Jun 8, 2008

The Sunday Salon: Do You Ever Feel Guilty?


Hello and thanks for visiting my Sunday Salon! I've had a pretty uneventful book week, but I am enjoying reading A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, which I'm almost finished with. I can't say I like it as much as THE KITE RUNNER, but it is still a great book. I'll have my review in a day or so. I am still waiting on 2 remaining ARCs, one from LT and one from The Book Network. Hopefully they'll arrive soon.

Yesterday I spent most of the day with my mom and sister. It was a girls day out. We went to the pet store where my sister adopted another kitty, went shopping and just had fun. We haven't had a day like that in awhile and it was great. We had a delicious lunch of Caesar salad with shrimp and lobster. It was a fantastic, light lunch. Afterwards, I went to my local used book store and traded in some books I've had for awhile and really didn't care for too much. I ended up with $30 of store credit towards future purchases, which thrilled me! While there I found a copy of Anne Tyler's BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS that I've been wanting to read. I've never read any of her books so I'm looking forward to that. I also picked up A WALK IN THE WOODS by Bill Bryson. It's the sometimes humorous, sometimes frightening account of his trek up the Appalachian Trail. That one is actually a birthday present for my boss who is a kayaker/bicyclists and an avid reader. I know he'll appreciate the book. And hopefully will let me borrow when he's finished!

I got up early this morning, put some chicken in my crockpot for dinner later, whipped up a veggie omelet for breakfast, then grabbed a cup of coffee and read for a few hours. I didn't make it to church this morning, but even though I've been reading, I've had laundry going that I didn't get to yesterday, so at least I have the illusion of doing something productive while I'm reading! I don't know why, but sometimes I feel guilty when I close off the world and sit and read for hours. Like I should be doing something. I guess it comes from the work ethic my parents instilled in me. I keep telling myself its ok to relax and do nothing sometimes. I still struggle with it though. Do any of you ever feel that way? Or is it just my weirdness coming out? LOL I'd love to know your thoughts on this.

I hope you all enjoy your Sunday and the books you're reading. I'm going to go mix up an iced cappuccino from my Toddy cold-brewed coffee system, (if you love coffee and you've never tried this you should check it out - its delicious!) grab my book and read for awhile longer. Happy Reading!

10 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean about feeling guilty sometimes when I'm in my own world reading a book...but sometimes I just can't help myself :)

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  2. No more feeling guilty. I'm sure you do enough during the rest of the week to deserve some time for you. And remember that you can't be of help to anyone if you burn yourself out working too hard. I know. I'm speaking from experience hard earned.

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  3. A Walk in The Woods is a great gift. I'm sure your boss will love it as will you.

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  4. I like reading Bryson. He writes great travelogues!

    My Salon moments

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  5. But you ARE doing something! You're reading and learning and expanding your world view. Sure beats sitting in front of the TV watching golf!

    I loved A Walk in the Woods. And A Thousand Splendid Suns. Great choices. I'm not much of a Tyler fan, but lots of people love her stuff.

    Have a good reading week and do try not to feel guilty! (only if you're not feeding your kids or pets or paying the mortgage in lieu of reading!)

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  6. Thanks to all who commented and for helping me to not feel guilty anymore! I know its ridiculous, but someimtes I can't help it.

    Terri - you are so right! I AM doing something. I'm constantly learning when I read. My friends ask me sometimes when we're talking and they'll say, 'How did you know that?' And I say, 'I'm a reader!'.

    Table Talk & justareadingfool - I'm really excited to give this gift to my boss. I've heard so many great things about it.

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  7. I absolutely feel that way sometimes. Even though I came from a family of readers, my mother would never have just sat down in the middle of the day to read, much less to do anything else "unproductive." She wasn't militant about it, but she did always have to be doing something. I struggle more with sitting down to surf and blog. Shouldn't I be ironing, cleaning, painting, cooking, etc? I've managed to shed most of that guilt in the past 18 years. And my mom reads most of the day now!

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  8. Don't feel guilty about reading. Reading itself is a positive act.

    Sounds like you had a fun girls day out :o)
    enjoy your week.

    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  9. Lisa, I always feel that way! I don't allow myself to sit down with a book until late in the day when the kids are in bed, because there are always a million other things to do. It's ridiculous because there will always BE a million things to do!

    I didn't really like Back When We Were Grownups, but can't wait to read A Thousand Splendid Suns.

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  10. Lisa - I've heard alot of mixed comments on Anne Tylers work, so I'm curious to see what its like and if I'll like it. You'll love ATSS.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I look forward to hearing from you again soon!