Daydreaming

I find myself daydreaming, more than usual.  I think 'what if' and fantasize about what could have been or what could be.  Sometimes I feel stagnant within my soul.  I'm happy on the outside, but sometimes I find myself drifting to another place.  I can't really pinpoint where that feeling comes from.  Maybe it's the change in seasons.  Warmer weather is creeping into the air and I'm getting that summer itch.  Our windows haven't really been open very long and I feel couped up.  I'm ready to wear summer skirts and strappy sandals.


I daydream of warm weather, warm grass, and super duper sunny days where the sun sends prickly heat sparks along my sunkissed skin.  I can smell the warmer weather from the ground.  The dirt is fragrant and I can smell the grass growing.  There are still no leaves on the trees, but there are blossoms blooming on other trees.  And if I was blind, the birds, crickets, and bull frogs would let me know that the seasons are changing.  Spring is in the air and summer cannot get here fast enough.
 
I've taken some time away from blogging.  Not because I don't have anything to say, but because I've taken the time to reflect.  To daydream. 
 
I've been reading books a lot more and I'm finding my daydreams have been catapulted into these books.  The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  If you haven't read them, well, all I can say to that is, why haven't you?  They are light, easy, quick reads.  I am reading them 1 book a week.  It's honestly, very entertaining, in the fictional sort of way.
 
After reading three Stephanie Plum stories, I'm taking a quick break to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  The Help is a very different story from the Plum series, but as equally entertaining, and I cannot get enough.  I'm finding myself constantly thinking about the book I'm reading, plus many more that I want to sink my eyes into.  I cannot read fast enough.  It's sort of horrifying at how hungry I am for it. 
 
I like to daydream at the library.  I take my lunch break from my other full time job, the one that gives me a paycheck, and I like to get lost in my library.  I wander the shelves and scan the titles, the authors, the covers.  I look for something to jump out at me.  I look for something that will transport me to another place, another time.  Fiction or non-fiction, it doesn't matter to me.  I usually read memoirs, those are my favorite reads.  But lately I find myself looking on any shelf.  Eleanor Roosevelt's Biography or Frommer's Disney World with Kids? 
 
I cannot wait to daydream.  I'm finding myself looking for time to daydream, and how long can I get away with daydreaming without it disrupting my actual life?  I enjoy my real-time life, but this daydreaming business has become just that:  business or hobby.  Would I be able to write that on my resume?  Avid daydreamer.
What do you daydream about?  And do you look for different ways to daydream too?

Dinosaurumpus! by Tony Mitton

It's a new favorite book in our house.  Dinosaurumpus!  It's quite fun to read too.  My 2 year old boy asks for me to read this daily.  Sometimes we read it multiple times a day, and I don't mind.  It's that fun.

The words are colorful and it's hard not to bounce in your seat while you read the story.  And if your kid isn't into Dinosaurs, don't worry, the story isn't too archaic.  Although you do learn about the names of the dinosaurs, and you do learn what it would be like if you saw these dinosaurs dancing.  It's quite silly if you ask me. 

In the words of my son: DINOSAUR-RUMPUS!!!

Book Nook: Bear Feels Sick

I've been trying to get some reading done, however I've reached a reader's block.  Is that a term people use?  Like saying writer's block? 

Anyways, I figured I would share one of the books my son loves, and well, so do I. 

by Karma Wilson

We received this book about a year ago as a gift.  I'm still learning which books are popular with babies and toddlers.  We have a few personal preferences at home, but I've learned that when I'm shopping for a book for my kid, I really need to see the book in person before I bring it home to share. 

Some books are too wordy.  Some books have illustrations that aren't very colorful.  Some books are bold, while others books may have too many pages.  We like to read in our house, but we're kind of picky as to the book we intend to read.

Bear Feels Sick is such a sweet story.  The illustrations are very colorful and warm.  My son gravitates to this story and even plays along with the sound effects that I make when the bear coughs and sneezes and wheezes and moans. 

It's a cuddly book for us as we snuggle together under a blanket and read about the big Bear and how his friends help him get better. 

Healing Hearts by Kathy Magliato

I was pleasantly surprised with Healing Hearts.  Kathy Magliato's story has such inspiration and passion.  She prooves anything is possible.

Woman, surgeon, mother, Kathy tells her story of how she came to love the heart and why she chose the heart.  She talks about how to juggle a career and family.

Kathy has left me wanting to know more about heart disease as she details facts and relates textbook language to real life stories.  She has also become the president of the American Heart Association. 

Kathy is a true hero and fighter.  If I had my choice, I'd want her to be my heart surgeon any day.

photo credit

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Eleven chapters.  That's it!  But if you prefer short chapters this book may seem overwhelming.  Although it's not a hard read.  In fact, it's quite easy, traumatizing-ly easy. 

Chapter 2 had me in tears.

Chapter 4 gave me chills.  I had to put it down a week because the story was so vivid I needed more time to unwind before moving on.

Chris Cleave wrote an amazing story about two women. One from England, the other from Nigeria.  They met, under very unfortunate circumstances.  But they reconnect a couple years later and the story takes off from there. 

This book surprised me.  I like reading books that reach into my heart and take hold of something I didn't know existed. 

Like a hook in my heart, I could not let go of Little Bee.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

I purchased this book not realizing it was the young readers edition.  I'm actually glad I had this version as there were pictures throughout the book.  The story was also edited for a younger reader, but that didn't bother me.  In fact it made reading the story very colorful.  I haven't read the adult edition but I would imagine it is written just as well.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson is a remarkable story, dedicated to building schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  In turn, Greg believes educating these children will help end war.  The young readers edition includes an interview with Greg's daughter, who has been to Pakistan a handful of times and can speak first hand at what life is like for the children in Pakistan.  This edition also includes a time line of events that occurred throughout Greg's experience. 

If you haven't had the opportunity to learn more about Greg Mortenson and what he's committed his life to, I encourage you to pick up this book, or check out the organization Pennies for Peace.  Greg is a true hero and trooper in his commitment.  I think if we were all able to accomplish a quarter of what Greg has done, our world would be a different place.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I have a new favorite book.  Well, I will add this to my top 10, although I may need to revisit my top ten list.

Anyways, I finished Still Alice.  Oh this book made me think, about my life, about people with Alzheimer's disease.  I played the what if game way too often.  It was kind of depressing actually.  But I enjoyed the book, the story, the writing.  I truly enjoyed it all.  If words had color, this book did.  I never really understood how Alzheimer's disease can affect someone.  My ignorant assumption was like turning a light off, and the memory was gone.  Eventually, well, this does happen.  But to go from having a memory to losing your memory is quite scary, sad, and frustrating.

In Still Alice, Alice (age 51) teaches at Harvard University and learns that she has early onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD).  The disease takes hold of Alice's life quite fast and her life is turned upside down.  The story is told from the view point of Alice and how she loses control of her memory.  She's a very successful and talented teacher, advisor, writer, mother, and wife.  The instant she learned she had this disease, she realized everything started to make sense.

Alzheimer's disease is hereditary.  I didn't know that.  This story is fictional, but with nonfictional facts.  The author mentions that the medicine that is discussed in this story are actual methods of treatment.  But there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease.

I actually miss reading Still Alice.  I'm sad that I finished the book.  I have been left with an incredible feeling that I doubt I'll find another book as good as Still Alice.  I'm sure I will, but you know, after you've read such a great story, it's hard to find that next book that is just as good.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

The story is told by the voice of each character.  Every chapter captures the story how it's viewed by each individual.  Sometimes this worked and other times it didn't.  There were some characters that didn't play a huge role in the story.  Then there were times when the story didn't flow as easily as I thought it should have.  I felt like it was bouncing around in flash backs or flash forwards.  Maybe that's how the author meant it to be, but this book is not like her other books. 

I've read most of her books, and I enjoy how Anita captures emotions and hooks you into the characters.  Unfortunately this book didn't do that for me like she had in her other books.

Anita Shreve bases her stories around the New England setting with a fictional story line.  Testimony takes place in Vermont at a boarding school.  The incident is incredibly sad and I can only imagine if the story were true, what would a mother do? 

If you've never read a book by Anita Shreve, I wouldn't recommend starting with this one as I don't think the style of this book best portraits her writing.  However, this story is so heartbreaking, I would only recommend it those those who can handle very unhappy endings.

The board book - book nook

17 Months

He tries to be JUST LIKE Dada and leans on a pillow

My 17 month old son loves to read... or just look at the pages in his books.  LOVES it.  I find him many times with a book on his lap while sitting on the couch or even on the kitchen floor while I'm unpacking from being out all day.  If I don't find him there, he's usually asking me to read him a story.  He even asks me to read him a book while we're eating dinner.  He has his favorites and we'll read those (maybe) twenty times a day for a few weeks, then he'll discover a different book on his book shelf and we'll be reading that book twenty times a day.  But I don't mind.  I really want him to enjoy reading.

3 Months and drooling on his book

10 Months reading Daddy Hugs

12 Months with the Belly Button Book

I didn't really enjoy reading when I was in school.  Partly because I was being told what I needed to read for class.  So it never seemed fun and I was rarely interested in the book.  It also made it hard for me to comprehend what I was reading. 

I do remember the books I grew up with prior to school, and I remember liking them.  In fact, my parents kept those books and recently they gave those books back so our son can enjoy the stories I had as a child.

In the beginning, when J was so young that reading anything meant nothing to him, we let him chew on the board books. He didn't even have interest in knowing what was on the pages. Eventually, somewhere down the road, he had enough interest in learning what was on the pages and learned really quickly all kinds of animals and characters.  Recently, he's shown a stronger interest in hearing the story. Some stories are sing-song and very interactive, others are more of the I Spy kind of books. Then there are some that are great picture stories and he can interpret those any time of day. Of course, these are all board books. I'm actually afraid to start giving him the paper books. Those are tucked upstairs in his closet.

A few of the books that I could probably recite from memory are:

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Let's Dance Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton
Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton
Daddy Hugs by Karen Katz
I Am A Bunny by Richard Scarry
What Shape is a Grape by Christy Webster (He loves pointing out all the Sesame Street Characters)
Elmo Loves Red: A Book About Colors (soft book) by Unknown
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino (He recently discovered this on his shelf and loves the story and enjoys telling us what animals they are)

Sesame Street First Board Book Library is great for his little hands.  The books come in a carrying case that he loves to load up and spill out.  It has a magnetic clasp which he struggles with, so he'll constantly ask us to open it for him.  When we take long road trips, we'll give him one of the books and it entertains him for a while.

I've seen these sort of libraries with Mickey Mouse or Cars, but Sesame Street is my personal favorite... maybe because it's my generation (although I'm still struggling with Elmo and Zoe).

The Black Ice: Harry Bosch Series by Micheal Connelly

I finally finished The Black Ice.  I'm so bummed it took me longer than it should have, but I'm relieved to be finished.  I'm not sure why I had issues finishing this book but I was really slow in finishing the last 10 chapters.

The story starts around Christmas and Harry hears about a case and is asked to help out temporarily.  The case ends up opening more cases that were unfinished and Harry found the opportunity to jump in and follow the leads that were left for him.

The Black Ice developed rather slowly but once you're involved with the story, you find yourself just as hooked as Harry was with the cases.  I was a little shocked at how this book ended but a little disappointed I couldn't stay focused to finish earlier.  Overall I was impressed with the story and did not anticipate the ending.

If you enjoy murder mystery books, I would invite you to read The Black Ice.

The Black Echo: The Harry Bosch Series by Michael Connelly

I usually don't read books like this one, but I took a chance at reading something different.  Something with a little more action than what I am used to.  I do enjoy watching drama series on prime time television from time to time.  So I figured I would try reading something similar.
The Harry Bosch series found me one day while I was skimming through CNN online.  I wouldn't have gone to CNN to read up on books, but this particular article was about how his story, Nine Dragons, came to life.  This was how Michael Connelly was introduced to me, but Nine Dragons was #15 in the series.  I had a lot of catching up to do!

So I started with #1: The Black Echo

Harry Bosch is a detective for the LAPD and in this story he discovers an old friend from Vietnam was murdered and found in a city tunnel.  How and why he got there was the question.  As Harry uncovered more facts the story developed into something he had never imagined.

Elenor Wish is with the FBI and was on the case for other reasons, like bank robbery.  But it had all linked to the man found dead in the tunnel. 

Harry & Elenor came to be partners in this investigation, and what happens, well, you'll have to read it.  It seemed kind of predictable but the ending was anything but. 

Will the Black Echo haunt Harry Bosch in future series?  He talks about the nightmares from his Vietnam experience but will have to wait and see what happens next!

Book #2: The Black Ice...

Book Nook: The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Hendricks

I started reading this book in December and finished it last week.  I will consider this my first read of the new year, completed.

The Baker's Apprentice is a sequel to Bread Alone.  Bread Alone is a 'riches to rags' story that walks you through the life of Wyn as she struggles through a divorce, moves to Seattle, and goes back to basics: making bread.  The book left me feeling full of warmth, comfort, and the need to make bread.  When I found out there was a sequel I was hesitant as some reviewers didn't like it as much as the first.  But I wanted to make my own opinion, so off to the city library to pick it up.  Both books are easy reads as I was done reading within a few weeks, while still running around after my son. 

I was a little torn with the ending of The Baker's Apprentice.  It seems like there is more room for a third book but have not seen one published, yet.  While Wyn had met Mac in Bread Alone, they maintain their relationship in The Baker's Apprentice, but I wasn't sure how I felt about the focus changing back and forth from Wyn to Mac.  The author does focus on the relationship Wyn has with her Apprentice but felt the title of the book was misleading as I was left forgetting about the Apprentice and wondering what will happen with Wyn & Mac?  I was still left with the same feeling as the first book but I'm hoping for a third as there are a lot of new questions that are unanswered. 

I'd recommend both books Bread Alone and The Baker's Apprentice to anyone who is looking for a calm, easy read.