What I'm Reading III

Alternate post title: Thank God for Libraries Full o' Free Books
Second alternate post title:  Unfinished Book Reviews (Again)

The list of books I want to read is growing so long, it actually hurts my head a little to think of it.  I'm not complaining, mind you.  I love reading, and the fact that there are so many delicious books that I have yet to dive in to makes me feel exhilarated.  Often, I find myself inwardly whining about not having enough time to read, but recently, I came to a realization that changed things for me.

Me: Ugghhh!  Another book to read?  

Less Annoying Me: Ugghhh!  More whining?

Me: But I don't have any tiiiiime!  Grr!

Less Annoying Me: Shut up.  You're a stay-at-home-mom, and half the time you don't even do laundry or dishes.  Not many grown-ups have more time than you.

Me:  So, what you're saying is...?

Less Annoying Me:  Maybe try a new plan.  Step 1- stop complaining about not having any time when you're wasting it on facebook and Subway Surfing on the Kindle Fire.  Step 2- read more books, simultaneously.  There's no way this "one at a time" nonsense is going to work.  Duh.

See, the last reading plan of mine has not been quite as effective since Baby has been sleeping through the night.  Hence, the Great Threebook Experiment.

Book #1- 

This is one that my dad and my oldest nephew have been insisting that I read for years now.  If I had taken their advice and read it a long time ago, I probably could have borrowed it from the library.  Now, there's even a wait for the audio version on CD, because, as my dad mentioned in the frantic text message he sent to me last week, the movie comes out in November and even the trailer is full of spoilers.  Lucky for me, the Kindle version was less than $5, and now I'm 72% done.  Let me say this carefully, so as not to be like the spoiler-filled movie trailer:  the beginning made me feel sad-almost unbearably so-because I'm the mom of a 6 year-old.  The middle made me angry, and during the last 15% or so, I've started to get "The Gotta" (Stephen King's term from Misery, meaning exactly what you'd think.  If you've ever read a good book, you know about The Gotta.).  So far, I've also managed to avoid seeing any ads for the movie (thank you, DVR!), and I'm confident that I can finish the book without having the ending spoiled for me.

Book #2-

At least 255 days of each year, Husband starts his morning watching Mike & Mike on ESPN 2.  They've been hosting a morning sports radio talk show for many more years than I've known about them, and at some point they started showing the radio broadcast on TV.  I enjoy talk radio, and I enjoy sports, and I enjoy my husband being happy, so I've gotten into it, too.  There are occasions that I turn it on before Husband wakes up, or keep it on after he has left for work.  Both Mikes are the kind of guys that you expect to be friends with as soon as you meet.  Also, they disagree about things sometimes, but not in the put-on, super annoying way that a lot of other sportscasters disagree.  Plus, they almost always have great things to say about my team's QB, even though my team is not usually the greatest.  I probably didn't need to ramble on and on about all of that, just to let you know that I feel like I know the Mike who wrote this, his first novel.

Back to the book!  Husband picked it up for me from the library the other day (prompting the whiny conversation in my head that I relayed up there) and I've just started Part 2, about 1/3 of the way through.  I'm really, really enjoying it so far.  I do sort-of "hear" Greenberg's voice, especially in the humorous parts, and my suspicion that most radio personalities have potty mouths when off air has been bolstered by the language in the book.  (I don't mind when book-people curse, as long as the words fit with their persona.)  I keep looking for evidence of inexperience or poor writing skills, but I've been pleasantly surprised to instead find myself engaged by and relating to the characters.  The only problem for me is that I read the summary of the story a couple of months ago when the book had just been released.  I was hoping all through Part 1 that I was remembering the summary of a different book, and that what I suspected was going to happen wasn't really going to happen to these women whom I already am attached to.  Alas, my memory served, and the first sentences of Part 2 confirmed my sad suspicions.  Without having finished it, I feel like it's kind-of cheating to recommend it.  Howzabout I'll let you know if I change my mind at the end, and want to take back my recommendation?  For now, go ahead and grab it.  I can vouch for Part 1, at least.

Book #3-

Because, well, I said I would.  Plus, my parents gifted me with it.  I'll admit, the multiple before-chapter-1 chapters annoyed me.  A LOT.  I figured there must have been some sort of dare, like, "Betcha can't use every sort of introduction in one book" so the authors were like, "Oh, yeah?  Watch this!"  Author's note.  Foreword.  Preface.  Introduction.  Chapter A.  A note to the reader. That's when I stopped reading, for a while, but I've picked it back up because, well, I said I would.  Like when reading a textbook or the Bible, I've even been prompted to highlight passages.  It's written pretty well, once the actual chapters start, and seems to be well-researched, too.  Probably you didn't know it, but I have a relative (NOT the sister I always mention) who is an addict, and that's one of the kinder words I use to describe her, lately.  If you're of a mind to do so, please pray for our family.  Even while reading the helpful words of those who have lived through the horror of a loved one's addiction, I'm finding it hard to be encouraged.

In other news, I found another great deal today!

Quick!  Get your bottled water before the sale ends and it goes back to the regular price!  Oh, and make sure you use your extra special card for the purchase.

Read more, whine less, and don't pay too much for bottled water.

What are YOU reading?

Snagged any great deals lately?

Never Have I Ever...

...played the drinking game with the same title as this post.  For real, Mom and Dad.  I never did!  I just saw it on tv.  Feel free to check out the rules in the link and play as you read this post, though.  Then you can comment with how many times you (would have) had to drink  Sometimes, I am taken aback by how ridiculously happy and blessed I am, and I start to feel a bit guilty about my cheery, adorable-photo-filled, mushy gushy, sunshine and rainbows, I-love-my-husband-and-running posts.  I feel like I should make it clear that I am also often taken aback by how imperfect I am; how many stupid things I do, how many bad decisions I make.  Please enjoy (It's okay to take pleasure in reading about the shortfalls of others- we all do it.  Right?  No?  Well, then there's one.) my Confessions of Ineptitude.

Never Have I Ever...
...opened the box containing the iron or unwrapped the ironing board, both purchased over 3 years ago, because I didn't own either one.  Yes, that means what you think it means.  6 y.o. has never seen a clothes iron used in our home.

...washed our house's windows or screens.  I have dusted the blinds and vacuumed the windowsills, but I wouldn't even know where to begin actual window washing.  I seem to remember using the garden hose to spray water at the windows when I was growing up, but that may not have actually been helpful to my parents.
...mowed a lawn.  I see our old lady neighbor, out using her push mower, and feel a little twinge of...something.  Embarrassment, probably, but it feels a little like regret mixed with fear (of getting to retirement age and having to sacrifice buying coffee so I can pay the lawn guys) and relief.  Again, I wouldn't even know where to begin.
...put money in the buckets held by people standing in the road, or in the hands of people holding signs.  I actually consider myself to be a pretty generous and charitable person, and I do donate food, clothing, and money to different organizations.  The people on the side of the road scare me, though, and I always pretend I don't see them.  When I think it through, it's very silly.  As if throwing a dollar into the bucket of the reflective vest wearer will somehow give him the inclination to drag me out of my car and murder me?  As if lowering my window and handing spare change to the person holding the "homeless and hungry anything help godbless" sign is going to instigate an attack or kidnapping?  Probably not.
...been so ashamed of my feet.  I have a spa gift card, waiting to be used on a pedicure, and I can't bring myself to set an appointment.  I'm sure they're not the most disgusting feet in the universe, but they're easily the most disgusting I've ever owned.

My actual feet, before they betrayed me and turned to the dark side.

...been asked for hair styling, makeup, decorating, fashion, or dancing tips.  I'm quite certain I never will be asked, either.
...been the Fantasy Football league champion.  I did make the playoffs last season!  I was even ranked first for several weeks.  Ended up in 4th place, my highest (just out of the money) finish yet.

Almost Always, I...
...procrastinate.  I put off easy tasks.  I put off difficult tasks.  I put off necessary things, I put off phone calls and emails and really silly things like filling up water bottles.  Why does "later" always seem more appealing than "now"?  Procrastinating is almost always the wrong choice, and I wish I could give advice on how to stop it, but the only tip I can think of is the obvious one- just do it now.

Ha!

...park my car crookedly.  Yep.  I'm one of those.  Mine is the car you shake your head at as you walk through the lot, and mutter, "Wheredja learn to park?" or something.  Even more ridiculous than the fact that I am so bad at parking after almost 20 years of practice (GAAAH!  I'M SO OLD!) is the joy and pride I feel when I occasionally find my car in the center of the space.  It's not such a huge accomplishment.  Really, I should be celebrating and sending pictures to my family when I have not procrastinated doing a simple chore like folding laundry or emptying the dishwasher.
...am late.  I'm terrible at estimating the time it takes to do anything, even if I've done it 100 times.  I'm also easily distracted.  Not sure if you know it, but that combo does not equal promptness.  Remember what I said up there about doing stupid things?  Here's one that I do way too often: I set my alarm to wake me up with what I think is 20 extra minutes to get ready.  Stay in bed an extra 5 minutes.  End up with 5 extra minutes before I need to leave the house, and rather than just getting in my crooked car and leaving early, I start a task that I've been procrastinating.  I tell myself it will only take 3 minutes.  Inevitably, it takes at least 10.  I check the clock, feel genuine shock, and rush out the door.
...skip flossing.  I was going to put this in the "never have I ever" category, but I'm positive I've flossed my teeth at some point in my life.  I remember my gums bleeding.  I think the last time I flossed was pre-Y2K.  I stopped, figuring that if the world was going to end anyway, there was really no point in having super healthy teeth.

10 years, no floss.  Na na na boo boo, folks with a genetic predisposition toward tooth decay.

I have a hard time remembering...
...what the red and blue, elephant and donkey represent.  I mean, I know they symbolize Republicans and Democrats, but I can never remember which color is which and which animal is which.
...how to tell the difference between a bass and a regular guitar.  Yes, this is coming from the same gal who has attended a really awesome number of rock concerts.
...to concentrate on my form when I'm running.  One day, I went to the gym at 5 a.m. and ran on the treadmill directly in front of the window so that I could see my reflection perfectly.  I had forgotten my iPod.  There were only 1 or 2 other people anywhere close.  I still got distracted from watching myself and fixing my obvious errors.
...to respond to party invitations.  I feel like such a heel about it, too.  Not a pretty, just pedicured heel, either.  Like, one of my heels.
...to use coupons before they expire.  Nothing makes me growl and stomp like throwing away money.
...due dates.  For more than a decade, I didn't set foot in the library because I had forgotten to return some books that were in the trunk of my car when I sold it.  I was granted a library card again a few years ago, and now I think of my late fines as donating to a charity that I like.  If I don't think of it that way, I get all growly and stompy again.

I could go on, of course.  I thought about asking Husband for additional evidence of my ineptitude, but then I figured I would get upset, no matter what he said.  Here's something you should remember- asking people to tell you your faults, in detail, will usually not make you feel so sunshine-y and smiley.  Better to just concentrate on the triumphs and joys in your life, and put off fixing your faults until tomorrow.

How many times would you have had to drink in agreement with my statements?

Any tips on window washing?  I might try it soon.