Okay, well, I'm lost on my weight loss goal. Lately I've been up and down so much that I have no idea where I'm at on my latest goal of 30 pounds. I figure my goal for 2006 was 50 pounds (original goal of 20 pounds plus secondary goal of 30), so I'll weigh myself at the end of the year and see how close I came. I'm quite sure I won't make it, what with all the holiday food and drink nearby (blast you, egg nog, BLAST YOU!). But I'm close, and that's pretty darn good.
As for my book-reading, I have one more to add. The latest book is # 51: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I've been on the library waiting list for this book forever, and it was well worth it. I love books about Asian culture, and this was no disappointment. It's set in 19th century China, and it centers around the women of the time, how isolated they were, foot binding, basically their lower place in society. But through all that, they kept their spirits up with nu shu, their secret writing that only women could read. They wrote back and forth to each other, embroidered it on shoes and garments, made statements when and where they could. It's about their survival and secret rebellion against the male-dominated society. It's a great story, historical and interesting.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Reading List Update
49. My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman
50. Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions by Steve Almond & Julianna Baggott
You can get the plotline for Lipman's story by clicking on the link. It was a very fast, interesting read.
Which Brings Me to You had a fascinating premise that roped me in. It's written as a set of letters back and forth between two strangers who meet at a wedding and live in different cities in different states. They mail letters back and forth, only telling each other about the past, never talking about the future, until they feel like they know each other completely. Then they meet in person again. The book sounded great, but didn't deliver like I'd hoped. I didn't realize how boring it would be to read only about the past, with no developing plotline or forward movement. Granted, they do meet in the end, but only for about 10 pages of the book. So I didn't love it. I mean, it was okay, I wouldn't burn it or anything, but I've read some really great stuff this year, and this book doesn't make my list of favorites, for sure.
Yikes, I'm still 10 books away from my goal, and only 1.5 more months in the year! It's not looking good.
50. Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions by Steve Almond & Julianna Baggott
You can get the plotline for Lipman's story by clicking on the link. It was a very fast, interesting read.
Which Brings Me to You had a fascinating premise that roped me in. It's written as a set of letters back and forth between two strangers who meet at a wedding and live in different cities in different states. They mail letters back and forth, only telling each other about the past, never talking about the future, until they feel like they know each other completely. Then they meet in person again. The book sounded great, but didn't deliver like I'd hoped. I didn't realize how boring it would be to read only about the past, with no developing plotline or forward movement. Granted, they do meet in the end, but only for about 10 pages of the book. So I didn't love it. I mean, it was okay, I wouldn't burn it or anything, but I've read some really great stuff this year, and this book doesn't make my list of favorites, for sure.
Yikes, I'm still 10 books away from my goal, and only 1.5 more months in the year! It's not looking good.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Reading list update
46. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It’s a novel about train circus life in the 1930’s. Fabulous. Read a real live review here, then go buy it, check it out, trade for it - however you get your hands on it, you’ll be glad you did. (cross-posted in regular blog)
47. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Story of a doctor in the 50's whose wife gives birth to twins - a healthy boy, and a girl with Down's Syndrome. He gives the girl away to be institutionalized - but tells his wife that the girl died. The nurse who helped deliver the babies, unable to leave the girl in an instituion, raises her instead. I enjoyed this book (though not as much as Water for Elephants).
48. Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won The Girl by Debra Garfinkle. I read this book because it was recommended for me on Amazon.com, and I usually enjoy their recommendations. I didn't realize until about halfway through that it's a Young Adult novel. Regardless, it was a funny story, and I thought it was a nice break from the heavier novels. It's the journal of a 14-year old high school freshman, dealing with his parent's divorce and a nerdy reputation. I liked it (check it out, don't buy it).
Out of the three, Elephants is a must-read. Absolutely.
47. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Story of a doctor in the 50's whose wife gives birth to twins - a healthy boy, and a girl with Down's Syndrome. He gives the girl away to be institutionalized - but tells his wife that the girl died. The nurse who helped deliver the babies, unable to leave the girl in an instituion, raises her instead. I enjoyed this book (though not as much as Water for Elephants).
48. Storky: How I Lost My Nickname and Won The Girl by Debra Garfinkle. I read this book because it was recommended for me on Amazon.com, and I usually enjoy their recommendations. I didn't realize until about halfway through that it's a Young Adult novel. Regardless, it was a funny story, and I thought it was a nice break from the heavier novels. It's the journal of a 14-year old high school freshman, dealing with his parent's divorce and a nerdy reputation. I liked it (check it out, don't buy it).
Out of the three, Elephants is a must-read. Absolutely.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Making my way
Friday Weigh-In: Down 1.8 pounds this week. Total of 17.2 pounds lost, and 12.8 remaining to my current goal.
Also, finished book 45: The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer. Very interesting concept here: a baby boy is born looking like a 70-year old man. As he grows older, he looks younger. Basically, his body ages in reverse, while his mind ages normally. At the end of his life, he has the mind of an old man, living in the body of a young boy. The story is set in San Francisco at the turn of the Twentieth Century. The premise is more interesting than the book itself, I thought. It was okay, but I wish I had spent my time reading Water for Elephants, or at least a Marian Keyes novel.
Also, finished book 45: The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer. Very interesting concept here: a baby boy is born looking like a 70-year old man. As he grows older, he looks younger. Basically, his body ages in reverse, while his mind ages normally. At the end of his life, he has the mind of an old man, living in the body of a young boy. The story is set in San Francisco at the turn of the Twentieth Century. The premise is more interesting than the book itself, I thought. It was okay, but I wish I had spent my time reading Water for Elephants, or at least a Marian Keyes novel.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Friday Weigh-In
This week, down 3 pounds even. Total of 15.4 pounds lost, and 14.6 remaining to my current goal.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Friday Weigh-In and Reading List
43. Northern Lights by Nora Roberts
44. Miss American Pie - A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s by Margaret Sartor
The Nora Roberts book was a romance mystery type novel, and I don't usually do mysteries and murder novels, but I do love me some Nora Roberts, so it was good.
Miss American Pie was on my Amazon.com Recommended list, so I checked it out at the library. It's a collection of excerpts from Sartor's diary from ages 14 - 18. It's totally random observations that go from shallow and teenaged to meaningful and spiritual. It wasn't as great as I hoped, but it was interesting.
As for the Friday weigh-in, we did have some forward progress this week. 1.4 pounds lost for a total of 12.4 pounds lost, and 17.6 remaining to my current goal.
44. Miss American Pie - A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing Up in the 1970s by Margaret Sartor
The Nora Roberts book was a romance mystery type novel, and I don't usually do mysteries and murder novels, but I do love me some Nora Roberts, so it was good.
Miss American Pie was on my Amazon.com Recommended list, so I checked it out at the library. It's a collection of excerpts from Sartor's diary from ages 14 - 18. It's totally random observations that go from shallow and teenaged to meaningful and spiritual. It wasn't as great as I hoped, but it was interesting.
As for the Friday weigh-in, we did have some forward progress this week. 1.4 pounds lost for a total of 12.4 pounds lost, and 17.6 remaining to my current goal.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Good Readin' Ahead
40. In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
41. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
42. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
All very good books. But if I had to choose, I'd definitely recommend Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Please read this book. It's about a young boy who lost his father in the World Trade Center collapse. He lives in New York City, and he spends his time trying to unravel the origin of a mysterious key he found hidden in his father's closet after his death. The boy is a strange, neurotic creature (he wears only white, he writes letters to famous people). He's a phenomenal character. The book also has pictures, which is a cool addition. I loved this book, seriously.
The Picoult novel also had graphics, interestingly - her story is interwoven with a comic book story, so there are comic book pages throughout. This is different than the other Picoult novels I've read, and I enjoyed it.
And you already know that I love Sarah Dunant, and I loved this book, no exception.
As for my weight loss, I lost 3 pounds last week - yay! Then the Yus came and I gorged, and I gained 2.8 pounds back. So - boo. But at least my total number is still a loss. Hopefully this week will show better progress. Currently 11 pounds lost, with 19 pounds to my current goal.
41. The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
42. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
All very good books. But if I had to choose, I'd definitely recommend Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Please read this book. It's about a young boy who lost his father in the World Trade Center collapse. He lives in New York City, and he spends his time trying to unravel the origin of a mysterious key he found hidden in his father's closet after his death. The boy is a strange, neurotic creature (he wears only white, he writes letters to famous people). He's a phenomenal character. The book also has pictures, which is a cool addition. I loved this book, seriously.
The Picoult novel also had graphics, interestingly - her story is interwoven with a comic book story, so there are comic book pages throughout. This is different than the other Picoult novels I've read, and I enjoyed it.
And you already know that I love Sarah Dunant, and I loved this book, no exception.
As for my weight loss, I lost 3 pounds last week - yay! Then the Yus came and I gorged, and I gained 2.8 pounds back. So - boo. But at least my total number is still a loss. Hopefully this week will show better progress. Currently 11 pounds lost, with 19 pounds to my current goal.
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