Audiobooks We Listened To (Driving To and From Montana)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spacek


2. 48 Days to the Work You Love, written and read by Dan Miller (partial)

3. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, written and read by Steve Martin

4. Mirth of a Nation [comedy sketches], written and read by many authors (partial)




5. Pure Drivel, written and read by Steve Martin (partial)



6. The Screwtape Letters, written by C. S. Lewis, read by Ralph Cosham (partial)

A List-in-Progress + Very Ambitious Goal-Setter

I stumbled across this in-progess list of 101 books to read when I was looking for info on a 10k I will be running in August. The author of this blog seems to me to be both inspiring and tiring. I wish I could be like her, but I would never be able to do what she's doing currently. Her overall goal is to complete 101 goals in 1001 days. Yet her 101 goals often contain goals-within-goals that resemble so many wooden dolls hidden inside other wooden dolls. I can't keep track, and I have no idea how she is updating so frequently and keeping everything straight. She even admits when she's missed a goal for the week. Why bother? Is anyone really going to call her on a failure? Who else can keep track of what she's supposed to be doing? If it were me, I'd be spending so much time keeping track of what I was supposed to be attempting, I'd have no time to do it.

Kudos to you, taraSG. You make the blog world much more interesting!

The NonRunner's Marathon Guide for Women

Yet another not-on-the-list book that I simply had to read. We found this book in a small, quaint, enviable bookstore in Missoula, Montana--the kind of place that makes me want to live in the bookstore itself. I love little shops like that, but I always want to buy everything I see that is of interest. Sometimes I fool myself into thinking I will actually remember the names of all the books I've seen that I want to buy. Yet I know this never happens. When I'm looking for the book weeks or months later, I become that silly book-lover who wonders what the title of "that book that has stripes on the cover" was, again. So when I picked up the NonRunner's Marathon Guide, I knew I didn't want to forget it. It was perfect for me.

I rationalized buying this new book--I could have found it used somewhere or borrowed it from the library--with these thoughts:

1. I'm making a contribution to a LOCAL, small, privately-owned bookshop.

2. It was perfect for me.

3. I'm so going to run that marathon someday.

4. No sales tax in Montana!

5. The cover is shiny.

6. The book feels good in my hands.

7. I barely bought any souvenirs on this trip.

8. The trip was almost over, and I still had cash on hand (or my husband did--same thing).

9. If I don't buy this book now, I'll never remember the name of it to look up later.

10. If I don't buy this book now, I'll buy a different running book later on that will not appeal to me as much.

All that to say, this is a funny yet inspiring look at the marathon for people who never thought they could run a marathon! I loved it. I let my neighbor+running partner Joanna borrow and read it. She loved it. Read it if you're a runner, or if you want to maybe, sort of, kind of, be a runner. Someday.

7. Confessions from an Honest Wife

I finished another book from the list! And started two others not on the list... again, structure is so not my thing...

Anyway, this was a pretty good book. I think I'm giving it a 3.5 out of 5. I read it along with my small group (four other married ladies), and we discussed it as we went along. That was the best part of this book for me. I love reading and discussing a book WITH someone because then it is not just about me and my own thoughts. It was great for me because I tend to be rather cynical and negative.

Overall I liked the idea of this book more than the book itself. I think vulnerability and honesty are two of the best traits someone can have. When they are absent, the world surrounding the individual is superficial at best. This book consists of 20 short essays, narratives from the "trenches" of marriage. There were some that I thought were annoying and some that made sense to me and that I could relate with.

As with reading anything, I tried to take in the good (things that spoke to me and/or challenged me to be a better person) while forgetting the bad. The bad, in this case, was what I can only refer to as meaningless complaining. I know that the point of the book was to complain, in a way. But sometimes I felt the problem could have been solved with a little more communication in the actual marriage. Like I said, though, overall a great read (and a quick read, always a plus).

Anyone who (a) is married, (b) is going to be married, (c) might be thinking about someday ever getting married, or (d) just wants to understand women or married people a little better, might consider reading this book.

100 Books You Can Read Online for Free

...and apparently you should!

Click below for the list of 100, and links to read them FREE online:

http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/03/31/100-free-online-books-everyone-should-read/

From The Canterbury Tales to The Kama Sutra, this is an extensive list that will cover many of the "should-reads" in life... for those of us who are interested in that sort of thing!

I'm jealous of this list. It's much more organized than mine.

55. Matilda

My first book from the list of 100 that I have finished is Roald Dahl's classic, Matilda. After reading it, I think I may have read it before. Either way, I knew how it was going to end. I may have seen the movie at some point as well.

I love Dahl's satiric remarks, especially near the beginning of the book. Examples:

"It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful."

"If I were a teacher I would cook up some real scorchers for the children of doting parents. 'Your son Maximilian,' I would write, 'is a total wash-out. I hope you have a family business you can push him into when he leaves school because he sure as heck won't get a job anywhere else.'"

Dahl is awesome.

I also love Quentin Blake's illustrations. They are as classic as Dahl's writing.

The Undomestic Goddess

Leave it to me to start off by reading a book that I didn't even put on my list. My need to rebel against structure--even structure I myself set up--is obviously taking over here. I have started about four of the books on THE LIST, but last weekend we were at a garage sale, and I found Chick Lit books for 50 cents! Of course, I had to have them. I hadn't read these particular ones before, and come on! 50 cents.

So we start off the blog with the great Sophie Kinsella. I have read the entire Shopaholic series, and loved it. I have also read a few of Madeline Wickham's books. (This is Kinsella's pseudonym. Or, Kinsella is Wickham's pseudonym. Anyway, they're the same person!) I enjoy her books a lot because of the always too-quirky-to-be-believed main character (female), and the always too-understanding-and-handsome-to-be-believed main character (male) who inevitably interact. I have realized that her books are VERY formulaic. Okay, ALL Chick Lit is the same. Heck, a lot of fiction is practically carbon copies of itself, just change a few names.

Still, I like it. I don't need the plot to be a complete mystery. I enjoy the fact that the minute details are different, and revealed slowly over the course of 350 pages. And it feels good to be able to read that 350 pages in less than two days. The first book has been read.

Now, to start on my actual list of 100. Next time!

Have you read The Undomestic Goddess? What did you think of it? Spoilers are allowed in comments section, so feel free to discuss.