Who were your heroes?

When I was a little girl, I was fascinated by historical figures.  My parents spoiled my sister and I by giving us books constantly throughout our childhood.  I had so many favorites, but here are a few of the ones I remember best: 


Marie Curie 
Nobel Prize Winner in Physics in 1903 
Her BIO here


This book was one of my favorites: 



Abraham Lincoln 


As a Kentuckian & a lawyer, I love all things Abe Lincoln.  
This book particularly piqued my interest: 



Amelia Earhart 
Famous aviatrix who disappeared during her attempt to fly around the world at its widest part - near the equator.  





I was assigned to prepare a book report on this book in 4th grade.  I remember being fascinated by her drive and ambition but also a little spooked about the fact that she was never found and essentially disappeared into radio silence. I applaud my 4th grade teacher for providing us with assignments about famous American males and females.  


Laura Ingalls Wilder 


My grandmother and I used to read books from the Little House on the Prairie series.  I would borrow them from her set (until I got my own) and excitedly return them to her after devouring them.  I wanted to be a for-real prairie girl for years after reading those books, around the age of 5-6.  Luckily, I lived in the middle of a gigantic pecan farm and got lots of opportunities to pretend that I lived in the wilderness of Missouri, the Dakotas and Minnesota - just like Laura.  I still want to visit her homestead in Missouri one of these days. 





This is why teaching children to read early and often - & not just fiction - is incredibly important.  

Book Review: The End of Normal

I blogged about reading this book right before our trip to Austria.  I probably finished this book in about 6 hours.  It was not only a well-written account of Mark Madoff's widow, but it really gives the reader an insight into exactly how news of the scandal broke to Bernie Madoff's family.  I know, there are probably some less savory parts that were left out to make it appear as if there was no wrongdoing by Mark whatsoever.  However, after reading this book, I feel as if I have a better understanding of the events that took place behind the scenes.  I also cannot stand Bernie Madoff -- and he didn't even take my money!

The reason for the author's name-change is also explained in the book, as well.  She did not remarry.  If you're looking for a non-fiction quick read, this is definitely it.  Enjoy!

Good books lately . . .

I just finished the book County Dr. David Ansell.  It was a good, quick read.  I'm fascinated by hospital politics -- especially 1980s Chicago politics.  I learned a great deal about the key players in Chicago politics and health care reform over the past 30-40 years.  It is amazing that many of the now commonplace screening programs and clinics implemented throughout the country began in Chicago.
NYT book review HERE.


After watching a 20/20 special (which I love!) on Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos,  I felt compelled to read Delivering Happiness.  He wrote the book without a ghostwriter, which I feel makes it very personal and conversational.  I am always inspired (and a little jealous) of people who take very unconventional paths and end up being wildly successful.  Most interesting -- he wrote the book in 2-3 weeks.  (In some places, you can tell).  However, I like books that make me think about what I'm doing to make my life "great."  He didn't even try to be notable or inspiring.  He simply set out to create a welcoming and inspiring work environment for his employees.  It's a great & quick read.  More details HERE



Last, but certainly not least, I read The Devil All the Time, on my husband's iPad all the way home for Thanksgiving vacation.  With a few rest stop and work telephone call breaks, I managed to read this truly disturbing book very quickly.  It has been three days and I still don't know what I think of it.  It is graphic, violent, explicit and pretty Godless (ironically).  That's the point.  I read a few reviews that put it best:  the characters constantly appear to seek God but God is notably absent for much of the story.  The theme of religion and spirituality is omnipresent in every individual storyline.  For each character, religion is a peripheral presence that occasionally borders on the extreme.  It is manifested in ways that force the reader to confront the Godlessness that plagues each character.  I will let you know when I figure out the rest of the book. :)

HERE is a little more information.

Christmas wish list: Martha's Entertaining, A Year of Celebrations

The party-planner in me just squealed like a little girl:


Book review HERE.

What I've been reading:

So over the weekend, I completely unplugged and wiped out two books.

I read, The Rogue, Joe McGinnis' book about Sarah Palin.  It was pretty interesting.  A lot of it you could have gotten from a thorough internet search -- there is lots of anti-Palin info out there.  Most of all, it kind of put a lot of information and misinformation about her together.  She's pretty wretched.  Then again, I kind of already knew that.  :)



I also read, Room, by Emma Donoghue.  I couldn't put it down for a second.
It is incredibly gripping and uncomfortable all at the same time.  There are parts of it that made me gasp out loud.  However, if I tell you about any of them, it might ruin a truly intense read.  (and I hate other people's long opinions about books, so I'd rather not torture you with my own.) This book is definitely worth it. :)

Lately

I have been a half-hearted blogger.  This is primarily because all I do all day is sit in front of a computer and type and read and type and read . . . I love it.  I really do.  It is so much easier to go into work loving a job, even one that is new and challenging, than to go into work never knowing what to expect because you work in the law firm equivalent of the monkey house at the zoo -- or as I affectionately referred to it in the past, a goat rodeo.

I've been busy traveling for wedding receptions, long weekends with friends, and working quite a bit.  It leaves little time for blogging.  However, I am never too busy to shoot a photo to the blog.

In a nutshell:

• nasty smoking neighbors moved out, looking forward to non-smoking female law students moving in downstairs in August 
• BFF is coming to visit this weekend & we're going to see Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, & the Band Perry
• The Help will be in theaters this fall
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen turned out to be wonderful -- at least the half of the book I got through before my husband realized that it was overdue :) Looking forward to finishing that one . . . 
• & The Happiness Project, for that matter, would have been great.  Darn library deadlines are not designed for people who are too busy to read every single day. 
• Thank you to my husband for introducing me to Elie Goulding, Oh Land, and The new New Pornographers cds.  
• Also a big fan of Girl Talk and LaRoux at the moment -- especially "I'm not your toy." 
• Not a fan of flash mobs beating the crap out of people in my usually safe neighborhood. 
• Also not a fan of some of my favorites leaving Chicago recently :(  for cold Ann Arbor. 

I promise a more cohesive and well-written post at some point before Labor Day -- that's all I can do for the moment :) 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I just devoured this book.  Recently, I've fallen in love with checking out e-books from my public library and reading them on my iPhone through the Overdrive app.  It is not only convenient but completely free!

The characters are loveable without being too soft.  The stories are realistic enough to make you a little uncomfortable at the most appropriate points in each story.  A friend recommended this book to me and after months of waiting on the public library's hold list, it was finally my turn.  It is without a doubt one of the best books I've read in awhile.  On to the next one!




As I've said many times before, I'm not great at book summaries.  THIS NYT article provides a great synopsis and critique of the novel.

What I'm reading now: Oprah: A Biography - My Preliminary Impressions

I'm not an Oprah fan.  Not by a longshot.  That's why I am enjoying this book.  I have long suspected that behind Oprah's facade of big-giving, big-loving, loud-talking, favorite-thing-naming, she's got issues.  Big ones. I don't fault her for that.  I fault her for hiding them so carefully.  She's not even good at hiding them because her secrets always seem to find her.  More than once, she has been forced to confront a demon from her past to prevent an ambush by the media.  More than once, she has confirmed the media's reports or suspicions.  I want to believe that she's entirely good and has always been incredibly selfless.  However, what I'm learning from her book is that she is at the center of a well-manufactured machine made up of public relations professionals and people prepared to use her resources to their fullest to accomplish her goals -- or to squelch dissent. 

More updates later as I continue to work my way through this 600+ page monstrosity.  

Book Review: The Fountainhead

I highly recommend this book.  I am always looking for something new to read.  For a long time, I felt like this book was an unattainable goal.  It's incredibly long, rife with interconnected sub-plots, deep themes and complicated relationships.  It required me to think about the characters, their motivations, and their guiding philosophies.  I like books that demand a little engagement of me.  

As an English Literature/Philosophy double major, this book appealed to me on several different levels.  Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism, the ego, and individualism shines through the well-developed characters.  It's quite an undertaking -- nearly 800 pages -- but well worth the effort.  I'm not great at book summaries but both Sparknotes - The Fountainhead & Wikipedia - The Fountainhead have excellent analyses of the book and its characters.  

Book review: Dirty Sexy Politics by Megan McCain

Don't waste your time.  I thought that I would give it a try.  I was a little hesitant, as I'm not a huge MM fan.  I do like her dad, though.  I wanted a light, easy audiobook to listen to during my commute everyday, as I get tired of the same music over and over again.  It is every bit as vacant as I thought it might be -- okay, maybe a little worse.

This review is probably a better assessment of her than I could ever provide.

She proves only that throughout the campaign she tried to attach herself to her father's campaign, while knowing nothing about politics, image, and/or selflessness.  It's a blatantly narcissistic look at the 2008 campaign.  It's incredibly interesting to see the campaign through her eyes -- until you realize the narrowness of her focus.  I wasn't all that impressed.

More reading, less reality television

One of my goals this year is to be a little less obsessed with this
this: 

and this: 

Technology has definitely taken over.  Last Friday, I turned off the television, ignored my cell phone and finished this book: 

It was a great thriller.  The writing was okay -- not great.  However, I'm sort of in love with the thought of Russia at the moment.  Very fascinating.  More on that later.

The bottom line is that I felt more relaxed and disconnected than I have in quite some time.  I dozed in between chapters and felt truly relaxed.  I will be doing this more often.  I also think that it made me feel better about going back to work next week.  I feel a little more space between work and my personal life.  I've needed that for quite some time, so I am looking forward to seeing how getting back into reading and working out more often will help my sanity.

My next project:

My favorite childhood books

Every so often we talk about having kids or what we'll do when we have kids, etc.  We're excited but we're still not planning on having them for awhile.  However, I always think of things that I want to teach them, read to them, and/or have them experience.  For me, books were incredibly important as a child and into adulthood.

My parents taught me to read pretty early in life (around 3).  I slept with books instead of stuffed animals.  I loved to go to the library for storytime on Wednesdays -- mostly because of the puppets.  My love of reading only grew as my parents bought me loads of books on tape.  I followed along and helped teach my little sister to read, as well.

I can't wait to share my love of reading and books with my children.  These are a few of my favorites:









The whole series is amazing.

























That's probably enough for now!

Happy new year!!