{ musings }

Great Reads

My brilliant friend Lindsay recently posted a great list of books on her blog, and I was inspired to use that list as a launching pad for my own list.  It is much more difficult than I would have thought, as I am an avid reader and voracious student specifically of the Classics.  I love poetry, plays, philosophical treatises…oh heck, I just love books!

Here are the books on Lindsay’s list (the first 100) and then an additional 50 I have added.  I’d love to see what books YOU would suggest for the ongoing list AND, which books are on your list!

Key

• BOLD = Read it
• Stike-through = not interested
• Italics Underlined = read part of it or in process

1 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2 The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Editor), Joseph Smith (Translator)
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
5 The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
6 Holy Bible
7 1984 by George Orwell
8 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
9 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
10 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
11 Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
12 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
13 Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
14 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
15 The Giver by Lois Lowry
16 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
17 Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
18 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
19 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Robin Buss (Translator)
20 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
21 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
22 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Atwood (Introduction)
23 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
24 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
25 Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
26 The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
27 New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
28 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
29 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
30 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
31 East of Eden by John Steinbeck
32 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
33 Animal Farm by George Orwell
34 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
35 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
36 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
37 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
38 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
39 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Peter Sis (Illustrator)
40 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
41 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
42 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
43 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
44 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
45 Watership Down by Richard Adams
46 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
47 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
48 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
49 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
50 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
51 Dune by Frank Herbert
52 The Odyssey by Homer, Robert Fagles (Translator)
53 Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
54 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
55 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
56 The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
57 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
58 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
59 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
60 The Complete Works of William Shakspeare
61 Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
62 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
63 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
64 The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
65 Night by Elie Wiesel
66 The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
67 The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
68 Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
69 The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear (Translator)
70 Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
71 A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
72 Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
73 Dracula by Bram Stoker
74 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
75 Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
76 The Iliad by Homer, Robert Fagles (Translator)
77 Moby Dick by Herman Melville
78 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Henry Gifford (editor)
79 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
80 Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Richard Andrews (Editor)
80 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
82 Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
83 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
84 The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
85 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
86 The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
87 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
88 Emma by Jane Austen, Fiona J. Stafford (Editor)
89 On the Road by Jack Kerouac
90 The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
91 All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
92 The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
93 The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
94 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
95 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
96 The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
97 Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
98 The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
99 Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
100 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

 

My additions (in no particular order):

1.  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
2.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
3.  Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
4.  Beloved by Toni Morrison
5.  Essential Rumi by Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi
6.  The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
7.  M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
8.  Holy Quran by Allah
9.  Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
10.  Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
11.  Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence
12.  The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
13.  The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence
14.   The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
15.   The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
16.   Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
17.   The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
18.   The Art of War by Sun Tzu
19.   Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
20.  Beowulf
21.   The Republic by Plato
22.   The Crucible by Arthur Miller
23.   Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
24.   Roots by Alex Haley
25.   The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
26.   A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
27.   The Tibetan Book of the Dead
28.   Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda
29.   Paradise Lost by John  Milton
30.   James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
31.   Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
32.   The Aeneid by Publius Vergilius Maro
33.   Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
34.   Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
35.   The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
36.   The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
37.   The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx
38.   Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence 
39.   Walden by Henry David Thoreau
40.   Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
41.   The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
42.   The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
43.   Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
44.   Seven Valleys and Four Valleys by Baha'u'llah
45.   How to WIn Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie  
46.   The Kama Sutra
47.   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
48.   Watership Down by Richard Adams
49.   Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
50.   Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
 

Signs of Life

I am a very neglectful blogger, yes, I know.  But when you have three pairs of big brown eyes (two sets human, one set Golden Retriever) staring at you longingly with sand buckets, bike helmets or Frisbees in hand (or mouth, as it were) it is damned hard to squeeze in the time to blog! ha!

So here is a quick one for you...

Have you ever noticed that when you start putting your attention on something, you draw more of it unto you?  For example, if you're looking to buy a new car and narrow it down to one or two choices, you tend to notice the fact that there are now instantaneously hundreds of those exact vehicles rolling down the streets of your hood.  Or, when you finally splurge and buy those great new shoes...you can spot them on another woman five miles away.  Or when you start reading about Swine Flu, you all of a sudden seem to manifest the exact same symptoms...?!

In my life right now, I am focusing on signs.  Beckoning them, welcoming them, paying attention to them, TRUSTING them.  And they are showing up in droves and with force!  Old and new friends are re-entering or just now entering my life with the most surprising and POWERFUL messages for me.  Quotes and book passages are being delivered to me at exactly the most powerful moments.  Even the weather is sending me signs to help me chart my days.

Today the signs were there in an unbelievable way.... check these out:

Lovely...don't you think this is what real love is all about??

and this one...wow!  SO appropriate for the path my new life is on...!

I love it when life sends me CLEAR signs, and even more when the signs ARE signs of LIFE.  Hello, Universe?!?!  I'm PAYING ATTENTION!!!

Life's A Beach

Ok, so yes, it sucks to be me right now.

NOT!

I feel guilty rubbing this view in your faces...for about a minute.  Then I remember the shit that life has dumped on me for the past five months and I realize i've EARNED IT!  I've done the work.  I've debraded the wounds.  I've explored the depths.  I've embraced reality.  I've said goodbye to broken dreams.  I've found an amazing volume of answers.  I have come full circle...back to my authentic self, ready for the next leg of this wondrous journey!

For the last week I've stayed up late, slept in late, ate too much good food, laughed until my sides ached, drank a few too many margaritas, ridden about 20+ miles on my beach cruiser, fallen off a skateboard several times, played frisbee with my dog on the beach, puttered around the channel on a boat, played poker, read two books, daydreamed about trips to wineries, sent TOO many text messages, caught up with old friends (and some new ones!), put on a bikini for the first time in MANY years, giggled & snuggled with my punks, worked on my tan lines, played in the surf, gotten sand in places where it shouldn't be, taken a ton of photos and generally SAVORED the richness which is life.  

Really, when I look at my life right now, I realize how incredibly BLESSED I am.  A few people have told me that I candy-coat it too much...that I should *embrace* my pain more...but I really don't buy it!  I tried it - and it just isn't my style.  I AM a "glass half full" girl and my glass is actually overflowing!

Reality will come soon enough when I return to the desert...but guess what?  I'm ready!  BRING IT!  But for now?  I am going to savor every last bit of this!!

The View Ain't Half Bad....

. . . right here and now!

Great News in a Smaller Package

Only my girlfriends out there will probably GET the how good this feels, but here goes:

The other day while editing the wardrobe, I came upon a stash of my gorgeous, wonderful, tailored Ellen Tracy suits.  Slipped on the first one and what do you  know...pants made me look like I had an elephant ass!  Hmmm...must be an anomaly.  Next:  same thing.  And...ALL of them were absolutely gigantic!  Woo Hoo!   Normally I'd be a bit sad about the loss of many thousands of dollars of beautiful, tailored-to-fit suits...but NOT TODAY!   And these suits were NOT "big clothes" - some were even from pre-childbearing years...which, while they are certainly outdated now, still felt GREAT!  All of them are now packed up and waiting to be delivered to the Chrysalis Center.

Now I'm no Barbie...and am right around a size 8-10 now, but for me, that is PERFECT.  I am at an age where I can appreciate the fact that I have a woman's body, curvy and rich. My stomach is flat and I am becoming more toned daily.  I will never be a skinny "spinner" (a term which I've recently learned men use), but I am healthy and learning to love my body...the body which has held and borne two beautiful children, the body that has supported me (literally) through good and bad, the body that is 100% mine!  What a wonderful journey!

I guess its time to go shopping!!!

Ouch!

Fantastic weekend!
Fantastic start to Monday.
But then....

...and so it goes. Me and my damned feet!  I guess I should consider myself lucky...no breaks, strains, sprains or foot/ankle surgeries in about 4 years...then the damned heavy ceramic bowl full of fruit (precariously placed in my fridge by an unnamed wee-punk) tumbles out of the refrigerator and SMASH! Right onto my toes!

The blood blister appears instantly...the bruise and swelling is getting prettier and bigger by the minute.  These are the EXACT same two toes I broke shortly after my wedding.  Is this a sign?!  I do believe that at least one toe is broken, for sure.

OUCH!  Are there any good looking foot doctors out there who care to offer their services, or at very least, their sympathies?!

Long Overdue...

There was a time when this blog was updated with alarming regularity.  There was a time when it generated a surprising number of visitors, was an effective marketing vehicle and a fun way to stay in touch.  But then life kinda got in the way and this blog was the first (of many) things to become neglected.

I now realize that for a long time, I have allowed KIM be be neglected.  Situations in my life had changed, people in my life turned out to not be who I believed them to be and basically, the Universe whalloped me over the head and told me to wake the hell up!

I'm AWAKE NOW!

(beautiful photo courtesy of Dave Cruz!)

It is a new month and a new me.  For five months I've been mourning the loss of what I thought was my life, and now I am beginning to celebrate what my life is becoming!  Care to follow along?  It is gonna get pretty freaking good!!!

Babies = Good Therapy!

And these two little cuties were JUST what I needed today!!!  Clearly, my punks loved them, too (even Alexis, who normally isn't a big fan of babies!!)!

Here is Olivia smooching Miss Teagan...

and here is Alexis having a good chuckle with Miss Boston...

Hey Teague....it was awfully nice of you and M to make such adorable and HAPPY babies for us Kwanettes to enjoy!!  Love you muchly!!

Shine Your Light

Awaken with a heavy heart this morning at 2:00am (my normal hour of inspiration, it seems!), I turned to my in-box to see if there was perhaps a loving connection with a friend, a bit of inspiration, some words of peace.  And so it goes, as in my life with increasing frequency, that the perfect message was received just when I needed it most.  The following message was received from The Daily Om and it resonates with me SO MUCH!  Read on...be inspired...and shine YOUR light!

April 17, 2009
Power in Numbers
Sending Our Collective Light to the World

Like tiny ripples that merge to form great waves, combined human intent is worth more than the sum of its parts. A single individual can initiate worldwide improvement by emitting conscious frequencies of love, beauty, goodness, and wisdom. A group of people focusing their energy on sending out light to the world can set the stage for positive global transformation. All of us possess the ability to channel love energy, to heal, to be a conduit for white light, and to positively influence our fellow humans from afar. Yet one person can only do so much. Imagine if each one of us took a few moments at the start of each day to send out light to the world from our hearts. Mother Earth would be quickly eased and the planet, as well as every organism and being on it, would be bathed in loving light. The world would be an infinitely beautiful place.
 
You can help bring about an earth where love triumphs over violence, air and water are nourishing in their purity, and people take pleasure in simply being alive. Alone, the light you emit is a wonderful healing tool, but when you join with others who share your intent to shine compassion and positive energy over the world, a powerful force is created. Your collective consciousness and collective light will wash over the planet, enveloping people, communities, cities, countries, and continents. Inviting others to send light with you can be a daunting task. People may question the benefits of sending light to an already broken world. You will likely need to explain that each person’s light joins with every other, and through the joining all are strengthened. Assure them that what matters is not technique or what religion or beliefs you hold but intent.

As more people come in mindfulness to send their collective light to the world, the power of their planetary gift will increase exponentially. You may already be affiliated with groups that would gladly participate in such a noble project. Children, who often feel incapable of influencing their world yet are reservoirs of innate power are usually enthusiastic about sharing their collective light. As you gather together willing people, your individual intent will become a great and powerful wave, and you will see results in your fellow humans, in the news, and in your daily life.

Hell Hath No Fury....

Posting this on behalf of a dear, dear friend who wishes to remain anonymous, but let me tell you, SHE STOOD UP FOR ALL OF US when she did this!  BRAVO!  Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...!