book therapy

I’ve debated spending the $150.00 an hour to pay someone to listen to me whine… I mean vent.  After all, if they are being paid, they can’t exactly roll their eyes at me, or just tune me out.  Therapists are usually expected to come up with something intelligent in response too.  It’s tempting…

But, then, I think about all the clothes and books I could buy with $150.00, and well… I have my own method of therapy.

Since I was a little girl, I’ve always had the same way of coping when life got to be too much.  I’d escape to my room, shut the door, pick up a book and lose myself.  There’s something about being lost in someone else’s world – where my world has melted away, and nothing is expected of me.  It’s addictive.  And, it just about always makes me feel better…

And on the rare occasions it doesn’t, all I need is a pen to spill my thoughts, to chase out the words churning in my mind, so that I can close my eyes and dream – and wake up in the morning to start a new day. 

Inspired by prompt no. 1) What’s your therapy? over at Josie’s Writing Workshop

read read read

It’s July, and I’m more than halfway done my A-Z Reading Challenge.  I only have 12 1/4 letters to go.  Once I finish reading The Lovely Bones tonight, I’ll be down to 12.  I knew it wouldn’t be hard – after all I devour books.  At least I say that now.. Wait till December when I’m still looking for a book that starts with the letter Z that I actually wouldn’t mind reading.. But I digress, so  let’s get to the summaries/critiques/nothingness:

In the past few weeks, I’ve finished 4 books…

First I started with A Book of A Thousand Days.. Not so interesting.  Actually most of the time the book annoyed me.
Then I read, The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched, and am sad I read it out of order, and will have to go searching for the rest of the series.
And then there was Everyone Worth Knowing.  It was good. Not spectacular, but good.
Finally, I had to throw in a Pride & Prejudice related book with Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife… Steamier, as in there is actually kissing scenes.. well more than that, but I’ll let you read it.  Have I mentioned yet how much I adore P&P and Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth?!?

And, now I’m almost at the end of The Lovely Bones.  I tried to put off reading it, since I wanted to see the movie first… After all, we know how I feel about movie adaptations.. But I can’t not read so…  Actually I’m going to get back to that… It’s the best escape… Now if I can only make the grumpy brother-in-law disappear for a while, I’ll be in heaven!!

The Book is Always Better

I love books – I’m sure we’ve realized that by now.  And I get really excited when my favorite stories are made into movies.  I think it’s some sort of validation – that I’ve got some taste in books.  So, whenever a book I’ve loved makes it to the big screen, my heart flutters and I await in anxious anticipation…

And, then my heart breaks.

I’m not sure why it’s so hard to make a movie that actually follows the same storyline as the book.  How is that stories that are a pleasure to read have to be changed when it comes to filming?

As you may have surmised, we watched a movie this weekend.. Specifically Dear John.  And, yes, I’ll admit to reading and even liking some Nicholas Sparks books.  And, I usually keep my complaining to a minimum when watching the adaptations, but I got so distracted during Dear John.  Poor AMP had to listen to my outbursts every time I noticed something new.  Perhaps the changes are ‘meaningless’ but they make a difference to me!

And, it’s not just Dear John… It was also Confessions of a Shopaholic… My Sister’s Keeper…P.S. I Love You… And the list goes on.

Maybe I should start researching which books are going to be made into movies, and wait to watch the movie first, and then read the book – which will always be so much better than the movie!  Which is why I’d always pick reading over watching a movie.

4 down, 17 to go

This reading challenge is a little more difficult than I thought.  Seeing as I knocked off the most popular letters early in the game, now I’m struggling to find books I haven’t already read without depleting my book budget.  Off to get a library card I go.  I can’t believe I haven’t had one in eons. I’m sure that would have saved me a lot of money and space over the years.   

But, back to the Reading Challenge, here are the letters knocked off:  H – Every March, a new Jodi Picoult book is released.  I stumbled across The Pact a few years ago, and now have read all but one of her books.  Her latest book House Rules follows the story of Jacob Hunt, an 18-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome accused of murder.  I like her books because they are entertaining and often teach me a lot about different issues, but her books are starting to all sound the same, which is disappointing.

U – This list wouldn’t be complete without the book Undomestic Goddess by Sophia Kinsella.  This book is what inspired my blog name and makes me want to run away from my life, become a housekeeper and learn to cook and do all the things that would make me the perfect completely domestic housewife.  Of course, I have a wonderful husband who I would never leave, and well, a part-time job that pays way more than I would make working full-time as a housekeeper…

So, only 17 more letters to go.

C – As we might have deduced, I’m an avid Jane Austen fan.  Particularly Pride & Prejudice, but I love anything by and about Jane Austen.  That’s why when I found Cassandra & Jane by Jill Pitkeathly I just had to buy it.  It’s a fictional account, looking into the relationship of Jane Austen and her sister Cassandra, through Cassandra’s eyes.  It was a very good read, probably one I’ll read again soon.

G – In search for a new letter I picked up a book called Growing Up Again written by Catriona McCloud. I kind of liked the book – it had a “13 Going on 30” kind of theme, and as I said I was enjoying it – until disparaging comments were made about people’s religious beliefs which killed the story for me.  I don’t understand why it’s humorous to make fun of others.