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

book_eatpraylove.jpgEat, 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

book_glasscastle.jpg 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

book_animalfarm.jpg 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

Getting Things DoneYou 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

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

Olivia Raymer
Things I ♥: travel, food (I'm a pescatarian), the Pacific Northwest, bikes (I ride an orange mixte), beer (IPAs), summer, coffee, lists, and kittehs. Travel enthusiast, dabbler, and product manager at BootsnAll Travel Network.

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31 Before 31 List

1. Run a 5k
2. Eat completely local for one week
3. Go on an overnight bike trip
4. Roadtrip Hwy 101 to San Francisco
5. Visit all 31+ Breweries in PDX (7 left)
6. Try a new cocktail
7. Try wakeboarding
8. Go to Portugal
9 Take a 2+ week trip
10. Work remotely [not in Portland] for 1+ month
11. Get a piece of clothing tailored
12. Speak in front of 100+ people (at a conference etc)
13. Have a party at my house (ie. invite more than 4 people over)
14. Visit Hawaii again
15. Start a book club
16. Eat at Beast
17. Go to a Plate & Pitchfork dinner
18. Do a cleanse
19. Do another 30 day yoga challenge
20. Organize a group [bike] ride
21. Find a mentor
22. Paint a wall in my home
23. Go on a press trip
24. Sew something again
25. Do a month-long blogging project
26. Volunteer / do some pro bono work
27. Learn a song on the guitar
28. Find a karaoke song
29. Design a WordPress Theme
30. ____________
31. ____________