I have a friend named Tori. If you know her you know she is incredible! So smart, so driven, and so accomplished. Well I found her blog and become inspired.
Those of you who know me, know I LOVE TO SHOP. Mainly I love the hunt of finding a great designer brand item of clothing that I desperately need, for a walmart/generic price. I'm really good at my hobby.
I have found Jim Barnier boots for $30...regularly retail for $250-500. Ann Taylor Jackets for $10...wool, tweed, you name it. Who could say no to such an amazing finds? Coach, BR, Ann Taylor/LOFT, KORS, UGG, Tahari, Donna Ricco, etc are now all brands that make up my closet. I'm not saying this to brag, but I'm admitting I have a problem and it has now arrived at a point where I honestly can't justify buying anything more. I've been a little depressed about this because I don't NEED anything. But it's good for my wallet.
But I used shopping as a hobby and coping mechanism. Now I need a coping mechanism.
I have used art before but for me to do art I need large blocks of time, an art space, and great music. I don't have two of those necessities. I can't leave my art stuff and come back later because I have two children under the age of 3 who would love nothing more than to paint with in highly flammable and combustible mediums.
I found one of Tori's blog and on it she has a 50 book challenge. It's been a while since I have read a book. Actually not that long, but Tori would probably die if I admitted what I read last and how long it's been. I've always been apprehensive about mom book clubs.
I'm particular about what I read. I will admit I dislike HP. Yes, I refused to read it because I didn't like the way she wrote. I need something more when it comes to books. My favorite books include, 1776, John Adams, Uncle Tom's Cabin, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and almost any art history book. Can you see why HP, Twilight, and anything else read in a mom book club would not appeal to me?
I want to be inspired. i want to be motivated to be a better person from what I read. But the book does not have to be written by a classic author but I need to be inspired. Lord of the Rings inspired me, but actually I think that is considered a classic. Mainly because I love strong characters and particularly strong women characters.
Now I haven't read books but I have read lots of conference talks. I mean incredible amounts. If I played jeopardy conference talk version I would win. But sometimes readings immense amounts of gospel talks can have a negative impact on you, at least it did for me. They inspired me to be better but the imbalance of reading so much of gospel related materials made me realize how much I was lacking. So recently I have backed off.
But I know I need to read. It helps me stay cognitively alive and is much better than wasting my time on useless tv shows that I only watch because it entertains me for a moment or inspires me to shop...which is bad.
Lasting inspiration is what I want.
A 50 book challenge, probably not within Tori's time frame of one year, but mainly just a 50 book challenge. No more shopping, just reading.
I'm really excited.
Four boys and a girl...
Weekly Quote
"You will experience great joy in life as you eradicate adult-onset pessimism and substitute childlike optimism."
-Elder Perkins
Here is to a new year of being more optimistic and more like my amazing children. They teach me everyday about how to be better.
3 comments:
I have a website for you!! It's called goodreads.com and on it you can look up any genre of book that you like. You go to the "explore" tab and click on "listopia" and then you can just type in "strong female character" or "historical fiction" in the search box and it will bring up a list of those books...with ratings...in order of people's favorites. You will love it! Happy reading! Definitely let me know if you find a good one! I totally agree with you and your friend. Reading helps you cope with life for sure. You feel like you're using your brains and at the same time, you get to relax and recoup. Reading is sometimes the one thing I have to look forward to that day because honestly, mothering isn't always very mentally stimulating! I'm excited for you to try out the web site. I have it MASTERED :) Yup. I'm a nerd. Call me if you want and we'll search together!!...long comment....sorry.
I'm just going to admit I got a little excited by your post! I grabbed a paper after I read your post and made a list of recommendations that might fit what you're looking for but they're books from all genres. You can look them up on goodreads.com too and read about them. I think finding the right books is the hardest part of reading!
-The Help (Have you seen the movie yet? If not, read the book first!)
-Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier (kind of a classic)
-Left to Tell (this is non fiction but amazingly inspiring)
-Little Women (maybe you've already read this?)
-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (it's better than it sounds)
-Princess Academy (a Shannon Hale novel. It's a fast, fun read, and it's a Newbury Honor winner too)
-The Blue Sword (also Newbury winner but not quite as much of an Intermediate read as Princess Academy)
-The Hunger Games (not kidding. I know it's a mom's book club book, but it's a VERY strong female character and I honestly loved it!)
Okay. Thanks for indulging my bookwormishness! Good luck! I'm so excited. We should read a book at the same time. It's funnest when you get to talk to someone about it!
P.S. I didn't really like HP either. I only made it through 1.5 of them :)
Yay for a new challenge. I've been getting back into reading. I had trouble finding books I wanted to read etc., but lately I've just been sticking with all Newberry Award winners and I love it! It's been a lot of fun. Hope you find some great books to read!
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