Readers’ Workouts: Old Me vs New Me

The Readers’ Workouts meme is hosted at Joy’s Book Blog.   This is a place to share exercise successes and challenges.

About two weeks ago I strained my back and almost literally could not move.  Thankfully it was on a Sunday so I was able to lay down and take it easy; the next day it was still stiff but much better.  The old me would have used it as an excuse to stay away from workouts until the pain went away completely (it still hasn’t).  The new me went to the gym and exercised to the best of my ability, letting the class instructors and my trainer know I wasn’t at 100% but still ready to participate and burn some calories.  Was it comfortable?  Not entirely, but it was certainly more beneficial than sitting around.

And last week my job stress just about reached crisis levels.  The old me would have rushed home and crawled into bed (probably with a book) in an attempt to shut out the world.  The new me went to the gym and vented out a lot of frustration during my training session and kickboxing class (the poor guy who stood in front of me — I pretended his back was “someone’s” head as I punched and kicked).  And afterwards I felt great – well, not great exactly, but it certainly cleared my head.

I won’t deny that I miss the reading I sacrifice by making time to go to the gym, but I cannot argue the fact that it is completely worth it.  The old me, though enjoying the books, would be suffering both physically and emotionally.  The new me is feeling better about myself and appreciating the reading time I am able to carve out during the day.

 

 

 

February Reading List

Where in the heck did January go?  Don’t they always say that month feels like the longest?  It certainly didn’t feel that way for me; as I’ve mentioned several times (sorry!) my workload has been crazy and as much as I complain about it at least it does make the time pass very quickly.  Add to that a renewed commitment to exercise and get fit and unfortunately something has to give; which has been my reading time.  I of course still managed to find time to read, and finished or started everything on my list for January, but I have not been able to read as much as I like, nor to spend time on writing and posting reviews.  I am really hoping that things at work calm down enough soon where I won’t need to work weekends, but lately when I think I see a light in the tunnel it is a freight train.

Anyways, on to what I plan to read in February:

For Review:

Beyond the Possible by Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani

Not Less than Everything edited by Catherine Wolff

Capital of the World:  The Race to Host the United Nations by Charlene Mires

For Reading Challenges:

Finding Me in France by Bobbi French

Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

The Thief of Auschwitz by Jon Clinch

For Book Club:

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal

Hopefully I’ll have time for more, but …..

 

 

TLC Book Tour – The Uninvited Guests

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones

Published:  2012 by Harper Perennial

Source:  Received from the publisher for review

 In 1912 at a run-down English estate, the “man of the house”, Edward Swift, departs for Manchester to make a last-ditch effort to save the home that his wife, Charlotte, and her children adore.  Meanwhile, the remaining members of the household are making preparations for the celebration of daughter Emerald Torrington’s 20th birthday; and the youngest daughter, Imogen (known as Smudge) is preparing a Great Undertaking.

As the invited guests — family friends Patience and Ernest Sutton and neighbor John Buchanan — arrive for the festivities, the household learns of a train accident nearby, and because they are the only residence nearby they are forced to accept the stranded passengers until the Railway Service can come and sort them out.

Where most of the uninvited guests of the title are shoved into a room with little or no hospitality on the part of the Torrington clan, one guest stands out from the crowd as being of the proper class and is invited to join the dinner party.  However, Charlie Traversham-Beechers is not merely a survivor of the accident – he has secrets that can destroy the Torringtons.

To me, the novel was a high-class comedy of errors.  Nothing seemed to go right for Emerald’s birthday right from the beginning – from her misinterpretation of Mr. Buchanan’s gift to the arrival of the passengers to the game Charlie begins among the dinner party guests, everything does NOT go to plan.  Even Smudge’s Great Undertaking was not without its difficulties.

But then the end comes and I had to wonder if I missed something throughout the novel.  I suppose it speaks to the craziness of what went on, but it left me a bit confused.  It didn’t ruin the book for me, though.

Overall I found The Uninvited Guests to be a fun read.  It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

For other thoughts on this book, please visit the other stops on the tour.

 

It’s Monday! What are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.   It is a chance to share with others what you have been reading and what you plan to read.

This week I finished the following books:

• The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
• The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro

Books in Progress:

• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (audiobook)
• A Nation Worth Ranting About by Rick Mercer
• The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
• Beyond the Possible by Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani

Book Put Aside (for now):

• The Long Road Home:  The Aftermath of the Second World War by Ben Shephard

It was another busy week for me at work but I think (fingers crossed) that the worst should be over by the end of this week and I can get my evenings and weekends back for reading!  On the plus side, I haven’t really had time to buy new books (I did cave and buy my first books of the year on Monday) so my piles are not growing too much.

When I do get some free time I am going to take inspiration from kimbofo at Reading Matters and sort out my TBR shelves.  I know there are some books on there I will never read so I’d best cut my losses and get rid of them.  I think the book sale committee at my local library will be very happy with what I will be sending their way!

What are you reading this week?

 

Readers’ Workouts

The Readers’ Workouts meme is hosted at Joy’s Book Blog.   This is a place to share exercise successes and challenges.

After my experience with Pilates last Tuesday, I decided to proceed with my bravery and try a cardio kickboxing class at the gym on Thursday.  Again I was a bit intimidated, but when I walked in I immediately went to the instructor and let her know it was my first class and asked if she had any tips.  She was very nice and explained a few of the basic moves to me, but her biggest advice was to have fun.  And I did.  It was a great workout!  Of course I didn’t do everything “perfectly” but I kept up with the class and didn’t run into anyone when I went left instead of right so I consider it a win!  I will definitely go back this week.

Add to that my Wednesday workout with my trainer and two other workouts on my own and I was an exercising machine!  What is even better is that I want to keep up the momentum and am scheduling the rest of my life around my new-found interests at the gym.  Sure I know it’s not entirely realistic for the long term, but I’m going to take advantage of my motivation while it lasts.

 

It’s Monday! What are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.   It is a chance to share with others what you have been reading and what you plan to read.

Last week I finished the following books:

• The Power of Habit:  Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Books in Progress:

• The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
• The Long Road Home:  The Aftermath of the Second World War by Ben Shephard
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (audiobook)

So tonight my book club was supposed to meet to discuss The Snow Child but our discussion is postponed until next Monday.  Because it is going to be cold.  Not snowing, which might make driving difficult, just cold.  The forecasted high is 8 degrees F (-14 degrees C), which is certainly chilly but to my Canadian blood that temperature in mid-January is fairly mild.  And the fact that it will be “too cold” to discuss a book set in the frigid Alaskan frontier is mildly humorous to me.

And that means my streak of not buying books will go on just a little bit longer.  Our group meets at an independent bookstore which I can’t visit as often as I’d like so I was looking forward to buying my first book in 2013 when I came for the discussion.  Let’s see if I can keep up the willpower to wait one more week.

 

 

Readers’ Workouts

The Readers’ Workouts meme is hosted at Joy’s Book Blog.   This is a place to share exercise successes and challenges.

My gym membership includes 4 Pilates Reformer classes per month (if you don’t know what a Pilates Reformer is, think of it as a medieval torture device).  I have taken a few classes in the past, but I’ve lapsed the last few months, and since I’m paying for them anyways I thought I’d better get using them; so I went to a class today.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am out of shape and not very flexible nor graceful.  And I felt intimidated by the others in the class, because they had obviously been there before – I wanted to run away.  But nothing gets easier by running away, so I stayed and I worked through the exercises to the best of my ability - and kept up pretty well, actually.  Thankfully the class is very small (there were only four of us) and since I let the instructor know when I arrived I was a bit rusty he (yep – a guy!) took time to show me proper form.  I still felt a bit awkward (hey, I can’t become graceful overnight) but I’m proud of myself for seeing it through.  Tomorrow, however, I may not be able to move but, well, that’s tomorrow.

The moral of the story for me:  Everything is hard the first time (or the first time back).  But it won’t become any easier if the first time never happens.