Day Seven's Summary

I finished reading Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan this morning. What a great read! It's marketed towards the high school crowd, but after several references to the sitcom My So-Called Life, I knew this book is really for my generation.

The book is about the "five-minute" relationship between two strangers that turns into an unforgettable first date complete with great music, drunk loyal friends, ex-girlfriends from hell, and the possibility of new love.

I also finished Patti Digh's Life is a Verb: 37 Days to wake up, be mindful, and live intentionallyy. It's a great self-help book with tons of stories, exercises, examples and laughs to get you going. The inspiration for the book come from Digh's father. Her father was diagnosed with lung cancer and died just thirty seven days later. This is not a book of sadness or grief, but one that celebrates life and the human potential fully. I cannot say enough about the book, but I can say this: go out and buy it now. Also go and check out Patti's blog: http://37days.typepad.com/37days/

Day one summary

In total I read four books today: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood, Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis, and I know an old lady who swallowed fly guy by Tedd Arnold.

The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspirations for Writing (2004)
Monica Wood
256 pages

I received this book just yesterday from paperbackswap. The Pocket Muse is filled with exercises, quotes, and advice on writing. I read this in almost one sitting. Before I started I had a new pack of post-its for pages I liked. When I finished the book I had went through all of my post-its tagging page after page. One of my favorite exercises was "Inventing an Opposite" (what's the opposite of a kiss?). Included also are black and white photos and fill in the blank sentences to inspire.





Not A Stick (2007)
Antoinette Portis
32 pages
2008 Cybil Nominee for Fiction Picture Book

I had to read this sequel to Not a Box. This time there's a little pig whose imagination takes a stick and makes it so much more like a paintbrush and sword among other things.




There was an old lady who swallowed Fly Guy (2007)
Tedd Arnold
2008 Cybil Nominee for Easy Reader

A funny read about Fly Guy being swallowed by an old lady along with several farm animals.





The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)
J.K. Rowling
112 pages

Part of the world of Harry Potter, this book is a great addition for any HP fan's library. My favorite stories were "The Warlock's Hairy Heart," "The Fountain of Fair Fortune," and "The Tale of The Three Brothers."

Now four down and nineteen to go.

23 Books in 23 Days Personal Challenge

Starts: Tomorrow, December 20, 2008
Ends: January 11, 2009, Sunday

With the fall semester officially over for me as of this morning, I can finally relax and read without guilt until the start of spring semester next year. Every year I usually hit the 150 mark when it comes to books read, but since I became a full-time student this year, I am currently at 128 books. So I came up a personal challenge to read 23 books in the next 23 days. I'm starting the challenge tomorrow and will end it on Sunday, January 11th, the day before the semester starts. I'm not giving myself any restrictions on genre or book length, though I do plan on reading Roberto Bolano's masterpiece 2666 which clocks in at a whooping 894 pages. This might end up the 22 books in 23 days challenge. Any way, wish me luck!