What I'm Reading

Hurricane Irene gave me the downtime to read another book, and I went back to the setting of Nantucket with Belonging by Nancy Thayer. I am seeing a pattern with my Nantucket reads! What I love about books like these is that they let me visualize some of the things I wish I had in my life - a dynamic and successful career, the financial freedom to buy my own home (a second home on Nantucket would be great, too) . . . just the ability to create the life you dream about. I think that's why I am so drawn to this setting - it spurs life fantasies!

Do you have a favorite setting for books you read? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,

bex

What I'm Reading

My storm watch also gave me the chance to dip back into the backlist of one of my favorite authors, Elin Hilderbrand. I had The Blue Bistro in my to-be-read sights, but it wasn't until I saw the recently released mass market paperback edition in my local grocery store that I picked it up and put it on top of my pile.

This was another perfect choice for my power outage. I couldn't wait to read through it. Another transport to Nantucket. Another reminder of summer. In these fleeting days of the season, it was a balm for my heart. I think The Blue Bistro is my new favorite book of hers. I just loved it.

Who are your favorite go-to writers? Isn't it the best when you find a book of theirs that tops what you've read before?

xoxo,

bex

What I'm Reading

This past weekend I kicked it old school, reading by candlelight. Well, not exactly candlelight . . . the northeast got hit by Hurricane Irene and I lost power for 36 hours (I consider myself lucky I got my power back so soon!). That first day without power was pretty peaceful and relaxing and as day turned into night, I switched on my flashlight and read into the wee hours.

I read a few books during that time, partly because one of those books -- Vanished -- was written by one of my favorite thriller writers, Joseph Finder and I rushed to read through it. One of the things I love about his writing is the incredibly fast pace of his books. It is a rare gift to be able to tell such a quick, riveting story and when I read him I hope to learn a little bit more of that part of the trade. This particular book was not as fast paced as some of his earlier work, but it was a compelling read with a layered plot -- lots of unexpected twists and turns, which made it hard to pull my nose out of the book. I was so happy I stopped by the library to get it for my storm watch!

Who are some of your favorite thriller writers? Inquiring minds want to know!

xoxo,

bex

Friday Check-In

The last few Fridays have been busy yet unproductive, so not only have I not had much time to post but I haven't had much to say! This week we prepare for our first 2011 hurricane as she comes barreling up the east coast. She sounds like a doozy, folks are frantically stocking up and clearing the decks, hoping we will weather the crazy weekend as best as we can. After having experienced a rather unexpected earthquake in this part of the country this week as well, things have been a little unsettling to say the least!

With this forced hibernation coming for the weekend, it's a great time to stock up on books and writing supplies. In the event we lose power, I need to have sufficient distractions and may have to trade in my trusty laptop in order to write longhand. It's been a while since I've written that way, and it may be a good experiment to get back to my roots and commune with the writing the way I grew up doing it.

Stay safe out there everyone!

xoxo,

bex

What I'm Reading

After having spent some time at Harvard as both a graduate student and an employee, I fell in love with the place and so many of its people, and list it as one of my favorite places on Earth. My experience as a grad student though would be very different from that of a Harvard undergraduate student, so when I stumbled across Ross Gregory Douthat's book, Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class, I was eager to read about the perspectives of someone who got to see and experience Harvard through those four, formative undergrad years.

It's a very different experience than the one I had -- either as a grad student at Harvard or as an undergrad at my state university. Reading the book was like getting glimpses into the natural habitats of some very rare species. Interesting, unusual, and sometimes pretty foreign but nonetheless fascinating and informative.

For anyone interested in looking behind the curtain of the Ivy League, I recommend it!

xoxo,

bex

What I'm Reading

Deb Caletti has become one of my go-to YA authors and I am excited to have had the chance to explore her backlist this summer. My most recent foray into her past titles was for The Secret Life of Prince Charming. What I liked about it was the stories, good and bad, about love experiences from all ages of the women in this book. What good love should be like. Warning signs for bad love. How incredibly lucky you are when you find decent, happy, and healthy love.

For anyone who has ever had a broken heart, you will see some familiar things in the pages of this book.

Happy ending included.

xoxo,

bex

What I'm Reading

I am slightly obsessed with entrepreneurs. I have a number of friends who have gone this route, who have made millions and lost millions, if not more. They inspire me in more ways than I can account and my hope is to someday go as boldly as they have done; to leverage fearless creativity with entrepreneurial courage and solve problems, create something important, and live my version of the dream.

When I heard that the founder of CD Baby, Derek Sivers, wrote a book about his experience in creating this indie music super site, I couldn't wait to read it. Anything You Want is a short but awesome read for anyone interested in entrepreneurial pursuits or just following your interests doing something you love.

And another cool thing, he is offering over 200 free MP3s from his favorite musicians to anyone who purchases the book. There is a secret code located on the book itself, but I won't divulge the secret here. You're just going to have to go out and get a copy for yourself! A great story, a helpful business lesson, and free music?! It's a bargain!

xoxo,

bex

P.S. - Derek Sivers is not one of my entrepreneur friends, but it would be really cool if he was.

What I'm Reading

I am just back from vacation where I had the chance to do a little (a very little) writing as well as catch up on some reading. I found a book in the remainder bin at my local grocery store and the premise really appealed to me. I thought it would make for some fun reading while away:

"Realizing she needed to do serious work on her junk food/junk sex–littered lifestyle, Alter, a recently divorced thirty-seven-year old freelance writer, decided to spend each month of the coming year following the advice of a major women's magazine without question. She picked nine titles focusing on a how-to ethos more or less aligned with her own demographic:Elle, Marie Claire, O, Allure, Self, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, InStyle and Real Simple. Each month she'd work on a particular damage zone—diet, social fears, clothes, relationship snafus, cooking, sex, etc.—and follow the advice of her chosen magazine as earnestly as possible. Meanwhile, she'd also begun dating a new guy, which brought up relationship challenges her magazine mentors loved to address—spicing up the sex, learning to cook instead of eating out and deciding if his birthday present meant a marriage proposal was imminent. While she ends up feeling positive about the self-improvement her magazine experiment has brought, she knows if she hadn't been ready and willing to change, all the advice in the world wouldn't have helped."

Up for Renewal by Cathy Alter was a pretty personal, honest telling of a woman at a destructive crossroads in her life who turns to the advice in magazines to help her turn her life around. The book chronicles her year of self-discovery and, ultimately, her self-actualization.

I love books that have a happy self-help ending, and it was interesting to read how this particular author found hers.

xoxo,

bex