two weeks until mercedes marathon…

for those of you curious, momma made it 13.1 miles today – super proud – my hero

(okay, those days that my hero isn’t julie – or st. k – then it’s my momma who runs super-far:)

“back to work” by clinton – yes, irony that a president who doesn’t work any more writes a book about work – in his defense, it’s less about working and more about what the republicans (tea party) are about to mess up unless the world listens to him:) anyway, i’m a political junkie so it was a good, entertaining read – in our current state of “anti-government” talk, it was a compelling case for why we need government (for like, oh, i don’t know, DECENT SCHOOLS!!!)

(like spain park high:)

“chicago: a biography” – an auburn library read – very exhaustive, 500 pages of tiny type – so it took me most of the week – great read though – particularly if you’re going there this fall to watch the Cubs win the Series (ha – really going up there to run the streets in the marathon – and now i’ll know something more about the city than i did in ’09)

“once in a lifetime” – another auburn library read (odd that both came from there – but it’s not like people are reading down there anyway – there are trees to protect!!!) 1930s time drama about a trio that go to hollywood and exploit the talking industry movies – someone had recommended it – was okay – the great part about a drama is that they read quick (well, shakespeare doesn’t – but all other dramas do:)

got the newberry winner up next – hope your journaling is great this week

mayfield

what i did when i wasn’t running in the pouring rain, lightening, and thunder over the hills in mountain brook…

“comic books 101” – nook book – great little book – 280 pages to catch me up on superhero gossip – what i missed from never reading them as a kid – which lead to…

“superman archive: vol. 1” and “batman archive: vol. 1” – i then ordered and got both from north shelby (side note: north shelby library apparently is filled with thousands of comic book volumes) – both books are reprints of the first issues of the action heroes – pretty good reading – superman moreso than batman – but i like superman better anyway – that said, lois continually dumping on clark was funny – all batman did in the original issues was beat up on the mob

“my charmed, tormented life” by jerry west – we read a passage from the book in the fall – NBA superstar, long-time NBA executive talked about how he used basketball to cope with his brother’s death in Korean and with the abuse his father dished out – sad book – good book about the motivating force behind driven individuals

“maphead” by ken jennings – lovely book on the mysteries and wonders of geography – just about as good as his first book “brainiac” – fun to read books by smart people about smart things:) – which, in case the title didn’t make it clear, was about the importance of maps throughout time – and how that might be diminishing nowadays

hope your week of journaling is super

maf

ola,

first, ya’ll ain’t got no bizness posting this week b/c ya’ll are memorizing monologues of the ye olde shakespearean type – but that doesn’t mean your teacher can’t post:)

“the kentucky derby” by nicholson – great, great reading on an event 140-ish years old – i’m not a horsey guy, but the derby is THE DERBY – not that we watch all the same three channels anymore – anyway, the book interested me, would interest you collectively (would actually make a decent BOB) by using the derby as a picture of america – that what the derby was about at a give time was what we were about – and, to boot, i’ll never confuse kentucky with the old south ever again:)

“playing with a purpose: baseball” by yorkey – comes out in the spring – book about the faith of baseball players in The Bigs – of course, no cubs… anyway, gripping stories from some of those guys – incredible stories of how their lives have been changed – great middle school guy read

“giving” by clinton – library book – book on the power of a person to make a difference in the world – you get old like me, you don’t tend to believe in that any more so it was a good encouragement

i started the ken jennings “maphead” but i’ll wait until i finish it before reviewing – hope your break is wonderful and that you enjoy citing Shakespeare monday

sincerely,

mafeld

which is probably to your benefit b/c you will all blog better than me this year

(although, if some of you take the chance to post “i read all about LSU’s 50-0 win over Bama” i can assure you that your blog will not only be rejected – but i will be very, very upset:)

so let’s see if i can recall what i read before i ran 26.2 miles in mobile (i have hardwear for viewing tomorrow b/c i’m just that awesome)

“redemption” by bryan clay – us decathlete wrote about his troubled upbringing, his mother’s faith, and clay’s eventual faith – and success as a rather short decathlete – very encouraging read for athletes – encouraging as well for how faith can change a life – and how people can impact others positively – great read

“code name verity” – sad book – great book though – story of historical fiction friendship in france/britain during WWII – spy, prison camp, lies to preserve life, tough choices – the book covers it all – more a high school than middle school read – series things happen to the two main characters – but great late adolescent book

okay, back to laundry

mafeld

2012, 2012, 2012…

there, i’ve written it like four times today (including church) all before writing the instinctive “2011” – i’m so prod of myself – i’m ready to quit now while i’m ahead and go back to writing the double 1s…

“don quixote” by cervantes – wow, didn’t see this one coming – 1,118 pages of pure fun – at least, i told myself christmas eve that i would read it for a while – sort of a challenge book for the year –  then, somewhere, that challenge became “must finish book before school starts” and then that turned into “must finish book before everything else in life” – so needless to say, i was glad to finish on friday – and then, sort of sad…

the book is definitely worth the reading time of an aspiring AP English kid trying to get an impressive book under the belt for the summer – the book is considered the first novel in the west – it’s the first book with a developed fictional character – and it’s certainly lighthearted enough (my favorite part being the imagery of tennis in hell – and terrible books being used as the balls)

yes, they don’t make ’em like they used to…

regardless, i’m sure the page length deters almost everyone – it deterred me until i got it on the nook and didn’t have to tote it – anyway, that’s my impressive feat for the year and i’m done

“the accidental athlete” by john bingham – the title is a misnomer b/c bingham really was an athlete – he just didn’t know it – so no accident that he got competitive later – good read about running as an adult – in a world that believes you should only do what you’re incredible at – the rest of us must spectate, this book begs to differ (i do too)

“once a runner” – maybe third or fourth time to read the book – by john l parker – i guess the last time i read the book, i was really fast – now that i’m not as fast, i guess what i appreciated was cass’s commitment to the training – to the ups and downs of it all – also, to the ending of his two buddy’s running days – it came too quick for them

okay, now time for some dvd viewing – a “boy meets world” marathon followed by “how i met your mother” – from season one to the current… yea!!!

maf