Last year, I read Dani Shapiro’s Inheritance the week it came out. In it, Shapiro finds out through DNA testing that her father was not her biological father, and that she was conceived via artificial insemination using a sperm donor. The book deals with the fallout, as she grapples with issues of identity, truth, and the ethics and implications for donor-conceived children. Shapiro has been one of my favorite writers since I read Still Writing the previous year and loved her take on the …
what I read
A Year of Literary Happiness
I’m not one to rip off other people’s ideas, but when Gretchen Rubin, on her podcast, suggested trying a happiness project in the new year, it got my wheels turning. To say I was unhappy last year is an understatement. I don’t want to belabor that point and keep saying it was hard (even if it was). What I want to do is turn the page and head in a new direction. Part of that is adopting my two mantras for the year: DO THE WORK and ENJOY IT. Do the work because this is the year I’m going to …
What I Read | March Edition
March was filled with more books than I expected, but not more reading. I listened to one audio book while traveling (I liked the listening, but audio books are long!) and read one slowly aloud to my daughter (I can't wait until she can someday read it to me!). I'm still kind of feeling burned out from all of that reading last year, which I hope wears off soon. I've thought about going on a reading fast to help cure it. A few years ago when I worked my way through The Artist's Way, I fasted …
What I Read | January-February Edition
This year, the reading has definitely slowed down. It's kind of frustrating, actually. I just have so many books I want to read. But between reading one very long book and adding the Skillshare class into the mix, leisurely reading hasn't been the highest priority. However, I did manage to read a handful of books so far this year. Forgiving Our Fathers and Mothers by Leslie Leyland Fields | I would definitely recommend this book to anyone coming from an abusive family home. It walks …
Books to Read in 2015
At first, I didn't think I was going to make a book list for myself this year. It's been an annual tradition the last few years, but this year I want to release all the pressure of last year to read a certain number of books. And I think I have (January's total is going to be two -- that is so low!).* What I like about having a book list, though, isn't its ambition or magnitude; it's that it sets an intention, a guideline. Here's what I'd like to read, though I fully expect not to read half …