February & March books

The most interesting book on this list is Little Bee. Our heroine's voice captivates and intrigues us through her unique story telling. This is a novel that stays with you as you go about your everyday chores, creeping into your consciousness whenever it can.

5.  Promise Me by Harlan Coben **
6.  Little Bee by Chris Cleave
7.  Shelter Me by Juliette Fay **
8.  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

** Read for Harvest Lane Book Club

January books

There's no better excuse for spending the whole day with nothing but a novel and a cup of coffee than a snow storm. After spending a wonderful game-playing day with my cousins to celebrate the New Year, a nor'easter rolled in. Fortunately, I picked up a novel to take me on a thrilling adventure through Italy, Dan Brown's Inferno.

2014 Books Read

1.  Inferno
2.  I am Malala  **
3.  Killing Jesus
4.  The Good House

** Read for Harvest Lane Book Club

2013 book recap

Link to my Goodreads shelves

Take two...

New year, new start. Like countless others, I find January to be the perfect time to make changes to routines and embark on new challenges. But starting too many new projects at one time often backfires.

Last year I joined a 52 books in 52 weeks challenge, started this blog, made curriculum changes, and began to implement the organizational techniques in Getting Things Done by attacking my home office with a Brother label maker, all while maintaining my umpteen other responsibilities. I realized in the third week of January that I needed to make some choices. Curriculum changes were necessary, organization improved steadily, devoting more time to reading books of my own choosing lifted my spirits, the blog was cut.

So this is Chapters...take two.

Switch

I feel that I made a great choice in Switch as the book to kick-off my 52 book reading challenge. The start of a new year is a typical time to implement some positive life changes. Whether they be large or small, change (at least for me) is hard. One of the many changes I am embarking on is to carve out more reading time. Step one...spend less time aimlessly wandering the internet.

Review: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard  by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Heath and Heath tackle an issue that all of us deal with in so many facets of life--change. This book, basically a guide, shows how change was accomplished in a myriad of situations. Examples are drawn from everywhere, from making changes in a multi-billion dollar company, changing hospital procedures to save lives, and small changes to improve marital relationships, to name a few.

Switch leads you through the process of how to create change in yourself, others, and in organizations by reaching both your intellectual and emotional sides. "The problem is this: Often the heart and mind disagree. Fervently." One section (of many) that impacted me was "shrink the change." If someone is told they are already part-way toward the goal, the change will seem smaller and more attainable. This is definitely a technique I'd like to try at home.

As an added bonus, there is a list of recommended additional reading at the end, many of which were mentioned throughout Switch. This is certainly a book that I'm glad to have purchased rather than borrowed as I see myself revisiting it again in the future.

Welcome!

Happy New Year and welcome to my blog!

I decided to start a blog mainly to log and review books I am reading as part of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge started by Robin.

My hope is to also (eventually) include chapters from other parts of my life as well.