Monday, December 27, 2010

100 Books for 2010.....CHECK!

Two weeks ago I completed my goal of reading 100 books for 2010.  I happened to finish my last book at work "Breakfast at Tiffanys," by Truman Capote. I was tutoring on set for a new series for  The Family Channel called "What's Up Warthogs," and my two students, Ana Golja and Connor Price had been cheering me on for the seven weeks that I was with them as I quickly went from book 90 to 100.
I truly believe that reading has played a large role in getting me through the turbulence of 2010. I have learned so much through the books I have read and definitely feel stronger and wiser now.  Trust me, it's true that books make you smarter. In June I bought a journal and as I was reading my books, anytime a sentence or paragraph jumped out at me and made me have an "ah ha" moment, I recorded it. It's been very therapeutic and something I will continue to do as I read on. Below is a list of some of my favorite quotes and the books in which they are from:

1. "Time is the school in which we learn"- The Year of Magical Thinking
2. "To finishing big."- Still Alice
3. "Just as in life, the destination was less important than the journey"- Marley and Me
4. "There are years that ask questions and years that answer" Without Reservations
5. "Let tomorrow come tomorrow."- Without Reservations
6. "Time flies,  remember you must live."- Without Reservations
7. "I thought to myself that there were really so many simple ways we could make ourselves look less stupid."- A Complicated Kindness
8. "A half-read book is a half-finished love affair."- Cloud Atlas
9. "You always have the right to be an asshole- you just shouldn't use that right very often"- Sh** My Dad Says
10. "This is why we're here, to fight through the pain and, when possible, to relieve the pain of others."-Open
11. "No matter where you are in life, there is always more journey ahead."- Open
12. "I may not be old, but I'm too old to have this much nothing." -This is Where I leave You
13.  "You choose your level of achievement by choosing your level of expectations."- Age is Just a Number
14. "In my loneliness it comforts me to think that the world's doors, however closed, are never truly locked to me."- The History of Love
15. "Happiness sucks as a spectator sport."- That Old Cape Magic
16. "Only very stupid people are happy."- That Old Cape Magic
17. "A second on the lips, a century on the hips."- Thin is the New Happy
18. "Orthodox, conservative and reform. Or as my father used to say. Crazy, hazy, and lazy."-Camp Nurse.
19. "You only see what you know."-Camp Nurse
20. "If we don't change the direction, we will end up where we are going." 19 Minutes
21. "Maybe bad things happen because it's the only way we can remember what the good is supposed to look like."- 19 Minutes
22. "Something still exists as long as there is someone around to remember it." 19 Minutes
23. "That which you manifest is before you."-The Art of Racing in the Rain
24. "The crazy person talks. The wise person listens."-Zeitoun
25. "You make life out of what you have, not out of what you're missing."- Forgotten Garden
26. "There has to be a pony in this barn full of crap."-Prairie Tale: A Memoir
27. "To leave the world a little better than you found it, that's the best a man can ever do."-Timbukto
28. "It took death to make one feel momentarily alive, truly present, minute to minute."- Birds in Fall
29. "No one ever built a statue of a critic."- One Day
30. "I don't think people really understand the value of happiness until they know what it's like to be in that very, very dark place." -BedWetter


If you are interested in tracking your books, I highly recommend you sign up at www.goodreads.com
This has been so instrumental in helping me organize my books. If you do join please "friend" me on there. You can find me through my email address: blueeyes732@hotmail.com  You will also be able to see my complete book list.
Thanks for all your support and great book recommendations for 2010. Definitely looking forward to doing this again for 2011 and I hope you will also challenge yourself. As I've explained to people, my job and the fact that I have no kids of my own, allow me a lot of time to read, so if 100 books seems overwhelming to you, then try 20 or 50, or whatever is realistic for you to challenge yourselves.  I am still figuring out how to do this as a charity and welcome all suggestions. I'm thinking MS Read-A-thon style, but perhaps with a choose your own chairty factor. I'll get back to you on that one in the new year.  Until then....KEEP ON READING!

Love and Silver Linings

Andrea Dana

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