77, 78, 79 i know, unbelievable, right?

i've actually been working on some of the books i've been finishing lately for a while- some sat on my desk, collected dust on my bookshelf, or got tossed around in my bookbag for a time with a bookmark firmly inserted somewhere near the middle.  so the winners of this weekend's lottery are.....

77. The Associate by John Grisham (hmm. funny, i remember this plot in two other Grisham books....)
78. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving -a classic-
79. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne -potentially life-changing: i am definitely impressed with the content of this book, although the format/writing could be improved, but i am so overwhelmed (in a good way) with the statetements in here that I don't even know where to begin thinking about how it effects life and religion.  we are all made of energy that has been in existence for the span of mankind and will be in existence once we leave.  that doesn't sound like a lot, but think about it: there are so many spin-offs of thought in this one profound little statement from a book:  does that mean reincarnation exists- if our energy is just transferring to the next generation then aren't we somehow transferring to the next generation?  the power from God is energy which He created us with and the universe with, so we are actually part of God, which makes me wonder if Jesus was God's son, but also an allegory for all human kind that realizes this because in reality we are all God's sons/daughters.  this could totally blow the lid off of why Christianity differs from Judaism and Islam in that Jesus was God's son, whereas he only exists in other religions, but it not God's son.  but if this were English literature at its' finest, then Jesus could be real but also the biggest, most powerful allegory or metaphor of all time!  think about it for a second, because i'm not just raving right now, nor am i blaspheming, in case you were wondering.  I have total faith and belief in God and Jesus, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  don't get me wrong, but i also happen to have a lot of background in literary analysis and it is really getting the most of me, but what if i'm on to something here?  read The Secret and think real hard while you are reading it- it'll blow your mind.

61. a book that will change my life

I am really astonished at the way this book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, by Dale Carnegie, has blown away my freakish need to worry and fret over every little damn thing.  If you can believe it, i was worried a couple of weeks ago about EVERYTHING (actually, you probably can believe it if you have been reading along with my literary journey..... i was a little shifty this past month as far as moods go).  i was so freakin stressed out about stuff that i was worried i wouldn't finish my 100 books this year.  first of all, why worry about that?  it is a personal goal, that i happen to be writing about to an audience of, oh, i dunno, one person, maybe two (or  none?  who knows?).  second of all- who cares?  if not now, i will get to a 100 a year some day.  but i'm not saying this to talk down about my goal.  i really am invested in reading a hundred books this year.  and blabbering about them endlessly on the world wide web to whomever feels like reading about it.  that's why i've busted my butt to read 61 books so far.  in case no one noticed, thats a lot of books.  if you figure that each book i read had an average of about 300 pages, that's um..... (i'm no math expert here, clearly, as my nose is stuck in books 24/7).....18,300 pages i've read in that past 9 months.  and that's just the books i've read in full.  what about those articles, cookbook instructions, magazines, newspapers, textbook entries, websites, emails..... the list goes on.  i'll stop being heady and just leave it at the fact that i'm no slouch when it comes to digesting words.  but this book was really fibrous.  this book stuck to my insides and sloshed around in my brain.  its going to take me a while to digest this puppy and i'm glad.  i just might go back to it again and again, as the handsome devil who gave it to me does (by the way- thank you!) and all the people who have bought it to keep it in print since 1944 probably have.  (i know! 1944!)  it hasn't lost an ounce of relevance.  and you know what has really sunk in and gone into the bloodstream since i have started reading it?  chill out.  deal with what comes at you day by day and enjoy what life has to offer.  pray and leave your worries to God.  appreciate the good things and do what you can immediately to banish the bad things.  
DUH!!!!!  i had to smack my head a couple times while reading this to say "no duh!  why were you stressing out about shit that you have no control over?  why did it take a book from the 40s to make you realize you have an AWESOME life and an AWESOME God?"  but it did take a book to bring this to attention and there were many other lessons that i still can't begin to process because i'm still too busy realizing what an idiot i 've been in my worry and stress and anxiety.  chill out.  be a good person.  -sigh-  thank you, Habibi and mr. carnegie, for making me realize what an idiot i've been.  and i say that with no irony or self deprecation at all- i mean that.  no need to be snarky tonight :)

48. The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol

Creepy, but cool.  Lots and lots to think about.  I wish I would have sat down and written about it right away, but I didn't, so I'm working from memory here.  Luckily I scribbled down some brief thoughts on the book right away, so I'll just transfer them here (they might not make a whole lot of sense, but we'll see....)  while this book had some definitely creepy shit in it, it was a fascinating read.  dan brown is kind of sick to think up some of those cultish, murderous things that happen in this thriller, but he's also some kind of genius to be able to piece together ancient mysteries like this (i liked the da vinci code too).  anywho, here's my chickenscratch on the book that i just found:

if God is man- then He is not fair becaues humans can use the power of knowledge for good or evil.  If God is man, who says what "good" is?  Man can literally materialize things with their minds- the created becomes creator.  literally.  all religions encompass the idea that mand and God are created by each other....

*what does this mean?  i have no idea, but run with it, i'm curious to see what we all come up with here.