Work Those Muscles

The other day I took my sons to the optometrist. I was a little worried about Thing 2 because he's been complaining about his eyes being tired. Thing 1 was reminded that yes, indeed he needed to wear his glasses. Thing 2 however, was told that his eyesight was excellent.

When we enquired about why his eyes might be tired and the doc found out that Thing 2 reads a zillion hours every day, he said "Ahh, well . . ." 

Your eye muscles, as it turns out, are like any other muscles and tire after a good workout. However, they also get stronger from a good workout. Huh, who knew. I was still operating under the old wives' tale that too much reading would make your eyes go bad. :D

I've noticed that I have been reading a lot faster lately and it occurred to me that this too must be like a muscle that improves with use.

I don't know if that would be my eyes or my brain (probably the latter) but I have definitely noticed an improvement in the speed with which I am able to read. I've been reading about a book a week lately, whereas it used to be that I would have to give up my whole life for a few days in order to get a book read that quickly. 

This is super exciting to me because I LOVE to read, but in the past I've felt I "didn't have time" for it. Now, I know better. 

I can teach school, write, keep my house reasonably clean (ha!) and still enjoy a good book. Sweet!

Who knew that reading was a form of exercise--good for your eyes and your brain. Now you can 'work out' and feel that you're doing yourself a service. What's that you say? Thanks so much for telling you about this important new workout? You're welcome!

And the Winner of My Most Amazing Birthday Greeting Contest is ...

I loved all the poems and the fun things you did. They were awesome! Thank you!

But Stephanie really went above and beyond. She took my 40 Somethings to heart and gave me 40 Gifts! She sent me virtual cards and gifts and flowers and plants, videos and you name it, she sent it! Forty of them!! She rocked in the birthday greeting thing to the max so she deserves my most awesome birthday prize.

I promised my favorite book, The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay.



However, I was so impressed by Stephanie's obvious love and adoration of me that I decided to honor her with the entire trilogy!

Thanks for making my birthday celebration fun you guys! Sorry for the depressing threads now and then, but hey, that's my life, right? It's all played a part in who I am today. Many of you suggested I ought to write my memoirs. I've thought of that from time to time, but so far, I haven't been able to wrap my head around everything that happened in my life. Maybe one day. Thanks for the encouragement, though!

Stephanie, will you please email me and let me know your mailing address? I'll get these wonderful books off to you shortly!

The Best Middle Grade Books I've Read ...

I read a lot of books to my boys. And though they are only seven and a half, they have long since passed the Magic Tree House series. About a year ago Xan picked up his first Deltora Quest book by Emily Rodda. We all really enjoyed it. Charlie continued to prefer Magic Tree House so I would alternate between a Deltora Quest book and a MTH book. Reading them out loud I much preferred the DQ books because they were so well written. Easy to read, the story flows, the dialogue is natural and the descriptions are excellent.


We are now on our fourth Deltora Quest. The story is only getting better and better and even my reluctant reader, Charlie, begs for more every night. These are truly excellent books with stellar writing; I highly recommend them.

I'm also enjoy reading them as a writer who is always interested in learning more. I am so impressed with how Rodda manages to keep her books succinct and in tune with her audience while never talking down to them, and never short changing the showing of the story. Her stories are vivid and alive, both for the boys and for me. I hope I can manage to take what I am learning from reading her stories to my own books one day; I could certainly do far worse than emulating one who is truly succeeding, to my mind, in telling exciting colorful adventures that even the most reluctant readers enjoy.

Thank you Emily Rodda!

Fun Read

Recently I went to the library to find something to drown my sorrows in. No, I did not turn to the Whitney Award Finalists to fill this need. Instead I picked up something light, silly and totally new. I got Karma Girl by first-timer Jennifer Estep.

Before you get too excited, you must know this is a book for girls and it's probably oh, umm, "R" rated. There are about two fairly visual sex scenes - it wasn't paint-by-numbers, so I liked it :) but if that sort of thing is a joy-kill for you, then watch out! You can tell they are coming, and they are very short scenes, so just skip them.

Otherwise, the read was fun, fast, witty and, what I loved best about it, totally new and different. Fantasy mixed with reality, the book features Carmen Cole who's been jilted in love by her fiance (on her wedding day no less) and her best friend who both turn out to be superheroes and/or ubervillains. Carmen makes it her life mission to unmask each and every mask-wearing, tight-stretching poser for the benefit of all the normal people they are lying to each and every day. The tables get turned on Carmen though when one of her exposed superheroes kills himself and karma turns to bite Carmen on the behind.

Just what I needed as a little escape right now. Thank you Jennifer Estep! When I went to find the cover to put up here I discovered that while Jennifer just released Karma Girl in May of 2007, her second book, Hot Mama, was released in November - good for her! She has yet a third book in the series to come out in September of this year.

Who do you love? *note: Eclipse Spoilers*

Edward or Jacob?

That's what my 14 year old babysitter asked me the other day when I picked her up to sit for us and I told her I was reading Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. Don't know how the Twilight series has effected the girls in your neck of the woods, but here, they are gaga for it. My YW President, Wendy and I decided we'd have to read the books so we would have half a clue what they were talking about.

And now? I'm hooked.

I will also admit, right up front, that I'm mildly jealous of Stephanie Meyer, but I am NOT coveting. I swear. I think there's a difference between wishing it were me TOO not me INSTEAD, right? Please don't hate me.

So, the burning question is, who do you think Bella should be with? Edward or Jacob? Who do you love? My sitter asked me and I said I liked Jacob. But that was the WRONG answer! Silly me! So in my defense I asked who SHE loved:

"Edward of course!" she gushed.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a teenage girl and he's beautiful!" She sort of whined her answer but with an adorable turn of her head and sweet blush that made it all okay.

I love Jacob's passion and fun, his sense of adventure and, well, his humanness ... albeit somewhat imperfect humanness given he's a werewolf and all. BUT I do probably really love Edward best. There's no doubt in my mind that I want Edward and Bella together forever. I want her to be bitten, to be changed, and to live happily ever after with Edward - NOT to make Bella happy, but to make Edward happy. I love him that much that I want him to have the woman that makes him happy ... even if that woman is not me.

I also wish and hope that in Book Four of the Twilight series Jacob finds the girl he can 'imprint' on so he can have his heart mended and made whole again. He deserves it. Poor wolfy boy.

So inquiring minds want to know ... Who do you love best?

Readers Anonymous

Hello, my name is Ali, and I am addicted to reading. Unlike regular anonymous help groups, abstaining is strictly out of the question. Perish the thought. I don't even think it would be good for me to abstain. No, in this case the key is MODERATION. Problem is, when you're an interminably slow reader like I am it takes TIME to read. *sigh* When I get a good book that's hard for me to put down, it's all I can do ... it's like an obsession. By the wayside falls trivial things like housework, cooking, personal hygiene. It's just all about the BOOK.

So it's ironic that Candace should tag me with this little book meme ... though I'm embarassed to go after her since her answers were much more admirable than mine. Oh well. Here goes!

1. My Reading ∙ I will read pretty much anything. My fave is fantasy, but I don't have a favorite author; everyone has their good and bad books. I also enjoy the occasional romance, my favorites being Nora Roberts (though sometimes I have to skip steamy scenes), and Candace Salima. I also read LDS inspirational books some, love mysteries, though I think good ones are hard to find. Like I said, I'll try anything out for size.

2. Total Number of Books Owned ∙ Seriously? Am I supposed to give a number? Well, I have no idea. I read non-stop, but I don't keep all the books I read. Unless it's a book I intend to read again - like an inspirational book - I don't keep it. There are only four novels I have ever - EVER - read more than once, so I have them. Otherwise, I read 'em and pass 'em on.

3. Last Book Bought ∙ Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse. I am really enjoying it, hence why I need to join Readers Anonymous.

4. Last Book Read ∙ Stephanie Meyer's New Moon. I could barely eat or dress myself while reading this massive book. It was much better than Twilight, the first in the series. Loved it.

5. Five Meaningful Books ∙ (I only did four ... sorry!)

The Book of Mormon ~ This book changed my life, literally. I have not been the same person since I read it. I read it more than seven times within a year from receiving it. I cried, I was inspired, my life was changed.

The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay ~ I love this trilogy more than any other novel(s) I have ever read. It moved me in every way possible. When I was first finished reading, my tears blurring the words on the page, I just sat in stunned silence. Even when re-reading it, I am touched the same way. It was these books that made me want to be a writer, to truly decide THIS is what I wanted to do ... I wanted to touch people, move them, the way Kay does through these three books. It is a truly remarkable fantasy series you would do well to read. They are wonderful, astounding.

In A Dark Wood Wandering by Helga Haas ~ Lyrical and epic, this is a sometime disturbing but profoundly moving tale set in 15th century France of an exiled member of Charles VI's court. The poetry in this book is amazing and original to the real Charles d'Orleans who this book is based on. This is an historical novel, written originally in Dutch; the research was painstaking and thorough ... but more than all that is the beauty of the words. The whole book reads like poetry.

Be of Good Cheer by Marvin J. Ashton ~ This book has been a comfort and a guide to me, teaching me to how to find joy in every day living but particularly through the atonement. I couldn't provide a link for you because Deseret Book doesn't have a listing for it and Amazon's was even more minimal than my brief comments.

The Other Wise Man by Harry Van Dyke ~ I love this story. I find it so moving and uplifting. I want to be like this man ... never wavering on my course to find the Savior by always abounding in good works and stopping to help others along the way. My husband and I used to sit, on Christmas Eve, chilled apple cider in hand, fire glowing, tree lights twinkling, and read through the entire book. It was our gift to each other, to help us remember our Savior and how we can best grow closer to Him. We don't do that anymore; the book is a little too long for our little boys, but we probably could/ought to read a little each day leading up to Christmas. It's worth reading every year ... it's lovely.

Umm, that's all I can think of at this moment. I'm a hard nut to crack and so it takes a lot to get added to my 'favorites of all time' list.

I went to see a movie tonight that was exciting and adventure-packed, and you know what I was thinking? I can't wait to get home and read my book!

*sigh* Maybe I need to take a speed reading course because maybe then I could read my books AND live my life. Unless it just gave me license to go back and read it again!

As for you I might tag ... I have to admit I haven't been reading my friends' blogs the way I ought to lately, so I'm sure to embarass myself here by tagging someone who has already been tagged by someone else. So I'm going to take the game outside of my writing-friends circle and include my other blogging friends. Here goes: April (who reads like a crazy person - she might even read as many books as Tristi!), Anne, and Susan.