Mindfullness for Beginners, Jon Kaba-Zinn

I listened to the audio of this for the 2016 Reading Challenge "A Self Help Book"

I've always had a mild curiosity about the practice of meditation-since it seems to be recommended by philosophers as well as religious leaders.

Listening to this felt like he wasn't reading the text, but giving it in a way he would if I were attending a conference session about meditation. I feel like I understand the concepts better.

I am not good at meditating. There were some meditation exercises and I couldn't help but do something to keep my hands a little busy while listening to the exercise on some of them. I have a hard time setting aside time to do "nothing" even though it is "something".

One thing that HAS helped me a little is that I always have trouble falling asleep at night. Partly because I have a hard time clearing my mind. So I've been trying to use meditation to help me fall asleep faster and so far it's worked more often than not.

There was also enough humor to keep things going. Like the time when the section on focusing on breathing came up, he said that he was going to be "making the wild assumption that if you are listening to this exercise you are already breathing". I really laughed at that :-)

Definitely informative, insightful, and well put together. Narrated extremely well.

The War That Saved My Life, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Sometimes you feel like if you've read one WWII English Evacuee story you've read them all. But this one did not feel like that! Add Ada to this mix. A very special girl born with a clubbed foot tha was never addressed in her infancy. She can only crawl around. Her single mother (her father is dead) never allows her outside. Only her younger brother Jamie (I listened to this as an audio, so I'm not sure if it was spelled traditionally or not) is allowed outside or to go to school. Ada is kept in isolation. She was not supposed to be a refuge, but she loves her brother so much that when he is to be sent away, she decides to go with him.

Some parts of this book were really, really difficult to read. Ada's mother is so incredibly abusive. Both physically and emotionally. She has convinced Ada that she isn't worth anything. That she couldn't be loved. Yet, Ada still has enough self determination to make certain things happen for herself; like what she needed to do in order to evacuate with her brother.

Both children are so ragged that none of the volunteer families chose Ada and Jamie. So the lady in charge takes them to the home of a single lady, Susan, who is still grieving the loss of her best friend and roommate, Becky. She protests saying she's not good with children, that she didn't want children. But everyone must "do their part" so she tries her best. She discovers that these children don't know the simplest things-they've never seen a tablecloth, they've never had bed sheets or dressing gowns. They've never even tried many of the vegetables she has to offer them. She says she's not a nice person, but she IS kind. And Ada finds herself so confused by words she's never heard and doesn't know the meaning of. She wonders that Susan says she's not nice, but they never go to bed hungry and Susan doesn't hit them. In a time and age when child abuse and emotional trauma are not understood, Susan seems to intuit what Ada needs (and doesn't need), when to push and when to pull back, in order for Ada to be able to act like a child and even learn. The thing she tells Ada that takes Ada a while to fully believe is "Your brain is a long way from your foot". Ada has been told that she's stupid and shameful and not able to learn because of her clubbed foot. Susan breaks this notion insisting that her clubbed foot has nothing to do with her capacity to learn and develop academically.

This was a beautiful story of "who saved who"? Did Susan save Ada? Yes. Did Ada save Susan (from her grief and solitude and withdrawn ways)? Yes. We can save ourselves when we reach out to help one another.

Princess Academy, Shannon Hale

I listened to this on audio book because it was available on overdrive and it was on a list of books I had written down for my older daughter to read. I really enjoyed it-it was a Full Cast Audio, which means that every character (including the narrator) had their own voice over. There were also singing parts to it which were interesting.

Like "The Rent Collector" it is amazing to surmise what a bit of intelligence and education can do to improve the life of an entire community. Mt. Escol (I'm only guessing on spellings here) is a hard, mountain life. Most people work in the quarry and have developed a sort of non-verbal communication through contact with the Linder Rock. Miri is really small for her age and has never been allowed to work in the quarry. She feels this makes her useless, though she doesn't learn the true reason her father forbids it until late through the story. She lives with her father and sister. Her mother died shortly after her birth.

One day, a man comes to Mt. Escol and announces that the country's priests have divined that the future bride of the prince resides there. Because they are so far removed from the main territory of Danlund, they have sent a tutor (Olana) to train the girls in proper everything and it's called the Princess Academy and every elegible girl goes. Ages 11 or 12 up to younger than the prince, since he's not allowed to marry anyone older than he-even if it's only a few months.

At first things are horrible, and of course, Miri is a natural leader when it has nothing to do with quarry work, eventually she is able to use the things Olana is teaching in order to broker better conditions. When she learns about commerce and just how much Linder is worth-and compares that to her knowledge of what the traders have been SAYING it's worth, they are able to then improve their trade conditions, which in return improve conditions in the community all around.

The ending was.......interesting......there is a major plot twist (although I had suspected some things along the way). And the possible plot hole was filled in, but it still left me feeling a little off. I guess it's a series so we'll see how things go if I read more.

I would definitely recommend this to my daughter, it teaches diplomacy, quick thinking, how to get along, how to give people a chance, the value of studying hard, the pay offs of hard work, and all sorts of other good traits. It was very enjoyable and I think it is great for middle readers. Solid 4 stars.

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

This didn't fit into the 2016 Reading Challenge, but it DID fit in the Rory Gilmore reading challenge and it was short and on the bookshelf at the library when I happened to be there looking for something. So I grabbed it. All I could remember was that my friend Carolyn read it in high school for an honor's English book report. And she didn't like the ending.

It's interesting, all these books that are high school reads, but my high school self did not have enough life experience to fully understand, comprehend, or even begin to appreciate these things. In freshman honor's English, we had to read The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I hated the ending SO much I have never picked up another one of his books since then until now. NOW I can appreciate what he was trying to portray and have an ability to attempt to see a different point of view. I know I was limited in that capacity as a youth, even though I know I truly tried.

Anyhow, this book is interesting because it's told from the objective third person, which isn't common for a novel. It reads almost like a play, and I guess it was turned into a movie, though I haven't watched it. But because of this perspective, you never know what's going on inside of anyone's head. That's one reason it adapts so well to screen; because there are no thoughts to try to figure out how to show or things being left out because they are only thoughts. But it's also hard to draw conclusions because you can't tell for sure what's going on inside minds unless they're verbalized.

So the main characters, Lennie and George are together. Lennie is a really big guy and is mentally slow. George looks after him. You don't find out why they are always together for awhile, which was a bit curiosity for me. And it's interesting, because it was George realizing the depth of Lennie's capacity to understand and his own cruelty towards him before this epiphany that causes him to decide he will take care of Lennie and make sure he's all right. But then something happens and George can no longer do that. In that time (Great Depression era), mental illness was handled in a much different way and many times people who were institutionalized were not treated well. And also, the man who wanted revenge on Lennie was really bent on torture. Something Lennie would have no understanding of. He knew he had done something bad, but he had no comprehension REALLY about what had happened and he wouldn't have connected his actions with cruel punishment. So in that sense I can understand George's ultimate choice. But I still wish there had been a better way.

I tried to find more explanation for this book online, and didn't come up with a whole lot. The purpose was just to show the hard times and the injustice of some people's lives. There wasn't anything about Steinbeck protesting the treatment of mentally ill people, but it could certainly be perceived as that as well.

I gave it 3 stars, but truthfully, I give it a solid 3.5. I just didn't enjoy it enough to bump it up to 4.

Drawing the Ocean, Carolyn McCullough

This was for the 2016 Reading Challenge A Book with a Blue Cover.

Honestly, I just roamed the YA novel section looking for a short blue covered book that looked interesting.

I give this book 2.5 stars. It just felt so stagnate. It was enjoyable, I had no trouble being motivated to read more. There was a little more swearing that I like. There was a nonchalance about drug use (recreational) that I didn't appreciate. The main character was likeable enough and she makes some critical right decisions towards the end, but I just felt like it was just following this girl around.

Her twin brother died, you don't know how at the beginning, which helps with the intrigue a little. She's moved across the country, her parents are a little quirky (and a little clueless). She meets kids from her new school who run in different crowds at different times and then has to decide where she wants to fit in. The one gem of wisdom I got from this book was something Sadie's mom told her about her new boyfriend "Just make sure you like who you are when you're with him." And I think that can be true for any relationship or friendship, you really should like who you are when you're with people, otherwise maybe you shouldn't be around them to begin with.

Still Life, Inspector Gamache #1, Loise Penny

This was for the 2016 Challenge "Murder Mystery". One of my FB friends recommended it (said the community reminded her of Stars Hallow and I was hooked).

Lucky for me it was also available right away on Overdrive for my kindle.

I really enjoyed this! It's been awhile since I read it, so it's not fresh in my mind anymore, but I remember being quite impressed with Inspector Gamache and his intuition and observation skills. I also found some incredibly profound thoughts about life through some of the other characters. For instance, the idea that "life is loss" and once we accept that, loss doesn't debilitate us as much. I highlighted a ton of stuff, but since my kindle updated I haven't figured out where all of my "clips" are....

Anyhow, one of the only TV shows I've gotten into since Gilmore Girls is Castle and it just ended last spring. Castle is a murder mystery writer who ends up finding his muse in one of NYPD's finest female homicide detectives after being brought on to consult on a case with a copycat murder from one of his books and since it gives the PD really good PR, Castle is granted permission to tag along indefinitely. So pretty much every episode is a murder that needs to be solved. We got better at figuring out how to pin the guilty one day as the seasons progressed. But I always loved how they planted seeds of doubt about nearly everyone involved. This was the case with Still Life. I had hunches, many of them, but Penny keeps you guessing by giving you only just enough information until the big reveal. And I loved having that process again. Sometimes I get worried with murder mysteries because they can get gruesome, but this book didn't get gory or anything. It was perfect comfort level, which characters you care about outside of their role in the story line.

The one girl...what was her name...the greenie helper detective, her last name was Nichole...anyway she was the WORST. I don't think you can get a person more dense than her. There are more books with Inspector Gamache, and while they don't need to be read in order, each one can be a stand alone book, I understand there is a character development arc that would be noticed if you read them in order. So I wonder what will happen with this particular character. I can't believe that Penny would introduce someone so antagonistic in the first book and then abandon her all together, especially when she went through all the trouble to give her backstory and tidbits of information even the character doesn't know.

The one thing that was a little confusing is that sometimes characters (detective primarily) would be referred to their last name, but in other instances referred to by their first names, so sometimes I got confused about who was who because I hadn't linked first and last names together very solidly.

I gave this one 4 solid stars.

Sisi, Empress on Her Own, Allison Pataki

I won this book on a Goodreads Giveaway! I don't usually win on drawings, but it's never stopped me from trying and entering and I finally won! Anyhow here is my review: 4.5 stars (Goodreads, we NEED half stars!!) Reviews on Goodreads Giveaway's are encouraged but not required.

First off, while I don't have a personal knowledge of historical accounts of Sisi prior to reading the first novel about her, I've read a lot of criticism about how people are not a fan of Sisi (the person) or how incredibly selfish she was. HOWEVER, I feel that it is incredibly important that we not judge people of the past by today's standards. By today's standards, yes, she was selfish. But when you take into account the world in which she lived-not just the time period, but the constraints of tradition-you may take a different view. How would YOU feel if your children were snatch from you at birth, not being allowed to name them, feed them, or do anything of the sort to bond with them? What if YOU had a person who was hell bent on making sure you didn't ruin those children and as a result, you never got to be a part of their lives? What kind of crazy and/or 'selfish' things would that push you to do? What if you found out that your husband had several trysts with who knows how many women and that it had all been arranged for him because it was expected, accepted, and he was ENTITLED to those things and there was NOTHING you could do to stop it and you were forbidden to mention it and it was implied that you ought to accept it too? This is the kind of stuff that pushed Sisi over the edge and I can hardly blame her.

So I think the key to appreciating this story is to keep your perception in context of the time period and expectations she was held to.

I think I liked this one even better than the first. I think that Sisi's character took on much more depth and a better perception of the world in which she had to live. I feel that Sisi really mellowed out in this account. As she accepted certain things as just "what is" and found ways in which she could cope in her own way. Right or wrong, she did remarkably well reining in her mental struggles-I doubt anyone in Society would have pegged her with a depressive disorder prior to her son's death, whereas others in her family were openly criticized for their mental shortcomings (Rudolf, Ludwig, her father).

This book swirls with emotion; but not that of an adolescent bride forced into a world of protocol and restraints that she does not believe in (and that doesn't believe in her), like the first one this emotion is far more deep. There is deep depression among several. In a world that viewed such conditions as a weakness or selfish choice, depression was rampant in Vienna, nicknamed at one point as the suicide capital of the world. I'm SO glad I live in an age where it is more understood.

The more I read about the imperial family and their relatives, the more it seems like they have their own version of the "Kennedy Curse" or "Romanov Curse"so much tragic death in such a relatively short time. The things that Franz Joseph saw come to pass during his lifetime and how with his life's end came the end of an era of monarchal rule. The whole world shifted away from monarchy's by WWI, and there are few left alive who could remember the days when those in charge ruled by "divine right". How people would balk at such an idea today!

Sisi was a deeply disturbed individual and lacked any of the tools we have in modern society to combat things that plagued her. The inability she had to rear her older children, and no way to reconcile those relationships, her insistence that she not interfere with Rudolf and Stephanie's relationship-but to a fault because such personal matters were not to be discussed, even when it might be to someone's benefit to have the information! How would Rudolf be able to cope with his apparent bi-polar disorder if he knew that his mother suffered from a similar malady? Could Sisi have proven to be a wonderful mother-in-law to Stephanie if she had injected just a friendly conversation here and there instead of the hands off approach. How could things be different if Sisi understood her feelings of restlessness and need to escape had a deeper meaning that maybe she could confront? What if the times were different and she could actually discuss with her husband how his actions made her FEEL and that could have maybe repaired things? Her cousin Ludwig suffered from some degree of mania; though more recent research leads us to believe he was less afflicted than reports wanted you to believe. Rudolf had problems that were exacerbated by the fact that his tutor abused him.

I liked the treatment of Sisi and her supposed affairs. Nothing confirms that she was ever unfaithful physically to her husband. Though, I suppose an emotional affair with Andrassy and/or Bay are definitely plausible, in that time, an emotional affair wasn't anything worth dissolving a marriage over. I like that Pataki kept her physically loyal to her place as wife to Franz Joseph, even if they were never again intimate with each other after the conception of Valerie.

Franz Joseph's motto, from his mother, was "I do not change". And in some ways that served him well, but in others, most certainly served to help ultimately end the era of monarchy.

SO much to think about! I really would like to learn more about Sisi. I feel that in cases like that, that it is a lesson in not judging too harshly. Especially those who seem to "have it all" when we lack. I always have very little sympathy for celebrities or other high profile individuals, because I feel those people sought that life out; they chose that path, they live with the consequences. But in Sisi's case, she only became Empress because of who she was born to. Otherwise, she never would have been an option. So I try not to judge the second generation, people born into a certain situation who really didn't ask to be there. And I try not to judge the others too harshly, because, maybe they DID seek it, but maybe, like Sisi, they didn't truly know what they were getting themselves into.

Comparing Sisi's endeavor's and travels, etc, to that of current political leaders, I can most certainly say I would have been among her critics. Why should she get to spend millions on things and travel when there are citizens in need of anything? From the outside, I 100% get the political criticism she got. I don't approve of the gossip that was unfairly heaped upon her. I rarely give the gossip of political leaders a glance. Given the circumstances of her time, I sympathize with Sisi because she had no other way to cope and "keep up face". But in today's world, there is no excuse to hide depression in spending, and travelling to outrun anything. Although, I don't suspect that to be the reason for any current political figure's personal spending habits in the last 2 decades.

But I think what I loved most was the evident love-so deep and true-that Franz and Sisi had for each other. It was not the infatuation of their youth, and they did not share a physical relationship (as stated earlier), but as the years wore on, they did feel affection towards one another, admiration, respect, and something that is deep, beyond your basic romance. It's good to be reminded that love has many faces, and even though they had their differences, they did love each other. Franz' infidelity was probably not malicious-it was what was done, it was his right, his privilege as Emperor to have certain....pleasures....made available to him, and it probably never crossed his mind that it was truly wrong or that he might offend Sisi. Sisi had probably not been warned past the fact that Franz would not come to their wedding bed a virgin and she should not expect it, because such things were a certain way. Had Franz and Sisi been born a generation later, the idea that a man is entitled to numerous affairs would be less accepted or expected. But I don't blame Sisi for closing off that part of the relationship-she had already been made extremely ill from a sexually transmitted disease. I wouldn't want to chance any more of that-not to mention the emotional issues!

Anyhow, there is so much to this book and to Sisi and her life, it's so complex, and no one will ever REALLY know everything that happened and the inner thoughts of anyone-beyond what they wrote in their journals. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I also loved reading about all the factual accounts that were part of the novel-I'm the kind of person who wouldn't have minded a chapter note with every chapter detailing exactly which parts were fact :-)