So Much to Read, So Little Time

In little irksome ways, 2014 is already teaching me that I try to do too much.  For instance, merely over the month of December, I accumulated more than 10 books on my bedside table.  I am very interested in reading all of them cover to cover.  I love to read.  I love to learn.  I love to escape to fictitious lands and experience through fictitious eyes.  And here, today, on January 1, I have read at least one page in each of these books, but little more.  To make matters worse, most of these books are in someway instructional. Why do I feel compelled to be so productive?  Maybe I need a book on how to get better sleep so that I will have more energy to...oh, never mind.

Title: Man Repeller
Author: Leandra Medine
Though I am unclear on his thoughts on the title, this book was a gift from my husband.  It is a collection of autobiographical essays written by a fairly funny and successful "bloggess."  I could write a book like this.  I am not a Jewish girl from the Upper East side with a large following and a fancy degree from the New School, but everyone's awkwardness is equally as hilarious and I am easily as witty as she.  Good thing I am just enjoying reading this book and not judging it or myself in the process.

Title: A Prayer Journal
Author: Flannery O'Conner
I love Flannery O'Conner's transparency in this journal which was recently published.  Of, course O'Conner was writing for no one, but herself.  Still, her honesty with God humbles me.

Title: Help, Thanks, Wow
Author: Anne Lamott
Lamott, on the other hand, intentionally wrote a book on prayer.  Though not a spiritual leader, exactly, I truly believe her experience and way with words has the ability to teach us all.

Title: Bird by Bird
Author: Anne Lamott
Also in the "I heart Anne stack" is this essential book for all writers, aspiring or otherwise.  This one, I will definitely finish.

Title: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
Author: Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
A great parenting book.  So simple, yet effective.  I love to talk and when it comes to my kids I often say too much.  I want nothing more than to understand my little ones and have them confide in me as they grow into not so little ones.

Title: Hyperbole and a Half
Author: Allie Brosh
Ok, so this is my attempt to be hip and cool.  Thankfully my friend Laura gave this book to me for Christmas so I can feign "with-it-ness."  This is also my true comic relief in the pile.  From what I have read so far, I am just like this woman.  And she is a mess.  Awesome.

Rounding out the list is "Praying with the Psalms" and "The Message" (a contemporary translation of the Christian Bible) both books written and/or translated by Eugene Peterson.  One day, yes, one day, I will read through the entire Bible in a year.  

Also on my bedside is a book of Christmas Sudoku puzzles which is festive in cover design alone.  I have no idea when I last tried to finish one of those.  And a yoga DVD which is doing absolutely nothing for anyone in my bedroom where there is no TV or floor space for such nonsense.  Perhaps I should tidy up a bit.

And last, but certainly not least, is "Living a Jewish Life" which I picked up at my church's library.  A new character I am developing is Jewish.  That is all.  Stay tuned.

So, clearly, I have plenty to keep me busy by my bedside this year (I didn't even go into what is on my desk).

Hey, wait, none of these titles are fiction.  Sacrilege!  Well, I am off to the library to necessarily add to my pile...

They will never be stacked this neatly again.

What should I check out fiction-wise this year?  Have you read any of the above titles with your very own two eyes?  

Oh, The Places You'll Go

She sank into the depths of her memories.  Warm, salty air filled her lungs.  Emily savored the freedom she felt in those deep breaths.  The ocean waves sprayed her with blessings from beyond as her long dark hair danced upon her shoulders.  From the tops of these cliffs she could see for miles.

Emily cocked her head and smiled.  "Hey babe, remember when we were in Hawaii and we watched the sunset standing out on those large rocks?"

"Nope."

"Oh come on, yes you do.  We were standing up above the water, but the waves would still splash us a bit."  Emily dropped her arms to her sides and wiggled her fingers.

"I remember watching the sunset from the marina.  Oh man, and we saw that one yacht called The Codfather?  Remember that?  It was waving an Italian flag and everything."

Emily remembered the marina.  And the yacht.  Friends they stayed with in Honolulu had a boat and the views from the docks were lovely.  But she was somewhere else.

"No, that's not what I am picturing in my mind.  There were definitely cliffs and dramatic waves and no one else around.  It was peaceful, but I recall being a bit afraid.  Maybe I'm thinking about something from our trip to California to see Julie?"

Julie loved hiking and exploring.  Clearly this would have been the type of adventure her sister-in-law would have taken them on.

"I really don't think so, hon.  I would definitely have pictures of that."

Emily knew he was right.  In fact, she had twisted her ankle playing tennis their first day at Julie's and spent the remainder of the visit poolside.  It was fantastic, but incomparable to the thrilling terrain she could not shake.  

"Gah!  I feel like I'm going crazy.  It's so vivid.  How can I not place it?  What could I possibly be thinking of?"

"I don't know, Em.  Could it be someplace you went as a kid?"

Emily furrowed her brow and grimaced, "Right, like my family would go somewhere you had to schlep up rocks?  Puh-lease we went to the Jersey Shore every summer and you know it."

"Well, of course I know it.  I'm just trying to help.  Hey, maybe you're remembering a dream you had?

And then as certainly as it felt out of reach, it all came rushing back.  It hadn't been a dream, but a construction of her imagination nonetheless.  The echo of the caves, the insecurity of the coves, the rough feel of the canoes, even the smell of the wild dogs.  And while Karana eventually leaves the island in the book, Emily had kept her there in her mind.  At last, she knew where she was and she was so happy to have returned to the Island of the Blue Dolphins.

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This work is a piece of fiction written in response to a weekly prompt.  Click on the button below to read the prompt and the other awesome writers who hang out there.  Or, better yet, join us at the best gin joint on the web.