Reading Rainbow

Reading seems to be the theme of the day.

First I'll give a quick shout out to my friend, Elizabeth who attended her first bookclub meeting last night. Let me repeat that...Elizabeth attended her first bookclub last night. This is of note because Elizabeth does not, in fact, read. She doesn't read books, magazines, or really anything. And this is a known fact....she touts it on her myspace and facebook pages and regularly during literary conversations. Ok, so we probably don't have too many literary convos, but you get the point.

On the flip side, I was amazed by a story/guest who appeared on Ellen today. Alfred Williams is the most adorable 70 year black man I've ever seen. Over 60 years ago Alfred dropped out of first grade to go to work in the fields so he could help his family. But in doing so, he also made a promise to his mother that he has now made good on....he has learned to read. Alfred joined a first grade elementary class and participated on all levels. When they played, he played...when they learned to read...he learned to read. It was adorable to watch the clips of the kiddos talking about their "friend" Alfred...this 70 year old black man in a virtually all white first grade class. Amazing. Alfred is adorable. So full of life and one of the best smiles I've ever seen. He is proud to say that he can now read. While on the show, Ellen presented Alferd with a check for $10,000 that Alferd said he was going to use to build a house. What an amazing story.

Now I'm not what you would call a great reader. I have a very limited attention span and I have a bit of a reading comprehension problem. I'm sure it's nothing the right drug couldn't fix....but I've come this far might be too late. It takes me quite a while to plow through a book....as you can probably tell by the almost static portion of my blog "On The Nightstand." My reading mentor is Ashley. That girl can read. I've never seen anyone master the art of blocking out the world quite like her as she devours a book. Impressive. Anyway, I'm currently reading a great book about the circus in the 1930s. Doesn't really sound all that great, but it is fascinating and well written. I'll give you a book report when I'm done....it a month or three!

Happy reading....well not you Lizzie. :)

Closing the book on Harry Potter

It only took me 2 and a half months to do it, but last night I closed the book on the final Harry Potter book. What a journey. I have such mixed emotions about finishing book number seven, but loved every minute of it. I can't wait to nerd out and gab with my other Potterphile friends who have so patiently waited for me to finish. So much to discuss. I will miss Harry, Hermione, and Ron (my favorite). But at least I have a couple more movies to anticipate. Wish I could say more, but have to help preserve the secrets for those who have yet to read the final installment....although I may be the last one.

Now that I've finished HP...I'm on to the next book....that's kind of a thing with me...the moment I finish one book I have to pick up another. Wonder what that's about?!?!?! So, I'm on to One Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I'm so excited about starting this one. Khaled Hosseini is the author of The Kite Runner....one of the best books I've ever read. Can't wait to dive into his newsest book. I'm also anxiously awaiting the movie version of The Kite Runner....who's release date has been pushed back due for the safety of its child stars.

Book Report

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Ohhhh...my 8th grade reading teacher Mr. Parker (yes, I took remedial reading and am proud of it) would be so proud of the way I can now devour a great book!

Anyway, back to the book. What a great book this is. I loved it. (Thanks Ash.)

Eat, Pray, Love is a memoir of self-discovery, spiritual insight, and a search for finding the balance between pleasure and faith. The book follows Elizabeth through a year abroad. Following a heartbreaking divorce and a bout with depression, Elizabeth finds herself in Italy for the pursuit of pleasure. Is there a better place on earth for the pursuit of pleasure??? You know food, wine, beauty, shopping, food, wine, etc, etc. After 3 months in Italy she travels to India to find her faith in an Ashram where she begins her day at 3:30 in the morning with prayer and song. Following her time in India, she ends her year of travel in Bali. Beautiful Bali. I have never been to Bali, but it has long been on my list of "things to do." The book actually gives a great history of Bali and the culture there. Her trip to Indonesia was about the pursuit of balance...the balance between pleasure and devotion.

One of my favorite passages comes near the end of the book, during her stay in Bali...

"...people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon in, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passedis like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainment."