What to Write About...and some Book Reviews

So yesterday I posted on Facebook asking for ideas about what to write on my blog because I was just plain out of ideas.  I got some great responses and they got me to thinking - I think if I am going to blog every day, I need to have some sort of direction on this thing.  Random observations about my life will only last for so long -and I can't always wait for inspirations to strike. 

While I don't know what that direction looks like, yet, it is something I will be exploring a lot over the next few blog posts.  While I try and figure that out, here are some book reviews from my January reading:

Eternal on the Water (Fiction)
I bought this book for one reason and one reason only - it was only a dollar when Borders was going out of business.  I kept seeing stacks of the book around the store, and it had a pretty cover, so I picked it up.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how much I enjoyed it.  It is a sweet, honest love story.  Nature plays just as much of a part of the story as the human characters, and each environment the main characters encounter springs to life.  The first setting, the Allegash River in Maine, comes full circle at the end.  The writing actually made me slow down and spend time reading the book.  The words flow like water over the page, and you can't help but be captivated by the story.  Be warned, though, it's a hard story.  You know from the very first page how the love story is going to end; but wow, even then I wasn't prepared to cry as much as I did at the end of the story. 

Nursery Crimes (Fiction)
There is one simple way to sum up this book.  PURE FLUFF.  It was a quick read, and won't stick with me long, but it was entertaining nonetheless.  I mean, it's about and 8.5 months pregnant women who tries to solve a hit and run accident - with her two year old along for the ride.  What is there not to like?  It won't win any awards, but it falls happily into that "beach read" category.  It's good fun, and it's a nice, quick little diversion if you just are looking for pure entertainment.

REWORK (Non-Fiction)
I managed to hit my non-fiction goal for January by finally reading "Rework."  This book is billed as the anti-business book, and it's easy to see why.  Short chapters, blunt language, and philosophies that go against every business model you think you have to follow make it a fast read, but one with a lot of good points.  Written by the founders of 37signals, this book pulls no punches when it comes to making your business work, hiring, firing and succeeding.  While I have no immediate plans to launch a business (although i guess I just did with my Thirty-One consultant gig, didn't I?!?), it was still fun.  There are some basic principles I can put into practice in my job now, which will hopefully make me a better employee.

So, that's what I've read so far this month.  To hit my goal, I need to read two more fiction books this week.  I don't know if it will happen, but I have several more books upstairs from the Borders sale - so we shall see!