My horoscope this week says I’ve “gotten a little addicted to habits that are rooted in fear and worry.” It also gives me some interesting suggestions as to how to break out of this cycle. “1) On an empty milk carton, paste a collage of cut-out images and phrases that symbolize your anxieties. Then put it on the floor and stomp it to death as you growl. 2) Slap your own hand briskly 10 times as you bark ‘Stop being such a wuss!’. 3) Everywhere you go, visualize yourself accompanied by 3 great warriors who’re dedicated to your well-being.”
These are very good, especially #3. Where can I find 3 great warriors?? And I decided to add to this list (and celebrate sending the new book off and away!) by going to Barnes and Noble and buying some summer reading! Also to buy a large iced tea to celebrate National Iced Tea Month (see Bizarre Food Holidays–I’m very glad to find that my iced tea addiction is being recognized on such a level). My criteria for Summer Reading is easy–it has to be fun. Not research. Even though, in my mind, research book does=fun.
I came up with Michael Gruber’s Book of Air and Shadows. It appears to be a “literary thriller” (according to the jacket), involving a lost Shakespeare manuscript, secret codes, car chases, Russian gangsters, etc. What else does a story need?? Salon.com also says it boasts “nimble, witty prose,” which sounds like Summer Reading to me. I’m going to give it a try this weekend, as I sip Nationally Recognized Iced Tea and sit by the pool (okay, sit by my dogs’ little plastic wading pool from Petsmart).
I also bought some romances–Desperate Duchesses, Lord Sin, and The Spy Wore Silk, as well as Lindsay Pollock’s The Girl With the Gallery (biographies do qualify as SR, right? Right). So, let Summer begin!
What are you reading this summer? (Besides books by the Riskies, of course! Don’t forget Janet and I both have books out in August…). And how do you get rid of “fear and worry”??
Be sure and sign up for the all-new Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com, with “newsletter” in the subject line. If you do, I won’t put your picture on a milk carton and stomp on it…
I’m looking forward to reading Christina Dodd’s new paranormal series; the new Michelle Rowen Fanged and Fabulous out next month. So basically lots of paranormal 🙂
June gets short shrift where national holidays days/months are concerned. Pity.
I’m looking forward to reading new books by: Candice Hern, Ammanda, Janet, Kathy Caskie, and Julia Quinn. These are the ones I know about. I’m sure more will be added at National.
Ammanda, how about a slow walk along a nature trail somewhere and some slow, deep stomach breathing? I have specific music I use: new agey relaxing stuff.
Amanda wrote:
How do you get rid of “fear and worry”??
Who says that I do???
Gosh, maybe I should find a way to get rid of fear and worry. Maybe fear and worry are blighting my life. What will the future bring, when I’m so bogged down by fear and worry?! Oh, no! Now I’m sure that my fear and worry are going to ruin everything!!
And now for something completely different…
Summer reading: I have approximately one million books in my to-be-read stack. So I will probably read some of those. 🙂 Near the top of the stack are some books by Robert Charles Wilson and Kazuo Ishiguro. And The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer. And A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe.
Todd-who-is-now-worried-about-his-fear-and-afraid-of-his-worry
Todd wrote:
Summer reading: I have approximately one million books in my to-be-read stack.
This is, unfortunately, too true. 🙂
I am going to read the new Meg Cabot. And the new Lois McMaster Bujold. And get caught up on Ultimate X-Men. And I’m trying to think which Georgette Heyer I want to reread…
Cara
Todd, is this the Kazuo Ishiguro? The one that was a Booker finalist? Do let me know what you think about it once you’re done reading. I’ve read all of Ishiguro’s book but not this one so far.
Whoo hoo! I’m going to be reading Rises the Night! Thanks Riskies! I’m so happy to have won Colleen’s book!
“Maybe fear and worry are blighting my life. What will the future bring, when I’m so bogged down by fear and worry?! Oh, no! Now I’m sure that my fear and worry are going to ruin everything!!”
Todd, you are reading my mind! Oh, no, something else to worry about!!!
Actually, when I stick with going to yoga class regularly, the stress seems much less and my mind is clearer. But I’ve been slacking lately, and all that worry is creeping in. Hmmm, maybe that means I should go back to yoga class…
Or maybe I’ll just drink some more tea.
I’ve been diving into old books that are new to me. All of Jennifer Crusie’s stuff, Barbara Samuels… good summer fare to be enjoyed on the couch with a cold Hefeweizen while the crickets are going at it outside.
Keira wrote:
Todd, is this the Kazuo Ishiguro? The one that was a Booker finalist? Do let me know what you think about it once you’re done reading. I’ve read all of Ishiguro’s book but not this one so far.
Actually no, this is old Kazuo Ishiguro. There’s a lot of his stuff I haven’t read. Did I mention that there are one million books in my TBR pile? 🙂
Todd-who-needs-to-get-busy-reading-right-now
I live with fear and worry. I’m a mom and a writer–some sort of double or triple whammy.
At present I’ve got a kid who ran a fever yesterday but says she’s perfectly fine today (knock on wood I won’t get a call from the school nurse), a dying goldfish and 87,000 words of my second draft which I’m guessing will be around 105,000 and still hoping to finish by June 20 (end of school). I am not even thinking about summer reading until I do!
I’d like to read the new non-fiction Barbara Kingsolver, about eating better by eating locally grown food. Of course, eating is exactly what I shouldn’t be doing, but summer does make me think of iced tea (unsweetened for me), ice cream, and fresh strawberries and peaches. What I should be thinking of is reading, both my TBR mountain, which doesn’t quite match Todd’s but is rapidly approaching that size, and new books by Risky (and risky) authors.
Does it mean anything that my password is “omoan” (the size of my TBR pile, perhaps)?