Tuesday, December 29, 2009

best books I read this year

I love Good Reads. It's a perfect way for me to not only keep track with what books I've read, but I always get great recommendations on what to read next from friends. Thought I'd just fill you in on some of the best books I read this past year. Obviously, I'm a sucker for Young Adult and memoirs and food. All 5 stars based on my emotional, personal and totally un-scientific ratings scale.


I should also note that the books above are on my night table and I'm almost through with Catching Fire which is the 2nd book in the fantastic Hunger Games series. It's looking like it will make the list as well.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

small update

There's only one excuse for my absence: work and lots of it. It's good because I'm doing work that I enjoy, I'm learning lots and I know my stuff so it feels good to be considered an expert. I'm also getting paid handsomely. There's no complaining here. This weekend, I got to take a break from deadlines and enjoyed myself fully. I drank beers and cocktails, took bike rides with friends along the sea wall where we watched all the beautiful holiday lights on on all the sailboats. Vancouver, you are a beautiful city and I'm glad and happy to live here!

During breaks, I've been watching some pretty wonderful documentaries. Like the 11 hour epic of Ken Burns, The Civil War. It packed a full wallop of history that, as a Canadian, I really knew nothing about. It introduced me to the time period, like how eloquent so many people were, how everyone wrote letters and journals and wrote them to be read, and even how people related to having their picture taken. We followed that with another documentary by Ken Burns about Huey Long, a Southern politician with an interesting career. One thing: Ken Burns, seriously, mix up your music next time. It's gettin' old!

Still on a Southern kick, we saw the most incredible documentary from the library. It's called The Order of Myths and it kicked ass. It was so powerful and delved into the issues of race and tradition like no other film I've seen. Highly recommended.

Also, worth a viewing is Surfwise about an unconventional family who raised 9 kids in a 24 ft. camper. I found it inspiring not about raising 9 kids, but about the idea of being mindful.

Labels: