books
The Bubble Planner & Giveaway
March 15th, 2009 • books, giveaway, reviews • No comments
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Using the Bubble Planner is a simple two-step process. First, write down everything that is on your mind. If any of the items are connected, draw lines between the bubbles to reinforce the connections. Second, use another to page to break down the items from step one. Start with the first item and identify the “Next Physical Action” you need to take to complete the task. Do this for each item until you have a full page. Whichever item feels the most important, start working on it. When you have completed that item either cross it out or highlight it.
Here’s an example (See Diagram). I have to send out a Swap-bot package to a random person expecting fabric from a (you guessed it) swap. In order to accomplish this, I need to pick up the fabric from my store, buy a mailer, and go to the post office. While I’m at my store I might as well pic up my laptop and the dress I just finished for my little cousin. You connect the bubbles of related actions and you get the idea.
This is the Bubble Map theory. Some people do great with bubble maps because they’re supposed to:
- Improve Communication with the Brain.
- Engage Memory.
- Convert Energy into Action.
- Offload Mental Processes.
- Create Focus and Concentration.
- Spark Creativity.
- Establish Boundaries.
- Support Visual-Spatial Learners.
You can read full descriptions of this list at the Bubble Planner site.
The back of the page is a space for you to create a list – ie grocery shopping. That’s cool, except I have like 5 shopping list booklets around, with an awesome one that I actually use for that purpose. The others end up being notes to the babysitter.
Unfortunately, I’m not into the bubble map system, being more of a linear person myself. My favorite feature of this system was the ability to move pages around, as easily as you would refile a Rolodex card. One gentle tug, and the notches release from the rings. To add more paper or replace a page, just press the notches around the rings.
What I’m going to do is create my own planner pages. I think this is a trend starting in my life. I need something pretty linear with the dates and times already written out, my cleaning routine pre-populated (including daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonally specifics), my daily water intake, exercise goals, and maybe a food log. I could also add in a section to chart the baby’s routine, but I’m pretty good at remembering that stuff.
The Dragons Slayers Sword by Resa Nelson
March 5th, 2009 • books, reviews • No comments
This book starts out with the reader wondering what type of monster Astrid could be, and ends with an understanding that things are never what they seem.
Typically in this genre, there’s a hero, a damsel in distress, and? a villain. Plots are never unique and the reader can see the twists a mile away. Not so in this novel. Resa Nelson does a great job of keeping the reader in suspense and leading in one direction just to take a sharp turn of events later.
A strong heroine is another great feature of this book. Astrid seizes hold of her destiny and takes control. She goes from a frightened child to being comfortable in her own skin. Astrid doesn’t let hardships effect her inner self, rather finds strength within.
I’d recommend this book to everyone. It’s a coming of age story that transcends time and locale. A story of inner strength, love, overcoming obstacles, and becoming who you’re meant to be. All this with a happy ending to boot!
You can purchase The Dragons Slayers Sword by Resa Nelson here. To read more about the author, visit her personal site.
Product Description:
For Astrid, a blacksmith who makes swords for dragonslayers, the emergence of a strange gemstone from her body sets in motion a chain of events that threaten to destroy her life. Her happiness is shattered when her lover–the dragonslayer–disappears without a trace, and the life that she knows and loves implodes without warning.
Astrid lives in a world of shapeshifters whose thoughts have the power to change not only themselves but others. Everything Astrid knows to be true is called into question when she learns the truth about her past and the mysterious family from which she was separated as a child.
Reality turns inside out as Astrid gradually learns the truth about the people she loves as well as those she disdains. With the fate of dragons, ghosts, and slaves in foreign lands resting on her shoulders, Astrid faces the challenge of deciding who she is and how she will stand up inside her own skin. Will she withdraw and hide from the world that has disappointed her so much…or will she rise to lead others to freedom and peace?
I am smarter than a fifth grader!
February 3rd, 2009 • books, reviews • No comments
The day after receiving this book, I saw Robin on the Today show and it really motivated me to read the book. Her appearance on that show made it seem like the book would have a lot of new information that I hadn’t heard of before. Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve heard all the advice in this book already. I’m in my twenties, and figured this would give me a head start on aging gracefully. Wrong. It’s all about herself and her journey – which would be great if her life was unique. She had a kid and gained some weight. She dieted and exercised to lose that weight. duh!
What really irks me is that she talks down to the reader in the whole book. For example, she says that she takes supplements to combat osteoporosis, and then goes on to define the disease for you. If you’re over 40 (the target audience) and haven’t heard the word osteoporosis, change doctors, buy a computer, get out of the house, and do something different.
Overall, I wouldn?t recommend this book to anyone, though I did pass it on in a chick lit book swap. If you don?t know about age afflicted diseases, taking care of yourself, eating healthy, and managing your life than maybe this book is for you.
House of Dark Shadows
December 8th, 2008 • books, reviews • No comments
Review:
House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
After reading the first paragraph, I could tell that this book is well written and attention grabbing. I loved that it is filled with modern references to movies, songs, books, and people ? a la Gilmore Girls (just more nerdy). I also liked the strong sense of family unity, genuine love, and mutual respect. I find this lacking in most modern entertainment sources ? television, movies, and literature.
Some negative points include the fact that the entire book takes place in the span of a few days. That was too surreal because it felt like the events should have spanned weeks or months. I also correctly predicted the plot twist at the end, which was too typical of this genre. Even though it was a little annoying that I predicted the plot twist, it did not take away from me liking the book in the end.
Upon reading the ending, I still wished I had book two within reach. Knowing there?s more books coming, I don?t expect a resolution of the King family problems in book two either. All in all, the author is a great storyteller with a vivid imagination that truly draws the reader into the story and I can?t wait to read the sequel.
Product Description:
Dream house . . . or bad dream?
When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films . . . but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.
But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into–as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.
They soon discover there’s something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.
Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places–in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen’s dream come true . . . or his worst nightmare.
How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls
October 22nd, 2008 • books, reviews • 2 comments
How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls
By Zoey Dean
I picked this out on recommendation from a good friend of mine, and I think we have very different ideas of what a good book entails. I’m not a fan of the chick lit genre, preferring the classics myself.
Product Description: Recent Yale graduate Megan Smith comes to Manhattan with big plans for a career in journalism and even bigger student loan debt: $75,000. When she flails at her trashy tabloid job, she’s given an escape hatch: tutor seventeen-year-old identical twins Rose and Sage Baker–yes, the infamous Baker heiresses of Palm Beach, Florida, best known for their massive fortunes and their penchant for drunkenly flashing the paparazzi — and get their SAT scores up enough to get into Duke. Impossible job — yes. But if she succeeds, her student debts are history. Unfortunately for Megan, the Baker twins aren’t about to curtail their busy social schedules for basic algebra. And they certainly aren’t thrilled to have to sit down for a study session with dowdy Megan. Megan quickly discovers that if she’s going to get her money, she’ll have to learn her Pucci from her Prada. And if she can look the part, maybe, just maybe, she can teach the girls something along the way.
My thoughts: This book is pure chick-lit: a smart, sassy heroine in a lighter-than-air plot that makes for a fun, quick read.
