Books

Book 982: You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince (Boy Meets Boy #2) – Timothy Janovsky

Book cover of "You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince" with Amazon Affiliate linkAs I mentioned in my review of Never Been Kissed, I originally planned to read this but when I found out it was the second in a (now I know unconnected) series, I had to start with the first! Thankfully, my local library had digital copies of both and I was able to download them and jump right in.

The premise of this novel is that the very wealthy Matthew pulls a ridiculous stunt and his parents send him to live with his grandparents for the holidays to let the press cool off and teach him a lesson. There he meets, down-t0-earth scholarship student Hector who has no time or patience for spoiled little rich boy shenanigans.

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Workout Wednesday

Workout Wednesday – February 2014

I’m finally ready for winter to be over. I’ll be incredibly sad to see the snow go and that there won’t be the beauty of the silent snow falling or even the cold (I do love it). The problem is I’ve definitely hit a low point. The short days and even the coldness in the morning are seriously starting to affect my ability to get out of bed, not to mention get out of bed and drag myself the half mile to CrossFit and back before 7AM! I mean the past two weeks I dropped down to one day a week, but somehow kept up at least two days a week running at the gym.

I’ve tried counteracting it by getting new SERIOUSLY BRIGHT work out gear (I needed it anyway), but that’s only given me temporary reprieves and I’m just ready to be outside again. What I really need to do is get a new pair of shoes as mine are almost stripped, it might be time to invest in a full price pair. I’m not sure how I feel about the new FitBit band, I love the brightness, but I definitely feel like it’s getting dirty very quickly.

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Workout Wednesday

Workout Wednesday – January 2014

Over 3000 people showed up from the original 7000 (it was delayed a week).
Over 3000 people showed up from the original 7000 (it was delayed a week).

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost three months since my last Workout Wednesday post. It’s not REALLY that shocking when I think about how little “working out” I did in those three months, but even then I did do A LOT!

If you somehow missed it, I ran the Somerville Jingle Bell Run, my first 5k (to the right). I’m still super proud of myself and I ALMOST met my original time goal of 36 minutes (my time was 36:49) and will most definitely aim for it at the next one! And if you want to see some hilarious photos of me running the race click here. I apparently spend a lot of time looking at my feet/the ground when running and like to grimace a lot. Every time I saw a camera I was like don’t take a picture don’t take a picture don’t take a picture! But overall it was a LOT of fun and I can’t wait for the next one.

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Books

Book 86: March – Geraldine Brooks

A co-worker recommended March and prior to reading it I knew only that it detailed the mostly absent character of Mr. March in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Having finished the novel I realize it is a superb piece of ‘fan-fiction’ and well deserving of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize.

Once I realized March received a Pulitzer (about half-way through the novel) I spoke with my co-worker and she also mentioned not knowing it was a Pulitzer when she started reading it, but once she finished she felt it was a perfect Pulitzer and I couldn’t agree more. I looked up what distinguishes a Pulitzer and Wikipedia (yes I used our friendly resource) states a Pulitzer Prize for fiction is awarded “for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.” And having just finished March, I believe perfect Pulitzer fits. I’m not referring to the writing itself, as who am I to judge, but instead to the story. Brooks wrote about a time and a place which is so uniquely American and about characters which for a long time were Americana embodied.

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Books

Book 85: Jo’s Boys – Louisa May Alcott

As the final novel I could not have asked for a better ending to the informal trilogy.

Another ten years have passed and Jo and Fritz’ school is now a college and the cast of characters ever widens. I definitely appreciated Jo’s Boys on the same level as Little Women. Whereas Little Men solely served as a bridge between the two and an introduction to the future brave and generous men of Jo’s Boys.

However, as with Little Men, Dan and Nan were my favorite characters. Nan continues to be a spitfire character and has proven she is equal to any man by going to medical school. She has to contend with Teddy’s lifelong adoration, but she takes it in stride. Dan is just as untamable as ever and has by far the most intriguing story of the lot. He comes from the lowest background and falls the farthest, but picks himself back up as well, providing a great mini-story within the novel.

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