books that intrigue me

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I have a ridiculous number of books at home waiting to be read. But I am always bookmarking or wishlisting more... I love to read. I love filling my brain with new ideas, new theories, new facts, etc. I'm 99% sure that I'm a scanner. Possibly I also have ADD or no focus or something. But the point is: stuff interests me. Lots of stuff. I have a special hidden wish list on Amazon called Books I Want to Read. Heh. On this list are books about the worldwide debt threat, our food culture, feminism, Star Wars, ballet, memoirs, historical stuffs, moss (yes, moss... the stuff that grows on trees), and more. I'm a genuinely interested person (juries out on whether I am an interesting person... I think I am but it's not my call). Here are a few books that have piqued my interest recently...

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain)
I'm an introvert. I'm not shy. Those are different things. Things like your typical small talk w/strangers are so incredibly painful for me that I avoid all situations where it might be an issue. This conflicts with my strong desire to interact with other humans. I'm interested in why introverts are important & how to overcome some of the things that keep us down. So that I may (finally) convince everyone of my awesomeness. I'm kidding... kind of.

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (Jen Hatmaker)
I like to do little experiments with my life... it's all part of an effort to create better habits or figure out the things I like and/or the things that will work best for me. Next month I'm shaking up my sleep schedule (more on that later). I'm equally curious by other people's life experiments. Since I find the over-consumption of, well, everything by our country to be massively disconcerting, this book was added to the list. In it the author tackles "seven areas of over-consumption in the spirit of a fast; a fast from greed, irresponsibility, apathy, and insatiability." Hell yeah, I'm on it.

The Natural Navigator: The Rediscovered Art of Letting Nature Be Your Guide (Tristan Gooley)
I never know which direction I'm facing. OK, not never. I can handle sunrise & sunsets. But when the GPS or directions tell me to "head north," I usually respond by yelling obscenities while trying not to crash the car. Seems like this might be a useful book for me.

The Good Girls Revolt: How the Women of Newsweek Sued their Bosses and Changed the Workplace (Lynn Povich)
Feminism stuffs! I don't know anything about said revolt other than what the title reads. But I am hardcore pro-equality on all fronts so anything that moved the needle toward fairness has me interested.

Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness (Jessica Valenti)
I use to be super positive that I wanted kids. Then I was pretty positive that I didn't. Now, sometimes, I think it would be a good thing and other times it terrifies the bejeesus out of me. Since I'm hurtling through the childbearing years, I think I should figure it out already. Maybe this book will provide some insight.

There you have it. A small sampling of Books I Want to Read. 


Is there a juice cleanse for life?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

I've been thinking about what I want to do with this blog. But like every other thought, it's stuck in a traffic jam in my brain. I want my blog to be about the things that inspire me / intrigue me / fulfill me / happy unicorns blah blah etc. But I have to admit, stuff just sucks right now. Life is both overwhelming and underwhelming. Specifically, I am overwhelmed by how underwhelming my life is at this juncture. I'm on a "this is not my beautiful life" Ferris wheel and I can't get off the ride. And I hate Ferris wheels.

(sigh)

So what's a girl to do? I don't know. I can't figure it out. I am perpetually confused and chronically dissatisfied. And unfortunately, when I'm feeling like this, I embrace all my bad habits. Which, of course, bring me down more. I could take a long walk to clear my head. Instead I'll sit on the couch, having wine & olives for dinner, and watch 10 episodes of whatever show I'm into that day (side note: Parks & Recreation is a really great show). Or sometimes it's chocolate milk and potato chips. I know all the things I should do. But I feel like I've been trying all those things for the last 10 years and ZOMG when is it, any of it, going to start working?!

What's hilarious is that I'm actually a closet optimist. No one ever believes that because of the matter of fact way I talk about things. People die, people lie, people disappoint you, you disappoint people. That's kinda my thing... ALL the people are irretrievably fucked up. And I believe that will always be the truth. We won't ever be perfect. I don't even believe in perfect. But we can all be better. We can learn, grow, evolve, and yes, change. But only if we choose to. And most people don't. Heh. That probably doesn't sound very optimistic. But I swear it is. I never give up on people. I have tried to give up on people but I literally can't. It's kind of endlessly frustrating, I'll admit. Probably for them too. Maybe I'm not an optimist... maybe I'm just a sucker? I don't know. I can't figure this all out in one blog post! ;)

But back to my doldrums... I'm stuck right now. And I don't know how to unstick myself. I know I need to. I need to, in the words of Bob Dylan, "shake some windows and rattle some walls." But I'm a bit paralyzed by just how much I want to change. And it feels like everyone around me is going thru the same thing. So where do I turn? I joked on Twitter last year that I what I need is a combo psychiatrist / life coach / philosopher... but I don't think that's a real thing. I don't know what to do. I suppose it's OK to admit that every once in awhile. Right?* I'm not giving up. I'm not admitting defeat. I'm just laying it all out there. I am confused and fearful and unsettled by it all. And that's OK.

Sometimes, that's just what I need.



*Somebody validate me immediately!! Heehee.

fresh. start.

Monday, September 17, 2012

I was not feeling the love for my blog so scrapped all the old posts to start fresh. Again. That's just how I do.

The posts have not gone to blog heaven though. Most of the archives were from my two previous blogs so they are still accessible here: 33 etc. & {enjoy} more bliss. I also ported the remaining 25 posts over to {enjoy} more bliss.

This will still be my blog going forward. I'm just not sure where I'm taking it yet. ;)

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