#270: "Let's Pretend This Never Happened"

One of the most ridiculous books I have read in a long time, Jenny Lawson’s memoir Let’s Pretend This Never Happened was hilarious.  I’m thankful this book was recommended to me, and grateful for the many laugh-out-loud moments of it. I was also impressed, despite the ridiculousness of her material, that she touched on a very poignant theme: that our lives are bound to be filled with chaos, and that we can define ourselves within those moments. Lawson insinuates she’ll write more, and I for one would be quite appreciative if she did.

"And this was the very reason  I decided to tell this story….to celebrate the strange, to give thanks for the bizarre…You are defined not by life’s imperfect moments but by our reaction to them. Because there is joy in embracing—rather than running screaming from—the utter absurdity of life." - Jenny Lawson  

#231: Interlibrary Loans

One of the reasons libraries are my favorite American institution is because of interlibrary loans. Despite loving my town library, it's collection is not the best. Therein lies the greatness of interlibrary loans! There's a book I wanted to read that my library didn't have; I requested it through the internet last week, and today I received a phone call that it was waiting at my local branch for me...and I didn't even need to go anywhere to pick it up. Like magic!

#195: A Stack of Books

While I will always be a library-patron at heart, sometimes it just feels great to walk out of a bookstore with a whole stack of new novels to read!

Summer Readinggggg!

#162: Homer's Odyssey

Homer's Odyssey is basically a feline version of Marley & Me. I read it a few years ago, and my sister-in-law, having borrowed it, recently returned it. It's been sitting on the table by my front door for the past few days, and as I come and go I can't help but look at him on the cover and smile.

Homer was a kitten who went blind, and ultimately had his eyes removed. This, coupled with his black coat, made him nearly unadoptable. Then journalist Gwen Cooper was called by a veternarian friend to meet him, and she knew she had to give him a home. She thought she was saving his life, but as her memoir revealed, he saved hers.

I'm thankful for the book itself, for people like Gwen Cooper, and for cats like Homer. Even if you're "not a cat person", Homer's story of resiliency is inspirational, and anyone who has ever loved a pet will be moved by his story.

Homer, The Blind Wonder Cat

#150: My Nook

Don't get me wrong, an e-reader will never replace the experience of holding a physical book in my hands, I will always be a supporter and patron of bookstores, and one of the places I feel most at home is at a good library. But today I am feeling thankful for my Nook.

Kegan bought me my Nook for Christmas 2010. I was undecided whether or not I wanted to own one, for fear it would somehow make me less a supporter of my aforementioned reading preferences. Once I  realized those were tenets I will faithfully abide by and always hold in reverence over the e-reader, I started to have a little love affair with my tablet. We downloaded a subscription to Newsweek on it; it's really affordable, is the only way I'd regularly read that publication, and is eco-friendly: win-win-win. An e-reader is great for travel. And today I experienced another reason I love the Nook: on-demand books. I finished the library-borrowed book I was reading and became in need of something to fill a few more hours of my afternoon: moments later I had a new book downloaded, and I never had to leave the couch.

As a child and teenager I did not have home access to modern technology. Growing up without it has made me, as an adult, quite appreciative of the many ways in which technology has become a constant fixture in my life. There are of course drawbacks to this, but they fall to the wayside when I can cozy up with a Nook book. My lazy, literate self celebrates!

#137: The Hunger Games

I read The Hunger Games years ago, before it was a phenomenon, after the fabulous librarian at my school, Kim, book talked it to my kids. It is easily one of the most engaging Young Adult novels I have ever read; I know a book is memorable when I have distinct memories of my reading experience. When I read The Hunger Games I would stay up much later than intended, unable to put the book down with Collins' cliffhanger chapter endings. When the book ended and I learned there was to be a sequel I was thrilled. The wait to Catching Fire was tough; the wait for Mockingjay was excruciating. In fact, the day Mockingjay was released I was vacationing in Hilton Head, South Carolina. I left the timeshare to drive to the nearest bookstore to make sure that I had my copy as soon as I could, and read most of it on the beach that week.

I'm thankful for this trilogy personally, because it provided me with so much entertainment. Professionally, it's a series I know I can rely on to put in kids' hands, and they are usually just as hooked as I was. Today my team took our kids to see the movie, and it's just another added reason why I appreciate this franchise. Many kids were excited to read it, and I think a lot of adults are reading it because of the movie, as well. The more well-read of a society we are, the better.

I am also thankful Josh Hutcherson looks like a ten-year-younger version of Kegan. I didn't exactly notice this until the end of the movie, and then my friend and coworker Jackie confirmed it. I might need to go see the movie a 3rd time...

#129: Born to Run

In light of the passing of Micah True I decided to reread Born to Run. Author Christopher McDougall's previous work had a common theme: endurance. As a war correspondent and sports journalist, McDougall witnessed men and women in the throes of feats of greatness, and yet had a nagging Achilles' heel (pun intended) of his own perpetually on his mind: why did his foot hurt?

McDougall proclaimed himself "unbreakable" throughout his career: paricipating in the semi-extreme sports he was covering, surviving in three war zones and a stint in the African badlands. And yet training for a marathon left him beaten and broken. It didn't add up-- and McDougall began investigating the secrets to ultramarathoners who could run insane distances without injury. This investigation leads him to the Tarahumaras-- the Running People-- a tribe of Mexican Indians who run far, fast and injury-free, and Micah True, more intimately known as Caballo Blanco, the American ultrarunner who followed them into the Copper Canyons to run and live amongst them.  McDougall's work reads as fiction, introducing these seemingly larger-than-life athletes, and weaving the science and philosophy of running within a narrative. It's a story of trial and triumph, pursuit and passion, running and redemption.

I am so thankful for this book. It glorifies running, and reiterates how lucky I am to be a part of this sport. It's inspired me with its message, about both running and life at large. The best books are the ones that make us look within ourselves for univeral truths, reminds us of our values, motivate and change us at our core-- and Born to Run does just that. I recommend it to anyone and everyone-- runner or not-- as a testament of what it is we are capable, and what it is we are living for.

#113: The Book Thief

Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief is one of my all-time favorite books.

When The New York Times reviewed The Book Thief it was described as "life changing." One of the reasons this is one of my favorite books of all time is because I think it is just that. I vividly remember finishing it for the first time, staying awake until nearly 2 in the morning, sobbing...feeling simultaneously filled by the experience of reading such a novel, and emptied that it was over. Regardless of how many times I read it, my breath is constantly taken away-- overcome by how fictional characters can matter, how someone can craft language in such a beautiful way. Zusak's work is masterful and universal, a modern classic. I am so thankful that such a book exists.

I have the added privilege of being able to teach this novel. My Enrichment Literature classes just finished reading it, and it's always amazing to read it besides them. They approach the novel and the subject matter-- Nazi Germany-- with innocence and delicate hearts, and the enlightenment they experience is profound. I witness my students mature with this book in their hands, and it is one of the aspects of my job that I love-- that I get to put The Book Thief in the hands of so many adolescents every year, and know that some of them will finish the novel changed people.

"I have hated the words, and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." -Zusak

#110: Readology

Today was an exciting day... Readology.org has launched! A website for book reviews, recommendations and discussion, Readology has been in the makings for a few months. Erinn and I, after realizing how often she and I discussed books with one another, came up with the idea of making this website together. The initial concept was to offer it to our respective students to review and recommend young adult novels. While that is still part of the plan, it has evolved into a bigger and more exciting undertaking. Through Readology we will be working in conjunction with a local, independent bookstore as their "in house" reviewers, and are looking to grow the site from there.

I am thankful for this project. It's always so fulfilling when an idea becomes a reality. I am also grateful to have Erinn as a partner. We collaborate really well together, and it truly is a joint effort. She's the ideal teammate: thorough, committed and patient with my neurosis. It also helps that I tend to laugh out loud from reading her emails. I've always believed that the best coworkers are the ones who make you laugh, so Erinn makes this collaboration all the better because she's so funny. It'll be an absolute pleasure to build Readology with her, and I look forward to all the joy this work will bring us.

#107: Laura Vanderkam: 168 Hours and All The Money In The World

The first time I ever heard of Laura Vanderkam was when she was being interviewed on Today for what was then her new book on time, 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think. After watching her interview I thought to myself, "I need to read this book." Within days I bought a copy, and read it a second time last summer. I plan on making it a tradition-- to read it once a year-- because it has truly had a huge impact on my life, how I think about and spend my time. Just last week her current new book, All The Money In The World, was released. I purchased it, read it within a few days, and can say that again, Laura Vanderkam has had an impact on me, specifically in how I view my finances.

In both 168 Hours and All The Money Vanderkam avails the power of choice. Time and money are likely two of the biggest stressors in one's life, largely because we feel these are areas of our life over which we have little control. Vanderkam refutes this, and points out the large degree to which we can, in fact, control not only our time and money, but how we spend and feel about both.

Her book on time is entitled 168 Hours as that is the amount of time in a single week. With just this simple acknowledgement, Vanderkam begins to strip away commonly held misconceptions of time. She advocates not thinking of time in the standard, daily 24 hours, but rather a 168 hour weekly allotment. By reflecting on your time in a larger schedule construct, it's easier to find the time to do all that you want to do in a given week. It also begins to release you from the nagging thought that I used to always have, that "there's never enough time in the day." It's easy to argue "it's hard to find time" to exercise daily. It's harder to claim you can't find 4 hours out of your 168 to do so.

168 Hours espouses the importance of setting one's priorities, because through that one will know how to spend those hours. She's demystified the exaggerations of time-- such as how much we overestimate how long things take us (like chores) and underestimate how much time we have for what we want to do in life (like sleep). One of my greatest takeaways is Vanderkam's encouragement to let things go. If it's not a priority, and you don't have time for it, don't do it. Your time is too valuable and is likely better spent doing something else.  Realizing not only that I had time, but that I was in control of how I spent that time, was empowering.

I've taken many things away from 168 Hours. Some are very simple changes. For one, it doesn't bother me as much as it used to that I don't straighten or even blow dry my hair most days. Sure it's wet for the morning, but I prefer the natural curl I get once it does dry, and I save tons of time every day eliminating those hours of "hair maintenence". Since "hair maintenence" couldn't be less of a priority in my life I don't want to spend much of my 168 hours on that. On a broader scale I am a happier, less stressed and ironically more efficient person, now that I no longer stress about time as much. Every day used to feel like it was flitting away...that my life was passing by faster than I could keep up...and at the end of the day, there was still stuff left on my to-do list! Now time feels more manageable, and I feel like I live in it presently. I am much calmer, and am enjoying the 168 hours of my life much more.

All The Money In The World is predicated on the idea that, if you had all the money in the world, how would your life change, and how would that money buy you happiness? Vanderkam wants you to consider both the dream purchases and the practical, everyday impacts that money would create...and then find the ways to start building that life here and now, with the money you currently have. In a similar vein to 168 Hours Vanderkam illustrates the control we have on our finances-- that how we spend our money is choice, that one dollar spent on something is one dollar not spent on something else. This mindset enables one to think more carefully about where their money is going, and if it is being used to build a happy life. Vanderkam starts almost immediately with reframing the idea that money can buy happiness....if you make smart, personal choices with it.

While Vanderkam avows that she is not a financial guru, her book still gives practical, sensible and usable advice on how we get, spend, share and feel about money. She encourages people to  play "offense and not defense" with their money-- thinking how you can make more, rather than how you can scrimp to cut spending. "The Joneses" become a target-- as Vanderkam forces us to question whether the stereotypical major purchases of modern life really bring us happiness, or are we just buying what we think we should be buying, because society encourages us to have big houses, shiny new cars and overflowing closets. I am someone who has always focused on the allocation of money-- from as young as I can remember, when I used to sort my babysitting money in envelopes for spending and saving. I've always also attached a lot of guilt to money, being hypersensitive on every dime I spent, always worried if it was a necessary purchase, or if I could have gotten it for less. This work has reframed my thinking of my finances, and given me the freedom to believe that, if this money is buying me happiness and helping to build the life and world I want to live in, then it is money well spent.

I argue that both of these books are companion works. Both are built on the same foundation: we don't think we have enough time, we don't think we have enough money, but if we analyze and rethink some aspects of our lives, we will find that we do. I also found that they echoed each other in many places. You can buy time with money, and time well spent can earn you more money. I am so thankful that I've read both of these works. I feel like I am smarter and more sensible as a result, but more importantly, happier.

If you're interested in learning more about Laura Vanderkam or getting a glimpse into her advice and perspective, check out her website. She has a great blog I enjoy reading regularly: www.lauravanderkam.com

#99: Libraries

Most young adults my age, on a Friday after work, head to a bar. There are many Fridays that I do this as well, but today I headed to a place where I get a different but equally satisfying happy hour. I went to my town library.

Libraries are my favorite American Institution. For one, where else can you publicly "borrow" stuff? It's this trust in people that is so affirming to me. I always want to believe in the inherent goodness of people, and libraries are founded on belief in that. Furthermore, I endorse any endorsement of reading and its benefits. Naturally libraries, and our continued collective support of them, do this best.

My town library is a place of solace. I love it for its nostalgic qualities; few places remind me more of my childhood than the children's section on the upper floor. I venture up there as an adult, simply to be taken back. On the main floor I can get lost in the stacks; it's a quaint library, but a peaceful one nonetheless. Today I am thankful for my library; it's one of the reasons I am grateful to live in my hometown, because it's another place where I always feel at home.

#68: Runner's World

In my mailbox today was the newest issue of Runner's World. This might be an odd declaration for a 27 year old, but Runner's World is my first magazine subscription. Kegan ordered it for me two years ago for Christmas. Before then I never fully estimated the amount of joy in getting a fresh, new magazine in the mail every month. It's always a boost to my running motivation, and as stated in an earlier post, I appreciate fun mail. A magazine subscription is a little pleasure, but I definitely recommend it. The cost is super reasonable, especially if you're someone who impulsively buys a magazine three times a year...since that's more or less equivalent to the yearly subscription fee. And it's something to be thankful for, hand delivered to your home, every month.

#66: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I'm thankful for novels like Extremeley Loud & Incredibly Close, novels that are deeply personal and resoundingly universal.
I'm thankful for authors like Jonathan Safran Foer, who find the words that always seem lost.
I'm thankful this book found its way to me this week, of all weeks.

"I thought about all the things that everyone ever says to each other, and how everyone is going to die, whether it's in a millisecond, or days, or months, or 76.5 years, if you were just born. Everything that's born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they're all on fire, and we're all trapped...And how can you say I love you to someone you love?...Here is the point of everything I have been trying to tell you...It's always necessary." - Foer

#60: A Weekend, Read Away

Most Fridays I have a vision of me spending the weekend reading. It rarely comes to fruition, but there is something so calming about just the thought of two days lost in books that I still fantasize about it before every weekend begins.

This weekend I actually did it. Hour after hour I just read, and it was pure bliss. I realize weekends like this are few and far between, and another one may not be spent this way for a long time. But I'll still imagine that every weekend can be this way, and I'll be thankful for the ones that are.

(I should also add my thankfulness for a husband who doesn't mind having a bookish wife. Kegan dutifully  did most of the errands this weekend, and didn't mind when I barely murmured responses to his questions and comments. I do love reading, but I love Kegan more).

#57: Stephen King

I'm currently reading King's latest novel, 11/22/63, and am reminded of how much I admire him as an author. His books are always so engaging, so easy to get lost in. I had the type of morning where I didn't want to get out of bed and go anywhere...just wanted to stay and read the day away. As an aspiring writer myself, I admire King's ability to craft an involved, sensational plot with eerily realistic characters, despite their unrealistic circumstances, and make a page-turner intellectually stimulating.

A few of my students have been reading a ton of Stephen King this year, and their interest in reading in general has soared ever since, so I am grateful for that, as well. One student who's always been a bit withdrawn and distant has been coming up to my desk before class starts everyday this week to talk about the novel he's reading. It's nice to have made a connection with him over an author we both like. I love when kids find the book that makes them a reader, and for this particular student it's King's work that has done that.

He also wrote "The Body", which the movie Stand By Me is based on. That is one of my all time favorite movies. In 8th grade I watched it almost every week for a number of months, and it's one of the few films I never tire of. I will never tire of King's work, in general, and appreciate it for its prolific and masterful nature, murderous clowns and all.

#6: Enthusiastic Readers

This morning, walking into the building, I bumped into one of my favorite students. He smiled hugely when he saw me and immediately launched into a novel review, insisting that I had to add this particular book to my 'To Read' list. Later in class students literally jumped out of their chairs at the chance to borrow two new books I purchased for our classroom library, and raced each other to put their names on the "waiting list" once the books had been randomly distributed. And then, at the end of the day, another student stayed after school to show me the trailer for The Hunger Games. He knows how much I love the series, and since he's reading it, too, was really excited to talk about how good the movie looks (even though we already know the book, in the end, will be preferred). Today, I'm thankful for enthusiastic readers. Yes, they make my job easier. But more so than that, it's days like today-- sharing such positive moments with so many kids-- that make me thankful to be a teacher.