Barefoot

So, I have recently finished a book by Elin Hilderbrand called Barefoot. Now, I enjoyed the book, and I quickly ate up every word. I connected with some of the characters, and I enjoyed the love story of some of the other characters. The problem is, there is one character that I absolutely HATED. I mean HATED. My understanding is that she was supposed to be portrayed as someone who isn't perfect, and she isn't, by any means, the heroine in the story. But I HATED her. It almost made it unbearable to read. She was a woe-is-me, selfish, aggravating person. Who I know - in real life. I've got some friends like this woman. And she personified everything I do not like in these friends of mine (not a book club friend). So, my question to everyone is, have you ever confronted this in a book? What have you done? Were you able to finish the book? Did it detract from the story or add to it?
I was able to finish the book, as I said above. It was a touching story about a sister who is dealing with lung cancer, another sister who is dealing with the loss of her job in a scandalous fashion, and a friend who is in a bad marriage and just found out she's pregnant. They all go to Nantucket for the summer to swallow what has happened in their worlds. Love, heartbreak, intrigue. I still enjoyed the book, despite my dislike of a main character. I recommend it, although partially because I'm curious what other people think of Brenda. (I am also somewhat selfish in my motivations, apparently. Hmm...)

What is this I hear? Outlander is being made into a MOVIE???

For any of our book club members or wannabe members... if you didn't already know that the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is THE BEST historical fiction EVER written (and therefore the best book series ever written if your favorite genre is historical fiction/adventure).

Now... my dissertation procrastination has led me to some groundbreaking news... there will be an Outlander movie scheduled to begin shooting in 2009.

Apparently there are others out there who are extremely excited about this prospect and there is a ton of speculation among people with ALOT of time on their hands who have proposed casting for various roles... check these out.





Johnny Depp as Jack Randall?
Jude Law as Lord John?
I like Rachel Weiss for Clare - I think it does need to be an English actress.
This Gerard Butler is a Scottish actor (recently stared in 300) who seems to get the most votes: he is hot but is he rugged and big enough to pull off Jamie?

Thoughts???

Travel Reading

So, I've been thinking of a new topic that we can all get in on discussing. Here's the best I've come up with:
What do you read when you travel? Do you prefer magazines for the simplicity and ease of short articles that are easily disrupted? Or are you more into your engrossing novel du jour to help distract from the annoyances at the airport? Crosswords or Soduku puzzles more your thing?
More importantly, why? Lets discuss!!

Back to the real world

My first posting - thanks for the invite - Kate! Just back from a 2 week vacation out west. Sorry we missed you and Rae in Albuquerque! My hubby and I had a great time together - got along great - we packed in a lot each day and returned to the hotel at dark - dirty, exausted, and hungry only to start the next day ready for more. The pic is from the top of Angel's Landing at Zion National Park. An awesome, somewhat scary hike. Hopefully, you've all been there - it's a must see!

I'm reading eat, pray, love - compliments of Ruth. I'm mid-way thru. I send Jill text messages while reading it testing her Italian...I stumped her on "tasso"! Ruth could of written this book....

Jill is moving back to NC in October (Wilkesboro) and I am so happy for her, me, our family! She's been gone too long.

I hope to stay up w/ the blog - thanks for including me - hope you had a great time w/ your mom - birthday and all!!!

Rae's Current Reading

This book is a MUST read for all of us dog-lovers. Don't get me wrong, this is no "Marley & Me" feel good fluff. The story is complex and deeply moving, but it doesn't hit you over the head with tragedy. The relationship between dogs and humans is like the glue holding the story together, not the whole purpose of the book. Much like it should be in real life. This is just my opinion, informed by watching every episode of The Dog Whisperer, and not yet informed by my own attempt to raise and relate to a dog of my own.

The Short Story

So, I made a happy trip to Village Books last week with happy thoughts of book club blogging in my happy head. After a short time browsing, I discovered a used Elizabeth Gilbert book. I really enjoyed Eat Love Pray, so I was hoping I didn't go wrong with Pilgrims, and you can never go wrong with a used book, right??
While it is an easy read, and I have enjoyed the first several stories I have read, I just have issues with short stories. I know, I know, they're supposed to be enjoyable, slice-of-life type things, but I get in to the characters and I want more more more! There's never a beginning middle or end, and I'm always left wanting MORE! Where did they ride off to on that horse? Did the truck ever get fixed? Are those two strange people actually brother and sister? Tell me MORE!

Eat, Pray, Love - Fini!

Well faithful reader(s), I completed Eat, Pray, Love - yes indeedie. There was a long hiatus with only a few pages left to go... but I am glad that I waited because I found the diamond in the sand:

My favorite line of the whole book: "I was the administrator of my own rescue."

I just love it. I say it over and over... in present tense... "I AM the administrator of my own rescue"... in future tense... "I will always be the administrator of my own rescue." Love it!

It really sums it all up for me... now... let's discuss (preferably over a glass of wine).

Rae's Book List

Well, we've had a bit of trouble keeping our momentum going for bookclub! I am sure it is because we are all very busy people and it is hard to incorporate everything into our days!

That is not to say that I am not reading! Since my last post (ages ago), I have read The Pillars of the Earth, Next, and The Kite Runner. I LOVED Pillars and look forward to World Without End (when it comes out in paperback). I am still making my way through A Breath of Snow and Ashes (for the second time - it is my filler book).

Here is my current reading list - in no particular order - in case you're interested!

• World Without End - Ken Follett
• The Eagle and the Raven - Pauline Gedge
• Meanwhile Don't Push and Squeeze - Robert Berold
• The Totallity of All Being: Lucifer's Experiment - Jane Joyce
• The Secret Magdalene - Ki Longfellow

Happy Reading!!!

Bali time!

Bali reading is in a dip, ....a dip in interest, so I'm going to skip-along quickly and see what happens. I love the bedtime, bedside-light and tea-time to read this story. But my sleepy-head takes me to dreamtime, (--dreams which are so interesting, when I reflect on them the following morning; I digress). Stay tuned, I'm almost to the finish line!

I babysat these babies: the Carter boys!

Did you know that? I held and fed and rocked each one---ever so precious, oh-my-God! -- I helped their mommy, Lisa, for a month just before Thanksgiving time. Their daddy was my instructor for Readers Theatre class, 2 terms ago. I saw "the boys" about 2 weeks ago. They're now at the crawling stage--and each one has two-bottom-baby-teeth.

I'm in India now! I'm settled-out with my new routine, so I will progress more steadily. I havn't reached the "brothers" part yet. I can't wait to get to Bali. In MY life, Bali is in the top 3 places I am going to visit in the near future.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Just an update on the status of my recreational reading since we've hit a bit of a pause button with the Eat, Pray, Love discussion. I am nearing the end of the Bali adventure and well... I got distracted by The Other Boleyn Girl. It is a real page turning treat! The movie is out in February and I really wanted to read the book first. Yummy escape from reality!

I am also making my way through A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Book 6 in the Outlander Series). This is my second time through the series... in preparation for the release of An Echo in the Bone, Book 7 which is supposed to be published sometime in 2009. I read on Diana Gabaldon's website that there is a motion picture (presumably of Outlander) under development.

Other news in entertainment: Saw Juno last weekend and loved it! Highly recommended! AND... LOST season premiere this Thursday!!

The answer to the obvious question (Do you have a life aside from reading, tv, movies?) is Absolutely Yes!! Since completing my internship interview adventure, my life is really jumpstarting - there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I am striving to enjoy every moment of the journey to the light!

Slow but steady wins the race!?

I was so excited to finally be reading about the "Word" last night. So cool that Elizabeth picked up on the vibe of cities, down to one word. I agree with her. I've never been to Stockholm, but I don't think I will either. I am trailing in last place at chapter 34, but I have more time for pleasure reading now since I 'dropped' my Lit. class (I more-like dropped the teacher). I'll take Lit. this summer from a less-cryptic, teaching-style instructor. I havn't peeked ahead, but I am anxious to read her words describing India and Bali.

My word: Discover

...to answer the question: what word matches every single part of me? The first word that bubbled up was 'transform'; however, the word seemed to lack luster--maybe from overuse--especially here in Asheville. Then the word 'self-discovery'. I have traveled far....out in the world and in to my dark interior....so, yes, 'Discover': never ending and exponentially ignited every day.

That Quiet Girl

Perhaps my favorite part of the book so far is the section where Liz describes how she comes to accept her 'natural character.' (Ch. 62-64, pgs. 189-193)

The paragraph where she discusses her habit of interrupting people while they are talking (pg. 193) resonated so strongly with me (I know... this may be difficult to imagine - hint of sarcasm).

Even more so, her response to this realization... which was to take a vow of silence and become the "best" at being silent... is, well, a pattern with which I am all too familiar. (In psychodynamic speak - this is the defense known as 'reaction formation')

My fascination with psychology is in part due to a fascination with the power and quality of DEFENSES. How is it that people can go through life whining, complaining, abusing, withdrawing, etc... and never see that they are the source of their own misery? The answer is that humans are extremely well-defended.

My extraordinarily adaptive response to my own insecurities is to painstakingly examine, explain, and address any and all evidence of pathology or symptomology manifesting in my behavior, my relationships, my thoughts. (As an aside - you may have noted another hint of sarcasm here - which is ironically a manifestation of another psychological defense - passive-aggression. According to psychoanalytic theory, sarcasm is a passive-aggressive form of communication which protects the communicator from their own anger and the undesired consequences of expressing anger.)

Back to the topic of this post: Interrupting people because you think what you have to say is more important that what the other person is saying. Hence, you think you're more important than the other person.

True story: Two pipes involved in my daily activities sprung leaks this past week. The pipe involved in draining water in the bathroom sink and the pipe involved in expelling exhaust from my car.

A third pipe has sprung a leak - it has actually been leaking my whole life and I have only intermittently been aware of it. My constant stream of chatter is a drain to my energy and a burden to those around me. Talking is a tool for avoiding myself, my loneliness, my worries... My cell phone is a depository for my energy, my ceaseless, useless, stream of blah, blah, blah... My supervisor, on numerous occasions, has told me that I use too many words - the impact of my communication is lessened by so many words.

Pg. 190 "Learning how to discipline your speech is a way of preventing your energies from spilling out of you through the rupture of your mouth, exhausting you and filling the world with words, words, words instead of serenity, peace, and bliss."

I pray for help in learning this skill... perhaps I will take a vow of silence.

Rae's Word: Engage

I must apologize for the delay in sharing my thoughts... a subsequent post will further explore the existential underpinnings of this delay and how it relates to Eat, Pray, Love. For now, it must suffice to say that life has been a busy and extremely enjoyable grand tour of internships! In fact, my word, which I reveal in the title of this post, did arise from my recent journey to the west coast.

To expand further: Following my adventure in Long Beach (another story entirely), I attended the Seattle VA (acronym = 'Veterans Affairs' Medical Center) for their psychology internship open house. There, the training director spoke at length about the philosophy of their training program, which is essentially that they support the development of excellence - not just competence - and they do this in several ways, the description of which I will not bore you at this time. The point is that there is distinction to be made between competence and excellence, and it is on this point that I digress.

The "space" between competence and excellence, I believe, is comprised of how and how much one engages and is engaging! (There's my word!!!) To be truly successful, I must whole-heartedly "engage" in my life and the pursuit of my goals.. I must SHOW UP - rain, sleet, snow, etc... My pursuit must not be a blind or desperate striving for external validation. Rather I strive to be worthy of excellence, which is where "being engaging" comes in. "Being engaging" to me means that I act with humility, empathy, and compassion, so that others have room to welcome me and support me along my journey. So that I do not, in my effort to achieve, compromise my integrity and humanity.

So, this is my word: Engage

______ + Engage + Achieve = _______

I want to learn Italian now!

I have to admit, this is the first: #1 NY Times bestseller I've ever read!
So far, I like the story...I find that in-amongst the clever talkie talk, she reveals some deep stuff. Not just 'deep', but super-personal experiences that are explained without editing for descretion purposes. I loved the experience she described on pg. 54 when she 'sees a friend' in the mirror when she's getting on an elevator. I have had moments like that!
So far, my favorite paragraph was laugh-out-loud funny in chapter 16: 'Depression' with the billy-club and 'Lonliness', the sensitive cop interrogator; very insightful of her.
I continue to admire her awareness around changing what she does based on new reasons why. This follows Kate's observation of the author's presense. Yes, and staying true to her self-aware pitfalls and a new found: self-allowing. I could learn from her 'no rules' approach to eating. I loved the visual of her preparing her 'masterpiece lunch 'and then eating it-- sitting in a patch of sunbeam on her wooden floor, while reading the Italian newspaper.
I'm on pg. 74 now. (there was no reading at Patricia's....some guest rooms in this world don't come with bedside table and light.)

Why Rae picked the book Eat, Pray, Love

What draws me to the book is the idea of a QUEST... that life is a QUEST for... many things...

For me, I experience and recognize the importance of wondering - "Is this it?" I want to honor the restless discomfort (and sometimes sheer panic) that accompanies that wondering. I believe that I simply have to verbalize that I wonder this and at times I have to take action to explore, to go on a quest... sometimes independently and sometimes with other people. Therefore, the reason that I wanted to read this book myself and share it with my mom and sister is because I need to be inspired by other women who share my need to explore and who most reliably support me to quest and will even come with me if I ask.