So, not unusually, here I am having not posted for months, but what with the last 8 months whirlwind tour of Australia and Canada and Australia again, I feel slightly more justified than normal in not posting - having said that, I did take 8 weeks off, and nary a single post the whole time... so I'll admit it, I'm just lazy.
I'm reading Gretchen Rubin's follow-up to the brilliant The Happiness Project, aptly titled Happier at Home. THP was one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place, Rubin's truths of adulthood and simple resolutions have definitely made an impact on the way I (try!) to live my life, and after reading her second book (well, I'm 51% of the way through) I'm thinking I will go back and re-read THP as Rubin's style of authorship is just so readable; and her views on the rights and wrongs of happiness so happily paradoxical, (keep an empty shelf, and a junk drawer; make your bed everyday, or don't; etc) that all facets and opportunities for making every-day life happier seem to be covered, and the idea that what makes me happy may not make you happy is embraced. Happier at Home is again focusing on small, every-day resolutions, this time aimed more for ensuring happiness and harmony in the home, with the most important relationships first: Self, Spouse, Family. Rubin's blog is worth subscribing to as well, because a) she is far more regular with the posting than me! and, b) a little reminder in your RSS feed or inbox to be happy can sometimes make a difference to your day (and the day of the people around you!).
I succumbed to reading the fifty shades trilogy... eh, meh. Enough people have raved and/or hated this trilogy, I'm not going to waste my fit of verboseness on this.
I got stuck in and read the full Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunters series, and associated Chronicles of Nick tales. These books were a real mixed bag. Sometimes I was blown away with the quality and unable to sleep - the pinnacle was definitely Acheron; and I'm prepared to keep reading just to wait for Nick's story to be resolved, but there is a definite feeling that the series could have stopped with Acheron (well, if we all knew how Nick was going to spend eternity!). Acheron, which comes complete with apology and disclaimer from the author about how graphic the first half of the book is, was an (albeit harrowing) highlight, some of the best story-telling I've read in a long time, with spectactualarly well-imagined scenary and incredible attention to historical detail. It would be extremely difficult to maintain that level of story telling going forward as a) the character was so emotionally linked to the readers for the first 11 books, and b) you'd want to stop writing/reading and find something happier to do with your life instead of continuing to write/read the series. A lot of readers had a big problem with the new panthenon of gods playing silly-buggers with the hero's lives in the books following Acheron, I didn't think I would have a problem with it, but I have to admit it was a little distracting; its like adding a whole new set of rules in the third quarter of a football game.
I don't know if I mentioned reading the JR Ward series, they were an enjoyable couple of weeks of back to back reading. I have gotten a little lost since moving into the territory of the fallen angels series. the latest novel, Rapture lost me by page 2 for a couple of excellent reasons: 1. I wasn't in the mood, 2. it had fundamental editing errors in the first 2 pages, and 3. this book's premise is so annoying I can't talk about it without spoilers.
And now my track of thought has been all un-zenned, I'm going to go back and ready more Happier at Home.
:-)
I'm reading Gretchen Rubin's follow-up to the brilliant The Happiness Project, aptly titled Happier at Home. THP was one of the reasons I started blogging in the first place, Rubin's truths of adulthood and simple resolutions have definitely made an impact on the way I (try!) to live my life, and after reading her second book (well, I'm 51% of the way through) I'm thinking I will go back and re-read THP as Rubin's style of authorship is just so readable; and her views on the rights and wrongs of happiness so happily paradoxical, (keep an empty shelf, and a junk drawer; make your bed everyday, or don't; etc) that all facets and opportunities for making every-day life happier seem to be covered, and the idea that what makes me happy may not make you happy is embraced. Happier at Home is again focusing on small, every-day resolutions, this time aimed more for ensuring happiness and harmony in the home, with the most important relationships first: Self, Spouse, Family. Rubin's blog is worth subscribing to as well, because a) she is far more regular with the posting than me! and, b) a little reminder in your RSS feed or inbox to be happy can sometimes make a difference to your day (and the day of the people around you!).
I succumbed to reading the fifty shades trilogy... eh, meh. Enough people have raved and/or hated this trilogy, I'm not going to waste my fit of verboseness on this.
I got stuck in and read the full Sherrilyn Kenyon Dark Hunters series, and associated Chronicles of Nick tales. These books were a real mixed bag. Sometimes I was blown away with the quality and unable to sleep - the pinnacle was definitely Acheron; and I'm prepared to keep reading just to wait for Nick's story to be resolved, but there is a definite feeling that the series could have stopped with Acheron (well, if we all knew how Nick was going to spend eternity!). Acheron, which comes complete with apology and disclaimer from the author about how graphic the first half of the book is, was an (albeit harrowing) highlight, some of the best story-telling I've read in a long time, with spectactualarly well-imagined scenary and incredible attention to historical detail. It would be extremely difficult to maintain that level of story telling going forward as a) the character was so emotionally linked to the readers for the first 11 books, and b) you'd want to stop writing/reading and find something happier to do with your life instead of continuing to write/read the series. A lot of readers had a big problem with the new panthenon of gods playing silly-buggers with the hero's lives in the books following Acheron, I didn't think I would have a problem with it, but I have to admit it was a little distracting; its like adding a whole new set of rules in the third quarter of a football game.
I don't know if I mentioned reading the JR Ward series, they were an enjoyable couple of weeks of back to back reading. I have gotten a little lost since moving into the territory of the fallen angels series. the latest novel, Rapture lost me by page 2 for a couple of excellent reasons: 1. I wasn't in the mood, 2. it had fundamental editing errors in the first 2 pages, and 3. this book's premise is so annoying I can't talk about it without spoilers.
And now my track of thought has been all un-zenned, I'm going to go back and ready more Happier at Home.
:-)
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