I have this belief that the next book I read is going to change my life. If I find the right book about meditation, I’ll learn how to be stoic and calm. If I find the right book about fitness, I’ll finally get that elusive six-pack. You get the idea.
I’m starting to think it doesn’t work that way.
Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
This novel is a very long, exquisitely told story. At 1,000 pages with small type and long paragraphs, it is a daunting book to pick up. But it’s really worth the effort. The author tells the story in such a way that you’re sucked in immediately and the pages fly by.
We’re in the 1100s in England and the main characters are building a church and growing a city.
People who did not have enough to do could easily become so lazy that they skimped what little work they did have.
Stop judging me.
He felt he had prayed enough. God must be fully aware of the circumstances now.
Hehe.
Pray for miracles, but plant cabbages.
Love it.
Room
by Emma Donoghue
I read the first 150 pages in one sitting because I needed the characters to get out of the titular room and then I read the rest of the book a few hours later. The narrator is a five-year old boy born to a mother who is a kidnap victim. He’s lived his entire life in one tiny shed with his mom.
This book was so good. It was so hard to put down. Although, I didn’t zoom through it because the language is a little bit hard to read at times. The narrator is a five-year old, after all.
In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time. Even Grandma often says that, but she and Steppa don’t have jobs, so I don’t know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well.
Well said. Okay, not that well said. It’s people. Not persons.
Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body
by Michael Mathews
Fitness book. I believe everything the author is saying. Lift heavy weights. Squat and deadlift. Eat a lot of protein. He goes into a lot more detail, but I probably won’t do his exact workout plan. I like Fitness Blender a lot.
He does recommend eating fifteen minutes before a workout and immediately afterwards, which…I don’t do at all. I work out on an empty stomach around eight in the morning and then eat around noon.
I don’t see myself changing that either honestly even if that’s not the most efficient way to do things.
A Woman Is No Man: A Novel
by Etaf Rum
I loved this novel and sped through it while waiting in a waiting room. Our main characters are a woman from Palestine who moves to the United States when she gets married and her daughter eighteen years later. The author tells the story switching from one person’s point of view to the other in each chapter.
There’s domestic violence and misogyny and it’s a well-told story that makes you appreciate your upbringing and culture. At least, it did for me. My parents didn’t care that they didn’t have any sons.
Broken Glass
by Alain Mabanckou
I hated this book with every fiber of my being. There’s no punctuation and each chapter is one very long run on sentence. I can’t emphasize enough how much I despised this book and how torturous it was to read. I got to thirty pages before I gave up. Thirty pages! And I only gave it thirty pages because it’s a book club book.
Zero stars. Two thumbs down. Blech. Abomination!
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World (The Mysteries of Nature (1))
by Peter Wohlleben
This book was a delight to read. I learned so many fascinating new things about trees and you can tell the author, a forest ranger, loves the subject. He calls trees “colleagues.” So cute.
Interesting facts include: Individual trees have personalities! Red trees always die off in nature. Human beings are not good at taking care of trees. You can’t grow most trees inside because the artificial light drives them insane. They need the winter to hibernate.
I really liked this book. Is it too late to go back to school to be a forest ranger?
Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
by Melody Beattie
I’m not sure why I picked this book up. Codependent people are people who let other people’s feelings and actions affect them too much. Or something. I think the author is talking to religious people who are in relationships with alcoholics. I don’t have any alcoholics in my life that I’m aware of.
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
We’re in the apocalypse with a man and his son walking to the coast and trying to survive. I don’t understand why you’d want to survive in the hellscape the author describes. Good book though. The author uses only as many words as he needs and not a single one more.
There were few nights laying in the dark that he did not envy the dead.
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex
by Mary Roach
The author looks at a bunch of studies that scientists have dreamed up to study sex. She explains the research with wit and enthusiasm. There are a lot of funny asides that she sticks into footnotes.
Wishful Drinking
by Carrie Fisher
Short, hilarious book. The author is an actress that I’m not really familiar with.
Oh, and remember that white dress I wore all through the first movie? Unless you didn’t see Star Wars, in which case, why are you still reading this?
I don’t know. Someone recommended this book to me. I don’t keep track of who. I’m enjoying the book even if I never watched Star Wars.
My mother, who incidentally lives next door to me, she calls me to this day and says, “Hello, dear, this is your mother, Debbie.” (As opposed to my mother Vladimir or Jean-Jacques.)
Oh man. That’s a good one.
So it’s not what you’re given, it’s how you take it.
I read a lot this month. Escapism.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I make like $2 a month from book review links, but I think the book pictures make the article look prettier.
Am I really the first commentator? Wow! No pressure..
Re: Mike Matthew’s book, he recommends high protein diet, and I have a feeling that you’re vegetarian, do you think it would be tough to eat in line with his recommendations, particularly if ‘cutting’?
Red trees always die off in nature… how do non-red trees die off then? I don’t understand what this means .. but it sounds interesting!
Great that you’re reading so many books!
So much pressure! LOL.
Red trees (like trees that are only red and never green) occasionally pop up in nature, but always disappear without human intervention. They’re not as efficient at the chlorophyll stuff.
I haven’t always appreciated the writing style of Melody Beattie but do like the content. Her book Making a Miracle in 40 days (I forget the exact title) was really helpful for me. It sort of combined the daily work of obtaining goals with the desire for miracles/magic/something bigger than us. I liked it and seeing your post reminds to get back to it. I will definitely be checking out The Hidden Life of Trees. I can definitely see you as a forest ranger – never too late! Thank you, friend!
Giant hugs, friend!
I really liked Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking” as well. You may enjoy checking out her one-woman show by the same name. Quite entertaining.
She mentions the show in the book! Cross promotional.
Fitness Blender is my go to on-line gym as well. I love them. Before finding them, I kept saying I would weight train, but every time I tried I couldn’t make it stick. Fitness Blender sticks. For a long time I couldn’t figure out why and then a lightbulb went off – no music! It wasn’t the exercising that was turning me off, it was the pounding music that every single fitness class/video seems to think is obligatory. If I want pounding, deafening music, I’ll go to a night club – keep it out of my exercise class.
It’s never too late to go back to school. Go be a forest ranger. 🙂
I just finished I Was Told It Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman. A story about a mother-daughter roadtrip to check out colleges. I loved the authors biting wit.
Currently reading Dietland by Sarai Walker. Ouf, there’s a lot of rage seeping out from between the covers of this book. Intriguing story with splashes of humour but yeah, I’m thinking this book was written as part of a therapy exercise. However, I’m hooked and will continue to read because I have no idea where this story is going.
I read I was Told It Would Get Easier a month or so ago. I didn’t love it.
Pillars is incredible! be sure to read the other one in the series too. and if that did it for you Ken Follet’s century trilogy is even better. Ill def check out the secret life of trees, its been on my list for ages and I had forgotten, thanks for the reminder.
Books are absolutely my escape as well, nothing calms my monkey mind like getting lost in a great story.
Oh, I didn’t realize it was a series!
Stupid monkey mind.
Check out the movie, “Room”, I thought it was really good.
Ooh, they made it into a movie?
Yes, in 2015, I didn’t know there was a book…the movie was pretty deep and intense, I would recommend it.
Cool. Thanks for the recommendation.
Regarding the opening paragraph that reading doesn’t create the results it requires action, I know its tongue in cheek, but I personally find that my focus on reading / other habits is becoming a form of escapism from the real world.
I sometimes catch myself not wanting to do stuff because its easier just to read more. I do feel good after taking action, but the motivation comes after, never before lol.
Anyway just wondering if you felt the same way or if your comment was more directed at something else?
I stayed up until 1 AM reading The Road thanks to your recommendation. Wow! I came close to tears a couple times during that book. I really liked the writing and the love between the father and his son. Thanks for that recommendation.
Oh, that makes me so happy! I love finding those books that keep you up reading.
It’s like the saying, “wherever you go, there you are.”
I know that doesn’t make any sense.
If you’re looking for recommendations my two latest book lanes have been:
1. Kurt Vonnegut books (for the first time since High School)
2. Free eBooks downloaded from Gutenberg (now reading: The Time Machine).
I’m adding The Secret Life of Trees to my reading list.
Thanks for the recommendation! I read Cat’s Cradle a decade ago and hated it. I keep thinking about The Secret Life of Trees. Such a cute book.
Discovered your blog through your recent interview about dropping full-time post-FI travel. There don’t seem to be that many lawyers openly talking about what it feels like to go from turbo-legal-work-life to post-FI-life… so I’m grateful you’re around and blogging! Also, not sure if you’ve read Braiding Sweetgrass, but it’s phenomenal.
I’m sorry I’m not blogging more!
I’ll put Braiding Sweetgrass on my list. Thanks!