Category Archives: Bandwagons

And here’s what I’ve been reading

11/19/2010 Nichole 3 Comments

Was “The Magnificent Ambersons” really the last book I wrote about? I guess I must’ve disliked it more than I thought. Here’s what I’ve read since:

“The Postman Always Rings Twice” by James Cain: Remember when I was trying to read the Modern Library 100? This was the end of that mission. This was published in 1934, and it was far more, um, passionate than I was expecting. It’s a pretty twisted crime story.
“A Visit from the Good Squad” by Jennifer Egan: I don’t remember what this was about at all, but here’s what I wrote in my reading journal: “This may have been an overly ambitious project. Also: It’s a pretty distressing image of the future — even more so since it’s easy to envision it actually happening.”
“Born Round” by Frank Bruni: This is the memoir of a formerly obese restaurant reviewer. It’s great, and it made me laugh and cry. Really.
“The Help” by Kathryn Sockett: I kept reading about how wonderful this book was, so I finally reserved it at the library. I was on the wait list forever, then once I got the book? I couldn’t put it down. I may have teared up a little at the end.
“Right Ho, Jeeves” by PG Wodehouse
“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood: I enjoy a good dystopian-future story. This is a really good and very distressing one.
“Animal Dreams” by Barbara Kingsolver
“The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison
“The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender
“Homicide in Hardcover” by Kate Carlisle
“This Must Be the Place” by Kate Racculia
“The Wonder Spot” by Melissa Bank: From the reading journal: “This made me crabby.” I don’t know why. Maybe I should be more specific in that thing.
“Oryx & Crake” by Margaret Atwood: More bleak futures from Atwood! This one’s pretty weird.
“The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood: This is sort of a companion novel to “Oryx & Crake.” It’s also on the weird side.
“Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” by Tom Franklin
“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins: This series was impossible to stop reading.
“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins
“Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
“Backseat Saints” by Joshilyn Jackson

The current count in the 2010 booklist is 41. I haven’t been actively going after a 52 books in a year sort of thing, but maybe I ought to give it a shot.

Music, National Blog Posting Month

We’ve come to the multimedia updates

11/18/2010 Nichole 3 Comments

Every year it comes to this. National Blog Posting Month drives me to listing the songs my iPod is currently playing. (See: Nov. 18, 2009). I’m just pleased that we made it this far without resorting to it. Anyway, here you are. Ten songs my iPod played this morning.

Dancing Queen, Abba.
California Girls, The Beach Boys.
Spilt Needles, The Shins.
I Saw You in the Wild, Great Lake Swimmers.
Masochist, Ingrid Michaelson
Pig Island, Scott Bakula
Catch that Train, Dan Zanes and Friends
Wolves, Iron & Wine
See the Sky about to Rain, Neil Young
A Man Needs a Maid, Neil Young

Tomorrow: 15 ways to butter a slice of bread! (Not really. I can only think of three.)

Bandwagons, National Blog Posting Month

How writing keeps me sane

11/17/2010 Nichole

I wasn’t the most meticulous note-taker in college – that was Rockford – but I did make an effort to take notes. Before a test, I would transcribe all of my handwritten notes. Not so I could more easily refer to them again, but to help the ideas stick in my head. I don’t find myself needing to take notes on lectures very often anymore (although maybe I should take notes on the nightly news to help me stay abreast on current events. Or maybe I could just start watching the nightly news), but I do still write a lot.

Committing words to paper (or the internet) helps me to remember things more easily, whether they’re Funny Things the Kids Have Said or Things I’d Like to Own or Laundry: How to Do It.

OK, so I don’t really have a How to Do Laundry cheat sheet. I do, however, keep lists of:

Books I’ve Read.
I have a very nice reading journal just for this purpose. If I don’t keep a record of what I’ve read, I am 98 percent sure to forget. And I have been known to reread a book without realizing it until halfway through. Which isn’t a tragedy, of course, but it’s annoying.

Chores
Not just for kids! I have a list of things that need to be done in every room of the house. I try to tackle one room every day, and when I actually accomplish that I flip to the next day. I will readily admit that cleaning toilets aren’t the first thing on my mind every day. Having a list helps me stay on top of things that I know wouldn’t get done if I didn’t have it written down.

Meals We Like
What I said about having a remarkably bad memory? I usually make our meal plan and grocery list on Friday night or Saturday morning — it’s a wild, wild life – and there have been many, many times when I’ve been unable to think of any meal I’ve ever made. Sad but true. This is why I started doing Menu Plan Monday – so I’d have an ongoing record of things we’ve had.

What I’ve Eaten
I haven’t actually done this in awhile, but I need to start again. I first started a food journal when I did Weight Watchers several years ago. I’m certain it would help again in my ongoing (and, for the last few years, fruitless) effort to lose weight. The primary reason I need to start again, though, is so I can figure out what’s causing me to feel so rotten a good bit of the time.

So clearly that stuff isn’t writing in the Hemingway sense of the word. (And neither, if we’re being honest, is any of the other stuff I write.) But beyond making lists and keeping records, writing keeps me connected. I spend the majority of my time with the under-6 set. They have their charms, but it’s nice to have an adult conversation sometimes. And right now, the best place for me to do that on a daily basis is here and through various social media outlets. There are so many people with whom I would not be in contact were it not for the internet and, of course, writing therein. (Three cheers for you, internet!)

Writing helps keep my mind, my house and my body* in order. It doesn’t just work for me; I don’t think I could function without it.

*Well, it helps my body when I make an effort. Let’s go with that.