Nerd @ 190

I just finished reading The Art of Mindful Reading by Ella Berthoud.  The Art of Mindful Reading was a short, clear and encouraging book.  It provided mindfulness practices during every state of the book, including ones to help the reader discover what kind of reader that they are.  Berthoud creates exercises that encourage and accept that every book reader is different. The book is the perfect length to create a mindfulness practice, it goes into the right amount of detail to allow the reader to sit down and go through the whole book, or break it up over time, building a mindfulness practice of reading from nothing.  This book (and possibly the whole series)  goes on my list of great mindfulness tools because it also gives some of the research behind why reading, mindfulness and especially mindful reading benefits the reader.  I discovered mindfulness when I was 16  years old.  Actually, what I discovered was that there was a place in Illinoi...

I read two children's books.  One is named Rainbow: A First Pride Book. It is an amazing book. Everything I'm looking for in a kid's book. It is short, clear, and ends with smiles. Every child should feel loved, be able to express themselves and see an encouraging environment. That is what Michael Genhart provides in a simple way, while explaining the pride flag. Beautiful.  The second book is Jacob's Room to Choose is a lovely children's book. It is bright, short and shows the exact lessons we want for all the children in our lives. Sarah and Ian Hoffman created some clear characters, support and encouragement in story with the happy conclusions we want in our stories. In a world where kids are often faced with adult problems, this book gives solutions at a child's level. I encourage it for anyone with small children in their lives. How old were you when you realized you were straight?  I have felt the need to ask this question several times in my life.  Mo...

I read Chris Kattan's Baby Don't Hurt Me.  It is a stunning book.  There are all the things you want in a book about a comedian that the world knows from SNL.  There are personal anecdotes, the story for how he got on SNL, his characters, why he left and where he is now.  The writing (not done by Kattan alone) is amazing.  The descriptions took me to a moment as if it was part of my own memory; I could hear the songs in the book enough to start singing along.  (I didn't put together a playlist, but the book is deserving of one.)  While it's not a book filled with laughter, it is filled with beautiful honesty.  I recommend this book to anyone that likes SNL, comedy, and a some people that don't. For years I have stated "I don't do comedy." It's a pretty barefaced lie, that everyone goes along with.  The truth is that most comedic shows,  and especially movies, make me physically uncomfortable.  I start to squirm and try to fast for...