Second Week of Reading - Reflections

Week 2 of my 2019 reading goal started off on a bit of a roller coaster.

I was deeply disappointed with Brinn's Existence. It had all the makings of a wonderful, classic, best-in-class SciFi book and then fell completely.....flat. My mistake in reading this book was sitting down and reading it straight through - a lesson I will not repeat when I uncover other books like this on my reading list. This book was, for me, the SciFi equivalent of picking a show on Netflix and then falling asleep - except with Netflix I do that guilt-free and don't worry about the story line. With Existence, I should have treated it the same way - picked it up, read some, set it down to read something with more depth, and not worried about how much of the story I remembered or was tracking.

Thankfully, my reading was saved with Jean Johnson's The Terrans. What a book! Fantastically done - it was as politically charged as it was emotional. I didn't realize until I finished the book it really is a prequel to Johnson's other books, so am seriously debating reading the prequels straight through before I read them in the order she actually wrote them. In any event, Johnson has earned a spot on my "authors to read more of" list - which I'll publish at the end of 2019. :)

Old habits seem to die hard - I suspect it is the universe testing me. I added a 53rd book to my list - I just couldn't resist. Ivan Antic's Samadhi: Unity of Consciousness and Existence. This is not a read-straight-through kind of book. I am able to get ten to twenty pages before I have to set the book down, meditate, and focus my mind in very intentional ways. On a personal level, I find this to be a highly rewarding non-fiction read (I'm only 66 pages in - plenty more growth) as I continue to reflect on my past to heal while intentionally setting forth a future aligned to my highest purpose. Reality is made up of all the potential realities that exist parallel - here and now. Just sit with that for a moment.

And, since up until this point I've always had some sort of business or self-help book that I've read on just about any topic, it is only fitting that my boss apologetically gave me a non-fiction reading assignment: Scrum - The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. So, make that book #54 - and to round it out, book #55: Manage Your Day-to-Day - Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind. (The reason she apologetically gave me the assignment was because I shared with her that my personal development goal was to read 90% fiction in 2019. These non-fiction books put me at 7 out of 55, or 87% - just below my goal).

3 books added - given I'm 3 books ahead of schedule, I am okay with this plan. Plus there will be bonus reading time on the airplane in a few weeks.

I hope to finish Snow Crash in the early part of Week 3, and then who knows what is next. I'm thinking a dart board with book pictures can help me choose. I'm also open to suggestions from my list to keep me on track. :-)

Happy Reading!
--Jennifer