Book Reviews June

Summer time is the perfect time to hunker down with a book poolside, beach side, couch, wherever and unwind from the world around you or learn something new. Many of you have said you wish you read more…just do it!

FOR FUN
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
Ladies the wonderful author of Eat, Pray, Love (which opens in theaters on MY BIRTHDAY) has a new book…but I warn, it’s not the same. I listened to this book during my long training runs and still very much enjoyed it, but don’t expect to be left with the spiritual uplift or drive to see the world. This book really goes in to marriage and is an extremely interesting book, just different than her other book.

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
This may be one of the best books I have picked up for fun in quite some time. It’s over 400 pages and I couldn’t put it down, I found myself staying awake longer at night just to get in a few more pages. This book is loosely based around the idea that the woman in the story is Catherine the cast-off wife of Charles Dickens. I love historical novels and this one had a story that was unlike any I’ve read, so it was really intriguing.

FOR SPIRIT
Living Oprah by Robyn Orkant
Robyn decided to spend one year doing all things instructed by Oprah on her show or magazine and followed up with finding information on the Oprah website. Oprah has started a spiritual path in the last few years and swears she is living her best life, so Robyn embarked on a challenge to see if living Oprah would result in her best life. It’s an interesting read and definitely shows that you can learn some great things from others, but you have to find a balance of following and leading.

I Can Do It By Louise Hay
These are a set of little books with daily affirmations. Since one of my goals was to start each day with good thoughts, I have to admit these little sayings have been great. How often do you look at yourself in the mirror at 6AM and say I LOVE YOU. Well, it’s a pretty fantastic way to start your day, especially if you start laughing like I do.

FOR RUNNING
On the Line by Serena Williams
Definitely an interesting read to learn about how she grew up, her struggles with training and a lot of the things that have happened in her life. I loved that she put little quotes throughout the book that she wrote to herself during matches. Reading these things gave me a little drive to want to get out there and push harder. “Breathe. Remember there are so many more important things. This is so small.” If you’ve ever wondered how the sisters grew up, this book is fascinating and really sheds some light on who they are.

Thrive Diet by Brendan Braizer
After the discussions of my sluggish feelings, I decided to read up on what this ultra ironman had to say about diet. What it boils down to in some respects for me is that Brendan is basically saying to follow a raw food diet for your best health. He does talk about how eating foods that require less digestion, means you have more energy for your workouts, better health and require less sleep. He is also good about giving you ways to ease in to the diet. I do think it may be stricter than I am looking for, but when I return from my trip to KC I’m going to try some of his recipes. While I’m traveling, I will be focusing on a daily salad and including some of the things he recommends like goji berries,etc. I would definitely recommend this book as a good read, I can’t say I will follow all of it, but it’s definitely expanded my knowledge and given me new things to consider.

Would love to chat with anyone who has read Thrive!! So hit me up!

Also if you have a giving away going that you'd like posted in my side bar let me know. I am sans Internet in KC afterwork...so I'm not able to catch up with everything this week!! The $80 CSN giveaway ends on the 10th!
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Gratitude Journal
June 08
I am grateful for free time to read
I am grateful for excellent authors
I am grateful for soft blankets
I am grateful for good eye sight
I am grateful for crunchy celery