june book update

I love summer and I love reading in the summer. Ever since I was a kid, summers meant running around outside, swimming, and reading. However, June was kind of busy and I only got through a few books. I finished The Art of Racing in the Rain and read two others.

The Art of Racing in the Rainby Garth Stein

When I first put this on my list of books to read, I incorrectly assumed this was about running. I was wrong. However, this didn’t make this book any less good. The story is from a dog’s point of view, a first for me. Enzo chronicles his life with his owner, Denny, over the course of love, marriage, birth, death and other ups and downs.

I highly recommend it. Too be honest I wasn’t expecting to like it very much. I’m not interested in car racing and I didn’t know if I would like to read a book from a dog’s perspective. However, it was way better than I expected. I’m telling everyone that reads to read this book. So this is everyone.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

I decided to read another classic but took me a while to pick which one. I finally landed on The Age of Innocence since the length wasn’t too terrible. However, it still took me a while to get through. Mostly because of busy June weekends.

The book centrals around Newland Archer in 1870s New York society. He’s about to embark on a desirable marriage with May, when his fiancé's cousin returns to NYC after leaving her husband in Europe. Newland falls in love with Ellen, but proceeds with marrying May anyway. Over the course of many years, their love never dies, but eventually they both move on with their lives. I would go back and forth and want Archer to suck it up and admit this to May and other times not, so that May isn't hurt. He doesn't end up having an affair, and moves on with his life. But it ends up being a bit sad since Archer and Ellen couldn't be together because of certain society "rules".

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This was another book club book. Obviously there’s one a month. Assuming I can attend the meeting and read the book. I wasn’t sure about this since it’s a young adult book and it sounded like a happy high schooler book based on the descriptions I had gotten. It’s not a happy book. There’s a variety of topics covered like drugs, suicide, and homosexuality. Charlie writes letters to his friend (you never find out who) throughout his freshman year of high school during 1991-1992. A friend of his just committed suicide and he starts high school friendless. But that changes. I recommend this book and you should read it before the movie comes out in September.

20/30 books in 2012.

may book update

May was a good reading month—I finally finished The Pillars of the Earth and got through a few more books fairly quickly.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone was another book club book which we are actually discussing tonight. It’s another fantasy trilogy, but a bit different than the others I’ve read. The first book was a lot of buildup and background to what will follow in the next 2 books. A majority of the story takes place on Earth, however you learn more about a war that’s happening in another world between the angels and chimaera. As with most books with war, there’s also star-crossed love. I’m looking forward to reading about the adventures of Karou; however I will have to wait until November to read Days of Blood and Starlight. I seem to get in this trap a lot.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I finally finished The Pillars of the Earth. I had read a couple of other books in the middle of this one and since it’s about 1000 pages long, I didn’t get through it as quickly as I wanted to. However, it was really good, and I really don’t mind good, long books. The story takes place in the 1100s in medieval England. It centered on the building of Kingsbridge Cathedral. Over the course of 50+ years, you get to know the key characters and either love or hate them. Obstacles are overcome by the ‘good’ guys and somehow the ‘bad’ guys succeed more often than not, but in the end, they get what they deserve. I now want to watch the TV miniseries to see how they bring the story to life. That'll be a summer project.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Ernest Hemingway was an asshole. The Paris Wife is a fictional take on the marriage of Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, when they lived in Paris. I thought the book was really good and gave you a good perspective of Hemingway’s life. Not that I knew much before. You understand a bit more about his personal life and of those around him, including F. Scott Fitzgerald. This reminds me, I want to re-read The Great Gatsby later this year before the movie comes out. As much as Hemingway annoyed me, I wasn’t too pleased with Hadley either. I get that this was the 20s and she was supporting her husband, but she put up with too much and should have left him much earlier than she did.  

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

This is the 2^nd memoir by Jen Lancaster. I had read the first one a few years ago and since my book club recommended it, I decided to give it a go—even though I missed the discussion. It was pretty funny. Jen chronicles her life in the city (Chicago) while her first book in getting published. As a NYC-dweller, I can definitely relate to some of the hilarious stuff that happens to her. It was a pretty quick read and a nice reprieve.

I’m currently reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and will probably finish it pretty quickly. I’ll also try to check off another book off my list below.

-       The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

-       The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

-       The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

-       The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet

-       Anthem by Ayn Rand

-       1984 by George Orwell

17/30 books in 2012.

vermont city marathon relay

Earlier this year, I decided to sign up for the Vermont City Marathon Relay. Fortunately, I got selected in the lottery. Unfortunately, my partner bailed on me. At the last minute I got a new running partner to run the Memorial Day weekend race with me. On Sunday, I got up bright and early with my friends to run the first leg of the marathon. Of course, the first leg of the race was the hilliest. We went down an awesome hill at mile 4 and of course had to come back up it. That was fun.

After the first mile or so, I was able to catch up to my average pace. It was a bit crowded at the beginning, but it eventually evened out. However, right before mile 11, my right hamstring started acting up. I actually had to stop after it had clenched up and caused some unpleasant pain. I tried stretching it a bit, but it didn’t help much. A lot of people that I had steadily passed the first 11 miles, made their way past me at this point. I had to slow down dramatically. My target time of 1:45 ended with a 1:51 finish for the my 13.1. Not terrible, but still not what I was on pace for.

Good thing my partner made up for my time, and we had a 3:35 finish. Now if only I can complete the Chicago Marathon in that time later this year. Actually, I would have to break 3:35 in order to qualify for Boston. Here’s hoping.

I’m sure it didn’t help, but I wanted to run with my friend who was doing the full marathon and support her in for for a couple of miles (after I completed my leg) and run the last mile with her. It was a bit iffy, but I’m glad I was able to support and cross the finish line with her.

I guess I’ve been lucky that this was the first race that I actually had an issue outside of being tired. I’m going to try to rest this week and take it easy. I’m now going to google the whole internet on ways to get my hamstring better. Especially, now that I’m officially kicking of my marathon training.

bomf

You may remember that I volunteered last year for my 30 before 30. I had wanted to do something a bit more long-term, but the timing just wasn’t working out for me. II had wanted to do something with kids—either with running or reading and I ended up doing a one-day volunteer race with kids. Ever since September, I’ve been thinking of doing something more, but just didn’t commit to anything. Life got in the way.

However, a few months ago I heard that Back on My Feet was launching in NYC. I first heard of this organization a few years ago when I read a Runner’s World article. At the time, I was impressed with Anne Mahlum and wondered if I’d ever have the guts to start something like this. Over the years, every once in a while, I’d remember the article—about this tiny blond helping the homeless in Philly through running—but had mostly forgotten about it.

Earlier this year, BoMF came front of mind again. Over the last several years, the organization had expanded from Philly to all over the nation. The difficulties of launching in NYC caused a bit of delay, but on April 10^th, BoMF officially made its debut in NYC.

I decided to join my sisters and some friends in volunteering on a regular basis. It sounded like a great way to get involved, and why not do it through running? Since mid-April, I’ve joined other runners to help a great group of people from the Common Ground shelter get back on their feet. Waking up and running to Times Square bright and early at 5:30am is sometimes startling. Especially given that this is about the only time Times Square is deserted. I thought it was going to be harder getting up that early, but knowing that I made a commitment, I’ve managed to do it. Sometimes that particular day and the few days after are slightly rough. But it gets me up early and feeling like I’ve accomplished something way before my work day begins.

It’s been great seeing the non-res members get faster and increase their mileage. I’m looking forward to seeing them begin to love—or at least like a lot— running. Next month we’ll get to see them do their first race. I’m looking forward to it!

And if you want to support, get involved or donate to my sisters' Ambreleah and Alysia.

april book update

I only completed one book last month. I guess that’s what happens when you start a 1000-page book. It’s taking a bit longer than expected.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

This was a recommendation for book club. And since Opening Day was a few weeks ago, it seemed fitting. The book isn’t necessarily all about baseball, but more about the lives that are affected when a standard throw to first base goes off course.

You get to know various people at this small college on Lake Michigan, when Henry—who’s been errorless so far in his career—throws a ball that doesn’t hit the first baseman’s glove like it should have. You see how the lives of students, administration and outsiders are affected. I thought it was a pretty good book and would highly recommend it.

I started to read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and have gotten to the middle—actually 49%. Next month (assuming I finish it), I’ll go a bit deeper into it. So far so good.

13/30 books in 2012.

kentucky

I checked off my 23rd state! After a brief detour to Texas (#22), I made my way to Kentucky to visit my friend Katie. The last time I saw her was at her wedding a couple of years ago. It was time to see her again and why not do it in her home state.

I spent 4 days doing lots of fun things, including those specific to Kentucky. First up was the Derby miniMarathon. This was the first big race since my marathon last October. It was difficult to assess how this was going to go. I got my long runs in but some of the training was a bit sporadic. But I went out and ran consistent 8-minute miles. I finished with 1:45:46, so I was pretty happy. Later in the year I would like to PR, but will have to see what race would be best for that and where I'm at with my training.

The race started in downtown Louisville, where I passed the Louisville Slugger Museum (which I went to later in the weekend) and made my way down to Churchill Downs. After seeing a horse running on the track, I turned back towards town while passing some of the U of L campus, and later on, Katie at mile 12. After the finish I celebrated with a beer (or 2) and a fried twinkie at the Chow Wagon. Delish.

On Sunday we made our way to the Museum where I tried out Jeter's bat. If there weren't any nets I'm positive I would have hit a HR. I got to see the bats being made—including the Mother's Day commemorative pink bats—and got a mini bat to take home with me.

On my last day, I had to try some straight bourbon whisky. We drove to Loretto, KY where we took a tour of Maker's Mark Distillery. It was very nice. We walked around the grounds to the various buildings to see the full distilling process. And of course tried some of the bourbon, including Maker's 49 and Maker's White.

All in all a very good trip. Catching up with friends, running, seeing new things, enjoying great weather (minus the hail storm), and so on. What more could I ask for?

 

march book update

I of course got some more reading in last month, but only got through 3 books. I was very busy with work, and took a vacation where I didn’t spend a lot of time reading.

Faithful Place by Tana French

I finally read Faithful Place, the 3^rd book in Tana French’s Dublin crime squad series. I read the last one a few years ago and really liked it. I do enjoy reading crime novels and especially like the Irish aspect of them.  

An undercover detective is drawn back to his childhood neighborhood when his old girlfriend’s suitcase turns up in an abandoned building. It was thought she had run off to London to start a new life. As the investigation starts, it’s quickly established that never made it to London. Since this is a murder mystery, I couldn’t put the book down. Now I need to get my hands on the 4^th one in the series.

Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink

I read Entangled while on vacation and it was perfect for it. It was a quick read. Not the most well written book (I guess that’s why it was free on my kindle), but it did the job. This woman inherits her uncle’s winery and old childhood memories start to crop up. They had been blocked out for a few decades since it was pretty traumatic. Definitely some heavy stuff, but I thought it could have been a much better book.

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I decided to re-read Scarlet Letter since I remember liking it in high school. It took a little while to get through the old Puritanical English. Parts of it infuriated me and it’s kind of amazing that this is what it was like when our country was born. Damn Puritans. I don’t condone adultery at all. But I didn’t appreciate Hester taking all the slack for it. It was nice to read this book again. I enjoy having a new perception on books that I read over 10 years ago.

Now it's time to read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet!

12/30 books in 2012.