Book: I read Hip Tranquil Chick: A Guide to Living On and Off the Yoga Mat by Kimberly Wilson. While I did take some notes and ideas to use in my own life, this was very white woman in her 20s trying to be an IG influencer writing/vibe to it that made me skim great parts of it.
Task #1: DNF Philosophy
Yes, I DNF, more so now than when I was younger and forced myself to read books just to complete them. Now I DNF without guilt; some DNFs are temporary, as I am not in the right head space or mood to read that particular books. Most of my DNFs are FOREVER. Life is too short and my TBR pile is too big to waste time on books that don't get me invested in the story. Sometimes I will read a book until it is done simply as a hate read- and then I share the joy of that through a five alarm ranting review.
I try to make it to at least 25% of the actual story page count, or to page 30 for short works. I feel that a quarter/one third of the book should be enough to get the characters set and the world building done enough to get the plot kicked in.
Task #2: Ratings
I need to rein in my ratings - I think I am overly generous. I don't rate DNFs and I tend not to review them either because writing reviews is not my strength. Starting in 2020, this will be my rating guide:
0-1 star = Hated the book
2 stars = Didn't like it but YMMV
2.5 stars = Meh, average
3 stars = I liked it
4 stars = I really liked it, would recommend
5 stars = It's going on the keeper shelf
Task #3: Zen and the Art of Stressful Holidays
First, my husband and I decided on how much we will spend on the kids and talk about what to get them. Some things are moved to their birthdays in February. Second, we plan on having a chilled out holidays - we don't travel and try to stay away from the stores at peak times. He does the shopping, I do the wrapping.
Other stuff is I do to chill out is work out (although the base gym is getting frustrating to get into, I might be getting a membership to the Y), walk the dog, bake, read, color, listen to holiday music, and volunteer. Pretty much what I do during non-holiday season. I just not try to do everything or work to make a pretty picture for IG.
Task #4: Required Reading
For the most part, I hated the assigned reading we did in high school. It was very Western Canon *snores* The only part I liked was Shakespeare because I was in the honors English classes, so I was assigned Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream, MacBeth, and Hamlet. Everything else sucked and I started a resentment towards all poetry from these assigned reading (am I the only person who hates Emily Dickinson?) that lasted well into college.
When it came to college assigned reading, I only remember reading Sybil for Pysch 101 and more Hamlet (so much Hamlet - it ended up being my least favorite work of Shakespeare I've read so far). By the end of my traditional college experience (2 years then I went into the military), the only good read was Ibsen's Doll House. I majored in History when I went back to college while in the military, so all my reading then was textbooks and memoirs.
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