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#58: Read 10 Classics That I’ve Never Read

poweredbytofu — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:00:50 +0000

OK, I may have gone a little overboard on the Hemingway. After I finished the first five unread classics (including A Moveable Feast, that got me on the Hemingway bandwagon in the first place), I checked out three more! So yes, to recap… 4 of the 10 were Hemingway, and after For Whom The Bell Tolls, I was thoroughly depressed with war stories.

I really liked The Alchemist. I wouldn’t call it a life changer, but I very much enjoyed the “create your own destiny”, “follow your dreams”, and “live in the present” fable. It’s also full of good quotes! :)

The 2nd five classics:

The Old Man and The Sea (Hemingway)
A Farewell to Arms (Hemingway)
For Whom The Bell Tolls (Hemingway)
The Alchemist (Paul Coelho)
The Invisible Man by (HG Wells)

The 1st five: Animal Farm (George Orwell), 100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez), Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), A Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway), Slapstick or Lonesome No More (Kurt Vonnegut)

What have you been reading lately?

Books That Make You Want to Travel: France

poweredbytofu — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:09:48 +0000

I love finding a book that is so descriptive and powerful that it makes you want to see things first-hand. In honor of Bastille Day (on Tuesday, July 14) here is a list of books that inspire the French arm-chair traveler in me. Like the movie Amelie — that made me really want to see Paris — these books take me to France.

The Count of Monte Cristo Location: Marseilles. My first foray into French novels was Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. This books stands out in my memory as the ultimate epic tale – adventure, betrayal, romance, revenge… (if you’re not into 1,300 page books the movie is pretty good as well). Visiting the Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseilles & Chateau d’If — you almost forget that Edmond Dantes was a fictional character!
A Year in Provence Location: Provence. Peter Mayle’s book, A Year in Provence, was recommended to me while I was studying in Marseilles. Of course the recommendation came from a professor who ironically had also relocated from England. Mayle has a great writing style that makes you think “that’s exactly how it is!” if you’ve spent any time in the south of France, which is probably why his books are so popular among the Brits. Encore Provence is a fun book too.
Tender Is The Night Location: Cote de Azur. Like many teens, I went through an F. Scott Fitzgerald kick in high-school. Tender Is the Night was probably the first book that made me think about France as a vacation destination and not just a backdrop for old historical novels. After reading Gatsby or This Side of Paradise, you can appreciate how personal this book is.
Words In A French Life Location: Aix en Provence. I spent an afternoon at a winery near Aix en Provence in 2006 and my wine tasting (& lunch) guide, Jean-Marc Espinasse, told me about a book his wife, Kristin Espinasse (an American) had written called Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France. They met while she was an exchange student in college and they now have a family and live in Provence. When I returned to the States I read the book and have been reading her blog French Word-A-Day ever since. It’s a quick and charming read.
French Women Don’t Get Fat Location: Paris. I may have been a little obsessed with the French way of life after coming back from my three weeks of summer school in Marseille, as evident of picking up French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. This book is part narrative of her life growing up in France and part learning to eat for pleasure with recipes and tips thrown in. Even if you’re not looking for a lifestyle change or diet tips I would recommend this book.
The Dirt On Clean Location: Versailles. Ever wonder why the French have a reputation for being dirty? The Dirt On Clean explains it all. While it’s not just about France (it profiles our collective unsanitized history), it has some fun facts about the state of cleanliness in Europe.

I spent three weeks in Marseilles on my first-ever adventure abroad, so these books my be skewed slightly to the Provencal… :) What books have inspired you to travel?

Reminder: I mentioned last week that I’d be doing a giveaway on my new deal site — the Frugal Bon Vivant. So go leave a comment and you might just win the MP3 player!

In Season Cooking: Arugula Pecorino Pizza

poweredbytofu — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:08:59 +0000

Not to be obsessive over arugula – last week I wrote about making Arugula & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad – but when arugula wants to bolt there’s no stopping it! Since one of our arugula patches is on its way out, we’ve been using it like crazy. After searching for more uses for arugula, I came across another Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe – from the January issue. I’d used the crust recipe for Pizza Margherita, so it was fun to try a different style of topping: arugula, shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Here’s the full recipe. This pizza was super delicious (& easy), seriously you must try it!

Six weeks into container gardening, I’m having a brilliant time! It’s so fun to go outside and pick veggies to add to dinner. And I’ve finally updated my “Watching My Garden Grow” container garden slideshow. Check it out:

#57: Read Seth Godin Books That I Haven’t Read

poweredbytofu — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:59:25 +0000

#57 on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days List was to read all of Seth Godin’s books. I was already about halfway done, when I added this to my list, but then he just kept on writing books! Give a girl a break, and let me catch up! ;) If you’re unfamiliar with Godin, he’s a best-selling marketing and business author who writes “bite size” marketing books and a blog.

My favorite book of the 12 is Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas. I like how this book is divided into alphabetized one page blurbs. While not all 183 are “remarkable” ideas, it’s a great way to bring you out of the details of getting things done on a day-to-day basis. It adds a little caffeine to your marketing day. This book is better listened to than read. I really enjoy listening to an audio book that’s narrated by the author, because it’s much more personal and you feel like you’re getting the right tone/inflections.

I just finished his last book, Tribes — We Need You to Lead Us. As usual, it was a quick read and resonated with me in a Gandhi sort of way, “be the change you want to see in the world”. This book isn’t on how to be a better leader, just about deciding to lead. I think my favorite thing was going to read the review on Amazon and finding this in the Editorial Review section:

“The advice found in this book should be used with caution. Change isn’t made by asking permission, Godin says. Change is made by asking forgiveness, later. That may be true, but in this economy and in certain corporations, it may also be a good way to lose a job.” –Publishers Weekly

Hilarious! Seth Godin, are you laughing?

My only critique with Godin’s writing is that he’s often too quick to dismiss stable and “boring” businesses. There’s a time and place for unconventional (that’s why it’s not called “conventional”). For example, I don’t want my toilet paper to be hip and clever– it’s just toilet paper. And it doesn’t matter how “outside the box” your company is if you’re still unprofitable. I am a huge fan of his books though, I just like to take everything with a grain of salt. :)

#56: Do 52 Books In 52 Weeks, No Cheating

poweredbytofu — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:26:00 +0000

I started the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Book Project in July of 2007, and while I did miss a few weeks here and there, I’m considering it complete! What I really enjoyed about participating in this challenge is that it reminds you to keep reading. Sometimes when life gets busy you forget to pick out new books or even make time to read at all. The downfall of this project is that the structure is fairly intense and doesn’t account for 944 page books like Shantaram: A Novel, which was the best book I’ve ever read. It’s simply brilliant!

See my 52 Books in 52 Weeks List

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 17 – Eat, Pray, Love

poweredbytofu — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:10:45 +0000

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia just didn’t do it for me. The title is probably the best thing about the book, but I guess that’s why you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s title (or featured destinations). I really tried to be interested in this book, but the author’s perspective just really rubbed me the wrong way. It was too whiny and forced, and it’s not like I couldn’t have identified with it, I just didn’t. I wish I would have checked this out at the library instead of purchasing it. Now I’m starting to sound whiny!

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 16 – The Glass Castle

poweredbytofu — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:48:03 +0000

The Glass Castle is an emotional, but exceptional book. Yes, many families have their own Rex Walls, and the accuracy of the author’s childhood memories could be questioned, but that really wasn’t the point of the book for me. This memoir is about family and acceptance. While I can’t claim to have had such a harsh childhood as the author, I could identify with the book. There’s a lesson to be learned of distancing and accepting family, and in that order.

The Glass Castle: A Memoir

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 14 – Animal Farm

poweredbytofu — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 01:38:12 +0000

Knocking out a classic this week. Shocking as it sounds, I had never read Orwell’s Animal Farm. I liked it. It was short and full of intended symbolism and political “humor.” Yes, it belongs on the classic list.

Animal Farm (Signet Classics)

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 13 – Getting Things Done

poweredbytofu — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 04:26:59 +0000

You either love or hate GTD (Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity). Although the Allen-ite way of productivity seems to have lost it’s best-seller momentum, it’s still a decent way to get things accomplished. So I decided a re-read was in order. I hadn’t read this book in a few years, so it was nice to have a little refresher of how not to waste time thinking about all the stuff you have to do.

But I had forgotten how time consuming some of the “lists” are. Last year, I stopped using 3-4 different lists (waiting for, someday/maybe etc) and just started using Remember The Milk instead. This is way less time consuming. I’ll be detailing my “Getting Things Done: Take 2″ in a later post.

If the GTD method escapes you, you can always try the WSD method.

#56: 52 Books in 52 Weeks | Week 12 – The 4 Hour Work Week

poweredbytofu — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 04:48:25 +0000

I have mixed reviews about The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. First, it’s an excellent reminder of how short life is and that we should pursue what makes us “happy”, not stay in dead-end jobs etc. However, I really dislike the idea of “outsourcing” your life and producing or managing random products (that don’t create value) just for revenue, to go live selfish lives.

Differences of opinion aside, it’s great to be reminded of taking mini-retirements. The first section is about fear and defining what you’d like to do and the worst case scenario if it didn’t work out. The next section covers freeing up time, so it’s kind of the opposite of “Getting Things Done” and more about streamlining so you have less to get done. The rest of the book was about outsourcing your life and generating income, so I really enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more. Overall, I would recommend the book because it makes you take a closer look at the life that your living (or not). Sometimes it’s good to take a zoomed-in look at your life, decisions, and future plans.

The List: 52 Book | 52 Weeks