Back To Me

Not For Book Club

Gather 'round, for I have news:

Today.  Was.  Actually.  A.  Really.  Good.  Day.

Eureka!  I almost forgot what that felt like--no crippling anxiety, no self-doubt, no guilt.  I really think that the two books I started to read over the weekend helped.  One is called Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which I'm sure a lot of you have heard of.  Work has been tough latley and I've really been doubting myself.  This book is helping me take the bull by the horns.  I only started reading it this weekend but I already feel better and I highly recommend it for work or personal use.  Book the second is Difficult Conversations.  Sometimes I need to grow some balls and confrontation makes me uneasy; I think this book will help me feel more confident when I need to initiate one of those conversations.  It has some thoughtful insights--again, I only just started reading it this weekend so I'm not even half-way done.  If any of you have read either of these two books I'd love to hear what you thought.

I'm also interested in reading Getting To Yes.  I guess I'm on a work-related "start kicking some ass and take some names" kick and hey, I haven't read anything other than magazines for months. Taking control of things is helping my anxiety so I'm feeling good about that.  Yeah me :-)

I'm A Bad Ass

Hey kids! Guess what time it is? It's time for Banned Books Week! (Thanks to Sarah for pointing it out) Check out the list. How sick is that? Weren't most of those books REQUIRED READING? So, basically, if we *didn't* read them we'd fail High School English. But no! They are bad! They are risque! They are dirrty like Paris Hilton's bedsheets.

To this day I still count To Kill A Mockingbird as my favorite book of all time. I also enjoy all of Steinbeck's work. "Gotta pet the rabbits George!" Man, I love it.

So, all of my well-read readers, tell me what your favorite book off of the list is and why. There are quite a few mentioned that I haven't read but want to, and would love to know your opinion. Always love a good literary discussion!!

Marley and Me (and Maggie, and Bryan)

My friend Maggie and I went to see the author of Marley and Me speak and autograph books at The Book Stall in Evanston last week and had a blast. Not only did we get to meet a celebrity (well, in our crazy animal-lover eyes at least) and have him touch our books and use his VERY OWN pen to write in them, but we got to go to an independant book store which I love. Felt good. Too bad there aren't more around. Indie book stores are the coolest because they don't have that Owned By The Man feel right when you walk in. Signs are hand-made. Bookshelves are mis-matched. The people working there are funky.

Bryan and I met while working at an indie book store in DeKalb called The Junction Book Store. Sadly it is now defunct thanks to a certain 'books and music' chain, but I won't go into details. Can I tell you that was the best job I have ever had (besides the fact that I got a husband out of it)? We didn't have strict handbook guidelines to follow with the risk of being 'demoted' or 'suspended' if we strayed outside the lines. There wasn't a time card to punch, there wasn't a dress code we had to follow. No hand holding. No weekly meetings going over our daily sales goal. No speeches telling us to push a certain title. Just working at a book store and that was it. Real chill.

So, to me, the excitement of Marley and Me wasn't just about meeting a famous author. It was the whole ambiance of going back to the memories of my first job. And, let's not forget, me and Bryan making-out a little bit in the back room. Ah yes. . .I remember it well.