as sobering me into seeing something I can't see on my own.

I thought I would start with something small. I wrote a few of poems a bit ago. I was trying to get into the habit of writing on a regular basis. They were my first foray into poem writing and I am sure their form is probably all off. Poem writing is sadly a fading art form. After trying it myself, I have more appreciation for poets and the particular way they weave words together. Anyway, please let me know what you think, honestly.

#1

As the road winds long
around the wilting tree
The shining burns bright
off the hollow, stolen fruit
What stories does it tell
as it’s hung long?
What mysteries are kept
under it’s gleaming thin
skin?

#2

The water drips down, down deep
Reaching dark into the chasm
It’s echo heard faint from the top
after straining far from the light
And as it falls down, down deep
you too seep into the hole
of black-filled dreams and cheerless cold.




Mary Oliver is a poet I have been enjoying recently. I would encourage you to read her work, particularly American Primitive, if this gets you in the mood to read poems.

Relapse - Part 2

I had finally gotten a handle on my last relapse. I was doing P90X again, biking, climbing; it was wonderful. Then we decided to move and everything got all gummed up.

Thankfully California is a great place to get back into healthy habits. Ben and I have been biking, walking on the beach and visiting some great hiking places around. All of which would not be normal middle-of-January activities. More importantly I have getting myself back into the normal routine of activity. I don't have any new "advice" to share since my last relapse, but I still wanted to post on this maybe just for some level of camaraderie.

After going back and forth about whether or not to run again, I finally decided to do it. For me running feels good. Today as I ran only about a mile I remembered that it makes me feel like I am going and getting somewhere. My lungs were burning and my legs were saying B**** please, but I keep telling myself that was because I haven't ran in probably 6 months. Soon the burning will dull and my legs will remember what it's like to work. As long as I keep pushing myself, keep getting out there, keep going. Maybe a great analogy for many things in life.

Hopefully this will be your encouragement to get out there and just do it, no matter how little or long, how slow or fast, how far or short. Thanks to my running friends for your unknown encouragement, especially Lauren and Jen.

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today."

Our New Bi-coastal Lifestyle

After some motivating words from different people and all the new things I seem to want to say, I have decided again to start up the blog...again.

Much has changed between the last time I wrote, which was only about 6 months ago. We are now living in Los Angeles, which has been a terrifying and wonderful change. The majority of my new posts are probably going to involve my reflections on this place and what it's like to start from scratch. Why did we decide to move across the country? It seemed exciting. It was by the beach. The weather is undeniably better than Pittsburgh. It is a large and diverse city. We can bike year around and go to farmer's markets. All these things are great, but none of them are worth leaving behind our community, our family. It is a wonderful thing to be surrounded by people who don't just love you, but know you. Something we have missed greatly in the last month that we have been here. The reason we left was because we couldn't deny that something was pushing us here. The doors kept being opened for us to come to this place. I don't know what wonderful things God has here for us, but I know that we aren't big/strong/important enough to mess up his plan. He is larger than our mistakes. And it is with that hope that we enter a new stage of our life. How ever brief it may be that we are here, we are ready for what it holds for us.

A great way to start a new year, with possibilities.



Take a deep breath of life
and consider how it should be lived....

Call nothing your own except your soul.
Love not what you are, but only what you may become.

Do not pursue pleasure
for you may have the misfortune to overtake it.

Look always forward:
in last year's nest, there are no birds this year.

From Man of La Mancha, By Dale Wasserman