Books Read in 2016

Last year for Christmas I got a Kindle and I made good use of it this year.  I didn't read as many books as last year, but I still managed about one book per month.  I can't say that any of the books stood out to me as overly awesome but most of them were entertaining and pretty easy reads.  Here is my list:

"The Martian" by Andy Weir
"The Do Over" by Karlyn Pipes
"The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel Brown
"Running: A Love Story" by Jen Miller
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
"Me Before You" by JoJo Moyes
"The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo
"Sixty Meters to Anywhere" by Brendan Leonard
"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
"Yes, My Accent is Real" by Kunal Nayyar
"The Girls from Corona del Mar" by Rufi Thorpe


What did you read in 2016?  What can you recommend to me to read next year?

Books Read in 2015

I don't know where I found the time or maybe I was just reading easy books, but I sure read a lot of books last year.  Here's what I read and what I thought about them.

1. "Unbroken" by Lauren Hillenbrand
Such a fantastic book.  Detailed.  Long.  But after seeing the movie, I was glad I read the book.  It filled in all the details that the movie left out.  Highly recommend.

2. "MWF Seeking BFF" by Rachel Bertsche
Honestly, I don't love reading non-fiction.  Funny, since the first two books on this list are non-fiction.  This book was about a married woman who moves to a new town and needs/wants to make new friends.  She sets out on a quest to go on a new friend date once a week for a year.  As a stay-at-home mom I should probably take some advice from this book and try harder to make friends.  I'll think about it.

3.  "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle
Ugh.  I know everyone was high on this book and movie but I have to admit, I really disliked it.  It was technical; it was stream of conscious; and it felt unintelligent.  I skipped the movie after reading the book.  (Number three of non-fiction on this list.)

4.  "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler
Ooooh, Amy's raunchy!   Funny, fast read.  (Number four non-fiction.  Maybe I should take back my statement that I don't like reading non-fiction.)

5.  "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng
Oh man.  This book was fantastic.  Go read it.  You won't be disappointed.  It's about a girl who dies (in the first couple of pages - not giving anything anyway) and figuring out what happened to her.  Fan-flipping-tastic.

6.  "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
It's important to read the classics, or at least what Oprah deems a classic, right?  Wish I had skipped this.  I did not like it.

7.  "Mosquitoland" by David Arnold
I do love a good teenage book.  This was good.  I don't remember exactly what it was about, but it was good.

8.  "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker, Jr.
I read a lot of books about running.  This was fiction.  It was alright.  Not my favorite but it didn't completely suck like some on this list either.

9.  "The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances" by The Oatmeal
Quick read.  Not really a book.  More of a comic strip book.  Laugh out loud funny if you're a runner and you totally get what he's talking about. 

10.  "Girls in White Dresses" by Jennifer Close
I should really write a blurb about each book after reading them.  I have ZERO recollection of this book - something about a married friend, an engaged friend, a dating friend, and a single friend?  Obviously it wasn't great if I can't remember anything about it.

11.  "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin
A cute little book about an angry windowed man who takes on the responsibility of being a parent after a child is left in his book store.  There's a little bit of mystery to this book too.  I liked this one.

12.  "Paper Towns" by John Greene
Pass.

13.  "Still Alice" by Lisa Genova
I like to read books that have been made into movies.  This was fantastic although scared the shit out of me.  I am such a hypochondriac.  I hope I never get Alzheimer's.

14.  "Why Not Me?" by Mindy Kaling
I love Mindy Kaling.  She is so funny.  I could hear her voice in every sentence of this book.  Fun, short read.

15.  "Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running From Madness" by Suzy Favor Hamilton
I totally remember when the story broke that Suzy Favor Hamilton was working as a high priced call girl in Vegas.  And I remember thinking, what the hell would make her do that?  This books gives me the answers.  Although I have to admit, I felt gross reading this book.  It was a little bit like reading porn.  Ick!  It's not exactly well written, but an interesting book that sucks you in.

And that's it.  What did you read in 2015 that I should pick up this year?

June Totals

June was a busy month.  There was lots and lots of running.  I ran two races - an aquathlon and a 5K.  I also went back to work.  The baby got big, big, big.  Overall, I have so far enjoyed summer. 

Swimming - 1800m
This was all done in the aquathlon on the very first day of the month.  Yep, I didn't go to the gym once.  I've really got to get back into swimming.

Running - 117.85
Obviously, I ran every day in June and racked up a lot of miles.  I officially started my training for my fall races and have improved my speed and endurance.  I'm slowly making my way back.

Strength training - 2.25 hours
I use the crossfit.com website to see the workout of the day and then I modify it to work with the equipment I have, my ability levels, and the strength I need.

I read one book this month, "Eleanor and Park" by Rainbow Rowell.  It was a cute, teenage, love story that took me a while to get into and then I absolutely loved it.  I didn't want it to end.  She's got many other books so I might have to try out another one.

What was your June like?  How is summer treating you so far?

May Totals

May was back to business: running and swimming.  It didn't take me very long to discover I was tired of walking and it was time to run.  I am so happy to be back.

Running - 80.03 miles

Swimming - 4500 yards

Strength Training - 1.5 hours

I visited the YMCA only three times for a cost per visit of $28.45.  Now that the baby has had all his shots I'll be able to take him to the Y with me and hopefully go more often.  Plus the outdoor pool is now open and I can't wait to introduce him to the water.  He's gonna be a swimmer.

Also in May I read two books:

1. "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
2. "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling

I'm now up to 10 books read in 2013 and I have two already checked out for June.  Unless something crazy happens, I will definitely be hitting my 12 books goal in 2013. 

And sticking with the 13 in '13 theme:

I am back down to my original pre-baby size, although I still have about 10 pounds to go for the weight.  I am hoping that will just melt off as I run more so I won't have to count calories.  I hate to count calories.

I'm just shy of 250 miles run for the year, which is a quarter of the way to my goal of 1000 miles.  I better get cracking if I'm going to make that goal.

I finally ran my first race of the year.  Unfortunately, I've mapped out a schedule and it looks like I may not reach 12 races.  I may need to find one or two more. 

June is going to be great, I hope.  I am now doing the Runner's World summer run streak, which hopefully means lots and lots of running miles.  I also have two races planned.  And as I mentioned, I have two more books checked out of the library.  Plus, the boy is super cute and I am taking tons of pictures.  It's going to be a great summer.

I'm a Reading Fool

I've been a reading fool.  I finished three books in April alone.  When you're up half the night feeding the baby and trying to get him back to sleep, it's easy to get some reading done.  I have found it really great to be able to read books on my iPad and thankfully our library has a great selection of e-books (although I wish they had more).

Books I read in April:

"Sway" by Amber McRee Turner
I actually got this book free on iBooks from a promotional card at Starbucks.  This is a story about a girl who idolizes her mother, but finds out that it's her dad that is the hero.

"Forever" by Judy Blume
This book was like reading a teen romance novel.  Quick read, but a little trashy and inappropriate for a Judy Blume book.

"That's Why I'm Here" by Chris Spielman
Every Columbus-ite knows Chris and Stefanie Spielman.  They're legendary here.  Chris played football for OSU and eventually in the pros.  Stefanie, his high school sweetheart and wife, got breast cancer at the age of 30 and succumb to it 10 years later.  This is their story as written by Chris.  I used to teach their youngest daughter gymnastics and frankly, was quite intimated by the Spielmans.  This book is sad, but powerful and peaceful.

What are you reading?  What can you recommend (that I can get read in 21 days from the library)?

Books Read 2012

My goal every year is to read 12 or more books.  I wish I read a lot more like Kyria, but alas, one book a month will have to do.  Unfortunately, I fell a little short of that goal this year.  The problem was I got bogged down in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  Yeah, I know, it's like 100 pages and an easy read, but I wasn't enjoying it.  So I stopped reading it and then I took a several month break from reading.  I want to finish it, though, as I was 2/3 of the way through it, so I'm back on the waiting list at the library and I guess the book will have to count towards my 2013 reading.  But I think reading is going to get a little easier and quicker as I've learned how to download books from the library to my iPad and you can only check them out for a maximum of 21 days before they disappear.  Guess I'll have to actual read them instead of renew them or just pay the late fees.

Onto the list:

1. "The Happiness Project" by Gretchin Rubin
This book was given to me by a friend who knew I was going through a really rough patch.  Unfortunately that rough patch was more like a nervous breakdown, which needed more help than a book could provide.  Dave and I both read this book and were able to pull ideas from it that have helped us this year in different ways.  This is a good book to read at the start of the year when wanting to radically change your life for the next 12 months.

2, 3, and 4. "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", "Mockingjay" all by Suzanne Collins
Dave and I bought The Hunger Games trilogy so that we could read it before the movie(s) came out.  Dave flew through all three books in about 3 days.  It took me a bit longer.  I loved Hunger Games and it made the movie so much better.  I kinda felt like the other two books were repeats of the first book, however, I did like the way Suzanne Collins ended the series.

5. "What do you want to do before you die?" by The Buried Life
I'm kinda obsessed with Life Lists (bucket lists) and absolutely love The Buried Life guys.  I thought this book would be a more than it was.  This was basically a picture book of other people's items on their life lists with very little stories about people actually accomplishing items on their lists.

6. "It Looked Different on the Model" by Laurie Notaro
Laurie Notaro is far and away my favorite comedy writer.  My favorite book of all time is "The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club".  Although nothing will be as funny as that book, this one was really good and funny.

7. "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy
I've got to admit, I haven't read a single book about pregnancy, child birth, or how to raise a kid.  I don't know if I'm totally screwed or doing the right thing and soaking my mind with worries I don't need.  Anyway, I did really "Belly Laughs" which was funny but not really informational.

8. "Running on Empty" by Marshall Ulrich
Ummm, I don't know.  I'm so burnt out on running/triathlon books.  There's not much I don't know about running.  Not that this book was really about running.  It was about running away from problems.  I know several people in real life who use their running to escape life.  I like to think I use my running as therapy but live in the real world.

9. "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson
Another comedy book.  Very, very funny.  A good recommendation from a friend on Facebook.

10. "Crossing Over" by Ruth Irene Garrett
Anyone could have finished this book in about a day.  It took me four weeks.  The story could have been over in half the number of pages.  Yawn.

Overall, I call it a down year for books.  I'm having trouble finding a book that I can be excited about.  I've asked for recommendations and have gotten a few.  I'm not a fast reader so I don't like to get bogged down in long books.  If you have any good recommendations, please let me know.  I'm going to try harder in 2013 (I'm so sure (sarcasm) that will be possible once the baby comes) to read more.

Books Read in 2011

I like to read. I'm not a voracious reader, but I like to read. Each year I set a standard to read 12 books (one per month-as the library allows you to check them out for only 4 weeks). With training for ironman again in 2011, I came up a little short of 12 books, but still did much better than last year, finishing the year with 11 books read. And they were...

1. Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer. I knew Kathrine Switzer was important but I had no idea HOW important she was for women's distance running. This book was inspiring.

2. 50/50 by Dean Karnazes. And on the other end of the spectrum is Dean Karnazes. I don't know what it is about him, but he bothers me. Gets under my skin. I think he's arrogant and I found this book to be arrogant.

3. The Lost Symbol by Dan Browne. I love me some Robert Langdon adventures. I wish there was another one to read.

4. Beautiful Boy by David Scheff. I had been eying this book for a long time and I'm so glad I read it. I found it to be insightful and wondered how my parents and Dave have felt dealing with my depression, mood swings, and self violence.

5. Something Borrowed by Rachel Giffin. I want this four weeks of my life back.

6. Tweak by Nic Scheff. This is the son's account of his drug addiction from "Beautiful Boy". I'm not sure how I felt about this one. Some parts I identified with but there were certainly other times where it felt hard to root for him.

7. The Long Run by Matt Long. Wow! WOW!!!

8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This was easily my favorite book I read in 2011. My sister, who is not the reader of the family, devoured the book in just a few days so I knew I had to read it. And I FLOVED it! I then saw the movie and loved it too even though it left a lot of the details out. I was so glad I read the book in conjunction with seeing the movie as I feel like I got the rest of the story. Loved it!!!

9. Bossy Pants by Tina Fey. Ms. Fey, you are so funny.

10. You Are an Ironman by Jacques Steinberg. I read this between my failed attempt at Cedar Point and my non-attempt at Beach2Battleship. I don't know. I think I was just over ironman at this point.

11. You Had Me at Woof by Julie Klam. My dog Sloopy has been the best thing that has happened to me in a long time and seeing the cover of this book with it's cute little doggy made me want to read it. Unfortunately, the book was not as good as it's cover art. It was just okay. I expected a lot better.

I've already started my reading adventures for 2012...

Book List 2009

It's coming to the end of the year which means it's time to reevaluate the past 12 months. One goals I set for myself every year is to read 12 books. I'm almost done with my 12th so it's time for my list.

1. "Talent is Overrated" by Goeff Colvin
Obviously this book didn't appeal to me since I have no recollection of what it was about.

2. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer
Yes, I'm one of those girls who has read the Twilight books. But, to date, I've only seen the first movie.

3. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer

4. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer

5. "Running from the Devil" by Jamie Freveletti
I wrote about this one on the blog earlier this year.

6. "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Browne
Probably my favorite book I read this year. I flew through this in a matter of days.

7. "Losing my Religion" by William Lobdell
I used to follow Bill Lobdell's blog when he was a triathlete. I loved him then; I love him now. I have a lot to say about this book, but it's pretty controversial and very personal to me, so I'd rather not do it on the blog.

8. "The Last Amateurs" by John Feinstein
A little too long, but insightful.

9. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult
This one made me cry.

10. "Push" by Sapphire
Fast read. One long poem. Fantastic. I'd love to see the movie.

11. "Open" by Andre Agassi
When I was in middle school I idolized Andre Agassi. I had posters of him on my wall. I tried to model my game after his. As he grew up and became the champion that he is, I loved him even more. And after reading this book, Andre Agassi will forever be my athlete hero.

12. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
I've been reading this book for the last 3 months. I think it's stupid, but I'm almost finished so I'm not going to stop.

Now, I've got to start making my selections for 2010. With all the training I'm going to be doing it may be hard to read 12, but I love a challenge. Did you read anything good this year? What would you recommend?

Running from the Devil--A Book Review

I was in the middle of "Breaking Dawn" when I was contacted by a publisher to read and review a book. I agreed and was sent "Running from the Devil" by Jamie Freveletti. I must admit, I was a bit hesitant about reading a new book by a new author especially after reading all the Twilight books at once and being really immersed in them. But, I absolutely LOVED this book!!!

The main character is Emma Caldridge, a biochemist and ultra-runner, who discovers something she is not supposed to. She is en route to Bogota, Columbia when her plane is hijacked and brought down by anti-government guerillas who take the surviving passengers hostage. Emma eludes the hijackers and escapes the wreckage. She begins to pursue the hostages, the guerillas are pursuing her, the American government gets involved, and all of it comes to a head when her secret is exposed.

What makes this book exciting is there is action, a hint at sexual tension, and this overall secret that suspends the reader not knowing if Emma is a good guy or bad guy.

I've recently begun communicating with Jamie Freveletti via Twitter and she's one cool chick. :) Not only is she an awesome writer, she is herself an ultra runner and a SUGOI Brand Champion. Check her and her book out!