Kindle Update

Finished three more good reads...so grateful for my Kindle. I like it more every day.

First up:

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT by Gretchen Rubin.

As mentioned before, I have followed her blog for a few years and was very much anticipating this book. I held off on reading it because I was convinced there would be no new information since I was a such an avid reader of her blog. I was wrong.

There are so many great tips for getting happier in this book. Some of my favorites:

"All he asked was that I put on my running shoes and shut the door behind me. My father's deal got me to commit to a routine." She took her father's advice as a young adult and has included running in her exercise routine for most of her adult life.

Exercise is definitely a great argument for increased happiness with the added benefit of helping us think more clearly. Gretchen reminded me that "people should aim to take 10,000 steps per day--a number that also reportedly keeps most people from gaining weight."

Must get a pedometer.

And my personal favorite....Gretchen terms her tendency for "preparty jitters" as "hostess neurosis". I am extremely guilty of this. I love to entertain but can make the people closest to me miserable in my striving to put on the "perfect party". Many of my friends have taken to calling me "Martha". Not just for my quest for perfection but my reaction when that standard isn't met. Sigh.

Here are some other tidbits I took from the book:

1. Know what makes you happy. I have taken Gretchen's advice of keeping an "Interest Log" so that I become more aware of what "naturally catches my attention."

2. "The pleasure of doing a thing in the same way, at the same time, every day, and savoring it, is worth noting. If you do something once it's exciting, and if you do it every day it's exciting. But if you do it, say, twice or just almost every day, it's not good anymore." This theory brings my 30 Day Shred to mind :)

3. "people who give money to charity end up wealthier than those who don't give to charity." Researchers have found that charitable giving actually causes higher income due to the brain activity that changes with this activity and the likelihood of being offered leadership positions. Fascinating stuff.



On to the the next one:

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

This one was a delight only complimented by the extra satisfaction of reading it on a white sand beach in Mexico. Oh to be back there....

Anyhoo, I discovered this read on many of the blogs I follow. It combines a true love story of an American woman who falls in love with a Frenchman and includes actual recipes of all her cooking adventures along the way.

In addition to bookmarking molten chocolate cake, tabouleh, strawberry-rhubarb crumble and other recipes with ingredients I will be hard pressed to locate in my small town, I did take away some words of wisdom:

"There are many things that will tell you the true measure of a man--the way he kisses, the way he holds a fork, the way he talks to his mother on the phone. For me it was something else: we'll call it the infamous bird-pooing incident." You can see where this leads. But how true that you can tell the true character of a person by how they handle the most inconvenient of circumstances.

"Nobody decides her whole life in a single moment. But you can decide what you are unwilling to do without, and it was impossible for me to give up on this happiness." Love. that.

"The French have always known what I've long suspected; there is nothing sexier than watching a woman eat. Men love this. I'm positive that I owe many a second date in New York to a chocolate cannoli or a late-night coupe of rice pudding with whipped cream. It's simple: Women who pick at their food hate sex. Women who suck the meat off of lobster claws, order (and finish) dessert--these are the women who going to rip your clothes off and come back for seconds." This book was worth reading for this passage alone. I now feel so much more justified in my obsession with all things shellfish. Who knew it made me sexier? Ha!


And on to our last read of this triumvirate:

An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser

This was a fun read with lots of romance and discoveries of tiny Italian villages. After an ugly divorce, this woman heads to Italy to just "get away." She meets a professor who becomes a wonderful and mysterious companion. The descriptions of the small towns are really driving me to save for that Italy trip....


What's up next?

The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson
And this one:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

And the last one (hard decision):

Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson


I love the way Amazon gives you free samples of most books on the Kindle. After reading a few pages, I am able to decide whether I want to buy the book or not. And it is kind of like being a book store and reading a few passages before committing to buying the book. The Help came highly recommended by a friend but I know I wouldn't have bought if not for the free sample. Now I'm hooked.

Happy Reading!

Whew. That was a long post.













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About Me

This blog is a place for me to explore the things I love in my own little corner of cyberspace. Those things mostly being food, wine, yoga, travel, style, and my own little home improvement plan. I am a small town gal with big city cravings, a therapist by day, foodie-wino-yogi by night, and a lover of all things French, red, and tasty. Grab a hot cup of coffee and come sit by my fire....