The Art of Cultivation

Several months ago, one of my friend's mothers passed away. I didn't even know she had been sick. It doesn't matter that the illness came on suddenly and everything happened very quickly, I feel like if I were better at keeping up with my friends, I would have known.

With that being said, I know I'm horrible at keeping up with people. A week can pass before I realize I haven't talked to my mom, via phone call, text or even Facebook. It's not that I don't care or want to know what's going on in the lives of the people I care about; I just get really focused on work and then go home and want nothing more than to take a bubble bath, eat and go to bed.

So I'm challenging myself to do a better job at being a good friend. I know that true friends don't have to see or talk to each other every day for their friendships to last, but I'm making a commitment to text or call my 3 closest friends at least once a week. For friends that I've made through work who've now moved away, I'm challenging myself to communicate with them in some way at least once a month. For close family, like my parents and brother, every other day.

"A good friend is a connection to life — a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."

~Lois Wyse

Cover to Cover

I love to read.  I guess you could call me a bookworm. Sometimes I'd rather live in literature than in reality. Maybe a more apt description is bookaholic. Once I delve into a good book, I find it difficult to put it down. It's not unheard of for me to read an entire book in one sitting. Growing up, I was the kid who got in trouble for staying up too late reading. Now that I'm an adult, I still find myself staying up way too late reading and suffer the next day at work.


I love books from nearly every genre, even science fiction (gasp!). I love a good mystery. I've read all the Nancy Drew books and even a handful of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys crossovers. I've read most of the Cat Who series, love Mary Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham and anything I can try to solve along with the protagonist.

Historical romances have always had a special place in my heart, as do historical fictions. John Jakes is an absolutely amazing historic fiction author. I particularly like his book The Americans, and of course I've read his civil war series - North & South, Love & War and Heaven & Hell. I have lots of favorite historical romance authors, including Connie Mason, Jane Feather and Bernice Small. Connie Mason's Rogue series is one I can read over and over again.

I've read all of the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Hunger Games books. The Host by Stephenie Meyer is one of my all-time favorites, with some of the best character development I've ever had the pleasure of reading (and re-reading multiple times). Eragon and its subsequent books is also high up my list of favorite books, and I was devastated when the movie was nothing like the book. And if you haven't read Here, There Be Dragons or the Inkheart trilogy, you're doing yourself a disservice (in my humble opinion).

I read all of the Twilight books, and in my defense they were recommended to me by a librarian before all the craziness started. I enjoyed the books but have to admit that I liked the movies better.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I just recently read the Fifty Shades trilogy. I know I'm late to jump on that band wagon, but I finally decided to find out what all the fuss was about after reading tons of reviews that were either really, really bad or over the top good. I won't lie - I enjoyed that trilogy much more than Twilight. I found the characters to be much more developed and Anastasia Steel wasn't nearly as annoying as Bella Swan. It was impossible for me not to make comparisons between the two series, especially after I found out Fifty Shades started out as Twilight fanfiction.

On the whole, I have to say I enjoyed Fifty Shades more than Twilight. And no, it's not because of the sex. I found the plot line more interesting and the characters actually evolved as the series progressed.

I will say that the villain, Jack Hyde, was laughable. A book publisher goes postal after his assistant refuses to sleep with him? And it's only because of her that he makes the connection between his and Christian Grey's past? Ha.

While Jack Hyde's character was implausible, the crisis was at least better played out, and Ana was a much better protagonist than Bella. Hell, Ana shoots the villain. And she doesn't just seem to orbit around whatever Christian is doing like Bella does with Edward.

I definitely would not recommend this book for anyone under the age of 20. I also wouldn't suggest it to anyone who's uncomfortable reading about sex. If you can't read a historical romance or harlequin, Fifty Shades is definitely not for you! I'll end my review by saying this - I have no idea how they're turning it into a movie that isn't considered porn.

***END SPOILERS***

I can't count the number of books I've read in my lifetime. I'd guess the number to be in the thousands, at least.

There are only a handful of books I've never finished. The first that I remember is Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. I was in fifth grade and remember thinking how utterly boring the book was, despite it's interesting cover art. The next book I remember not finishing was The Hunt for Red October. I was in middle school, 8th grade I think, and it was so far over my head I didn't make it past page 2. In high school I tried to read Ana Karenina but just couldn't get into Leo Tolstoy's style of writing, plus Ana was not my ideal protagonist.

I hate the saying "don't judge a book by its cover". The cover is what usually attracts me first. Then I read the book jacket or the back to get a feel for what it's about. If neither of those is available, I read the first few pages or chapter, depending on how much time I have. If I'm not hooked, I leave it on the shelf.

I'm always on the lookout for something good to read. What are you reading this summer?