Adventures in Reading: "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

READ THIS BOOK!

Honestly, if I could make a you-have-to-read-this-book-before-you-die bundle for everyone I know, this book would be in it. The writing itself isn't anything ground-breaking. It's essentially just story telling. What makes this book so amazing is the story, this true story that is now required reading for top military officials. Greg Mortenson overcame obstacle after obstacle, and his only goal was to help people. His story is so compelling, I literally cried about a half dozen times.

Greg's life proves that one person can make a difference. And it proves that a person of good character with right motives can bridge seemingly impossible gaps, that humans really aren't that different from each other anywhere on earth.

I can't really describe this book in a way that feels adequate to me right now. Suffice it to say that you should read it. Everyone should read it. It's a quick read, but it will have a lasting impression. I am eagerly awaiting the continuation of this story in "Stones into Schools", due out later this year.

Small Update

I've finally started "On Writing Well". The content itself is great, but what I really love is that each chapter is really short! It helps me motivate myself to keep reading.

And I love this quote: "Writing is an intimate transaction between two people, conducted on paper, and it will go well to the extent that it retains its humanity."

That's all for now!

Living the Questions Now

Here's a quote I just came across in Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet" that really stood out to me:

"...have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to love everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answers."

This passage really speaks to me right now. I plan to mull it over for a bit.

Sanitized

Conversation between my friend Izzy (3 1/2) and I from earlier this evening, as we prepared to watch his dad get baptized:

Avery: Hey Izzy!

Izzy: Hi Avery! I'm going to watch my dad get sanitized!

Best kid ever.

Oh, Life...

Now that I have essentially decided NOT to take Event Management classes this Fall, the duties of planning my company's annual Holiday Party have been handed over to me. You can bet I had a good laugh about the irony. :)

Adventures in Reading: "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers

This book is exceptionally genuine. It's hilarious and tragic, completely relatable and totally unique. Eggers' description of his parents' death, and the subsequent events that unfold could come off as just another story about overcoming personal tragedy. But Eggers appears to be more interested in relating to the reader on a real human level. The book is told in a very train-of-thought, stream-of-consciousness style, but it is rarely (if ever) hard to follow.

What makes this book really unique is its lack of moral purpose, by which I mean that Eggers does not relate his story with the intention of saying, "And now, dear reader, the moral of my story is...". This book is the story of being dropped into the middle of a situation and having to continue living in whatever way seems to work. Eggers' admittedly self-aware writing lets the reader in on the process of one man's working out of what life has handed him. His choices are often selfish or immature, but he is honest, and as a reader, one can't help but reserve judgement.

Also, this book is hilarious. You have to read the copyright page, the table of contents, and the acknowledgements. Basically any page with ink on it should be read.

I would reccomend this semi-fictional memoire, with the caution that some of the content is quite heavy. Eggers ability to make the reader laugh throughout the book is excellent, but as I said, some of the actual content is very, well...heartbreaking.

Plans for the Fall

My original plan for this Fall was to take a couple online classes in order to start working toward an Event Management Certificate. After working out the cost of classes and taking a step back to reevaluate things, I have decided that I will be taking a writing class instead. The class will be a workshop format, so I will have a chance to write and have my work critiqued, as well as having the opportunity to learn from others who are hoping to improve their own writing. The class is also in Corvallis, and it will give me the chance to get out into the community, which I am not totally comfortable with. The whole thing will be a pretty big stretch for me, but that's probably a good thing.

I haven't completely given up on the Event Coordinator path, but for the time being, this seems to make more sense. The workshop doesn't start until the end of September, so there's still plenty of time for all these plans to go out the window, but I'm feeling pretty good about them so far.

I'm hoping to also take a yoga class this Fall...you know, become really well-rounded and what not.

Ink On Paper

This week has been a challenge. But I've been writing. Not much, and probably nothing anyone will ever read, but it's still ink on paper. And that's the only place there is to start. We'll see where it takes me.

So Many Books!

My ottoman is currently covered by a stack of books, and I love it! "On Writing Well" has been hanging out there (still unread, unfortunately, but I plan on righting that wrong soon), and it has now been joined by several friends! I finally bought myself a copy of "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. I have been wanting to read this book for soooo long, and I finally have it! It is the story of a mountaineer who ends up building a school in an impoverished village in Pakistan. After finishing "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" (which I will review soon), I was hoping for something a bit more uplifting in my next book choice, and I believe this book could be just what I'm looking for. 

Last night I had dinner with my aunt and uncle, and my uncle gave me two books my Elmore Leonard to read. I don't really know anything about either book, but he said they're worth a read and they shouldn't take me long, so we'll see how that goes!

And last but not least, I stopped at the library today and picked up three books either by or about Rainer Maria Rilke, the German poet. One is a book of poetry called "The Book of Hours". Another is a collection of letters Rilke wrote to a writing student, and it is called "Letters to a Young Poet". The third book is called "The Poet's Guide to Life: The wisdom of Rilke", and is a collection of writings and philosophies. I have heard a lot about Rilke, and that his writings have inspired many people. Honestly, the titles of all the books are what convinced me to pick them all up. 

I have no idea where I'm going to start with my new collection, but I will let you know how it goes! 

On Writing Well

Before I went on vacation a few weeks ago, I was given a copy of "On Writing Well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction", and I'm very excited to start reading it! I'll let you know how it goes...

Adventures in Reading: "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Sorry this review took so long! It took me a while to get through the book itself, plus I went on vacation and just had other things going on. I do wish I had gotten around to this sooner, though, because I feel like I'm forgetting what it was I wanted to say about it. Such is life sometimes.

The concept of this book is really intriguing to me. When Shadow, a recently released convict, takes a job with the mysterious Wednesday, he soon discovers that the physical and spiritual world are really just one place. He is then thrust into the middle of an impending battle between the gods of the past (Odin, Horus, Eostre) and the gods of today (television, internet). Throughout the novel there are also several stories describing how the old gods were brought to America by believers.

What really held my interest in this story was the way the author just drops the reader into the story, and the way the reader, like Shadow, often accept the events of the story as they come without much thought about the utter impossibility of what is occurring. A dog speaks, Shadow responds, and it isn't until later that either Shadow or the reader seems to take notice of the strangeness of the situation.

Over all, I really enjoyed this book. There were times when I stopped reading so I could go look up the history of one god or another, and there were times when I just plowed through, knowing that the author would provide me with what I needed to know. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging read, who also doesn't mind a lot of graphic imagery and language. None of the violence or language felt gratuitous, but it was still prevalent throughout the story.