Shut up and write!

Posted by random olio

I love badass writers like Natalie Goldberg. I can remember reading her book: “Writing Down the Bones” in college. I still have it and pick it up every so often. One of the many things I love about Goldberg is her language, and how blunt she is about writing. Shelf Awareness recently had an interview with Goldberg that I wanted to share:

“Tell us a little about the phrase ‘shut up and write.” Oh It’s everything. Shut up and eat. Shut up and live your life. Shut up and run. We have such a monkey mind that goes on and on. I’m having trouble writing; I should hire a psychiatrist to discuss it. I need a really nice studio. I need a comfortable cafe. Finally, stop all this. Just shut up, pick up the pen and get moving. And really, it’s what I have said from the beginning. That’s really the only teaching you need.”

She is so right on. How often do we make excuses for what we are not doing, or why we are not doing it? If you want something badly enough, make it happen. Make the time, shut up and do it. Yes, I will admit that there are often times that we have competing responsibilities, work, home life, family that mean we do not have the same kind of time to focus on what we really want to do, but we can always make the time. How many of you can fit in an extra episode of American Idol, or Breaking Bad (fill in the blank for your guilty TV pleasure)? Yes, I am raising my hand. I often fill my brain-dead moments with some TV each night, but should I? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no. Sometimes I should get quiet and write.

When you start to complain about not having the right computer, desk, environment, etc, then get your head out of your ass and sit your butt down and write. Focus. Let it flow. Be present. Write.

#Shut up and do it.

Date a girl who reads

Posted by random olio

This quote has been spreading around Facebook. I have to share it here. It is so true. For all those book loving women out there, this post is for you. I am this girl. If you had a little camera or viewfinder into my world, you would find me with a book in the car when Chris is driving, in the bathroom when I am drying my hair, during toilet visits, curled up on the couch, in the bathtub, while I am running on the treadmill, snuggled up in bed before falling asleep, the list goes on.

Chris has lost me many times. I think he has finally given up. He knows there is no competition that can compare to an amazing book. He knows that if I am nearing the end I will want to stay up until I finish those last few pages. He might see tears in my eyes because I am so enraptured in the story, that I feel like I am there with the characters. He knows I may barter with him about something we need to do just so I can find out what happens next.

He knows he has married a woman who reads, and there is nothing he can do about it. He is smitten. He loves to watch the smile on my face when I close the back flap of a book, grinning because I liked the ending and cannot wait for a sequel. He watches for the next book that may come out from my favorite authors. He gets it.

I have copied the above link below so you can have more context for this quote I am referring to from Rosemarie Urquico:

“…If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at two a.m. clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.“

~ From Rosemarie Urquico’s “A Girl You Should Date.”

Psst…Chris, I write too.

Paper book or e-Reader?

Posted by random olio

I am torn. Or maybe you should call me old school. I like to read from the actual book. I have not been able to transport myself into the world of the eReader. The last time I checked my local library they did not have that many options available for eReaders. Call me cheap, but due to the high volume of books I read each year, I cannot justify purchasing every book that I read. Thus, I continue to kick it old school, and read from the paper copy itself. But, I still keep going back and forth, paper book or eReader? Should I convert?

my current library books

There have definitely been times when I have opened up a library book and been grossed out. Dead bugs, human or pet hair, food crumbs, and other stains. Yet, what I appreciate about the nasty grossness left from the previous borrower is that the book was loved, enjoyed and used. Someone might have been snuggling with their dog, in their favorite chair while reading the book. Another just made an amazing meal and could not put down their book, wine, and cheese. Whatever the situation, there is a history and a past to each book, and I am a part of that history.

I do often think how handy it would be to have each book on the iPad. Whenever I travel I think about the many books I try to stuff into my suitcase at the last minute. Or when I am out waiting for someone I tend to bring a book along, but maybe I should just bring my iPad. Not to mention the many, many trips we make to the library each month (whether to pick up or return library books). I am often looking at a computer screen all day and have less desire to snuggle up with that novel using another mobile device.

So my dilemma still stands. What are the pros and cons of letting of switching to an eReader? For those of you that have made the leap, what made you do it? Are you glad you have gone to the other side? Do you miss anything about picking up a book?

Please share I am curious what you think!

Books find you.

Posted by random olio

I am in the middle of finishing my 125th book of 2012. This year I wanted to crush my amount from last year (also 125 books) but moving homes took quite a bit of my extra time these past few months, so I will have to be okay with meeting last year’s amount. 125 is not too shabby. Right?

One of the last books I read in 2012 is called “My Ideal Bookshelf.” It is not a novel or a memoir, but a book that shares the top books of many 100 well-known individuals: authors, chefs, fashion designers, etc. It shares a page excerpt from each person, and then their list of books. The website for this book states the individuals: “…reveal the books that matter to them most—books that reflect their obsessions and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.” Since I am such a book addict I wanted to read this book before the end of the year so that I could hopefully feel inspired and add many new (or old) options to my list for 2013. Even though many of the excerpts talk you through different books that matter to them, they also share ideas that can uplift and resonate about their own life experiences. I was inspired by this quote from Rosanne Cash:

“I think books find their way to you when you need them. Whenever I feel like I’m not going to live to read all the books I want to read, I remind myself that the important ones find their way to me.”

What a cool idea. Often we think the right people come into our life when we need them most, but many times we do not have these people there when we need them. I like the idea of knowing that the important books find their way to us when we need them, especially if the people in our lives are not there for us when we might need them. I know there have been times when I have checked a book out from the library and brought it home, and because of all the other books I had checked out I had to return it before I had a chance to read it. Yet, many weeks and sometimes months later when I had the book back in my hands and I open and read it, the words were just what I needed to hear, think about, and ponder. In those times I have often thought about how that particular book found its way to me just when I needed it most.

I hope that the books you need find you in 2013.

Book Reviews in 140 Characters

Posted by random olio

When I find a good thing I want to share it. Somehow the other day I came across this blog from Julien Smith. When I read his blog post, I knew I wanted to share it, as it is a different way of summarizing so many books in 140 characters. I found quite a list of books that I have not read and want to read. I just picked up “On Writing Well” at the library, and look forward to reading it and seeing what I can learn to develop my writing further. “Six Pixels of Separation” is also on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

Here are a few from his list I recommend:

Stumbling on Happiness
Crush It!
Your Money or Your Life
Switch
The Art of Eating In
The Creative Habit
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
5 Love Languages
The Art of Non-Conformity
The Happiness Project
Program or Be Programmed
The Thank You Economy
The War of Art
Evil Plans
Accidental Genius
The Power of Eye Contact
Any Seth Godin book (many listed on Julien’s list)

Here are a few others I have added to my list to read:

The Myth of Multitasking
Not Always So
What Should I Do with My Life?
Enough
She Comes First
50 50
Presentation Zen (I have to use PowerPoint a lot at work, always looking for new ideas)
When I Say No, I Feel Guilty
Status Anxiety
The Architecture of Happiness
Shop Class as Soulcraft
Rework
The End of Food
Good Calories, Bad Calories
Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Julien, I also love the image on your site with the fan and the older radiator. Like I said earlier – a clever idea. Thank you for sharing your book reviews in 140 characters.