I met a man in India who said, "All Americans do is read. I can't understand it. They come on vacation and instead of enjoying the beautiful surroundings, the beach, the fresh air, the sand between their toes... they are stuck in a book! What is that all about?! Those poor Americans!"
I laughed and told him that I was one of them. He shook his head in disbelief and disgust. "Why?!" I tried to explain that part of reading on vacation IS enjoying the fresh air and the sand. Reading is relaxing and stimulating and fun. He wasn't buying it. Americans are to be pitied for their bad habit.
Right now I'm in the middle of several books. I sit in my shady backyard with liters of water, and a lawn chair, and I read the afternoon away... with these...
1. "Seven Stages of Money Maturity, a Spiritual Approach." Ok, not exactly summer reading, but quite interesting. The writer states that the highest stage of money maturity is when you see money as a conduit to seeing your deepest dreams come true... Money isn't a barrier, or a future wish, or a stress in and of itself...you get to ask yourself where those beliefs come from, and then change them. My problem has always been hoarding money. I'm TOO good at keeping my savings account high. When I have a future vision of something that will cost a lot of money, I have no problem walking past little things I would really want. (the book calls it self-sabotage when you spend it all on minor things, inevitably giving up the chance to see your vision come true.) I never run out of money, and I love that security. But where does this hoarding come from? How can I be a bit more balanced? (Ask Lumina... I need to get a bit more balanced!) Fun book.
2. I just finished a friend's novel manuscript. It's over 300 pages of wit and romance in Jane Austen's style. Quite endearing.
3. "Your Auras and Your Chakras." ha ha! Loving it! India deepened my spiritual life. I saw and felt and heard things I've never experienced before. Time to learn more.
4. Because I'll be working with Veterans at my new job, I checked out a couple fictional books about ex-soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder, which will be the majority of my new clientelle.
5. My 8th grade journal. It's a real page turner. Like, oh my gosh...talk about serious boy and best friend issues. Wait, may I quote it please?
MY FIRST MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE:
"Jim was saying that if I really liked him I go up to him and tell him! I did, and he didn't expect me to do it I guess cause he turned bright red, even though I couldn't see him very well because the lights were down. Next thing I know I was going out with him. All my dreams came true! He said he didn't want to slow dance because he didn't know how..."
MY BEST FRIENDS:
"Julie and I come over to talk to Kristy because she and Tina are mad. I trusted Tina forever and she told Kristy my secret. I learned a great lesson. DON'T TRUST ANYONE! I'm not going to trust my best friends anymore because it always gets me in trouble when it backfires..."
Two days later everything was fine again, and we were all best friends again. Ah, middle school...
I love reading.
Pray tell, what are you silly Americans/Canadians reading today?
5 comments:
Oo! Oo!
I enjoy reading blogs.
And I just started "Guns, Germs, and Steel." Veeeerrry interesting.
And for work, "Judicious Discipline." It sounds cooler if you say it Bill and Ted style. Ju-DI-cious, dude!
I love old journals. I fell in love for the first time in 9th grade. Pure comedy.
(Laughing) This is so funny Emily.
but then sad because i just realized that Im not in ANY book right now! Reading for fun is one of my greatest pleasures and Iv never not been in a book. My life has become very unbalanced in that I am too dang busy to breath. My last good novel was River god by:Wilbur Smith I love all his stuff http://wilbursmithbooks.com/
I am still lingering over Syliva Plath's heartbreaking journals, I just started 'A Room of One's Own' by Virginia Woolf, and I can't wait to start the "New York Trilogy" by Auster.....I LOVE reading, and hearing your afternoons helps me to not feel guilty spending my time doing so!
Today I'm reading blogs. I have a stack of books in the trunk that neither of us have touched during this vacation. It's been a lot of work trying to keep up with our own writing. (But work in the fun sense of the word.)
I've read the money book you're reading before. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it.
I love reading! My curiosity about religion, consciousness, and understanding how the world works has become insatiable. I've realized at the age of 38 that there isn't enough time left to learn everything I want to so I feel like I'm in a race to comprehend my surroundings, especially humanity.
I am just about finished with one of the most moving, funny, and thought provoking books I've ever read, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
My next book is "Dying to Live" by Susan Blackmore. It explores near death experiences and out of body experiences from a scientific perspective.
I also recently bought "Cradle to Cradle”, a book that Amberlynn suggested on her blog a while ago (http://livingyellow.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html) that is about revolutionizing our way of thinking/living to make environmental impact of everything we do our top priority.
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