2011 Reading List

I love lists and goals. I'm a sick, boring person and they are possibly two of my favorite things. So when I decided to make a New Year's Resolution (ie goal) to "read some really good books" naturally this meant I needed to create a reading list. Ta-da! A goal and a list. As we hunker down into 2011, here, in no particular order, is my reading list:

From Amazon.com



• The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. It's been on my reading list for at least a year and I swear, now I'm really going to read it.
• A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain. A Christmas gift from my honey.
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Neils Arden Oplev. Highly reccommended by Erin and my mother-in-law, Nancy.
• Decision Points by George W. Bush. Ross is reading this right now and really likes it. Even though we don't see eye to eye politically, I think I'll enjoy the insight as to why President Bush thinks the way he does.
• The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It was on the BBC Book List and I've heard good things so why not. I think Jane and her bro love this book - Jane, is that right?
• 33 Million People in the Room by Juliette Powell. A marketing selection on social media. Seems relevant.
• The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. I loved the movie a million years ago and it was actually the first book from Oprah's Book Club. Pretty good endorsement I'd say.
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. We've all heard of it but I've not read it. Good enough reason for me.
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett. A somewhat misc pick off Amazon's best-seller's list.
• The Confession by John Grisham. I'm a Grisham-aholic and this is Sunday's number 2 best-seller according to the New York Times. (Odd since Sunday hasn't happened yet. I feel like a fortune teller.)
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. And then, of course, the movie.
• Moneyball by Michael Lewis. I started this book about three years ago because Ross swears by it but I never did finish it. In 2011, I will finish it. Maybe before/around baseball season. Maybe it will help me with a fantasy team...yes, that sounds good.

I know some people (cough cough, Jane) have reading lists that are 50+ books long but I have to admit, for what my 2011 will be, I think a 12 book reading list is good for me. And by the end of the year, I'll be a better read person (and you'll get reviews). Woohoo! Do you have any other book suggestions for when I knock out this dozen?

PS Two blog posts in one day; crazy I know. But consider - this post took me no less than three days to write! Book research is intense!

Goals, Revisited

Many moons ago I wrote some goals for this month. I've done OK.

• Keep up 200 minutes of cardio per week.
• Start Christmas vacation on December 18.
• Send out the cutest Christmas cards ever.
• Reach our savings goal. Well we knew this one would be tough. But I'm still pleased with where we'll be starting from for 2011.
• Wine tasting.  Specically this was my GroupOn.com wine date with Brittany. We didn't make it due to schedules and wine classes being canceled for two Saturdays due to holidays. We did however definitely drink our fair share of wine, we just had to pay for it the old fashioned way.
• Read at least two fun books.
• Complete all of my Women of Distinction proposals.

5 out of 7 is (findins calculator...) 71%. So I got a D for the month of December. But if I tell you that I had a (at that time) secret career goal that I have since achieved and of course that I did taste much wine with Brittany, can that count as extra credit? Maybe bring me up a letter grade?

The Book is ALWAYS Better than the Movie

Earlier this fall I read My Sister's Keeper which I really enjoyed and today Nichole and I watched the movie. Now admittedly we were also chatting a little and barcoding merchandise for her shop but we watched it more than we did the other things.


From InformationTypes.blogspot.com



I like Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin and Abigail Breslin. And I loved the storyline. But I have to tell you - I did not love the movie. It was OK and if I hadn't read the book I probably would have really liked the movie.

Here are the sins committed by the flick:

• Dramatic changing of the end. Imagine if a movie about the 2004 Red Sox included just a 5 game series against the Yankees instead of a nail-biting 7 game series. I mean...what? That's not even the same story.
• Missing romance. Actually the least sinful of the sins but they did leave out an entire character and the love story revolving around her. The love story wasn't critical to the plot but to entirely leave it out, well, that's a bit much.
• Big bro was all messed up. In the book he's a very troubled teen. Always drunk or high and with a tendency toward arson, which is especially poignant since the dad is a firefighter. In the movie he's just a sad kid with a stressed family and a sick sister.
• Again, the ending. Just not OK.

To be objective, and to invoke the TriDelta tradition of "pro-con-con-pro" and attempt to end on a pro, here is what the movie did well.

• Playing up a romance. The love tryst of Kate (the sick sister) and her also sick boyfriend, Taylor, had many more legs in the movie. I think this worked well.

• Casting. The lawyer (Alec Baldwin), mom (Cameron Diaz), Anna (Abigail Breslin) and the dad (actor non remembered) were all cast really well. I wonder if Cameron Diaz is bummed out that she is now being cast for mom roles and not hot girl-next-door roles. Oh well, she did a good job.

Verdict: Read the book, don't bother with the movie.

The Time Traveler's Wife

From PaperbackSwap.com

Knocking out my December goal to read two fun books, I finished The Time Traveler's Wife this morning. Now my first observation is that this is a funny name for the book; it's way more about the actual time traveler than his wife. But odd title aside, it was a REALLY good book.

Given the nature of the character, the book switches narrators, times and locations frequently. When you begin it, be sure you can actually sit down and read; don't have the TV on in the background or anything. I found once I got used to the structure though I could still stay with the story and ignore distractions.

Without giving away the whole story, I'll give you the 30-second synopsis. Henry travels in time but has no control over when it happens and to what other time he'll go to. For example, he meets his future wife, Clare, when she is six and he is 30-something. The book follows their relationship, how time travel affects it and the many strange situations (and conflicts) that arise as a result.

Besides an interesting concept, the book is really well written. The characters are all very intelligent and witty, making even the most mundane conversation interesting and fun to read.

Verdict: Absolutely read.

Batting Next: The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain, a Christmas gift from my honey. I love Anthony Bourdain, especially now that he's the newest judge on Top Chef.

On deck: The film versions of The Time Traveler's Wife, My Sister's Keeper (tomorrow with Nichole) and Shutter Island (hopefully this week or next with Ross).

Merry Christmas!

A few days post-Christmas and I finally have a second to share our holiday with you.

Christmas Eve we slept in late and were lazy around the house. Then out of seemingly nowhere, a tsunami arrived in Pflugerville. We were going to wait until later in the afternoon to head down to Westlake but when Ross checked the radar it appeared that this tsunami would be hanging around for a while so we decided to head out before roads flooded. (Since it hasn't rained here in months, the ground was too dry to actually soak up the rain hence a little bigger chance of minor flooding.) We spent the afternoon and evening in Westlake with Ross' side of the family and enjoyed opening many many gifts. If there's one thing the Turner/Black clan can do, it's buy gifts!

Nancy and Jack got Ross a PSP among other things. I got him a new wallet and games for the PSP. He got me a new digital camera (but you knew that) and earrings to match the necklace he gave me for our anniversary.

Christmas Day  I packed up the car and myself and drove to Houston. Since Ross had to work at 7 a.m. the following morning, he stayed in Austin with Lexi to hold down the fort. I started my drive by visiting my favorite barista, Chantal. She usually works at the Starbucks at the entrance to our neighborhood but this being Christmas, she was helping cover shifts at one of the few open locations a little further into Pflugerville. I love her - she usually has my drink order ready before I can even pay - so I made a point of visiting her and giving her a small Christmas gift (wine).

I made it to Houston by 12:30 and while I wasn't the first to Mom & Dad's house, not far behind either. A quick clean up and change of clothes and I was ready to let the holiday begin! We had a good crowd - Mom, Dad, Kev, me, Mike, Brenda (though they had to cattch a flight and could only stay for a brief time), Bryanna, Uncle Larry, Aunt Sandy, Megan, Rhoda, Uncle Jerry, Aunt Fran, Uncle Bob, Isaak and of course, Grandma. I think that makes 16 in all throughout the course of the afternoon. And as we've done for the past few years, we had a themed gift exchange. This year's theme was board games so everyone brought one and then we traded. Ross and I got Farkle, which I've never played but will be trying soon.

After the big Lowe family shin-dig we had small family Christmas. Thanks to Mom and Dad, I'll be going on a shopping spree in the next couple weeks.

That about wraps up the holidays. I also saw Melissa while I was in Houston and had brunch with Grandma. I got to see Kevin off to the airport this morning, fully decked out in his dress blues. Today begins about five months of A School training (ie Navy techy training) for him in Pensacola.

All in all, a super holiday(s) and looking forward to two weeks of relaxation now.

Top Stories of 2010

At the gym today I saw a story about the AP's Top Rated News Stories of 2010. (Spoiler Alert: The Gulf of Mexico oil spill took home the prize.) It got me thinking, what have the Black family top stories of 2010 been? The game-changers if you will.

• Tie for First: Georgetown Fire Department Ross getting his job there was definitely a game-changer for our family. Now we have a set schedule on a three-day rotation, health insurance for him and a kick ass retirement plan. And of course, he has career satisfaction.
• Tie for First: US Navy Kevin announcing in May that he would be enlisting in the Navy caught more than a few of us by surprise and has been one of the best decisions of his life. Possibly the absolute best. In October he went to boot camp in Illinois and now that he's home for the holidays, I can confidently say he made the right choice.
• Second: Gramma Her declining health and eventual passing was definitely a milestone for the family. This is our first Christmas without her and I know it will be tough. From a very selfish perspective, in addition to supporting Ross through it all, losing his Gramma made me appreciate mine even more.
• Third: My job Suffice it to say, 2010 was a more interesting year career-wise than I would have ever anticipated.

Honorable Mention

• Break In Mostly this just brought a crap-storm into our lives for a month but even the crap-storm cloud had a silver lining: my new TriDelta pin a la my sisters.
• New Babies Blake, Taygan, Adele and Layla are coloring our lives a little more youthful. For where we are right now, having new babies who belong to someone else is the perfect situation :)
• Relocation Nichole and her hubby moved to P-ville from South Austin and Brittany and Ken came back from DFW. Hurray! My social life got a big bump from both.
• Engagements Win & Megan, Jane & Chris, Cason & Page and Brittney & Chad - so much love in the air!

Your top stories of 2010?