November 12, 2009 by shishnit
My 89 yr old grandfather reads the newspaper from front to back every single day. Now of course he’s reading a small-town paper, but still! Every word! (even the classifieds and the lost dog ad’s…all of it, he knows all the town news!) He then spends the majority of his day’s reading books. He can go through about 3 a day sometimes. He watches 1 hour of the news on TV every single day at noon. Then it’s back to reading. So his day goes “newspaper, read, news, read read read, sleep”.
He’s almost completely deaf in his old age and screams and yells in order to communicate. My grandmother begs him to get a hearing aid. NO GO he says. He does not want to “look” old. (smirk)
However, a few years ago his eyesight started to go wonky and he immediately visited an eye doctor and scheduled in cataract surgery asap, within a week both eyes were done. When asked why he won’t get a hearing aid but he’s willing to allow doctors to cut his eyes, he replied with his typical scream:
“Because damn it I need to see to read and if I can’t read I don’t care what anyone has to say!”
My grandfather is my hero.
Category family, life, reading | Tags: | 1 Comment
October 6, 2009 by shishnit
Obstacles Welcome – How to Turn Adversity into Advantage in Business and in Life – Ralph de la Vega
(motivation and self improvement)
I just have to give this one two thumbs up!! I expected one of those relatively mundane business management books, and what I got was pure and utter inspiration and a whole new way of looking at what most of us commonly refer to as roadblocks, problems, or as Mr. de la Vega refers to, obstacles. I now see obstacles as opportunities to outshine competition at work as well as in my personal life. Obstacles are now not bad, they are actually exciting. I encounter an obstacle now equals “I can overcome, learn and become better!†That’s a massive shift in viewpoint for sure.
Mr. de la Vega’s personal story inspires. He was an immigrant from Cuba and arrived on US soil a few years prior to his own parents. What he learned from those experiences served him well as he saw his own life obstacles as opportunities for personal growth.
This book is engaging rather than boring. At the end of each of the chapters is a page of takeaway messages. I think those pages alone out value the price of this book. I learned so many things and had quite a few moments where I felt that I had learned more about how to approach my own obstacles in the workplace. C’mon we all have them, or will. Those moments of self doubt and self examination are opportunities to excel once you have read through these easy to read 262 pages. It should be noted that Mr. de la Vega is the President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. I used to have a management leadership crush on Jeff Bezo’s, the CEO of Amazon, my leadership crush just shifted a bit to make room for Mr. de la Vega. Thanks must go out to him for the fantastic and inspiring look at how the day to day mundane and exasperating life at work can really be the foundation to greater things personally and professionally.
If you’re a manager of people, time, family events or you just want to take advantage of life’s obstacles instead of fearing them, then you too can benefit from this book.
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September 9, 2009 by shishnit
Sometimes you are so excited for a book to be released that the actual reading of said book is a letdown. Or perhaps it’s that some authors are better short story authors than they are long novel writers? I cannot decide, but in the interest of being fair, I can only say that I didn’t care for this one nearly as much as I anticipated or hoped for. The build up was more exciting than the reading.
The main protagonist Tassie Keltjin is 20. While this book was touted as a “coming of age†I saw it more of a broaching adulthood book rather than a coming of age. Tassie goes off to college and lands a job as a babysitter. This job is working for a well knit together character, Sarah Brink. Some of the dialogue between Tassie and Sarah was so well written it made me wish I had written those sentences myself. Moore has a way with the written language. If you enjoy poetry, you’ll love the language contained within the walls of this novel. Tassies father is a potato farmer and some of the information given on this topic is fascinating, I did not know these detailed things about potatoes prior to reading this one.
One aspect of this book that is done well entails her job as a Nanny. If you are a Nanny, want to be a Nanny or just fancy hiring a Nanny, these scenes are worth the price of this one. And, if you are a true fan of Moore’s then you must read it, how can a true fan pass it up? However, if you’re not you might want to skip this one. I cannot lie about novels. They either are fantastic for me or they fall short. This one kept having brief spurts of brilliance and they kept me going. I’m not sorry I read it. I did expect it to be more about September 11th and the events and emotions that surrounded that event as it was advertised, but it was mentioned in a few sentences and then quickly abandoned. However, having said all of this Moore is a fantastic writer and her wit with the word often made me overlook this books drawbacks. She can spin a wonderful sentence.
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August 27, 2009 by shishnit
Red is a character that made me want to dye my hair red. She’s sweet but has had a past full of worthless men. Then enter her grandchildren and new boyfriend and they break through her rough exterior. Its a sweet story but not so sweet to make you roll your eyes or ever question anything. One thing I really adored about this book was the conversations. Many books are great but then the writer doesn’t know how to write realistic dialogue and then you’re left thinking “who talks liket this?â€Â This writer writes her characters conversaions seemlessly and very realistically.
I adored this one, absolutely adored it. Do you like books that are character driven, where the characters are fleshed out so well you can just imagine the person walking through your front door and speaking to you. Do you love the type of book that has great characters that you’ll never forget involved in realistic life events that put them to the task?Â
If you answered yes to all of the above, then you have to get this one. Red is forty “something†year old woman dating a much younger man in Cam. Cam is every women’s dream guy but this is not apparent to Red or you the reader at first. As pages turn and characters develop and life situations are written into the mix, you are hooked. This one kept me up two nights in a row as I smiled along with the story and nodded my proverbial head along with Red’s trials and tribulations. And Cam, who could ask for a guy with more patience? Not I say I.
Then there’s not just Red and Cam, there’s her grandchildren and they are interesting as well. In an ongoing series of emails that her granddaughter writes to her mother we get to know Olivia from her own perspective. This viewpoint into more than one character is fantastic.
Lastly, I’ve never been to San Antonio, the town this novel is set in, but now I want to go!
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August 27, 2009 by shishnit
Summer is a sweet girl you get to know through two womens diary style entries. I thought it was a great read, albeit a bit sad. Almost too sad. I think the focus got lost somewhere in the middle of this novel and while I trudged on, because I’m used to reading this style of writing because I spend hours reading blogs, if you don’t like short chapters (in the form of diary entries) this may be a consideration on whether or not you will like this one.
I am a mother and this one hit a bit too close to the mother bone within me. Thankfully my son is 16 and not 4 like the victim in this novel. The lost child. It’s tough to read at times.
While I would not call this a beach read, but I read it while sitting in on a teleconference between Tampa and Phoenix. That long 3 hour conference flew by because I was so thoroughly engaged in this novel. I look forward to more from this author. I wasn’t fully thrilled by this one, but it was able to entertain me.
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