Book Signings

Yesterday was my first real book signing, by real I mean that I have waited in line to see Nichole Riche, I believe for a book signing (lets be honest I didn't really know who she was). I didn't buy the book or have her sign it. I was there to be with a friend and get some free stuff from this cool little boutique in LA when I was 15. 

My awesome cousin Taylor wrote and self published a short novel. How cool is that?? Even cooler, he recently go it in a local bookstore and I had the opportunity to buy it in a book store and have him sign it. 

I couldn't be a prouder cousin. His book, "I'm Trying Here: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Misadventure" Is available on Amazon and at Pioneer book in Provo. Its incredibly fun, fast read that makes you laugh. Check it out. 

So grateful for the amazing and talented family I get to be a part of!

My 5 favorite books of 2014

2014 was not the greatest year for reading. I had the goal of reading 50 books and came up a little short at 37. Even still it was hard to narrow it down to just 5!!!

This year I ventured outside traditional books and discovered the amazingness of audio books and kindle books! It is seriously so convenient to read these days.

Top 5 books of 2014:

1. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand

This book was INCREDIBLE. It's almost hard to believe its a true story. Its a story of trial, loss, pain and so much hope. I can't wait to see the movie.

2. The Goose Girl, Shannon Hale

I will always love young adult fantasy but this book totally blew my mind. It was one of the few fantasy books in a while where I was completely engaged the entire time. I am on the third book from the series now, and they are all fantastic!

3. I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai

Malala is an incredible woman who despite the so much against her, has always done what she believes in! I loved reading her story as a young girl who just wanted to get an education in Pakistan. She was also recently awarded the nobel peace prize!

4. Quiet, Susan Cain

This book is near to my heart because it is all about being an introvert in a world made for extroverts and how introverts need to realize the amazing power they have! Being an introvert myself,  it really spoke to me.

5. The Rent Collector, Cameron Wright

This book was awesome, I love reading the stories of people who have such different lives than my own. The story was captivating!

Book Review: Unbroken

I haven't done a good book review in a long time. This one was just too good to pass up. I definitely gave this book 5 stars on goodreads.

Unbroken: Laura Hillenbrand

This book chronicles Louis Zamparini's life. He was an olympic runner and Japanese POW survivor in WWII. His story was quite miraculous and shows how tough the will to hold on really can be during extremely difficult times.

I learned a lot about the fight against the Japanese during WWII. I feel like most of what I had read up to this point about WWII centered on the war in Europe. There was so much in this book that I didn't know. The book is extremely well written and compels you to keep reading and find out what happens next.

I actually think the best part was that I was listening to the book while running 7 miles and I was on the chapters talking about his running career. Motivation.

For anyone that enjoys history, especially that around WWII, this is a great read.

Getting back to reading

Sometimes I need to take a break from reading. I needed to take a break during the last couple months of my master's program. I was reading so much for classes that I just couldn't imagine wanting to sit down with a book after. I wanted to either get out and do something active or watch tv and not think too much.

Now its time to get back. These are the next 5 books on my reading list. What are you reading? I love recommendations!

1.  Attached: The new science of adult attachment (I started this awhile ago and never finished, time to finish)

 2. The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, This book got great reviews!

 3. The Screwtape Letters, I have had this book on my shelf for months CS Lewis is always a good read

 4. Here Comes Everybody

 5. The Great Influenza: another one I started awhile ago and want to finish

I have only read 9 books this year, witch a goal of reading 50, I need to get to it if I am going to make that! Any recommendations?

5/22/14

So there were a lot of great things I was supposed to get done today that didn't happen... Whoops

I guess that is what happens when you are acting mom. I had to take Kates to school today because she had finals and a late start (travis has been taking her all week because they need to leave at roughly the same time). I headed to soccer where we played lightening and in the second round I was in the final 4. Oh my I was exhausted after, so much running.

Then I headed back to my apartment and did some 8 minute abs (ouch) and made a delicious turkey wrap. I forgot Kates was getting out early due to finals, but I headed over and picked her up. There wasn't much we could do at my parents house because contractors were there tearing out the kitchen. We decided to lay out a blanket in the backyard and read. I finished the 3rd maze runner book today!

Afterwords I decided to take the kids out for a little treat (mostly I wanted to try the sweet pig). I love Art City Donuts way too much!!!

I headed home and started making dinner, Travis helped me a lot once he got home and we ate our Asian chicken bowls while watching House.

Also, Travis started making up origonal songs and was serenading me all night. He just gets in moods where he wants rhyme and you can't stop it. Haha it's kind of hilarious.

Review of I'm Trying here:  A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Misadventure

Taylor has a very captivating writing style. This book hilariously details his twenties and the love, heartbreak, and struggles that often accompany this time of life. If you want a light, funny, and exciting read, this is your book. I finished it in less than 2 hours because I couldn't put it down! Also, have a dictionary nearby, because you will most likely be learning some new words along the way! Buy it on Amazon for only $2.99!!

5/21/14

Today as my husband left for his internship he whispered to me, "take things slow today, enjoy yourself." He's a sweetie, and knows that it takes a lot for me to chill. So I decided that was what I was going to do :)

I went to soccer class, went running with the dog, took a shower and got ready, ate some lunch, and did stuff of the computer (like reading my cousins self published book cover to cover, review coming soon!). Then I picked up kids and headed over to my friend Hailey's house. Hailey and her husband just bought a cute little townhouse in our ward that will be ready in August. I can't wait for them to move in!!! We chatted while her 1 year old, Saylor, was taking a nap. When she woke up we took her on a walk to the park. It was so much fun!

Then I came home and took the kids to more stuff. Travis got home and we decided to go out for dinner since the kids were all gone. We went to this mexican restaurant by my parents house that has the BEST carne asada burritos. I would choose them for every meal if we lived close.

Afterwards we picked up kids and Travis watched basketball while I dived into the third maze runner book.

And for your enjoyment, a book review:

Guys I did it, I finished Les Mis. I mostly finished on our trip to mexico (1300 pages) but things got so crazy when we got back that it took forever for me to get through those last 160 pages.

I LOVE this book. Like love a lot. I was so surprised at how easy and intriguing of a read it was. I never wanted to put it down. I also love the language from that time the book was written so long ago and I am sad we have lost the beauty of speaking from that time.

Seriously if you love the story from the play or the movie, you have to read the book, it is so much better. There is so much of the story that those other mediums just don't have the time to cover. I mean it is a 1500 page book for crying out loud!

5/20/14

So many things today. goodness.

I am taking over for my mom while she is on vacation and man is it hard.

I drove back and forth from provo twice, picked up my sister and 4 friends from school, took her to young women's, Travis took trevor to scouts, and soon will be on my way to pick them up again. Can I just say I am not excited for this stage in life, being in the car and chauffeuring?? Maybe I just won't do it. Bikes and Busses all the way haha

Also I hate my families dog. Don't get me wrong he is freakin adorable. But he makes me so sad. He is cooped up all day and I just can't have that. My family has already lost a lot of the interest in him that they had 3 weeks ago. Hopefull with summer it will be easier for trev to keep him outside playing all day. But man animals are a pain. So glad my husband is allergic so we will never have one.

I turned in the my Thesis today. One step closer. I may have to make a few changes, but its so close to being done. Hallelujiah. Cant imagine what life will be like when that stress is gone. I also did some work and cooked dinner. After the long day I remembered that the best place in my parents house is the yard. Relaxing and reading is my happy place, hello good friend, its been awhile.

4/21/14

Today was so fun!

After work I read while Travis napped. He finished his finals today so he was obviously exhausted! Can't believe we are both done! 

It was such a nice day that I told him I wanted o go on a hike or something. He countered with Tennis against his parents. I accepted. Haha we beat them 6-4. Wapow! actually its not that exciting, we haven't lost to them yet. We ran some laps and they bought us smoothies. So nice. 

We came home, watched some house and then read for a while. I finished my book, finally, The Rational Optimist. SOOO GOOD. I love the last sentance of the book. 

This book discusses the inherent pessimism that manages to sweep through basically every century. He talks about how the pessimists predictions are rarely ever correct, and yet they are praised. He talks about how optimists tend to get made fun of, but how they are usually right, and obviously happier people. He shows why we should rationally be optimistic based on how prosperity has evolved all around the world. Loved it. 

Miles today:1
Miles this year:11

4/19/14

What a fun saturday filled with Art City Donuts, Olive garden, swimsuit shopping, wellers book works, and family!

In Defense of Food

I have wanted to review this amazing work since I started reading it. This perspective seems extremely valuable to me in a world dominated by the "food industry". This book changed the way I think about food.

Michael Pollan starts his book, In Defense of Food by discussing the fact that we worry so much about food in the U.S. We talk a lot about calories, or fat content, or good and bad fats, etc. And where has this gotten us? He discusses how the U.S. is more obese than ever, and even those who worry all the time are having a hard to following the "rules" given to us by nutritionists.

His advice, "Eat food," Pollan advises. "Not too much. Mostly plants." And quit fretting. "No people on earth worry more about the health consequences of their food choices than we Americans do -- and no people suffer from as many diet-related health problems," Pollan writes. "We are becoming a nation of orthorexics: people with an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating."

Pollan talks about how the food industry has a reductionist way of viewing food, as a series of nutrients. The problem is our body does not work by this series of rules that scientist, with very little evidence to build their case on, have created. Your body does not like to digest individual nutrients, it likes to digest food.
We need to be giving our bodies more real food. By real food I mean whole grains, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and small amounts of fresh meats. These are really the only rules to live by. It doesn't need to be about what you cannot have to be healthy. It means that there are a whole variety of foods we have forgotten (even though they are delicious) and need to bring back in our diets. 

The less we worry about getting enough antioxidants and the more we worry about eating more fruits and vegetables the better off we will be. The food industry is finding very crafty ways to make processed foods look healthier, by adding nutrients that we typically associate with health. 

Also, he talks about dieting, and this is something I continue to advocate: It doesn't work. If you want to lose weight for good you are going to need to make small lifestyle changes that will be lasting changes. Dieting is all about what you cant have, which makes it difficult and frustrating. Being healthy is all about what you can have. 

For the last month or so I have made it a goal to cook with more vegetables. I am amazed at some of the things I have been missing out on the last couple years! (yellow and orange peppers with hummus are incredible). Lifestyle changes can be things like never searching for a close parking spot, or only snacking on fruits and veggies. Do whatever is best for you, because lifestyle changes will help you feel infinitely better and help you live a healthier, longer life. 

My Story: Elizabeth Smart

The story of Elizabeth Smart was national news for a lot of 2002. Her abduction and rescue became a national phenomenon. At the time I lived in Georgia and I still heard about the young Mormon girl from Utah who was kidnapped from her bed. I may have heard more about it because I am also Mormon though, not sure.

I have been excited (not exactly the right word since I have also been terrified, maybe anxious?) to read this book since it came out. I read this entire book in 4 hours. I could not put it down, mostly because I needed to get to the happy ending. I cried a lot. I have read a lot of reviews of this book and am completely shocked at how negative they were mostly citing her childlike writing style and naivety. I think most of these people don't understand her religious beliefs and the strength that gave her through her 9 month ordeal.

I thought Elizebeth's book was deeply inspiring. Her choice to tell the story as if from her 13 year old self made the story more real. Her level of detail was amazing. Her captors did everything they could to take away her religion, her identity, and her pride. She was raped daily, chained to a tree, starved, and treated like a slave. Her Captor did everything in "the name of religion."

The most amazing thing to me is that despite the personal hell she was living through, she never once blamed or lost faith in God. She continually prayed and saw the blessings in her life. She has come home and lived an incredibly productive life (she graduated from BYU, served an LDS mission, testified in trial against her abductors, established a foundation, has been instrumental in a variety of legislation on abduction, gives speeches around the US, and has gotten married).

My favorite part of the book is a quote from her mother the night she returned home. She said, "You be happy, Elizabeth. Just be happy. If you go and feel sorry for yourself, or if you dwell on what has happened, if you hold on to your pain, that is allowing him to steal more of your life away. So don't you do that! Don't you let him! There is no way that he deserves that. Not one more second of your life. You keep every second for yourself. You keep them and be happy. God will take care of the rest.”

I can't imagine ever having to go through what Elizabeth went through. Her story has inspired me to remember that I can get through anything if I keep my faith in God. I am so grateful she was brave enough to share her story with the world. 

2/10/14, The Book Thief

Being sick is THE WORST. I didn't realize I was that sick until I went in to work. I started getting a sore throat the day before, but thought it would just go away like my one I had a couple of weeks ago. I am probably being a bit dramatic.

I got a lot done at work, surprisingly. I started the process of contracting with an outside agency to do some work for my project. I also worked on graphs for the bureau report that I am the lead on.  I left about a half hour early because I just couldn't make it any longer.

I came home and read for a couple hours, watched the bachelor, and some parks in rec. A solid sick day if I do say so myself. Travis made me dinner and cleaned up and did whatever I asked of him, he's so helpful.

I did finish The Book Thief. This book was a really fast read, because it is compelling and well written. The narrator is not a typically used one in my experience. This book is told from the perspective of death. There are so many poetic passages that bring a sense of beauty to such an awful time. You see world war two from the perspective of an adopted young German girl and her family. The book brings up a lot of issues from world war two that I haven't noticed in other WWll literature that I have read (to be fair it isn't extensive amount). Overall I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it

House of Hades: Hero's of Olympus Book Four

I finished this book this morning, I have been reading it for about a month and haven't had a ton of motivation to finish. Yesterday I remembered I really wanted to get the book thief from my parents house at night. I knew I didn't want to start another new book until I was finished with this one. I had about 300 more pages till I was finished. I read for about 2 hours in the morning while Travis continued to sleep (I was jealous since I woke up early). I also read the book while simultaneously watched the super bowl (go hawks). It was a pretty lame game since it was pretty much a blowout. haha

The book was pretty great! I didn't have any problem finishing 300 pages in 24 hours. There is a pretty heavy cliffhanger at the end, as you know that the next book will be a huge battle. I actually love this series. It's a 10 book series, if you count the Percy Jackson series which is basically the prequel series. It is is easy and enjoyable to read. You also learn a lot about Greek and Roman Mythology. After asking about the correctness of the references from a Greek mythology teacher I am led to believe the series is actually pretty accurate (to contrast the Disney movie Hercules has about 250 things contradictory to actual Greek mythology). I love that this series is 10 books, because it is one of those series you don't want to end.

World war z review

It's very rare that I see a movie before I read the book, but in the case of World War Z that is what happened. I loved the movie, being an epidemiologist, the prospect of such a crazy virus spreading through the population was thrilling!

I had high expectations for the book. I was slightly disappointed. The writing style for this book is very different, it's a series of interviews. I just could not get into it, which is very rare for me. I also did not like how much swearing there was in this book. I understand why they did it, but still did not like it. 

Maybe ill give it a re-try again in a couple years.., 

Why reading is important

As most of you know, I am a huge advocate of reading. I was shocked to find out that 35% of adults don't read for pleasure

I’d like to talk about three things regarding reading

1.       Why it is important

2.       How to do it

3.       How a small change can make a big difference

Why

Benefits for adults:

• Reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections.
• Improves concentration.
• General knowledge and vocabulary (e.g. Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998);
• Better understanding of other cultures (Meek, 1991);
• Community participation (e.g. Bus, van Ijzendoorm & Pellegrini, 1995);
• A greater insight into human nature and decision-making (Bruner, 1996)
• Increases in self confidence and motivation
• Relaxes the body and calms the mind. 
• Shown to combat feelings of loneliness in adults (Rane-Szostak & Herth, 1995).

Reading is easier now than it ever has been: Books are cheaper and more easily accessible

Books used to be written on tablets, scrolls, and codex’s. Books used to be only available in monataries or royalty and were hand copied by priests and monks. It wasn’t until the printing press was invented that the cost dropped significantly and widespread reading became an option

Today books can be free with the use of a library card or borrowing from a friend, and can be found at garage sales for 25 cents to a $1, or can be purchased nice and new from a bookstore at a still affordable price. Books can also be found online, or through ereaders or tablets. Cost really isn’t an issue these days with books.

How

Most people I talk to about reading say that they don’t really have time to read, and they don’t understand how I do. To those people I often say, you have time, its just not a priority. Tv shows, shopping, and other forms of entertainment often take precedence in peoples lives, which I am not saying is a bad thing, I just don’t like when it is used as an excuse for not picking up a book every once in a while. If you still feel like reading isn’t an option I have come up with a few ways to work reading into your life.

Here are some ideas I came up with:

First use reading as a multitasking activity. The invention of a more accessible audiobook (check out audible) is superb for accomplishing this. You can cook, clean, commute, and exercise all while learning something new.

Bring a book with you wherever you go. I am always amazed at the amounts of time I spend waiting for people or things to start where I have 10 minutes or so and I just stare at my phone and do nothing worthwhile.

And if none of these things work and you really do want to make reading a priority:

Watch one less tv show a week than normal (if show is an hour you will get 60 minutes for reading)

Spend less time on facebook or other social media sites

Another recommendation I have is to set a goal with reading, you will get a lot farther with it if you do.

How increasing can have a huge impact

 With this all in mind I decided to do some calculations to determine how much you could read if you add just 15 minutes of it per day.

the average adult reads prose text at 250 to 300 words per minute.

15, 000 to 18,000 words per hour

The average length of a novel is 70,000-150,000 words.

So to give you an idea of what this means:

Hunger games has 99,750 words= 5.5 hours for the average person

Pride and Prejudice has 123,880 words= 8.3 hours for the average person

191,000 words in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire= 10.6 hours for the average person

If you were to create an extra 15 (4,500 words) minutes per day for reading you would be able to finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 42 days. If you kept reading books this same length for the rest of the year you would finish around 9 books a year. And lets be honest you will more than likely be reading shorter books too.

If we changed these numbers to be the size of hunger games you could read about 17 books per year.

Isn’t that amazing! Just reading 15 minutes per day or 15 minutes more per day you can increase the books you read by that much!

But be careful though, one research paper I read said the following:  Indeed, reading amount and reading achievement are thought to be reciprocally related to each other – as reading amount increases, reading achievement increases, which in turn increases reading amount (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998).

So you may just get sucked in J