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What I Read in February

Crescent Beach trail in White Rock 

*The Dip by Seth Godin This book was so tiny! I was surprised when I got it via paperbackswap and it's basically a novella. Well, a non-fiction one. A 70+ pager. I used to follow Seth's inspiring and interesting (and minimalist in the best sense) blog and I had wanted to read a book written by him. This one was on my PBS list and it became available (for free) so I snagged it up. I think I read it in one sitting and it was entertaining. It was about when to know if you need to quit, and when you need to keep waiting on the uphill slope because you're soclose and nearlythere. My recommendation? This would be an excellent gift for a recent high school or college grad. It's applicable to everyone, but I'd narrow it down even more.

*A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle Well. This book was simply charming in every sense of the word. I was waiting no-so-patiently for my holds at the library and knew it'd be a week or two (or three!) before I got the first one, and I remember finding this little gem at the local Salvation Army for $1. I am so glad I bought it because I have two people already who I want to pass it on to. This is a memoir of Mayle's and his wife's first year, broken up by chapters of each month, of their year renovating an old villa in Provence, in France. The writing is top-notch. The descriptions of the food would make Julia Child salivate, and the descriptions of people and places in this rural (yet during the summer touristy) place are parfait! It was great fun to read in dreary and rainy winter, where I was transported to sunny vineyards and quirky neighborhood bistros. Loved it.

Currently Reading:

*Yes, Please by Amy Poehler Although I'm technically one day late, I'll probably finish Miss Poehler's book today, since I only have 100 pages left and it's a fast one. In this memoir Amy talks about all the places she's lived and worked doing improv before hitting Saturday Night Live, growing up in a great family, and spreading hilarious tips and tricks about all things life. I don't know much about her but I'm really enjoying her book. Any book that I am laughing out loud in the preface is usually going down in my book as a good read. Usually only David Sedaris gets that kind of credit, but this has had me laughing out loud a lot. She's lewd, anxious, and cusses a lot, but she seems to have a heart of gold as well. I waited for three months (!) for this book and I'll have it done in 3 days tops. She's in high demand. Wouldn't recommend this to people who get offended by language, drug or sexual content and the like, but I'm having some good laughs myself.

*A Circle of Quiet by Madeline L'Engle  This is the first of 3 of the Crosswicks Journals, nonfiction letters (of sorts) written by L'Engle telling, I presume, part of her life's story, part of her stories' lives, and part spiritual memoir in all of it. I'll leave more of a review when I finish it!

What did you read recently that you loved? Leave it in the comments!

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