100 Books In 365 Days: Books 6-10

Number 3 on my Year List is to read 100 books in 365 days. Now that I am not working, I figured I would use the opportunity to catch up on my reading. I am reading anything from childhood classics to spiritual non-fiction.

Here are Books 6 to 10:


6. Are You There Vodka? It's me, Chelsea- Chelsea Handler (Hilarious. Very rare that a book has me laughing out loud. Not once, but several times.)

7. Mary Poppins- P.L. Travers (Why did I not know until this year that Mary Poppins was a book first? Another lesson learned: Great films are usually great books first.)

8. The Outsiders- S.E. Hinton (I never finished it in high school. Me being a REBEL! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I saw the movie. Drool, slobber, drool. Lowe, Swayze, Cruise, Estevez, Dillon. That is all.)

9. The Lonely Polygamist- Brady Udall  (Bit of a slow read but the story was fascinating. 4 wives, 28 children, and still lonely?)

10. The Confession- John Grisham (One of my favorite authors, but this book wasn't as great as his previous work. Overall still good and I agree with his stance on capital punishment whole-heartedly )

I am still taking recommendations and suggestions! Would love to look at your own book lists. 

Love, Light, and Books, MARS

Family Fridays: I Don't Have To Look Very Far

Motivation and inspiration are often hard to come by. Writer's block, depression, even just normal work days can deter you from your creative passions. I am fortunate to be blessed with such a talented family that I don't have to look very far for inspiration.

My aunt, Lilia Lopez-Rahman has published her very first book, For The Sake Of Louise. It is about her harrowing experiences of emotional and mental abuse inflicted by her ex-husband, including her daughter being kidnapped and taken to Sri Lanka for several years. It is only through her faith in God and his gifts of strength and unfailing love that she is able to overcome psychological turmoil and find real love at last.

I am humbled and inspired by my aunt's story. It amazes me to know that she was struggling with some of the things mentioned in the book the very first time I met her in person, around 1999-2000. When I met her, I was struck by her conviction in God and unfailing devotion to her family. Now I fully comprehend why. I want to share this book with everyone, not just because she is my family, but because it is a book for every woman (and man!) that has ever felt demoralized and hopeless. I salute you Auntie, for your honesty and your fortitude.

You can order your very own copy of For The Sake of Louise HERE

Love, Light, and Happy Reading, MARS

100 Books In 365 Days

I've been doing some major overhaul on my life lately and one thing I have never done is a Bucket list. Or Life List. Or the Buried Life List. Whatevs. While working on this list (and you WILL laugh when you read some of the crazy stuff I wrote down. But that's another blog post and I digress,) the obsessive compulsive in me also managed to make a Year List aka S#!* I Want To Do Before The Earth Completely Rotates Around The Sun. (SIWTDBTECRATS for short)

Number 3 on the list is to read 100 books in 365 days. Now that I am not working, I figured I would use the opportunity to catch up on my reading. I am reading anything from childhood classics to spiritual non-fiction.

Here is my list of books I have read since Dec 1. I have read a few other books that are not on this list but I am choosing not to include them because they are either guilty pleasure summer book reads (Gossip Girl Series or Jackie Collins anyone?) or self-help/how-tos (Eh, judge me if ya want.) This will be a tab on my home page; updated whenever I finish a new book. I read pretty quickly so check in sporadically to cheer me on or laugh at my failure if I wave the white flag and post "I GIVE UP! I AM GOING TO GO WATCH TRASHY REALITY TV NOW!"

Read 100 Books in 365 Days
1.The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake- Aimee Bender (Can you imagine being able to taste a person's emotions (sadness, desperation, elation) through the food that they make?)

2.The Chronicles of Narnia Series- CS Lewis (I've always loved The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe but I never read all the other books until now.)

3. The Time-Traveler's Wife- Audrey Niffenegger (I cried, I laughed, I LOVED)

4. Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert (Enjoyed it so much, I am going to go buy it and read it over and over again)

5.Emma- Jane Austen (A slow read but enjoyable. The film Clueless is now loved more than ever.)

Thanks for taking this literary journey with me. Please comment with your book recommendations or even your own lists; book or bucket =)

Love, Light, and Books, MARS

Honey For My Honey

I have always been a "book-reader". My mother taught me how to read at the early age of two and I never looked back. From then on, my nose was always buried in a book. I was even a top library aide in middle school. I cringe as I type but I still relish the memory of walking through aisles and aisles of books knowing there was adventure waiting behind every title. (Yes I was and am still a dork!) Granted, my reading material was not always of high-caliber. (Anyone else alternate the Baby-Sitters Club series and Fabio Romance Novels aka Bodice Rippers? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) In spite of my preference for *ahem* light "summer book-reads" as opposed to classics, I still garnered 98th percentile Literature and Vocabulary mandated test scores every year of middle school and was automatically placed in Honors English classes all through high school. (How I did in those Honors Classes, however, is a whole different story. Party Girl rears her ugly head yet again!) Nevertheless, I attest all this (the positive stuff anyway) to my early exposure to reading.

Now that I'm a mommy, I am excited to share my passion for reading with my daughter. Amaya and I have been reading books together since she was 3 months old. I have countless pictures of us at different libraries browsing through board books, playing with puppets from story-time, and choosing a DVD or two from the extensive and always overwhelming collection of Dora, Barney, Elmo and more! (Lots and lots more!) We visit the library at least once a week and I am proud to state the fact that even though Amaya loves to play with the children's library smorgasbord of toys, she never fails to bring me books for us to read together and take home. She even has her very own book-bag to carry her special choices in. As we navigate through aisles and aisles of adventure waiting for us, I want to make sure I help her choose quality material that will expand her mind, entertain her personality, and nurture her soul.

Honey For A Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books In Family Life by Gladys Hunt is the best book I've read in a while. The author quotes Eric Fromm in the Art of Loving, "Children have two basic needs; they need both milk and honey from their parents. Milk symbolizes the care given to physical needs: brush your teeth, drink your orange juice, eat your vegetables, get enough sleep. Honey symbolizes the sweetness of life, that special quality that makes life sing  with enjoyment for all it holds. Most parents are capable of giving milk, but only a minority of giving honey, too." Honey For A Child's Heart has lists of  high-quality books for any age range. It is never too late to start reading to and with your child! As I strive to always give honey with milk to my daughter, I pass along this great book for you and your children, grandchildren, parents, ANYONE! May we always remember that, "To give honey, one must love honey and have it to give."

 

Golden Gate Library Oakland CA 12/2009

Reading Mother Goose 11/2010

Honey For A Child's Heart, Fourth Ed.

 What are your favorite books to read? What are your favorite books to read to your child? What were your favorite books to read as a child? I would love to know!

Love and Light (And A Lil Honey), MARS