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Thursday, August 07, 2008

In Progress, if only slowly

While I'm still not in the mood for much reading, but I've decided to finish a few books that have been put aside in various stages of progress.

Moving Forward: Taking the Lead in Your Life by Dave Pelzer. Pelzer is the author of the memoir A Child Called "It" - which was on the NY Times best-seller list for 6 years. He opens the book with the statement, "I believe the lives we live are the lives we make." I was almost exactly half way through this one before putting it down. I agree that it is easy to blame others or circumstances for the bad stuff in our lives and that ultimately we are responsible for our own choices. Have a few questions about the way Pelzer has parlayed his experiences into a profitable business, but can't disagree with the basic premise.Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir by Natalie Goldberg. I loved Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones and used many of her practices with great success in the classroom. This book is a series of associative and meditative exercises to help you "discover and open forgotten doors of memory." Most of the exercises are 1-2 pages, so the book is easy to pick up and put down. Goldberg studied with Allen Ginsberg, and Ginsberg remain a figure of great importance to her long after his death.The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart. McTaggert is "an award-winning science journalist and leading figure in the human consciousness studies commmunity."
The opening chapters are largely concerned with physics and quantum physics (a bit beyond my grasp) and some interesting stories about the scientists engaging in the various experiments. However, when I have a lot of nonfiction - and I'm a slow reader of nonfiction - I tend to seek other activities more frequently, and thus, though I'm really quite interested in this one, it has settled in the "on hold" stacks. Must get back to it.Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker by Stacy A. Cordery. I do love biographies and Alice Roosevelt was certainly an iconic (flamboyant, witty, vibrant) figure. I'm enjoying this one.We will see how this goes... Can I stick with nonfiction long enough to get through all of them before going back to fiction? The biography won't be a problem because it is the one I've been picking up on the rare occasions I've been reading lately.

6 comments:

  1. I'm dying to read this. I've been on a Theodore R. reading spree for a few years now, and would like to know more about her. I could spend a year straight on just Roosevelt books. :<)

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  2. I flipped through the Alice book at the library the other day (mainly looking at the photos/captions) and she certainly looks like a larger-than-life figure.

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  3. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the Alice Roosevelt Longworth book. I've read both of Edmund Morris' books about her father and want to read more about her.

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  4. Nan - You definitely are a T.R. fan! I'm going to have to look for a Teddy biography.

    Lesley - She was certainly a quick study and a wit!

    SuziQ - You and Nan! I'll look for one of the Morris books - thanks for the recommendation.

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  5. Jenclair: read Morris' first one The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - I was amazed at everything he did before he became President at age 42. My husband read it and enjoyed it too.

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  6. SuziQ - The man was an absolute dynamo, wasn't he? That he accomplished so much is astounding, especially with his asthma problems. Thanks, I'll look for The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt first!

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