12 Fascinating Friday Reads

Posted: January 13, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Mind - Philosophy/Science | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Welcome to 2012! I’ve got some fun things planned for the year, so bear with me while I figure out the best way to accomplish them. But tell me, please, what would YOU like to see in 2012 from ReadHeavily?

I invite you to join me on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Google+. Until then, here are 12 Fascinating Friday Reads:

  1. The Right Mindset for Success. An interview with Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
  2. The Science Behind the Smile. An Interview with Daniel Gilbert, widely known for his 2006 best seller, Stumbling on Happiness.
  3. 8th Fire: Discovering Aboriginal literature. Waubgeshig Rice discusses the importance Aboriginal literature had in shaping his own identity as a youth and some of the authors that have truly influenced him.
  4. Actor Stanley Tucci Sets Out to Find the Best Wines for Under $15.
  5. Clippers’ 30-year climb to relevance.
  6. Retire Here, Not There: South Dakota. South Dakota’s cost of living is nearly 11% lower than the national average. The median home price is just $116,900 and there is no state income tax. And residents and experts say cheap doesn’t compromise beauty.
  7. Can a Makeover Save the Twinkie? Ashton Warren, the pastry chef at Restaurant Marc Forgione in Manhattan reimagines the Twinkie, a snack most likely to survive a nuclear attack.
  8. The 160 Billion Dollar Bezzle. Why do private investors act like a bunch of baboons on a banana hunt in a warehouse full of inflatable bananas?
  9. Fighting the Last War. Why the Mexican Drug War is failing (and what’s Columbia’s got to do with it).
  10. New Storage Device Is Very Small, at 12 Atoms. Researchers at I.B.M. have stored and retrieved digital 1s and 0s from an array of just 12 atoms.
  11. Movie Industry Is Making Money from Technologies It Claimed Would KILL Profits. This year the movie industry made $30 billion (1/3 in the U.S.) from box-office revenue. But the total movie industry revenue was $87 billion. Where did the other $57 billion come from?
  12. Violin Concerto Mov. 1. 

Essential Classics to Read – a personalized list

Posted: November 22, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Heart - Poetry/Literature, Mind - Philosophy/Science, Soul - Art/Religion | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments »

Reading is prayer, and all prayer is about pain – naming it, sharing it, coping with it, and learning from it. Good writing knows this truth; bad writing avoids it. To risk in an emotional way, then, is a righteous calling towards an awareness and expansion of possibility and potential. To avoid such risk is to believe in zero-sum domination of the spirit.

Better yet, reading is a prayer said during the war of life. I often think of General George S. Patton’s famous prayer when I’m asked to define reading heavily:

“God of our fathers, who by land and sea have ever lead us to victory, please continue your inspiring guidance in this the greatest of all conflicts. Strengthen my soul so that the weakening instinct of self-preservation, which besets all of us in battle, shall not blind me to my duty to my own manhood, to the glory of my calling, and to my responsibility to my fellow soldiers. Grant to our armed forces that disciplined valor and mutual confidence which insures success in war. Let me not mourn for the men who have died fighting, but rather let me be glad that such heroes have lived. If it be my lot to die, let me do so with courage and honor in a manner which will bring the greatest harm to the enemy, and please, oh Lord, protect and guide those I shall leave behind. Give us the victory, Lord.”

I thought about these things after a friend recently asked me to create a list of essential classics to read. Like any list, mine is personally quirky and redemptive. What follows are 43 books I chose across six genres: classics, memoirs, novels, poetry, self-help, and short stories.

Which would you add or delete and why?

  1. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories
  2. All the King’s Men
  3. Blood Meridian
  4. Brave New World
  5. Don Quixote
  6. Dubliners
  7. Ficciones (English Translation)
  8. Fifth Business
  9. Food Rules
  10. Great Expectations 
  11. Grendel
  12. How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry
  13. How to Read and Why
  14. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
  15. Invisible Man
  16. Lolita
  17. Love in the Time of Cholera 
  18. Mating: A Novel
  19. Men Without Women
  20. Miss Lonleyhearts
  21. Moby-Dick
  22. My Invented Country
  23. My Life in France
  24. Neruda and Vallejo: Selected Poems
  25. Poems by Elizabeth Bishop
  26. Sophie’s Choice
  27. The 48 Laws of Power
  28. The Artist’s Way
  29. The Big Book of NLP, Expanded
  30. The Charterhouse of Parma 
  31. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
  32. The Crying of Lot 49
  33. The Lottery
  34. The Magic Mountain
  35. The Maytrees: A Novel
  36. The Secret Agent
  37. The Success Principles
  38. The Things They Carried
  39. The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers
  40. Thinking in Systems: A Primer
  41. Vow to Poetry
  42. Walt Whitman: Leaves of Grass
  43. Wislawa Szymborska: Poems New and Collected

The Quickest Way to Flip the Switch on Your Best Life – Letter to Self

Posted: October 25, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Mind - Philosophy/Science | Tags: | 6 Comments »

Dear Self,

Forget what you’ve learned about black and white, high and low, on and off. Only two switches matter in your life – positive and negative. One coruscates, the other corrodes.

The artful use of each can confirm or cancel the other. These two dimmer switches work independently of each other.  Said differently, amplification and destruction are the new On/Off.

So, doing great things in your best life means you know how to work each switch within each and every moment of your life. And don’t worry about the energy, it’s there, at the end of the switch, waiting for your command.
Love,
me

P.S. Everyone else in your life is in the other room. Their light won’t light up your life. But their greasy, grimy, gopher paws can and will grime up your switches if you let them.

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We Wanted To Be Writers: 13 Refreshing Questions Answered By Two Accomplished Authors

Posted: September 8, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Heart - Poetry/Literature, Mind - Philosophy/Science, Soul - Art/Religion | Tags: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Here’s what you need to know: We Wanted To Be Writers is a fantastic book … equal parts history, theory, and fog-lifting practical advice.  It’s the best real-life writing advice available in print today (read “the best short review” here).

In the following Q&A, authors Eric Olsen and Glenn Schaeffer graciously answer and amplify on things like the best writing assignments, favorite punctuation, and which books should be banned – covering everything from Raymond Carver to Cormac McCarthy to Old Milwaukee beer.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of We Wanted To Be Writers. Read the rest of this entry »

Why I Said Si To Mari, Mi Flor Hermosa And Wife

Posted: August 31, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Heart - Poetry/Literature, Mind - Philosophy/Science, Soul - Art/Religion | Tags: , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Painting of an iris by Georgia O'Keeffe

My wife has qualities that give me great pleasure to see, hear, and think about. I mean, she’s a real looker, you know? But the bridge of her nose crinkles and her ears flush when I talk like that that. So let’s just say she’s beautiful inside and out.

We met almost eight years ago. Somewhere near the beginning I began calling her Mi Flor Hermosa, my beautiful flower. Worse, than a Chinese fortune cookie in Spanglish? Sure. But I said it so she wouldn’t forget how beautiful she was. And I mean that still.

But you know what? I never told her this, but I mostly call her Mi Flor Hermosa to remind myself just how wonderful a gift sharing life with her is – more wonderful than all the beautiful flowers in the world.

“Do you take Sean to be your husband,” asked the clerk.

“I do,” said Marisel.

The clerk turned to me. “Do you take Marisel to be your wife,” she asked.

I said, “Sí.”

1,461 days ago the woman I call my beautiful flower laughed at my Spanglish. And she’s been tolerating the things that make me tick ever since. How did it happen, you ask? Why, she called me up at work and asked me to marry her in a simple ceremony conducted by a county clerk during my lunch hour on a 106 degree day. I said, “Sí.”

So here’s the thing. I try to recognize our anniversary each year with a traditional, hand-made gift. Only thing is, the traditional gift for a 4th anniversary is flowers. How do you make a flower by hand? I can’t compete with that.

So rather than giving her a bouquet that would soon die or a pot that she’d have to water, I thought it’d be cool to give Mi Flor Hermosa a list of four flowers that symbolize our marriage. And use the list as an acrostic for her nickname since childhood.

So here goes …

M is for Magnolia because of her perseverance, nobility, dignity, and splendid beauty.

A is for Alstromeria because she’s taught me about true devotion, prosperity, and fortune.

R is for Ranunculus because she’s radiant with charms.

I is for Iris because she’s my faith, valor, wisdom, and inspiration.

 

That’s why I said, “Sí” to Mari, Mi Flor Hermosa and my wife. I love you babe!

How to Make More Money Than Any Professional Athlete: Write Books

Posted: August 18, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Heart - Poetry/Literature, Mind - Philosophy/Science | Tags: , , , , , , , | 13 Comments »

What does author J.K. Rowling have in common with Kenyon Martin, Matt Ryan, Eric Staal, Gary Woodland, and Carlos Zambrano? Each is the 13th highest paid professional in their chosen field.

It might surprise you to learn that the 13 highest paid authors made a combined $310,000,000 last year. That’s more than the 13 highest paid professionals in baseball, soccer, basketball, football, hockey, or golf earned last year.

Which makes me wonder: which is better, teaching our kids to write or play a sport? I suspect it’ll always be better, in the long run and for the most people, to teach our kids to write (and ReadHeavily).

Think about that the next time you load the kids into your SUV.

WHAT THE TOP 13 EARNED IN EACH SPORT

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13 of the Best Books About NFL Football

Posted: January 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Mind - Philosophy/Science | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Click here to see all books about the NFL on Amazon

Looking for football books? Books about the NFL? The greatest football books or even just the best football books? Perhaps you needfootball books for kidsor NFL fiction?

STOP. DO NOT PASS GO and do not pass this list. These 13 books are your personal gateway to all of that and more.

Each link takes you to Amazon where you can scoll down and find other related books. Some you may know, and many you won’t. Just leave a comment with what you want added to the list and I’ll oblige.

Click here for more great NFL books.

  1. Sports Illustrated The Football Book Expanded Edition by Editors of Sports Illustrated. 320 pages capture the essence of America’s game: the players and performances, the crucial moments and classic matchups, the enduring dynastics and unique characters that have made pro football the new national pastime.
  2. Gridiron Gauntlet: The Story of the Men Who Integrated Pro Football, in Their Own Words by Andy Piascik. One year before Jackie Robinson broke the color line in major league baseball, four black players joined the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams to become the first African-American pro football players in the modern era. Players who began their careers from 1946 to 1955 reminisce about the violence they faced on and off the field, the world of segregation and the violence it brought, but also of white players and coaches who assisted and supported their careers.
  3. Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback by George Plimpton. In the mid-’60s, Plimpton joined the Detroit Lions at their preseason camp as a 36-year-old rookie quarterback wannabe, and stuck with the club through an intra-squad game before the paying public a month later. What resulted is one of the funniest and most insightful books ever written on the game; 30 years later it remains a major model of what was then blossoming into New Journalism.
  4. The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever by Frank Gifford. ”Frank Gifford’s superb memoir shows what it really takes and means to be a champion. Also, it’s nice to read about the Giants losing a title game.” - Bill Belichick
  5. Football Genius by Tim Green. A Young Adult (YA) book by a former Atlanta Falcon who uses his own NFL experience to bring readers behind the scenes.
  6. The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays by Ron Jaworski
  7. Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look by Pat Kirwan
  8. Football Scouting Methods by Steve Belichick
  9. How Football Explains America by Sal Paolantonio
  10. Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback: A Fully Caffeinated Guide to Everything You Need to Know About the NFLby Peter King
  11. A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley
  12. Blood, Sweat & Chalk: The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today’s Game by Tim Layden
  13. Super Bowl XL Opus Limited Edition by Dave Anderson
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