blah & a couple "must reads"

yes, blah. that is how i have been feeling in the mornings when i get up. sore throat, headache, tired, etc. as the days go on i end up feeling mostly better and usually squeeze in a little nap somewhere....but it's just annoying. :( oh well, i know i'll survive and it's just the beginning of the season of colds - yay. (hopefully you can hear the sarcasm)

so this is supposed to be a book blog and i have not written about any books lately. at this point i will have a hard time remembering much about books that i read awhile ago (my memory is terrible), but i will tell you a few that left lasting impressions on me.

one of my sort of recent favorite reads was memoirs of a geisha. i had seen the movie and finally got around to reading the book....it is amazing. i was completely sucked in by it and could not put it down - i think i read it in about 3 days, it was that good. i would def. call it a "must read". it was just so beautifully written and the descriptions were so clear. and i guess i hadn't read much from asian culture before so it was quite educational for me, as well.

so, a book that i read last winter that i actually can't believe i haven't written about yet is called serve god, save the planet: a christian call to action. in all honesty, this book has had one of the biggest impacts on me as far as actually DOING something about trying to reduce my impact on the environment. not that i didn't care about it before but i would say that i only did the basic stuff that the average person would do...some recycling, switch lightbulbs to CFL's, etc. this author has a unique perspective in that he's a medical dr. and he tells some very interesting stories. but he also gives a lot of great info, explains from scripture why we are called to take care of this planet and others in it, and tells the story of how his family has taken huge steps to reduce their impact on the environment. (i mean HUGE steps - they downsized to a house that in it's entirety is the same size as the garage of their old house!) this book really opened my eyes to how selfish our culture has become and how our demand for conveniences and our use of so much of the world's resources helps contribute to the poverty of so many others in the world. i am trying to be less of a consumer....i am so thankful my mother raised me to shop at second hand stores! a couple things we do now as a result of this book are: taking our own reusable bags when we go shopping, i bought cloth napkins, we don't use our dishwasher anymore, and we unplug our electronics if they are not being used. i could go on and on about this book - i learned so much from it. but i would also like to read it again soon so maybe i will wait and write about it again later. :)

i guess that's all for now...it's a good day to curl up w /a book....i'm currently reading an adoption memoir. ;) have a great wknd!