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I did something unprecedented a couple weeks ago after I finished The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't start another book right away! I've had so many projects going on at home and other things I've been wanting to finish, so I haven't read a book in over 2 weeks! It feels pretty strange.

It's been an extremely busy August for me and the bf. We've had at least 1 event each weekend, if not 2 most weekends. We are burnt out. We are jonesing for some time to ourselves. We are ready for a long Labor Day weekend coming up.

I'm ready for September. Bring it on!

Live First, Work Second - Rebecca Ryan

I had the privilege of hearing Rebecca Ryan speak at last year's Young Professionals Summit in Brevard County, FL (just south of home), and I can't wait for this year's conference (next month!). I loved her book. I flew through it. I emailed her, saying, among other things, "YOU GET IT! WHY DON'T OTHERS GET IT?" because she does. Get it.

My generation (Gen Y) wants different things than our parents and other generations before us. We live by the rule that we can first pick a place to live, then find a job. (Most of the time this works. If we pick the right place). Rebecca is the founder of Next Generation Consulting, a Madison, WI -based consulting firm that researches and studies companies and young professional organizations nationwide. The research is based on 7 indecies that we (my generation) are looking for in a place to live.

Some of my favorite passages from the book:

"Let's call these places Old Town. In Old Town, YPs (young professionals) feel disenfranchised because the "old boys network" is still operative. In these communities, Who's your daddy? is too often more important than What's your idea? And that's a darn shame." (p.56)

(Um, yeah. Couldn't have said it better myself.)

"Bad management is an epidemic in this country. I've often joked that if the only thing we do at NGC is shine the light on the high rates of crappy and incompetent management in this country, we will have served the next gen well.

Funny thing is, it's not a joke.

A Next Gen'er's manager is the single most important person in their work life. No one can make or break them, retain or repel them like their manager. No one.

...

Companies should be run more like baseball teams. When the New York Yankees are losing, their owner doesn't trade all the players. The owner fires the manager. The manager is responsible for orchestrating all their talent into a winning team." (p.89)

I book marked a few other pages, but they are mostly charts and graphs. I recommend this book for everyone, as it does a great job of explaining my generation and what we're looking for in work and life. I can't wait for Rebecca's presentation at the Next Leaders Summit in Cincinnati, OH next month.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

I loved this book. (I started and finished this book in the Keys over the weekend - so much better than the last book I chose to read while on vacation there).

I became so engrossed that I was (almost) oblivious to my boyfriend and his dad playing Tiger Woods golf on the Wii for 5 hours. (I'm not kidding. It rained for almost 8 hours straight while we were in Key Largo this weekend).

The story of Henry and Clare and his time traveling was so fascinating. At first I thought all the dates were going to create one big headache, but after awhile I started getting it, and I jumped easily from present to future and past and back. What an incredible love story. For Clare to spend her life waiting for Henry and to love him despite his flaw was just amazing. How unreal that Henry could see what his future holds. (And then, at the end, how devastating as well.) The couples' struggle to have a child was heartbreaking, two times over especially that we learned that their daughter Alba was also a time traveler, and knew her father was going to die early.

I was determined to read this book before seeing the movie, and when I realized it was coming out soon (it opened on Friday, 8/14), I knew I had to read it fast incase I happened to overhear any reviews. I had had the book on my shelf for over a year but for some reason hadn't touched it. I had no idea the story took place in Chicago, Illionois and South Haven, Michigan, a place I am familiar with as that's where I went to the beach as I grew up. The book even referenced my hometown, Kalamazoo, MI, several times. There is nothing quite like reading a book with ties to your hometown.

Here are just a couple of my favorite passages:

And what do you vote for?

Clare is silent. Her pragmatism and her romantic feelings about Jesus and Mary are, at thirteen, almost equally balanced. A year ago she would have said God without hesitation. In ten years she will vote for determinism, and ten years after that Clare will believe that the universe is arbitrary, that if God exists he does not hear our prayers, that cause and effect are inescapable and brutal, but meaningless. And after that? I don't know. But right now Clare sits on the threshold of adolescence with her faith in one hand and her growing skepticism in the other, and all she can do is try to juggle them, or squeeze them together until they fuse. (p. 77)

(Discussing the scenery on the drive from Chicago to South Haven, Michigan) We pass a Wal-Mart, a Dairy Queen, a McDonald's. More cornfields. An orchard. U-Pick M Strawberries, Blueberries. In the summer this road is a long corridor of fruit, grain, and capitalism. (p. 167)

I loved the references to Michigan, I loved the Chicago scenery, I loved the love story and the time traveling and Clare's art and Henry's work in the library. I loved that Henry and Clare were finally able to have the child they so desperately wanted, little Alba. I absolutely loved this book.

What Remains - Carole Radziwill

"What Remains is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill. Carole grew up in a small suburb with a large, eccentric cast of characters. At nineteen, she struck out for New York City to find a different life. Her career at ABC News took her around the globe. Her marriage led her into the old world of European nobility and the newer world of American aristocracy.

What Remains begins will loss and returns to loss. A small plane plunges into the ocean, carrying John F. Kennedy Jr., Anthony's cousin, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carole's closest friend. Three weeks later, Anthony dies of cancer. With unflinching honesty and a journalist's keen eye, Carole Radziwill explores the enduring ties of family, the complexities of marriage, the importance of friendship and the challenges of self-invention. Beautifully written, What Remains "gets the essence of what matters," wrote Oprah Winfrey. "Friendship, compassion, destiny."

It is exactly what Oprah said: beautifully written. I love reading books like this where the writing flows and I'm hooked from the start. This is such a heartbreaking story that I find it awkward to admit that I loved the book. I laughed out loud, and I cried, two actions that show just how emotional this book was.

I love Carole's childhood with her family, all a bit "out there", and then her flee to NYC to make a life for herself. I was enthralled by her work with ABC News, and reading her story was like an inside peak at a news dynasty. Awesome!

It was also an amazing look into the Kennedy family, certainly the most known family in America, and one of my personal fascinations. I loved the story of John and Carolyn's secret wedding off the coast of Georgia. It sounded beautiful and low-key. Carole and her husband's friendships with John and Carolyn, of course were more than that as they were family, but were just easy. Even Carole said that. The four of them just fit together. Probably because you look for something normal to latch onto when you marry into a family who is constantly followed by paparazzi.

The cancer part of the story (and it's a big part) was certainly the most heartbreaking, as it was essentially a slow death for Anthony. Never one to seek attention, he fought the disease in private for most of its course. Carole became a self-proclamed expert on the topic of his cancer; she researched and researched and asked all kinds of questions. How incredible that Carole and Anthony found out about the cancer shortly into their relationship, and they were able to get 5 years out of it.

Carole faced a horrible reality the night that John and Carolyn died in the plane crash. The 4 of them had made plans to see each other the following night, spend some time together while they wait for Anthony's death. In three weeks, she lost her best friend and Anthony's cousin, and then her husband. Where does one turn following such tragedy?

I admire Carole's strength. And based on her acknowledgements at the end of the book, she had plenty of people to turn to and with whom to stay while she wrote the memoir.

I highly recommend this book. But you have been warned: it will make you cry.

True Colors - Kristin Hannah

From the inside flap:

The Grey sisters have always been close. After their mother's death, the girls banded together, becoming best friends. Their stern, disapproving father cares less about his children than about his reputation. To Henry Grey, appearances are everything, and years later, he still demands that his daughers reflect his standing in the community.

Winona, the oldest, needs her father's approval most of all. An overweight bookworm who never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that has been in her family for three generations, she knows that she doesn't have the qualities her father values. But as the best lawyer in town, she's determined to someday find a way to prove her worth to him.

Aurora, the middle sister, is the family peacemaker. She brokers every dispute and tries to keep them all happy, even as she hides her own secret pain.

Vivi Ann is the undisputed star of the family. A stunningly beautiful dreamer with a heart as big as the ocean in front of her house, she is adored by all who know her. Everything comes easily for Vivi Ann, until a stranger comes to town...

In a matter of moments, everything will change. The Grey sisters will be pitted against one another in ways that none could have imagined. Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both their family and their beloved town.

With breathtaking pace and penetrating emotional insight, True Colors is an unforgettable novel about sisters, rivalry, forgiveness, redemption - and ultimately, what it means to be a family.

I found the three sisters' relationship to sometimes mirror that of mine with my own sister. We are complete opposites, and everything about these 3 girls is different as well. It was easy to get hooked into the story, but I found it disappointing that it covered decades of story in one book, and sometimes with a lack of transition.

The fact that the Greys' father is all about appearances was a little off-putting. In a story such as this one, where you have a small town family who everyone knows, and a huge ranch that eventually keeps the town churning, it's sad that the family wouldn't be closer as a whole. Then again, they all did go their separate ways emotionally after their mother died.

When Vivi Ann begins dating Luke, not knowing that Winona is in love with him, the chain of events is set in motion. Winona, too proud to speak up, sits back in frustration as her sister ultimately breaks Luke's heart. Vivi Ann scars the family's name when she has an affair with a new Indian in town, and then marries him and has his child.

But when he is accused of, and later convicted of, a horrible crime, it's obvious to everyone in town that Vivi Ann will forever be the reason the family was torn apart, and the reason for all the town gossip.

But then, in yet another fast forward, all is almost forgotten until Vivi Ann's son announces his quest to meet his father. When some new evidence comes to light that could possibly prove his father innocent in the crime he was convicted of years earlier, Winona does the right thing, what she should have done years ago, and helps set him free.

And they live happily ever after.

A few things + more books in the news

I finished 3 books (an amazing feat for me) in the past week, so I have some posts to catch up on. Look for reviews coming on these books: True Colors by Kristin Hannah, Live First, Work Second by Rebecca Ryan, and What Remains, an amazing memoir by Carole Radziwill.

I found an interesting article the other day (I've been doing that a lot lately - thanks to Twitter) called "10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing." Some interesting findings:

• Bowker reports that 560,626 new books were published in the US in 2008. (Is it really a wonder all of our TBR piles are growing rapidly?!)
• The average book in America sells around 500 copies (Publisher's Weekly, July 17, 2006)
• A book has a less than 1% chance of being stocked in an average bookstore
• Most book marketing done today is accomplished by authors, not publishers (even that I didn't know)

Isn't it interesting to think what may happen in the book world in the future due to the digital age? It didn't take long for e-books and the Kindle to be born - what's next? What do you think? What do you predict for the future of books?

Sunday Salon - 8/2/09

Sunday Salon - August 2, 2009

I can't believe it's August 2nd already! Where has 2009 gone? Anyway, happy Sunday fellow Saloners. I'm using this post to wrap up July, so let's go!

I started July in Key Largo, my favorite place to relax. I brought along 2 books, and only read one, mostly because our days were packed with boating and water sports and eating. You know, things you should be doing in the Keys. I chose a horrible book, The Ruins by Scott Smith. Some of you who have read it may completely disagree with me, but hey, that's what readers do right? I am finding that the more I read "bestsellers" and in general, books that tons of other people tend to love, I loathe. Such is the case with this book. (You can read my full review here.) Make sure you tell me what you loved/hated about the book!

Next up I read House Rules by Rachel Sontag, an amazing memoir. I am always interested in reading about how other people grew up, and this book was certainly interesting. I felt so bad for Rachel's childhood and the (lack of a) relationship with her parents. Her father was verbally abusive, and time and time again her mother "tried" to leave but to no avail. Rachel eventually made it away from home, where she thrived. A great, quick read for those who love memoirs.

My most recent read was True Colors by Kristin Hannah. This was borrowed from a friend, and I had wanted to read it, but was a bit disappointed by this book as well. I haven't reviewed this yet, so look for it later this week.

A couple nights ago I started Live First, Work Second by Rebecca Ryan, a speaker and consultant who I met last year at a Young Professionals Summit. She's completed some great research and has so much insight into the minds of my generation. I will be attending my second YP summit this September, and I really look foward to hearing her speak again.

Hope July gave you some great reading. We are over halfway through 2009. Wow. I'm off to the beach, have a great day!