What I'm Reading Monday:Motivation

It's been five days since the start of the new year. It has become very clear to me that people are not very uncomfortable with the term "resolution". I understand it. It's a bit daunting setting an intention and staying determined through to its completion.

Don't think long term. Write one page at a time. Fill it with your own voice, pictures, feelings. Each day is a clean slate-a new opportunity.  Make your life a story you can't put down.
Better yourself.

Stories come from ideas-that spark of infectious passion which culminates motivation.

These words hold a special place in my heart and push me daily:
                                     live intentionally.think inquisitively.love uniquely 

I often try to read books with my mantra in mind so that I am constantly growing.

Here's what I have found this week:

 

Summary: 

Scott Adams has likely failed at more things than anyone you’ve ever met or anyone you’ve even heard of. So how did he go from hapless office worker and serial failure to the creator of Dilbert, one of the world’s most famous syndicated comic strips, in just a few years? In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Adams shares the strategy he has used since he was a teen to invite failure in, to embrace it, then pick its pocket.

No career guide can offer advice for success that works for everyone. As Adams explains, your best bet is to study the ways of others who made it big and try to glean some tricks and strategies that make sense for you. Adams pulls back the covers on his own unusual life and shares what he learned for turning one failure after another into something good and lasting. Adams reveals that he failed at just about everything he’s tried, including his corporate career, his inventions, his investments, and his two restaurants. But there’s a lot to learn from his personal story, and a lot of humor along the way. While it’s hard for anyone to recover from a personal or professional failure, Adams discovered some unlikely truths that helped to propel him forward.  

I had honestly never read the Dilbert comics and had no idea the author was HILARIOUS!

Example: "This book will show you how to grab failure by the throat and cough up a hair-ball of success." This man is a genius and I tip my hat to you, good sir! Go! Read it now!

 

Summary: 

Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It's had over a billion page hits to date. A year ago Munroe set up a new section - What If - where he tackles a series of impossible questions: If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? How dangerous is it, really, in a pool in a thunderstorm? If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce? What if everyone only had one soulmate? From what height would you need to drop a steak to ensure it was cooked by the time it reached the ground? What would happen if the moon went away? This book gathers together the best entries along with lots of new gems. From The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and the songs of Tim Minchin, through chemistry, geography and physics, Munroe leaves no stone unturned in his quest for knowledge. And his answers are witty and memorable and studded with hilarious cartoons and infographics. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel the smarter for having read.

I question everything. It has been a trait my mother instilled in me even as a young child. I figure the worst people can say is "no" and it makes me more aware of the world which is invaluable as a librarian. This book is chalk full of good things no one ever ordinarily thinks about and we need more books like them. 
4.5/5 so far.

  

Summary: 

One-of-a-Kind Bracelets You Can Make At Home

Take your outfit and crafting up a notch with attention-grabbing bracelets inspired by one of the hottest and most fashionable jewelry lines in the country.

Jade Gedeon, owner of We Dream in Colour, offers seventy-five of her favorite designs, and gives readers all the secrets for making talk-of-the-town adornments. With so many different materials and methods to choose from, you’ll have multiple artistic, unique and vintage-looking bracelets to add to your collection. Plus, you don’t need to be crafty to make these pieces; you just need to have a desire to look fashionable. Materials include beads, chain, cord, fabric, leather, metal, plastic and wood so you can convey a multitude of looks and feels. What’s more—all materials and tools can easily be found at local craft stores and hardware shops, so there’s no fuss to the great fashion.

With this bracelet-making guide, you’ll master the art of crafting your own jewelry and have pieces that you’ll cherish for a lifetime.  

 I love making one-of-a-kind statements and the my favorite creative outlet is jewelry. With so many options, it's hard to go wrong. It's better than counting the marshmallows in your cup during this dreary season and it will definitely put some color back in your world.