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Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts

2011: A Year in Books

Posted by Monika at 9:35 PM Labels: , ,
 As a follow up to last year's post "2010: A Year in Books", I've decided to do another quick rundown of all of the books I've read this year. Over the past several years the number of books I've read has decreased as the number of magazines I'm loaded down with (those I subscribe to at home and those I get at work) has massively increased. I started tracking my books on the website Shelfari.com last year and was pleased when I finished the year with a total of 10 books read. Amazingly, this year I read 22 books!



Kindle
I attribute much of my increase in reading to my wonderful Kindle. David's parents got me a Kindle for my birthday and I happily joined the world of e-reading. At first I struggled with the reader a bit - flipping back and forth wasn't as easy as I was used to and the first ebook I read had a complex list of characters, names, and cities. My second challenge was that I often fold down pages in business books to be able to quickly reference an idea I liked. On the Kindle you can do an electronic bookmark which took me a while to get used to at first, but in the end it serves the same function. A few months into owning my Kindle, I loved it!

Book Club
I also joined a book club late in the year in an attempt to find a new social outlet that wasn't related to running. Don't get me wrong, I love running, my running friends, and Girls on the Run. But ... there is more to life than running. I have only made it to one book club meeting so far because of my schedule but have read three of the books they've chosen. The books they choose are those that I would never read on my own, which I think is a good thing. I kind of enjoyed the first two and struggled through the third, but like that I'm getting a chance to expand my literary horizons beyond chick lit, endurance athletics, and business books.

And now for my reviews! (Click on the title of any of the books to hyperlink to the Amazon page.)

Book #1: Twenties Girl
Subject: Cute chick-lit fiction from my favorite author Sophia Kinsella (who wrote the Shopaholic series).
Review: I have  loved every Sophia Kinsella book I've read, and this one was no exception. It's a cute and funny story with a little hint of mystery.

Subject: How to follow the Paleo Diet if you're an endurance athlete
Review: Modified version of the Paleo Diet which is a diet based on foods our Stone Age ancestors would have eaten. The original Paleo Diet is stricter, and this version is adjusted to accommodate hard training and racing days. The diet is essentially high in vegetables and lean meats and doesn't allow process foods, dairy, grains, legumes, and refined sugar. I tried this diet out for after hearing a lot of hype about it in the tri community. I couldn't stick to it though and gave up after a month. Faileo!

Subject: Concise strategy guide for Brand Managers
Review: This book read a bit like a textbook (not like I should have been surprised) but had a lot of useful points and ideas. This book actually inspired me to make a change to one of our printed marketing pieces that we use with our sales reps and customers and they LOVED it. That made dragging myself through this whole book worth it.

Subject: The story behind Zappos and why they are so successful today.
Review: Best book I read all year! I totally loved this book and wrote a blog specifically dedicated to it. (More here.) The Zappos story is an interesting and unique one, and the tale this book tells is inspiring on a personal and professional level.

Subject: Chick-lit fiction book by Sophia Kinsella under her other pen name Madeleine Wickham about three friends who meet each month for drinks and the intertwined drama in their lives.
Review: Cute and funny book, but oddly not as funny as Sophia Kinsella's other books. Did she get funnier when she changed her name? While the idea of a group of young women all with their own personal and professional drama may not seem unique, this book was still interesting and I enjoyed it.

Subject: Fictional mystery story about a murder, family drama, and personal relationships.
Review: A bit dark for my taste but still a really good book. I was unprepared for the graphic violence in this first of three books and was happy to see that it was toned down in the next two books. I struggled at first to keep all of the Swedish character and town names straight, but aside from that this book kept me intrigued and at the edge of my seat right through to the end. I have put the original Swedish version of the film in my Blockbuster queue and I'm hoping to see the American version of the film soon.The story was so riveting that soon after finishing this first book I soon read the second and third in the series.

Subject: Why is oatmeal boring and bacon so exciting? Why is that true for some many brands? This brief marketing book takes a look at why some brands excel while others fail.
Review: I loved this book since I work in Marketing as a Product Manager and let's be honest, my product is bacon! Ha ha. This book is entertaining and insightful. I recommended it to my boss who read it and enjoyed it as well. If you are in Marketing or Sales I highly recommend this book so you can learn how to make your brand or product the next bacon.

Subject: A guide to determining your strengths and focusing on them.
Review: I am really into personal development books and loved this book. Instead of focusing on our weaknesses and trying to change them, why not focus on our strengths and do whatever we can to grow them? I buy into that! This book is more of a guide than a book. The beginning talks about why you should focus on strengths versus weaknesses, you are then sent to a website to identify your 5 key strengths, and then the rest of the book has a chapter on each of the 34 possible strengths. There are also online resources where you can create custom action plans that line up with your strengths.

Subject: Second book in 'Dragon Tattoo' series that follows the same main characters in a new murder mystery.
Review: Enjoyed the second book as much as the first if not more since there was less graphic violence.

Book #10: Bossypants
Subject: The story of Tina Fey's life from Childhood through Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and beyond.
Review:  I thought this book was funny, but not as funny as the dozen people who recommended it to me. It reads like a long stand-up comedy bit that is mostly chronological, with some tangents. It's an easy read saturated with Tina Fey's humor (which I like), but string of one story butting into another became a bit tiring at times.

Subject: Third book in the 'Dragon Tattoo' series.
Review: Good book as with the first two. The focus is more on Lisbeth than Blomquist in this book, and there is a lot of history of the government and corruption which I found a tad boring .. as I do with most history. (I think my Dad just rolled his eyes and sighed.)

Subject: Fictional story of a drama filled family planning for a party to 'celebrate' the divorce of a well-to do couple with grown children.
Review: This is one of the first books I bought on my Kindle purely because of the "you might also enjoy this" suggestion and high star rating referral. Both I may never trust again. While the book was mildly interesting and had some funny moments, I really had to drag myself through it just because I didn't want to waste the money I spent on it. Let me save you time and $10. Don't read this.

Subject: Fictional, dramatic story of an Irish immigrant who grows up with slaves on a tobacco plantation.
Review: This was the first book I read with my new book club and is a book I would never, ever have chosen on my own. I had a hard time getting into the book and found it a bit depressing, but in the end I thought it was well written and I enjoyed it. The story is quite tragic and sad, but it's interesting to get a peek into the lives of slaves during that time, even if it's a well-researched fictional peek.

Subject: Life story in relation to running of Bart Yasso, arguably one of the most famous running icons.
Review: This book is a must read for any runner. Bart has had an incredible life and tells and interesting and funny tale of his life from childhood through adulthood. The various races, characters, trips, and crazy stories make this book extremely entertaining. The only thing I didn't like about this book is the conversational tone it is written in, but I'm just a picky reader.

Subject: Fictional story of a small town girl with big city aspirations, who struggles with personal tragedy and family challenges which bring her back to the town which she learns to see in a different way.
Review: This was the second book I read with my book club and again, it's a book I would never have chosen on my own. Wow, look at how a monthly club is expanding my horizons! The main character's story was interesting to follow, but nothing about this book really stood out for me.

Subject: Marketing/personal development book focused on personal branding
Review: Although this is a topic that I'm highly interested in, I found myself really struggling to get through this book. I found some of the suggestions to be mundane or outdated, but others gave me something to think about in respect to my own career and life. The book comes with a workbook that helps you put together your own personal branding statement and plan. This is exactly what I've been looking to do in the past few months but I haven't quite gotten around to doing this post-book 'homework' yet. It's on my list for next year. As far as personal branding books go there are a lot out there, and I'm sure many others will show up on 2012 list of books.

Book #17: I'm Here to Win
Subject: The story of Chris McCormack's (aka Macca's) path to winning the 2010 Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Review: Second best book I read all year! If you are an athlete, you have to read this book! Go buy it now! What are you waiting for? This book is incredibly well written, honest, and funny. Macca shares his strategies for success and "winsights" that can help you push yourself to be a better athlete. I thought about this book a lot while preparing for and running my last full marathon. I've taken a lot of what he has said to heart, and I really enjoyed the honest and logical way he has laid out ways that his successes can be broken down systematically and used by anyone.

Subject: Fictional diary of a scorned mistress after she was dumped by her lover.
Review: I was given this book for free from my book club and I am SO glad I didn't spend any money on it. If it weren't for the fact that I have OCD tendencies and hate leaving things unfinished, I totally would not have finished reading this book. How does this book have 4 stars on Amazon? I thought it was terrible! The book club leader warned us that she thought it was awful but I thought I'd give it a chance to see if I found it entertaining. I didn't. I wasn't even intrigued to see how the story would end up for the main character. I just wanted to get through the endless rambling 'inner thoughts' of a crazy women. I hope there aren't woman as crazy as the narrator out there in the real world.

Subject: A nine year old boy is on a mission to unlock a secret that he thinks his late father (lost in the 9-11 World Trade Center disaster) left behind.
Review: The story and main character are quirky and interesting, and you might recognize the title of this book since the movie is being released soon. I found the book difficult to read from the bizarre narration of quirky kid, but did enjoy seeing the story progress and the mystery unravel. I saw the movie trailer after I finished the book and the movie trailer looked really interesting. Given the chance to go back in time, I would've skipped reading the book to watch the movie instead.

Book #20: The Hunger Games
Subject: Fictional story of a 16-year old girl named Katniss chosen to fight for her life in the annual "Hunger Games" put on by the government. The story has suspense, strategy, drama, and even love.
Review: I haven't been so engrossed in a book series since Twilight. The story is well written and really draws you into the characters, society, and suspense involved with the games. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it and finished it within a day, eagerly moving on to the next book in the series to see where the story goes next. The Hunger Games movie comes out in March, so you have plenty of time to read all three books before then. Do it!

Book #21: Catching Fire
Subject: The second book in the Hunger Games series that follows Katniss into life after the "Hunger Games" and the  challenges winning the games brings.
Review:This book picks up where the first book leaves off. I enjoyed this book as much as the first in the series and after finishing this book in a day as well, I quickly moved on to the third book.

Book #22: Mockingjay
Subject: Third book in the Hunger Games series.
Review: Sadly, this was the last book in the Hunger Games series. The focus of the book is more on the government known as the Capitol and shows the main character in a different light. In addition to the action and suspense there is also a continuing thread of a love story that I was eager to see through. I finished this book in a day as well and am happy with the way the series wrapped up. When I finished Twilight I was sad that the series had ended, but when I finished this Hunger Games series I was content and pleased with the adventure that I was just lead through.

So there you have it! My year in books! What were some of your favorite books for the year?


3 comments Friday, December 30, 2011

Delivering Happiness

Posted by Monika at 7:07 AM Labels: , ,
I finished reading a great book a few weeks ago when I was in Paris on vacation visiting my mom. It is only the second book I have *ever* finished reading in one sitting. The first book? TWILIGHT! The second? Delivering Happiness: A path to profits, passion and purpose - by Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com, Inc.



I was given this book at the Stay Classy awards last year where Tony Hsieh was a speaker. I've had it on my shelf for a while and kept meaning to read it 'next', and finally decided that this trip was the time to go for it. I try to alternate between business books and fun books, and since I had read a Marketing book and then a chick-lit book while in Paris, next up was a business book again. (Side note - when I came back to work after my vacation my boss and I were talking about books and I excitedly recommended this book to her .. and as it turns out she had just read it the prior week as well! And loved it of course.)


As I started to read the book I found myself turning pages down constantly. The more I read, the more I wanted to share parts (or all) of the book with someone. This hasn't happened since I read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which I also blogged about last year. Overall the book Delivering Happiness is GREAT! Its a great story, it is insightful, funny, and inspiring. It seriously made me want to do more with my life!


I'm not a big online shopper and actually have never shopped at Zappos.com, nor did I know much about the company. By the time I finished the book I felt like a Zappos junkie who just wanted more! (On a side note, did you know that Zappos.com was purchased by Amazon.com for $1.2 BILLION in stock in 2009?!?!)  In the book they talk about how their department Zappos Insights offers company tours of their headquarters in Vegas. Guess who was going to Vegas a few days after returning from Paris?   ---> This girl!<--- I quickly requested a tour spot online for one of their three daily tours, and was SUPER excited to have made the cut! Barely! David hadn't read the book (yet!!) and seemed indifferent to the tour, but being the great sport that he is he was happy to go along with me.


A couple Thursdays ago David and I drove out to Vegas for one of my tradeshows and stopped at Zappos along the way. As we waited in the lobby I had deja-vu of some of the Bay Area start-ups that my friends had worked in back in the day. The funky, casual lobby was interesting and eclectic ... as was the rest of the building. The place was VERY 90's start-up if you know what I mean. Decorated cubes everywhere, casual clothes, games, themed meeting rooms, free food in the cafeteria, costumes, social events, random perks, etc.





The tour lasted about an hour and started with a video telling the history of the company (which I knew from reading the book), continued with a walk through the various departments, and ended with a photo session at the Zappos Royalty chair. I had a great time on the tour and though that Zappos looked like a really fun place to work. Not sure its somewhere that I would personally want to work (the cube clutter bothered me a lot and the super casual dress is not my first choice), but I like their culture and what they are trying to do as a company. 



I don't want to give away too much in the book because I really want you to read the book yourself, but here are a some of my favorite parts of the book that give you an idea of how Zappos has been successful.


Top 10 Ways to Instill Customer Service into Your Company
  1. Make customer service a priority for the whole company, not just a department. A customer service attitude needs to come from the top.
  2. Make WOW a verb that is part of your company's everyday vocabulary.
  3. Empower and trust your customer service reps. Trust that they want to provide great service ... because they actually do. Escalations to a supervisor should be rare.
  4. Realize that it's okay to fire customers who are insatiable or abuse your employees.
  5. Don't measure call times, don't force employees to upsell, and don't use scripts.
  6. Don't hide your 1-800 number. It's a message not just to your customers, but to your employees as well.
  7. View each call as an investment in building a customer service brand, not as an expense you're seeking to minimize.
  8. Have the entire company celebrate great service. Tell stories of WOW experiences to everyone in the company.
  9. Find and hire people who are passionate about customer service.
  10. Give great service to everyone: customers, employees, and vendors.

Zappos Core Values (more here)
  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More with Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

"No matter what your past has been, you have a spotless future." - Author Unknown

Interested in reading the book now? Check it out and let me know what you think! I'm curious to see if you'll find it as inspiring as I did.


0 comments Wednesday, June 15, 2011

2010: A Year in Books

Posted by Monika at 6:29 AM Labels: ,
WARNING: This post will NOT be about running. I repeat, it will NOT be about running! Are you wondering now if someone hacked this blog? haha.

 
So a few days ago I finished reading a book about the Ironman Championship and went to my Shelfari account to mark the book as read. As I did so I clicked on my bookshelf to take a peek at the books I've read this year. I was impressed to see that I've read 10 books this year! I deserve a cookie! jk I usually only read when I travel since I'm normally bombarded with a TON of magazines. The magazines I subscribe to are:

In addition to this I also get the following magazines at work:

Its really quite overwhelming. I read a lot of news online, try to keep up with my subscriptions at home, and try to breeze through some journals at work to stay on top of things. Usually when I travel I have a stack of magazines with me, but also have a book or two that I'd like to read. I think I've read a nice mix of books for the year and my brief summaries are below.




Book #1: Born to Run
Subject: Running, specifically ultra-running
D'oh! I said I wasn't blogging about running! Okay I'm sorry, this is the only running book I read. A colleague of mine sent me this book as a gift and I'm so glad she did.
Review: GREAT book if you're a runner. You will read this and want to put the book down several times to head out to run. Probably barefoot or in minimalist shoes.

Subject: Variety of topics that Malcolm Gladwell has written about
Review: LOVED this book. Then again, I'm a MG fan. Loved the short story aspect of things. Totally a book you can pick up, enjoy, put down, forget about for a while, and pick up and continue to enjoy. The book is through provoking and you'll definitely want to discuss some of the topics with others after finishing the book.

 
Book #3: Do Something
Subject: Making your life 'count' by living in faith
Review: Bought this book because the pastor of my church wrote it. I enjoyed the book but didn't think the writing very good (sooo sorry Pastor Miles), but though the stories and subjects were easily digestible, the overall message was good, and its a good read for someone who wants to make more of their life through God.


Subject: Insightful book about attaining goals
Review: LOVED this book! Every few pages I was folding a page down with the intention of sharing what I read with someone. Someone must have given me this book years ago because I've had it on my shelf for ages, the pages are yellow, and I cant remember where I got it. Upon finally reading it and blogging about it, (read my blog about Becoming Highly Effective) I had soo much feedback from others who loved the book. This book is a total must read. If you want to make more of your life, read this book. Period.


Subject: Finding or creating "urgency" in your job
Review: Meh. Parts of this book were okay, but I really struggled through it. I felt that this book was very situational. You had to be in a certain professional situation to get something out of it. I love my job, boss and company. I got very little out of this book.


Subject: Behavioral economics - why we make the choices that we do
Review: Really liked this book. Did you like Blink or Tipping Point from Malcom Gladwell? Then you'll like this book. Ever wonder why people make the decisions that they do? Wonder why YOU do? Read this book. I enjoyed this book personally and also as someone in Marketing. Professionally in Marketing I'm trying to affect a consumers behavior. Why have I been successful and why haven't I? This book provides some insights.


Subject: Working through Ups and Downs
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend and totally had to force myself to turn the pages. This elementary fable (Similar to me as Who Moved My Cheese) was trivial and uninsightful in my opinion. I didn't get much out of this book. There are good times and bad. Your own perception of things affects this. I get it. Next.


Subject: A biblical analysis of the Twilight series of books/movies
Review: Looking for a reason to hate Twilight? You've come to the right place! jk. I was curious as to how a "biblical" critique of Twlight would play out. Let me confess ... I LOVE the Twilight series!! I was curious to see if this book played the series as good or bad. I think the author wanted to present her view as a neutral analysis, but I took it as a total bashing of the book. At the end of the day I still love the book, it was interesting to read her analysis and to think about the questions she posed, but .. its just a book, its entertainment, and the book didn't change my values. (Which I think the author of this book is fearful of.)

Subject: Using theories of economics to show that people work through a variety of crazy issues for a given reward.
Review: Loved it. I also loved their first book Freaknomics. I liked the topics, the though provoking arguments, and the easily digestible chapters. Want to read about prostitutes, global warming, and crack dealing all in one 'economics' book? You've come to the right place! I've never heard anyone I know say that they didn't like the book Freakonomics. For that very same reason, everyone should love this super-sequel too.


Review: If you are an endurance athlete you will love this coffee table book! I got this book at San Diego Tri Club meeting when Macca and Bob Babbit were speaking. I bought the book at a discount and got Macca to sign it. SCORE! This is an incredible coffee table book. There are stories of each year of the Ironman Championship from 1979 to 20003 with incredible photos and articles about each race. AS I read the book all I wanted to do was go workout and get ready to compete for a triathlon! I'm new to the triathlon sport and found this book remarkably amazing. Personally I'd never want to do a full Ironman, but really enjoyed reading about the struggles and triumphs of all of these amazing athletes.


Well wow, that was my year in books! 10 books, 6 of 10 are "business" books, 2 of 10 are about endurance sports, and 2 of 10 are about spirituality. I wonder if that makes up ME? 60% business, 20% sports, 20% religion? Hm .. not sure. It will be interesting to see what I reading 2011. For now, happy reading everyone!

0 comments Friday, December 17, 2010

Becoming Highly Effective

Posted by Monika at 7:56 PM Labels: , , ,
About a month ago I read the book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I know, I'm a little behind the times with reading it and ever more behind with posting a blog about it. I'm not sure where I even got this copy of the book, but I've had it for years, the pages are yellow, and it was printed in 1989!  I'm pretty sure I didn't buy this book when I was in middle school so who knows where I got this copy??

Little Bookworm
Growing up I absolutely LOVED to read. I didn't get to watch much TV so books were my main form of entertainment. Well, that and talking to my imaginary friends.... kidding! I used to read almost every free moment, and even remember reading by flashlight under the covers as a kid. I was a real bookworm! I even earned the title of "Class Bookworm" when I was in 8th grade! I suppose that is actually an uncool and nerdy award, but I loved it!


 Losing the Love to Read
I read less when I got to high school since I was busy with so many other things, and then when I got to college I barely had any free time. I also had tons of required to reading to do for school that I could never seem to stay on top of and at some point in college reading became a chore to me. It also seemed to have become a sleep aid and I often found myself getting drowsy the more that I read.


 Reading on the Road
Over the past few years the majority of my reading has occurred while I've been traveling and I've made it through books (over the course of a few trips per books) thanks to all the down time in airports and while in the air. I hate to admit though that I have a wandering eye when it comes to books. I'll arrive at the airport and have a few magazines and a book with me, and then I'll walk by the newsstand or a bookstore and see a new book that came out and I'll want that one too! This has resulted in a bookshelf of partially read books.


Finishing Books
One of my new years resolutions this year was to finish reading books that I have bought and borrowed over the years. (Sorry Jenna! I have a handful of your books still!) The first book on my list was "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I started reading this book a few months ago and instantly loved it! But then it was shelved until my next trip when I read a bit more, and then finally over my last trip to Colorado and some reading time I allocated for myself this past weekend, I finished reading it! Yay me!

In short - I think this book is so great that I want to buy it for everyone I know! It has great lessons to learn about life, relationships, communication, expectations, your career, your family, etc. Its a lesson on life! The subheading on the cover is "Powerful Lessons in Personal Change". That describes it perfectly!



Folding Down Pages
As I read this book I kept finding sections/sayings/paragraphs that I thought "Oh wow! I have to share this with someone!" After coming upon the third section where I thought that, I finally folded down the corner of the book page, and then went back to find the previous two that had struck a chord with me as well.

Here are a summary of the sections and sayings that I thought were great:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
 

Reactive Language vs. Proactive Language
"There's nothing I can do" vs "Let's look at our alternatives"
"That's just the way I am" vs "I can choose a different approach"
"He makes me so mad" vs "I control my own feelings"


"It is not what others do or even our own mistakes that hurt us the most; it is our response to those things. Chasing after the poisonous snake that bites us will only drive the poison through our entire system. It is far better to take measures immediately to get the poison out."
 

"Management is a bottom line focus: How can I best accomplish certain things?
Leadership deals with the top line: What are the things I want to accomplish?"
 

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things"
 

"Organize and execute around priorities"
 

"Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. Emotional maturity is the ability to express one's own feelings and convictions balanced with consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others."
 

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. They're either speaking or preparing to speak. They're filtering everything through their own paradigms, reading their autobiography into other people's lives."
 

"The person who doesn't read is no better off than the person who can't read." (Ouch! This one motivated me to finish the book in non-travel time!
 

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do so has increased. By centering our lives on correct principles and creating a balanced focus between doing and increasing our ability to do, we become empowered in the task of creating effective, useful, and peaceful lives ... for ourselves, and for our posterity." - Emerson



 
Thank you Stephen R. Covey for the insightful and well written book! I look froward to giving this book to those close to me for Christmas this year. Guess you'll see if you make the cut this December! ;o)


1 comments Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I Admit It, I'm a Twihard!

Posted by Monika at 7:33 PM Labels: , ,




Yes, I'm obsessed with Twilight. How did this happen? I have NO idea!!

How It All Started
I can't totally remember how it all started. I think it was a month and a half ago when I was emailing/texting with my cousin Donna about me driving up to LA to visit. I think she asked what I was doing that night before I said nothing, watching Twilight on DVD. OMG .. suddenly intervention stepped in!

She insisted.. no TOTALLY insisted I not watch the movie but send it right back to Blockbuster and then read the books instead. I though oh, how silly. I can just watch the movie, and then read the books later right? NO. She was soo soo dead set on me not watching the movie before reading the book that I finally agreed and put the DVD back into its envelope, sealed it up, and dropped it in the mailbox. The next time I saw her she handed me a big bag of the four books in the series. HOLY MOLY they were big! Each book was 2 or 3 inches thick! I was really taken back. I'm a casual airport reader. I read some fiction, some business books, mostly magazines. The last time I sat down with a book that size was when I read War & Peace in high school! Oh wait, I never really read it and copied a paper off someone else! Sorry Dad! I knew you knew! Who cares now? I have two college degrees! See kids, cheating pays off! TOTALLY KIDDING!

Anyways, Donna gave me the books and I kind of forgot about them for a bit. Honestly I get so many magazines (Runner's World, Running Times, Time, Shape, Self, Pharma Executive, Medical Marketing & Media, dental magazines.. wow I'm a party!) and usually read those at the beach and I really don't read books as often. Mostly when I travel. So she asked a few times and I felt kind of bad saying no, I hadn't started then yet. Then, when I was packing for my trip to Paris to visit my mom I put the first book Twilight in my bag, added some magazines, and then added another book my friend Jenna gave me just in case Twilight wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I mean come on, vampires? Teen romance? *eye roll*

But I was wrong.. so wrong!! :o|

The Flight to Paris
I was flying from Phoenix to Charlotte and Charlotte to Paris. On the PHX - CLT I started to read Twilight about halfway through the flight. I never put it down! Seriously! I have major airplane ADHD too. I was lost in the story almost immediately. Its been years.. many years since I was in high school, but reading Bella's first encounter with Edward, and then all the times after that hoping he'd be in class, hoping she'd see him in the cafeteria, looking for his car in the parking lot.. oh wow, it brought back the memories. Both in high school and college I pined away after a guy, and 10-15 years later I'd almost forgot about it. But reading this book and hearing Bella's thoughts and it striking so clearly with my own personal memories.. well I was a goner! I was swooning over Edward myself before I was halfway through the book.

Not to say as you get older things get less exciting, but honestly I think they move faster. You don't spend months exchanging looks, glancing and looking away, going to school, hoping, waiting, etc the way you do when you're younger. We grow up, become more bold, get more confidence, and usually make some type of move if we're interested. But deep down inside all of us have to remember back when we were younger, unsure, shy... and totally enamored with someone we didn't know would ever talk to us, much less think would ever fall in love with us! (I least I hope everyone feels that way and *I* wasn't the only starry eyed 15 year old dreamer!)

So I read all the way to Charlotte, got on the flight to Paris, and read all the way to Paris. I then arrived in Paris at 630am the next day and attempted to keep going the next day without a blink of sleep. I was rudely awakened! Or should I say instantly sedated! Due to reading Twilight the whole way and not sleeping on the way to Paris I had horrible jet lag for 4 days in Paris! I was only there for 7 days! It was horrible!

So upon arriving in Paris I was then occupied with being on vacation, sightseeing, and catching up with family. But during the slow times, I thought about Twilight, and was dying to continue reading. Unfortunately I didn't bring the next book with me! So ... each time we passed a bookstore in Paris I asked if they had books in English. NO! :o( At one point we walked by a big bookstore and I saw the next book New Moon in French and honestly almost bought it. Um, my French is really sub par. It would have taken me weeks to read in French and translate/understand in my head.

Finally - I went home, and was able to start reading again. Halfway through reading New Moon I decided I really wanted to watch Twilight the movie to bring more vividness to what I'd pictured reading the book.

The Movie
So I watched the movie.


*crickets*


*crickets*


*crickets*

Wow, I was so disappointed. :o( I thought the movie was terrible. The acting wasn't that great (Kristen seemed so awkward, I didn't feel the chemistry), the special effects were horrendous (Edward running and jumping from one tree to another was on the King Kong movie level of prehistoric), and the meat of what makes you love Twilight and the love story it portrays and the appeal Edward draws was totally missed in the movie! In the book I felt the way Bella felt (I think) and felt anticipation, excitement, apprehension. In the movie.. I just watched an awkward girl and a guy with too much lipstick act oddly around each other and then suddenly kiss. :o( boo. Fail.


The Next Three Books

I was really disappointed by the movie and just wanted to go back to the books. I went back into reading the second book, but felt rushed just to get to the third. No spoilers I promise - but in the second book things weren't as I wanted, but I knew for there to be a third and fourth book they had to get there. So I just wanted to rush through and get to the next book!

So I finally finished the second book, then the third, and finally the fourth. I took to bringing the books to work with me and reading them at lunch. I swear the universe was against me the weeks that I suddenly would have lunch meetings 3 out of 5 days in the week. Usually I'm excited for those. Free food! Good food too! But at that point I saw the free lunch and some meeting as just time wasted that I could be using reading Twilight! YES! I was obsessed!

Life After Twilight
So finally a week ago I finished the last book Breaking Dawn. :o) Yay! I was happy with the way the series ended, but was sad that the series had ended. It was kind of like watching the series finale of Friends. I was happy how it worked out, but sad to let go.

I had heard mid-4 books that there was a 5th "book" in the works that had been abandoned and I could read that. It was an unfinished manuscript that had leaked showing the story from Edwards perspective. Oooh.. Edward.... sigh..

I was a little happier to hear there was more to come, but again, still sad to leave this fantasy world. Since finishing Twilight I hate to admit I think about the stories and books more than I'd like to admit. It still hits me as strange that a teenage vampire love story could appeal to me so much, but in a way I like that it has. I can't even think of the last story, show, movie, whatever that I have been so into. The books are great, its a great story and world, and I'm sooo happy that my cousin talked me into reading the books.

It strikes me as odd when I talk about Twilight and about half of the people I know suddenly stop and touch their heart and say, wow, its about as good as Harry Potter. Really? I've seen the first Harry Potter movie but that's it. I can't imagine the big appeal behind the books. I think with Twilight everyone can relate to their first love, or their first infatuation. What is it that is so great about Harry Potter?? I'm on the fence now about starting that series.. at least that one has so many books it will keep me entertained until 2010! But oh no! Who will read the stacks of Pharma Executive I have piling up?! haha.

Anyways, I love Twilight. Too much. For anyone who hasn't read Twilight, I wish they would.

Thank you Donna ... you've introduced me to a new addiction! Maybe I can finally get over marathon running now! haha jk.

0 comments Thursday, July 30, 2009
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