When books help guide you

Okay music really sets me free, but like music, I don't think I could live without books.  Good, bad, depressing, chipper, chick-lit, smut, sci-fi, historical, bios, humor, self-help and textbooks- I need them all! In my life, all the time.  Give me books and I'll forever love you.  I've written about reading and books a little before here in January.  I wrote about my nook and my new love Goodreads. At the time I was still under a dozen books for the year, by now I'm at 34 for the year so far- no signs of stopping.

I think I started devouring books like a monster in middle school.  I was addicted to R L Stein's Fear Street books- the girly version of Goosebumps I guess.  I continued my passionate need for reading when I discovered Half Price Bookstore and I just bought the books that had interesting covers.  Yep I do that still sometimes- worked out great for The Night Circus.  Then people would recommend books to me, and I hadn't yet learned to be discerning about different tastes.  So when my dad told me to read Helter Skelter about the Mason murders or the Shining, I didn't know it would scare the crap out of me.

The sometimes people would recommend books to me because they saw something in me and thought I'd really connect with the book.  THOSE recommendations were always the best, because they aren't just random popular books being thrown around, but something more.  usually these books come to me at a certain time in my life where I need them.  They are either in sync with what I'm currently going through or can help kinda guide me out of it.

The first instance, and most influential, of this was The Celestine Prophecy, my camp counselor at the time thought I would love the book and let me borrow it one summer.  I was about to be a Freshman in high school, going to a new school, on a different side of town and with barely anyone I knew from middle school.  Celestine Prophecy is kinda cheesy when you look at it.  Goodreads describes it as

"You have never read a book like this before -- a book that comes along once in a lifetime to change lives forever.

In the rain forests of Peru, an ancient manuscript has been discovered. Within its pages are 9 key insights into life itself -- insights each human being is predicted to grasp sequentially; one insight, then another, as we move toward a completely spiritual culture on Earth. Drawing on ancient wisdom, it tells you how to make connections among the events happening in your life right now and lets you see what is going to happen to you in the years to come. The story it tells is a gripping one of adventure and discovery, but it is also a guidebook that has the power to crystallize your perceptions of why you are where you are in life and to direct your steps with a new energy and optimisim as you head into tomorrow."

Yah I guess that's what it's "about".  But to me I pulled on the synergy or synchronicity thing.  That the coincidences in your life will lead you in the direction you should be going.  This was something I had always believed in when it came to music.  I always thought music had to be a part of my life because there were so many damn coincidences.  In choir at school we would sing the exact same songs that would show up again that summer at camp.  Again after reading the book I noticed it more- coincidence that the last show my freshman year was "Crazy for You" and that summer at camp we just happened to do all Gershwin songs- coincidence or fate?  It was like the whole universe was trying to tell me music is a part of this, don't ever quit music.  Those coincidences went on my whole school and camp music experience.  Every year.  Also I can't forget this was the book that brought me and my now 12 year pen pal together.  So from this book I learned about coincidences and it helped solidify my "need" for music in my life.

Since then a few others books have come into my life and seemingly the right time to influence my thoughts or feelings on certain matters.  A close guy friend and I very much agree that On Love by Alain de Botton is the one fo the best, and most honey, relationship books we've ever read.  It's kinda like how I feel about the movie Closer, honest, brutally honest about relationships.  On Love is written by a philosopher, so his approach to love and relationships is completely rational, everything is deciphered and then deciphered some more.  

“If cynicism and love lie at opposite ends of a spectrum, do we not sometimes fall in love in order to escape the debilitating cynicism to which we are prone? Is there not in every coup de foudre a certain willful exaggeration of the qualities of the beloved, an exaggeration which distracts us from our habitual pessimism and focuses our energies on someone in whom we can believe in a way we have never believed in ourselves?” 
― Alain de Botton, On Love

I always go back to this book.  I can read it a hundred times and never get tired of it's simple truths.  It's very hard to find, so I recommend ordering it online, but it's worth the read and amazing.

Recently a book fell into my lap after I entered a Goodreads giveaway.  I'd been winning a lot lately and didn't check it very often, just waited for the emails telling me I'd won.  Then one day I got an email from an author, saying I'm sorry you didn't win, but can I send you an epub version for you to read and write a review for.  I agreed.  That's how I came to read You Know Your Way Home. I started reading it thinking it would only be a memoir of a woman's quest to find herself after 5 failed marriages.  Soon I realized it was much more than that.  This woman's journey through therapy and finding how to be happy with herself was very inspirational.  Her writing style wasn't always the best and some parts of the book were very self-indulgent, but overall the message was about finding your faith and taking control of your happiness.

Like another book I'm finally getting around to reading. Years ago a friend lent me the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and told me to read it and that I'd love it.  It's sat on my shelf since then.  I saw the movie and loved it and kept meaning and meaning to read the book.  I'm finally getting around to it and wondering why I waited so long.  So far I'm loving it.  I have no desire to travel, in fact leaving San Antonio makes me anxious.  I don't like being away from home, but through books about travel I can see how some people find it soothing and healthy to get away every once in a while.  The idea of going off to another country or countries for a year scares me to death, but I can appreciate that it can somewhat force you to have to find yourself.  

For me I can do it through books, by reading other people's journeys I can learn from their wisdom and from their mistakes.  To me it's less risky- as we say frequently in Student Affairs- Why reinvent the wheel? So I use my books to guide me, to remind me that music is important in my life, to remind me that sometimes love is really messy and to help find myself.  Books are my therapy, just like how sometimes music is my therapy.  I can't wait to see what more I can learn.

Review: Amped

Amped by Daniel H. Wilson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I've been putting off writing this review out of fear it'd only highlight what I didn't like. I'll come out and admit that I was disappointed in this book. I had hyped it up too much in my head because [b:Robopocalypse|9634967|Robopocalypse|Daniel H. Wilson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327885891s/9634967.jpg|14247828] was so good. Terrifying, but good. So here's the deal-

Amped is about a future in which the government and medical world have come together to help children, who would otherwise be at an academic disadvantage, with an "uplift" program. They implant devices into their heads that help them learn better, correct behavioral problems, see better and they come with a hand little port on your temple that allows them to be upgraded and such. The general public can also electively have these devices, these amps installed in their children just to give them a little boost. They can also cure epilepsy, blindness and a host of other problems that go on with the brain. So a decade after these devices have been assimilated into the general pop branches of political groups and religious groups now say it's unfair, they're taking jobs away from non-amps, they aren't even human anymore- and all sorts of other things that parallel lots of political debates we see running around today. The book starts right after a law has been passed in the Supreme Court saying Amps don't hold any rights anymore, no right to education, no right to enter contracts (a celebrity divorce is the focus of this one) and that they're basically in a limbo period of existence. The story continues to follow one man's journey to find out why his Amp is different and how to save the Amped and Non-Amped from civil war against one another.

Things I liked- The story. The story was short and sweet and easy to follow. It wasn't horrible repetitive and there were lots of details I feel like haven't already been run into the ground by other sci-fi books out there. The supporting characters are great, there's an ex-general-military guy who reminds me of Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now, that has some great one-liners and has a very fleshed out character. We know exactly who he is and why he's doing the things he does. The extremists were really good too, they were totally believable. We see those same arguments being made today about illegal immigrants and gay marriage, so it's very easy to imagine how similar groups would feel about US citizens who get medical implants that make them smarter. Another thing I liked was that there was no cheesey love story for the sake of a love story- thanks D.H. Wilson!

The idea and concept was just so interesting, while I don't think we'll ever get little squid implants in our brains that help fix problems, I can foresee a future where these is technology that is integrated into our bodies that gives advantages to those who are able to afford it. The kicker here was that in some places the government came into people's neighborhoods and did this to kids without extensive testing and really without a lot of consent, they took these kids and did it to them and then left them there. One character calls it "government cheese" it's so common where he lives. Then after the government is the one who did this to them, the government is now the one saying they shouldn't have rights and that they need to be shipped off to "camps". Crazy.

What I didn't like- It was too damn short! OMG not even 300 pages on nook? I felt like they cut out stuff that could have been really interesting. The story of how the main character got from the Eastern US to Oklahoma when he was being hunted that could have taken more than 5 pages, instead he's hitchhiking one minute and in OK the next. Also the main character didn't really have a personality. I kept getting frustrated with him, we never really know what his motivation is. I realize his whole world had just been turned upside down, but I feel like we never really know him.

Something interesting- Samantha Blex- so a month or so before the book came out the author started a Facebook page for a character we only see in the first chapter of a book. She's the character that the education supreme court case is based on- the Facebook page is basically her diary of the time leading up to the book. I liked it- although again like the main character of the book I didn't get very emotionally attached to her and I didn't feel like she was completely fleshed out, but here Facebook made for an interesting read and the first chapter of the book came as a bit of a shock to me after spending a month with her character online. You can see it here http://www.facebook.com/SamanthaBlex?ref=ts

So basically I didn't like the main character as a character or the length of the book. But after it's all said and done and three days later I can't say how I feel about this book. It was exciting and kept my interest. I didn't want to put it down, but there was just something missing. Something that 3 days later doesn't make me want to read it again. I really like this author's writing style and I was really looking forward to this book, so maybe that's why it was sort of disappointing.




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On the trails with Dr. Liz

My friend Liz and I have been walking in Comanche park on the weekends.  We've been walking early in the morning to beat the heat and usually stay at it for about an hour.  We don't jog, we certainly don't run, we just walk.  The best part about walking and not jogging is you get to talk, outside noises aren't drowned out by the sound of your heart trying to escape through your ears or your running mate hyperventilating next to you.  So yay! Sometimes our conversations are serious, we talk about work, family, life and the history of the Middle East.  Sometimes out conversations are funny we talk about mishaps exercising, vampires with chainsaws, bunnies, undies in envelopes and dating in the Middle East.

Our walk usually lasts about an hour, I think we've done all the paths by now, we like the library trail a lot.  Along the path there are these outdoor exercise machines, pull up bars, step benches and a tai chi wheel thing that we can't figure out.  Obviously these machines are outside and exposed to all of the world's (and sticky children's) elements so we don't want to get too personal with the machines, but it's nice to know they're there.  Apparently this is something that was common in Israel, with outdoor gyms set  up in random places with lots of machines all grouped together.  On the trails at Comanche park  they're spread out every so often on the Library Loop.  

The paths are sometimes overgrown and there is a lot of "nature" out there, large bugs, strange plants, broken heart graffiti,  random paths that leas nowhere into the woods, people way more prepared for hiking than us, wild bunnies, and sounds that we can only attribute to being a vampire with a chainsaw unless its a bunny vampire, which we've decided we're okay with for now.  

Review: The Rook

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



What an exciting book. Myfanwy (pronounced like Tiffany with a M)Thomas wakes up one day in a park surrounded by dead bodies without any memory of what's happened or who she is. Luckily in her pocket she finds two letters written to her from the previous Myfanwy Thomas guiding her how to resume her life. After reading the letters she has two choices she can resume Myfanwy Thomas' life where people are trying to kill her and conspiracy surrounds her, or she can flee the country and be someone new, but the journey to get out of the country undetected is also dangerous. The new Myfanwy choses to resume the old Myfanwy's life.

Myfanwy Thomas works for a secret organization in the UK that is responsible for quelling supernatural uprising, manifestations, disturbances and the like. The structure of the organization is like Chess, the queen and king are the head (although they're called Lord and Lady) there are two bishops, two chevaliers (knights) and two rooks (castles) and lots of pawns. The court and pawns all have special powers, some can turn their body into weapons, see through buildings, control other people's dreams and one's a vampire. Myfanwy Thomas is a Rook, in her first life she was a glorified paper pusher with great skill, her special power allowed her to control other people's bodies through touch, but she was meek and frail and disliked using her powers. The organization is very strict, they are cutthroat and ruthless when it comes to keeping their secret and weaknesses are not tolerated well. When the new Myfanwy Thomas woke up in the rain the old personality had left her and a new more assertive personality had taken her place.

The old Myfanwy Thomas warns the new that she cannot be detected of losing her memory and so a through guide is given to her to navigate the organization and her life within it. She also warns herself that there are traitors within the organization and that they must be found out and stopped. The new Myfanwy barely has time to get settled in before there are emergencies in the organization that demand her "Rook" attention. She learns early how to use her powers and expands them in ways the original did not.

It is exciting to see the character evolve, learn her place and break away from what the original would have done to be her own version of Myfanwy. The novel is broken up by letters from the old Myfanwy Thomas to the new, sometimes they're definitions and more of a guide to the people and structure of the organization she's working in and sometimes they're stories of things that had happened to the original Myfanwy that give greater insight to her personality and relationships with other. This book is action packed and exciting. It's an exciting world and I almost hope there is a sequel or maybe just a prequel because its took fun to let just be a single book.

I have very few critiques about this book. There were a couple of times where the new Myfanwy Thomas jumped to the correct conclusion a little too easily, but assuming that the reader doesn't get to read everything the old Myfanwy Thomas left her to guide her I can let that slide. The mini-cliff hangers between chapters were great, I felt the suspense and fear that something really bad was happening. The book also didn't shy away from the gross stuff or the big fights, if someone was being killed or tortured in a gruesome way we read it and if there was a huge battle we were right there with the pawns, rooks and elite soldiers. AND it was funny, really really funny at some points, in some places it just didn't take itself too seriously and that was great because it made for such a fun read.

It's hard to categorize this book as just science fiction because while there is a lot of science in it, tinkering with human implants and modifications, there's also a random vampire that emerged from an egg. There's lots of cool weapons and military tactics that are used to suppress some of the manifestations the organization is charged with keeping discreet. So I would call it a sort of mystery, science fictiony, little fantasy, adventure. Either way it was just a great book, well planned, executed and had a very satisfying ending.



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First Anniversary- over on my wedding blog

My blog post for my first anniversary is over on my wedding blog from last year.

http://tylergettingmarried.blogspot.com/2012/04/year-ago.html

April in Texas

It's that awkward time of year right now where it isn't hot but it isn't cold.  We're in the 80s most of the afternoons and the upper 60s in the morning.  At any moment it could start to rain and at any moment summer could hit and we'll be nothing but sweltering 90s and 100s for the next 5 months.  Along with the moderate temps we have extreme humidity.  I'm a walking cavewoman with hair that excedes the width of my shoulders.  The mosquitos that were non-existant last summer because of the drought have decided to make their presence known viscously making up for the lost opportunities last year. The upside to all this are the beautiful wildflowers.  1604 offers a beautifully scenic drive overflowing with bluebonnets and indian blankets until you hit the cluster-fuck at 281 where its nothing but a depressing view of construction.  April also brings Fiesta to San Antonio.  I don't really get on board with the whole fiesta thing except once every 7 years or so, I really don't need to experience it more than that.  Downtown gets too crowded, NIOSA is gross, its usually hot and sticky and if its not then someone will spill their $12 margarita on you and then you'll be sticky none the less.  But the weather has been quite lovely lately, so I'll stop bitching about the rest.  This April has been a season of 1sts.  Isaac's first Easter, Bruce's first Woodzie (and Haley, Isaac and Greg's too), the end of our first year in our first house and coming up our first wedding anniversary.

Isaac's first Easter was awesome.  He's just so cute and handsom, growing every time I see him.  I can't imagine having missed it, even though originally I hadn't thought it was a big deal.  There's something about holding that baby that just makes all the world problems disappear.  As long as Mr. Isaac is smiling then what can be so horrible.  I post more pictures of that kid on Facebook than of my husband that people frequently ask if he's mine.

The extended Swift-Moran family Woodzie experience also happened this month.  I finally got to take Bruce.  Since we met there have always been wedding complications that weekend, the first year we were together we went to California for a good friend from High School's wedding and last year it was too busy with the planning of our wedding.  But not only did I get to share it with Bruce, but I got to have Haley, Greg and Isaac there too! Greg even became the talk of the Woodzie by being the first to spin fire there.  I was so glad to get to share that experience with them and now they know how awesome it is and want to go back again next year.

I closed on the house last year on the 16th or 17, can't remember but I remember I was in a rush because I had to close on it before the wedding date or there was a chance I would have lost it!  So while we didn't move into the house till Mayish we did change the locks right after we closed and put locks on the gates.  It's crazy to think that last year we were still in our apartment, I never knew I could love our little house so much, but I do.  Its the perfect size and even though there are some things I'd like to upgrade, for the most part it's perfect.

Monday is our 1 year wedding anniversary, the paper anniversary.  I told Bruce I'd write both our names on a piece of paper and give it to him.  I can't believe it's already been a year.  This year has been just one big thing after another.  You always hear that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but sometimes I feel like this is just ridiculous.  I don't even know what to say about it.  A lot of really good things happened, but a lot of really stressful things happened as well.  Good- Isaac, moving into the house, graduating and lots of good work stuff for me.  Bad- mama almost dying, having to cancel our honeymoon, Grandpa Red dying, Bruce's medical badness, Bruce losing his job, and lots of car expenses.  Everything was kinda polarized the first 3 months were really really stressful and the last 3 months have been really really stressful.  But as I've told many people, come April 24th I expect everything to be perfect because everyone always says the first year is the hardest, so come Tuesday that first year is over.  I'm ready to start the second.

On a happy note we got our first anniversary gift from my mom and grandma a Loquat Tree for our backyard.  Right now its just a baby but hopefully it grow up to be big one day.

Review: 1Q84

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



1Q84 is one of the must interesting and stimulating books I've ever read. It was a my first Murakami and I'm glad. It's a commitment, at over 1100 pages (on my Nook) it was definitely a commitment to read. I liked so much about the book its hard to figure out where to start-

A brief summary of the books would be that it's about two characters Aomame and Tengo. Both characters are approaching 30, from the same area of Japan, attended the same school for two years and were in the same class. Both live simple lives doing what they do well, Aomame is a fitness instructor and Tengo is a Math Teacher. What they are both unpaid for it what defines them Aomame is an assassin of men who beat women and Tengo is a writer who gets involved in a questionable situation. The world changes and both could potentially be in danger. The rest of the story is too good to give away but their lives become re-entwined and even though they haven't seen each other in years they must find each other. The book contains- a religious cult, re-writing a story that some wich hadn't been written at all, runaway girls, strange sex, murder, lots of food, lots of repetition and little people. (it's a 1100 page book trust me there's way more to it than this)

I liked the structure, going between different point of views it fun and keeps a book this long from getting stale. The non-linear structure is also very exciting. You never know if events are happening before or after the previous chapter. Because of this so many near-meetings of the two main characters take place.

I loved all the other literary references, cultural references and music references in the book. Half way through this book I had a conversation with everyone I know about how strange it is to me that other people around the world seem to know so much more about American society and culture than we do about theirs. Unless I seek it out I feel like I never hear about foreign politics, entertainment, music or books. In 1Q84 Murakami references Chekhov's Gun, Out of Africa, George Orwell, Proust and Dostoyevsky- also one of the process of writing novels, he retells several stories in the text, the Gilyaks, Town of Cats, the actual Air Chrysalis story- I really enjoyed these because be readying what the characters were actually reading it gave greater insight into the characters. The theme "town of cats" proceeded to follow the Tengo around and was applicable to so many situations.

The descriptions were great, though they were given over and over again. It seemed like every thing that happened had to be described three different times in very similar ways. Lots of detail on mundane things that normally aren't given as much attention.

The character of Aomame reminded me of another very strong woman who disliked men who hate women, so I often got a very Lisbeth Salandar feel from her, but she was also a lot softer and we see a lot more of her emotions and feelings than we ever saw of Lisbeth's. Tengo was sort of a mystery, I feel like we never really learned what made him tick, he was often very sad or confused. One of my favorite characters Ushikawa never got the resolution I wanted him to get, he was interesting and I felt like his motives were more than just helping Sakegake. The girl responsible for the Air Chrysalis story Fuka-Eri was just strange and weird, like a woman-child too old to act that way but too damaged to know any better.

I started this book at the end of December. I read the first chapter and put it down for a few weeks. Then read the first book and put it down for an entire month. I read the second and third books back to back. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to get lost in a world similar to our own but still very different. I think because it took place in Japan I was able to have that disassociation with it and it really drew me in. I will definitely be looking at other Murakami books in the future.



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