One of my personal goals this year was to begin reading on a regular schedule again.  I used to read a couple of books per week, but now I’m lucky if I can read half of a book in a week.    I still go to Borders and buy new books frequently.  Most of these books have been recommended to me by friends, book club choices or nosing around on Amazon.

I read right before bedtime and you can guess what happens next…after 10 minutes or so, I’m down for the count and I wake up the next morning with the book mysteriously resting on top of my face.

I am determined to change that this year.  I’m no longer in a race with myself to see how fast I can finish a book.  This is why I was happy when I learned about  and eagerly signed up for the  Slow Readers Forum, founded by Diana of our.city.lights. We are currently reading Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (the author of The Glass House).   After I finish Half Broke Horses,  I will be reading The Glass Castle.  I recommend joining The Slow Readers forum if you are looking for a book club and you are pretty busy and devote time to reading a new book every couple of weeks.

Do you enjoy reading?  Do you have any recommendations?

Bookends]]> http://www.clandestinechic.com/2010/02/08/bookends/feed/ 12 http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/08/02/sunday-musings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sunday-musings http://www.clandestinechic.com/2009/08/02/sunday-musings/#comments Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:08:40 +0000 clandestinechic http://www.clandestinechic.com/?p=631

It’s a lazy day for me and I’m on my way to a ball game, so I thought I’d leave with some musings:

What I’m Reading: In the Woods by Tana French.  It’s our current book club selection and I have until Monday to read all 400 something pages.  I started on Friday evening and now I’m on page 155.

Listening To: Lots of “fun” music.  M.I.A., Santigold, and “Bitches–Hood Internet Remix” by My Gold Mask, a band from Chicago.

What I Want: Every summer I go through the pain of looking at the other cool girls riding their bikes through the city. Unfortunately, my apartment space barely has room for me, let alone a bike, so I just keep on dreaming of what it seems never will be: riding my bike while wearing Vivienne Westwood+Melissa heels:

What I Do Have: I don’t think any summer is complete without a nice, cold cup of gelato:

Happy lazy Sunday!

Image Source: The Sartorialist, Foodista’s Blog

A friend recommended this book to me after I told her that I was ready to give myself a mini-life makeover.  I told her that I wasn’t ready for a “self-help” book yet, but she told me that I should check it out and I’d probably think of the book as anything but self-help.  Now, I see why she liked it so much.  Written by former Honey magazine editor-in-chief Amy Dubois Barnett,  this book definitely provides a boost of inspiration.   Honey magazine was probably my favorite magazine as a teenager and I was very sad to see it fold.  I read Teen People for awhile once she took the post there as well.   Once she left Teen People, I wasn’t sure what had become of Ms. Barnett, but to my surprise, she wrote this book.

Her chronicles of her life as she was raised by a single mother who passed away way too soon and her bouts with unhappiness with just about everything in life from her boyfriend to her first job out of college would definitely keep some people straddled down and depressed.   Ms. Barnett however, lifted herself up and moved on and found happiness and she explains how she did it.  The book also provides interviews at the end of each chapter with celebrities and nice quizzes.

The book was a quick read and I won’t say that it changed my life or led me to any “awakening”, but it gave some much needed positive reinforcement.  When you feel like you’re going through a slump like Ms. Barnett and you are giving yourself a pity-party, she reminds you how you can just shake it off and go out there and “get yours”.