Pausing to think…and write…about my world.
In 2014 I met my goal of reading 65 books. (I always join the Goodreads Reading Challenge.) Some were really exceptional and some were pretty bad. I also re-read about a dozen books; they are not included on this list.
Favorite Books of 2014
Wild – Cheryl Strayed
Wonder – R.J. Palacio
Golden Boy – Abigail Tarttelin
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – Rachel Joyce
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
I just finished Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman and I’m officially putting it on my imaginary list of books that really make me think.
I am a fan of the Netflix show and of course I binge watched both seasons as soon as they arrived in the queue. (I also once accosted Dascha Polanco on the street to beg for more episodes.) The thing I really like about the show is the way it tells the personal stories of the inmates and how they ended up behind bars. It’s also well-written and the actors are some of the best in the industry. However, the book filled in some gaps for me that I haven’t grasped from watching the TV show.
Read moreBooks I Want To Write About: Orange is the New Black
This book is the story of the January 12, 1888, blizzard that led to the deaths of hundreds of people—many of them children who had gone off to school for the day and then tried to get home after the storm began. It is harrowing in its deadly detail, but also a fascinating look at the early days of meteorology and the personal stories of immigrants to the Great Plains.
Read moreBooks I Want to Write About: The Children’s Blizzard
I didn’t expect to like Wild, mostly because when I read the description I thought it sounded a bit ridiculous. But one day I had a moment of boredom and decided to check it out. Turns out, it’s really good!
I thought it was going to be a girl version of AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, west coast style. It was, but it wasn’t. On the one hand, it was every way of NOT preparing to hike the Pacific Coast Trail alone, but on the other, it was all about digging in deep and not giving up. That idea really rang true for me, both as a female and as a fledgling ultrarunner.
They say the things you do on January 1 are the things you’ll be doing the rest of the year. So today I will:
I think those are five good things to do more of in 2014.