The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha

The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things by Neil Pasricha

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked this book up because the title was funny to me: The Book of Awesome...I wanted to see if it really was awesome!

The author Neil Pasricha made this book out of the blog he keeps (http://1000awesomethings.com/). Basically, the blog & book are about the little things in life that are really awesome--like popping bubble wrap and waking up early and realizing that it's actually Saturday.

I enjoyed this book and have recommended it to a few coworkers who were looking for a funny, quick read.



View all my reviews

The Sound of Colors: A Journey of the Imagination by Jimmy Liao

The Sound of Colors: A Journey of the Imagination by Jimmy Liao

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I came across this book while weeding the fiction section at work and I just had to put it aside to look at it more. This story is about a nearly blind lady who describes what she "sees" in her imagination as she walks through life.

The pictures are amazing; they are all interesting, if not what one would picture while on an acid trip--not disturbing...just sort of strange.

I got a feeling of wistfulness at some parts of the story; in fact, I felt it right at the beginning: "A year ago / I began to notice / that my sight was slipping away. / I sat at home alone / and felt the darkness settle around me. / But today I walked outside..."

And this part near the middle of the story: "Home is the place / where everything I've lost / is waiting patiently / for me / to find my way back..."

And also this part in the middle: "There must be someone / who'll sit beside me / sip tea, / tell me her hopes for the future, / and listen to mine..." (Aww! *wipes away a tear*)

There's an author's note in the back; I was curious to learn whether he is blind or losing his sight himself. It doesn't mention that, though it does state that he is a cancer survivor.

I don't know that I'd recommend this book to kids, though I'm sure they'd enjoy the pictures. Maybe if a child read it along with an adult...? Regardless, this book warmed my heart.



View all my reviews

My (not-so-successful) 48-hour Reading Challenge Results

I tried to do as much reading and listening to books as possible for the challenge, but I didn't measure up very well next to others competing in this challenge. I broke down my reading time into what I read and when, but it's not very impressive. I suppose that it's okay for someone who had places to be for many of the 48 hours!

--Friday morning: 7:30-8:30--Read the [adult] book _House Rules_ by Jodi Picoult
--Friday morning during errands: 9:30-10:00--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--Friday afternoon during errands: 10:30-11:00; 12:00-1:00--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--1:15-3:15--continued listening to _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence
--Then, after all of my errands, I was cranky and didn't feel like doing anything but taking a nap! That's not very good for reading...so I lost a lot of time that way. After I woke up, I only read for another hour or so: 6:00-7:00--continued reading _House Rules_ by Jodi Picoult


Friday's total=6 hours


--Then, on Saturday, I had to work all day! On my long commute to work: 8:00-9:00--I finally finished _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence and then started right in on _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell. (If I was already listening to an audio book and then I started another one, does that bypass the rule that I can only listen to one? I hope it does.)
--I tried to read while on the service desk, but that is much easier said than done; I kept getting interrupted or distracted by things going on in the department. I began _Redwall_ by Brian Jacques around 10:30 and only managed to read the first 10 chapters by 4:30. When I add all of the starting and stopping that took place throughout the day, I'd say that I only read maybe an hour and a half, total. Reading FAILURE!
--Breaktime at work: 12:15-1:00--I read a WWE magazine.
--On an errand and then to my parents' house: 5:15-6:30--I continued listening to _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell.
--On the way home from my parents' house: 12:30-1:15--I continued listening to _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell.

Saturday's total=5.25 hours

48-hour reading challenge total= 11.25 hours

Well...it's something to beat next year! Maybe I won't have errands for most of the day one day and have to work most of the day for the second day. Sigh.

The Great Reading Challenge!

The great reading challenge is going on now. I've been trying my best to read & listen to books as much as life will allow me. Yesterday consisted of a lot of errand-running (so I listened to an audio book in the car) and I read the adult book I have at home because I forgot the children's book at work that I was planning on reading. So, here's where I stand so far:

[Adult] Book: _House Rules_ by Jodi Picoult -still reading
Audio Book: _The Giant-Slayer_ by Iain Lawrence -finished
Audio Book: _Falling In_ by Frances O'Roark Dowell -still listening
Book: _Redwall_ by Brian Jacques -still reading

Not that great, but there are hours to go! I'll check in later.