Blogaversary

         

                       I couldn’t let the day go by without wishing my blog a Happy 7th Blogaversary!

Seven years ago with trepidation I hit the publish button of my first posting. 

I really had no idea what direction the blog would take, but I felt compelled to post my thoughts out into the world. 

What I have enjoyed most about the blog is that it is a record of the last seven years. Sometimes when I think it may be time to quit, I can’t quite do it. This year I am committing to posting at least once a month. 

However, if January is an indication of the rest of the year it looks like I’ll be posting weekly about the books I am reading this year. 

Spidy

I got a call the other day from my daughter and middle grandson. He’s four now, and is quite pleased with the Spider-Man haul he got for his birthday. 

Unbeknownst to him he still has a few more gifts remaining due to his party being postponed because of family illness. 

In the call he was asking or reminding me about a Spider-Man Golden Book we had seen online. He was curious if I had gotten it yet. 

Know I don’t know about you, but when you get a FaceTime call from your four year old grandson asking about a book you had mentioned you might keep an eye out for, you get right on Amazon as soon as you hang up to order it. 

One of the other gifts he had received from two brothers who are friends of him was a really cool Spider-Man hooded towel. 

When I was babysitting the other day he requested that I take a picture of him wearing it. I must say it was really cool!

Inferno

This actually was a bonus book for me. Inferno by Dan Brown is a book that I started months ago before we moved. 

I enjoyed it, but was struggling to stay focused while reading it at first. Since I had a few days left in the week I decided to go ahead and finish it. 

It’s a fascinating story that was published in 2013, but is extremely timely today. I’m not sure I would have felt the same way about it if I had read it when it was first published. 

If you like Dan Brown books this one won’t disappoint. Along with nonstop action you will feel like you just took a trip to Italy. 

The Nightingale

This book by Kristin Hannah has become one of my all time favorites.

I LOVED this book!

I’ve never read anything by her before, but I’m looking forward to reading more of her work. Brittany gave me a copy of Firefly Lane  which I intend on reading later in the year. 

This book takes place during WWII in occupied France, and is the story of two very different sisters, and their place in the war. 

Although, complete opposites they both are equally courageous in their own way. I learned so much about the history of France during the war, and the struggles endured by all. 

This book brought a tear to my eye several times, and although it was almost six hundred pages in length it was hard to put down, and easy to read. 

My interest in this war has led me to read a book belonging to my father, Killing Patton, which to be honest I doubt I would ever have picked up. It’s held my interest so far, and I’ll report on it when I finished. 

I highly recommend this wonderful story. 

Outer Order Inner Calm

This book is written by one of my favorites. Author, teacher, and speaker, Gretchen Rubin is a modern day philosopher in her own right. 

I happened upon Gretchen over ten years ago when her book, The Happiness Project, caught my attention.

I began following her blog, and found Gretchen to be a kindred spirit. Her advice, “Be Gretchen” or in my case “Shari” changed my life. 

For the first time it allowed me to feel content in who I was, and the lifelong struggle to fit into the “norm” became less consuming. 

Her “You can choose what you do, but not what you like to do,” was liberating. It allowed me to embrace all the “quirky, unconventional things” I liked to do that did not seem to be so common with most people I knew. It also gave me the opportunity to pass on things that I really didn’t enjoy doing just because “everyone” else was doing them. 

I’ve been fortunate to hear Gretchen speak on three occasions. I’ve also met her twice in person, and have signed copies of her books. 

Outer Order Inner Calm has been a mantra of mine ever since the first time I read her findings on how much order contributes to happiness. Being a naturally ordered person I did not find this shocking, but it did help remind me that the state of my purse or my pantry were often representative of my thoughts at that time. 

This book is a quick read, and chocked full of not so much organizational tips, but rather individualized ideas about how much order you require in your own life. 

It was the perfect book to read during my second week when my first choice fell through. 

If you are unfamiliar with Gretchen’s work, her blog and podcast are a great place to start. 

“Order is Heaven’s first law.”

Alexander Pope

Atlas of the Heart

I was really excited about this book. I had seen it at Walmart and talk about judging a book by its cover. It was beautiful inside and out. 

When a neighboring community book store posted that they would be doing a discussion on the book in February, I was all in. 

When I first began reading this book by popular author and speaker Brene Brown, I was hopefully optimistic that I would not only enjoy reading it, but would learn something new as well. 

In her defense she did point out to me that our emotions go well beyond just happy, sad and mad. I began reflecting on certain experiences in my own life, and tried to identify which emotion was displayed. 

As I read further along I began to notice a pattern in her writing. It became obvious that we probably didn’t vote for the same candidate for president. It’s not that I could never read a book written by someone with a different opinion. What bothered me was her book about emotions had morphed into a book about her political point of view which she stated as fact and not opinion. 

I was curious how that would play out ten years down the road when the truth of history would have revealed itself. 

I also noticed that at this point in my life I’m no longer depending on myself and the world to solve my problems. I’ve put my trust in God to help me know which step or path to take next. 

It bothered me just a tad that she was doling out advice as an “expert” and yet she was under the care of her own therapist. I couldn’t help but wonder if we had the blind leading the blind here. 

I gave myself permission, reluctantly, to put the book down half way through. I realized I had never really considered what I would do in my challenge if I wasn’t enjoying the book. 

I ended up choosing a very short book from my library that could easily be finished in a few days to complete the week. 

The Alchemist

As you may have seen in a prior posting I have taken on a 52 week book challenge this year. I thought I would make a posting about each book I’ve read.

I’m not doing this so much as a book review, but more as a record of what I have read. 

The first book I read was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book was originally published in 1993 when I was in the thick of parenting,however, I do remember somewhere along the line hearing about it. 

I purchased a 25th anniversary edition from my local used bookstore primarily because of how the book felt. 

I am drawn to a beautifully published book, and the small size, and texture of the cover and pages compelled me to purchase a copy of the book. 

It was a lovely story that inspired me to look for my “personal legend” ( what you’ve always wanted to accomplish) in each stage of my life. 

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”