Book Thread: What are you reading?
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I ran across "What Remains" by Carole Radziwill on my audio last night & added it to my list. I've read it before & it was heartbreaking & touching. She narrates the audio herself so I'm betting it's even more poignant in this version.
"Drunk Mom" is better than I expected, very raw. It's the author's story of relapse following 3.5 years of sobriety (using AA) - her relapse began with a sip of champagne, toasting the birth of her son & just spirals from there so it's a unique perspective to read.
"Drunk Mom" is better than I expected, very raw. It's the author's story of relapse following 3.5 years of sobriety (using AA) - her relapse began with a sip of champagne, toasting the birth of her son & just spirals from there so it's a unique perspective to read.
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I had to resurrect this thread. I found a great book at the library. Got it yesterday and I'm almost 1/2 way through.
It's called A List of Things That Didn't Kill Me by Jason Schmidt. It's a memoir about growing up with his hippie father in the 70's/80's amid the AIDS crisis.
I was looking for The Rosie Project but stumbled on this instead.
It's called A List of Things That Didn't Kill Me by Jason Schmidt. It's a memoir about growing up with his hippie father in the 70's/80's amid the AIDS crisis.
I was looking for The Rosie Project but stumbled on this instead.
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The Harry Potter series is so special to me, I adore it. I've read them 3x, and I always wait a couple of years in between because I read the entire series in a row, just completely immersing myself in it. DD is on Book #4 right now, she's been stretching them out for A/R reading at school but she's so wrapped up in them I can't see her taking a break in between books at this point.
I am in the middle of F#ck Feelings, by Michael Bennett. He's a Dr of Psychiatry with 30+ years experience and his daughter, Sarah Bennett is a comedy write so she helped him with the book. It's an amazingly straight-forward approach. I've laughed out loud at his gritty way of breaking everything down to a simple, base level. He uses a lot of profanity (as you can guess from the title) so it's not for the faint of heart. (He proposes that the REAL 4-letter words are "Fair" & "Fine".) His attitude seems to be that yes, bad things happen & yes, you are right to be hurt but at some point stop examining the reasons & just get on with getting over it. I'm not far enough into it to be anything other than intrigued, so I'll try to remember to update when I finish it. Here's a link to his info the manifesto is hilarious!
F*ck feelings: our m*nifesto - f*ck feelings | f*ck feelings
I am in the middle of F#ck Feelings, by Michael Bennett. He's a Dr of Psychiatry with 30+ years experience and his daughter, Sarah Bennett is a comedy write so she helped him with the book. It's an amazingly straight-forward approach. I've laughed out loud at his gritty way of breaking everything down to a simple, base level. He uses a lot of profanity (as you can guess from the title) so it's not for the faint of heart. (He proposes that the REAL 4-letter words are "Fair" & "Fine".) His attitude seems to be that yes, bad things happen & yes, you are right to be hurt but at some point stop examining the reasons & just get on with getting over it. I'm not far enough into it to be anything other than intrigued, so I'll try to remember to update when I finish it. Here's a link to his info the manifesto is hilarious!
F*ck feelings: our m*nifesto - f*ck feelings | f*ck feelings
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I have a giant stack of partially started books that I'm unlikely to ever finish reading. However most of them are about parenting a child with sensory processing disorder & ADHD.
Actual books I'm reading are:
36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe by Taschen - This book gives me some serious travel lust.
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume - Love this book so far. Actually, I should probably close my dang laptop and pick up this book and read some more.
The One and Only by Emily Giffin - I've read all of Emily Giffin's books and LOVED them, this one however is different and I can't really get into it but I keep reading because I'm waiting to be hooked by her characters...but I'm not yet.
Edited to add: Now I really want to read F*ck Feelings and Drunk Mom!
Actual books I'm reading are:
36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe by Taschen - This book gives me some serious travel lust.
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume - Love this book so far. Actually, I should probably close my dang laptop and pick up this book and read some more.
The One and Only by Emily Giffin - I've read all of Emily Giffin's books and LOVED them, this one however is different and I can't really get into it but I keep reading because I'm waiting to be hooked by her characters...but I'm not yet.
Edited to add: Now I really want to read F*ck Feelings and Drunk Mom!
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Im listing to Reinvention: How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life by Brian Tracy on Audible. Its uncomfortable and hard business figuring out oneself after years of codpendency!! I think I may reread Codependent No More too as a refresher.
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I just finished "What I Know Now", a book suggested by FireSprite, in which a number of women write letters to their younger selves, telling themselves what they have learned now and wish that they knew then. The whole thing was good, but the part that resonated most deeply w/me was Olympia Dukakis' portion. Here is some of what she had to say to her younger self:
You need to learn how to celebrate, not just to suffer. It sounds impossible, doesn't it? How, in the midst of all this turmoil, can you possibly find a way to feel good about what's happening?
One way is to realize that being strong doesn't require that you deny yourself pleasures. You don't have to "earn" them by toiling harder than every other workhorse...
What could also ease your stress is a different way of thinking about how we travel thru the world. There's no ladder to success. The rhythm of life runs in cycles. There are times in the darkness and times in the light. The energy of life is like the rain forest in Borneo. Things live, grow, die, fall to the forest floor, rot, and then they are born again...
You must embrace these changes. As difficult as they are, they will pass. But you mustn't bury or deny the darkness. You gotta live thru it; you can't cheat.
She closes the letter to her younger self with "Endure and have faith."
This is so what I've needed to hear and to bear in mind and heart this last week or so, as summer begins to turn to autumn, a time that always makes me a little sad and lonesome anyway.
Thanks for the suggestion, FS! And thanks, Olympia. I am going to do my best to "endure and have faith."
You need to learn how to celebrate, not just to suffer. It sounds impossible, doesn't it? How, in the midst of all this turmoil, can you possibly find a way to feel good about what's happening?
One way is to realize that being strong doesn't require that you deny yourself pleasures. You don't have to "earn" them by toiling harder than every other workhorse...
What could also ease your stress is a different way of thinking about how we travel thru the world. There's no ladder to success. The rhythm of life runs in cycles. There are times in the darkness and times in the light. The energy of life is like the rain forest in Borneo. Things live, grow, die, fall to the forest floor, rot, and then they are born again...
You must embrace these changes. As difficult as they are, they will pass. But you mustn't bury or deny the darkness. You gotta live thru it; you can't cheat.
She closes the letter to her younger self with "Endure and have faith."
This is so what I've needed to hear and to bear in mind and heart this last week or so, as summer begins to turn to autumn, a time that always makes me a little sad and lonesome anyway.
Thanks for the suggestion, FS! And thanks, Olympia. I am going to do my best to "endure and have faith."
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That was one of my favorite parts too, honeypig. It was inspiring to read these women's fears & regrets; in so many examples they were a huge testimony to the idea that we can choose to be a survivor or a victim a lot of the time in life.
I got a couple of hours into F#ck Feelings & decided to go back & start over because I hadn't bookmarked anything. While it's not a book written about addictions he does address it, but it's more about changing your overall approach to life.
I have to say though, his may be the best explanation that I've ever read about why moderation fails (even though he doesn't present it as an official theory of moderation, just a general statement):
"The reason 12-step programs urge people to accept the uncontrollable nature of addictions is not because they're NEVER controllable, but because given human weakness, they're never FULLY controllable. There is always something than can, at least temporarily, overwhelm human control & cause us to do things we'll regret. And believing otherwise only makes us more foolishly vulnerable to that possibility & more self-critical when it occurs. Life sucks. Our control sucks. But it's not personal."
I got a couple of hours into F#ck Feelings & decided to go back & start over because I hadn't bookmarked anything. While it's not a book written about addictions he does address it, but it's more about changing your overall approach to life.
I have to say though, his may be the best explanation that I've ever read about why moderation fails (even though he doesn't present it as an official theory of moderation, just a general statement):
"The reason 12-step programs urge people to accept the uncontrollable nature of addictions is not because they're NEVER controllable, but because given human weakness, they're never FULLY controllable. There is always something than can, at least temporarily, overwhelm human control & cause us to do things we'll regret. And believing otherwise only makes us more foolishly vulnerable to that possibility & more self-critical when it occurs. Life sucks. Our control sucks. But it's not personal."
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Got to bring this back up.
Finished Before I Go To Sleep just last week. It was really good (IMO).
Just started Dead Wake. I love this style of history writing. I am really enjoying it.
Originally Posted by LucyGoosey 
I just picked up Before I Go To Sleep at the library. It's about a woman who loses her memories every she sleeps. It's supposed to be a thriller. It's good so far.
Originally Posted by guava
This one is on my To Read list too!
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Had to tell you in all honesty I purchased and read some smut last night. In addition to my usual reading I totally tuned out the world and sat on the back porch and read a celebrity gossip magazine. Why? Dunno. Just my thing, I guess! It allows me to tune out. Anyway, that was my latest read 
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i recently listened to "You" on audiobooks....while a difficult book to straight out recommend, as in OMG you HAVE to read this book, it really is exceptional, deep and scary. Written in the second tense from the perspective of a psychopathic stalker as a long monologue/diary to the object of his desire.
While Joe is completely unbalanced (to say the least!) I couldn't help but like the guy....which was pretty unsettling! The narrator absolutely MADE this book, for me, Santonio Fontana.
final caveat - lots of graphic sex language....
While Joe is completely unbalanced (to say the least!) I couldn't help but like the guy....which was pretty unsettling! The narrator absolutely MADE this book, for me, Santonio Fontana.
final caveat - lots of graphic sex language....
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Interesting additions - psychos & smut; I love it. They both definitely have a place on this list!
I'm halfway through both F Feelings and The Gifts of Imperfection and I got an alert from the library the Brene's newest book, Rising Strong, (I think?) had arrived for me. (I've been on the hold list for a while.)
I don't know which way to turn, lol! I can't wait to read the newest book but it's going to have to wait a few days. The irony is that I have a VERY busy few days coming up & may not have as much time to read so, woohoo for audio!
They both definitely have a place on this list!I'm halfway through both F Feelings and The Gifts of Imperfection and I got an alert from the library the Brene's newest book, Rising Strong, (I think?) had arrived for me. (I've been on the hold list for a while.)
I don't know which way to turn, lol! I can't wait to read the newest book but it's going to have to wait a few days. The irony is that I have a VERY busy few days coming up & may not have as much time to read so, woohoo for audio!
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Well, "F" Feelings kinda lost me & I opted to not finish the book. (Another recovery tool - it's OK to not finish a book that I start!)
I have now gone through a lot of Brene Brown's older work - The Gifts of Imperfection, The Power of Vulnerability, Daring Greatly, I Thought It Was Just Me (But it isn't!), The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting.
Life changing for me, folks, a true game changer.
I started the newest book, Rising Strong, this week & I can't recommend it enough. It speaks MY kind of recovery talk/work. It's all about taking what we've learned & putting it into action. IDK if it would have the same impact without getting acquainted with her theories via the preceding books, but I can't see anyone ~especially a Codie in recovery~ reading this & NOT gaining something from it. A lot of what I appreciate about her work is that she is not afraid to use her own life as an example to illustrate her points & I can relate to a personal story so much more easily than a vague theory.
I have now gone through a lot of Brene Brown's older work - The Gifts of Imperfection, The Power of Vulnerability, Daring Greatly, I Thought It Was Just Me (But it isn't!), The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting.
Life changing for me, folks, a true game changer.
I started the newest book, Rising Strong, this week & I can't recommend it enough. It speaks MY kind of recovery talk/work. It's all about taking what we've learned & putting it into action. IDK if it would have the same impact without getting acquainted with her theories via the preceding books, but I can't see anyone ~especially a Codie in recovery~ reading this & NOT gaining something from it. A lot of what I appreciate about her work is that she is not afraid to use her own life as an example to illustrate her points & I can relate to a personal story so much more easily than a vague theory.
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