Thankfully Reading Weekend

You can hear them from here, if you listen close enough. Shoppers. Squeals of joy. Packed parking lots. Wall-to-wall people.

But that's really not you and me, is it? No, we aren't shoppers. We are readers. And since everyone has cleared out to stock up on 99 cent DVDs at Wal-Mart, we've got a little peace and quiet here at our ol' haciendas.

So let's take advantage of the quiet to pour a cup of coffee and pull out a stack of good reads, shall we? 

Here's what I've got saved for this weekend:

How about you? What are you hoping to read this weekend? 

DAY 2 MINI-CHALLENGE: THE BOOK I AM MOST THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR

I lost my mojo last school year. I went home every night and cried. I was seeing thirty classes a week plus two reading groups a day plus after school duty plus my usual library tasks...I was overworked and stressed. 

Then I found Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. And I found this quote that inspired the book from Teddy Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

And, suddenly, it was okay again. My mojo was back. The crying stopped. 

That's the power of books.

Thank you, Brene Brown.

DAY 2 MINI-CHALLENGE: MY LIFE ACCORDING TO BOOKS

Here are the rules, as posted on Jen's Book Thoughts, in case you'd like to join in:

For those who haven't heard of this fun activity before, I'm going to give you the beginnings to ten sentences. You complete the sentences with book titles from books you've read this year. They don't have to be books that were published this year, just books you read this year.

Here's my attempt at My Life According to Books:

1. Black Friday makes me: Evil Librarian (Michelle Knudsen).

2. If you post racists comments on Facebook, you (better be ready...you're) Getting Schooled (Garret Keiser).

3. In my ID photo, I look like: Robot Burp Head Smartypants (Annette Simon).

4. If someone interrupts my reading, I: (recall) The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year That I Completely Lost It (Lisa Shanahan).

5. When I read/watch the news I: (am) Riveted (Jim Davies).

6. The last time I (we) visited the zoo, I (we): (heard) The Call of the Wild (Jack London).

7. If I were a Supreme Court justice, I would: (hope I was) Named by God (Kasey Van Norman).

8. Absolutely nothing compares to: Creativity: The Perfect Crime (Philippe Petit).

9. Best advice my mom gave me was: Life is a Wheel (Bruce Weber).

10. My hope for 2015 is: (I'll travel) Off the Beaten Page (Terri Peterson Smith).

I also invite you to join me in the Gratitude Giveaway Blog Hop

and try to win one of my two great prizes:
A Trip to Italy or a $15 Amazon gift card!