Little Talks

The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by The Oatmeal (Matthew Inman) This book is a first for me because it's my first comic book! (Besides Archie Comics) And it's extra special because it is non-fiction. That is to say that the characters and the plot (if it can be said to have plot) are all real, or are simply hypothetical/metaphorical. It is a book describing the author's trials and joys in doing long-distance running that was also made to function as a motivational/how-to book for runners. There is little summary I can give you, but let's see what I can do. Matthew describes his struggles with "the blerch", his greatest running experience, some do's and don'ts for running, and more. The illustrations are extremely cartoony and often over exaggerated, but they serve to emphasize the writing and make it easy and enjoyable to follow. Rather than tell you more, let me give you a sample (part one of the book is available on

Today's Sunday Saying isn't very deep, but it reflects the feeling of summer. I'm suddenly realizing how quickly summer is slipping by and I'm not ready for it to be over. I was planning on doing so much more reading (and far less working). I wanted more time to hang with my girls before we all go back to school in the fall. I wanted a tan! Unfortunately, it is the nature of things to go against your expectations. My summer hasn't been exciting, but it has been a nice break. Besides, there's still time left. Make the most of the rest of your summer! (I'm going to try doing that by finishing The Complete Sherlock Holmes. )

The Portrait of Mr. W. H. by Oscar Wilde I decided to take a non-fiction class last semester, despite my selective taste for fantasy and fiction. And I actually really enjoyed it. Who knew there were so many creative ways to write non-fiction? Anyways, this book is one of the ones we read. Unfortunately, I didn't quite find it to be one of those unique works I just spoke of. Let me explain. This book is essentially Oscar Wilde's way of sharing a theory about Shakespeare's sonnets (though whether or not he believes it is hard to say). The theory, briefly, is that the poems are written to a young Willie Hughes who acted in Shakespeare's company. The flaw with the theory is that there is no evidence of this Willie Highes outside of the sonnets. The theory is framed by a story of several men discussing the theory, and the rest is written from the narrator's perspective as he finds evidence to support the theory. One man, who dies for his theory (as it is one

Once  is likely a familiar title to many of you as the name of a very popular Broadway musical that has been around for several years now. And if you guesse that my blog was about that, you are somewhat right. I have not actually been lucky enough to go see that performance. I have, however, seen the movie upon which the play is based. That's right! I bet you probably didn't know it was a movie. For those who haven't heard of the musical or didn't understand the premise, it is about an Irish singer-songwriter (male) who meets a European immigrant (female) who plays piano and sings. The two work together to make their music and get a demo CD in the hopes of turning their passions into a career. It is the classic storyline of boy meets girl, and so boy falls for girl (and girl, somewhat more reluctantly, falls for boy) and boy faces the risk of losing girl. It turns out that the young, single mother is actually still married but her husband is at home. I don't remembe

Sorry I've been absent so long guys (and gals). I have no excuse for the pastseveral  weeks except being tired from work, but last week I was volunteering in the mornings and working in the afternoons. But take heart, for I am determined this week to do more blogging. Bonus: today you get this blog AND Sunday Sayings. This movie is another one that I watched during Christmas break (yes, I know I'm still behind). As always, I don't want to get too into it and reveal the whole story, but I will summarize for you. Based on a true story. Young Alan Turing is a mathematician of the highest calibre who is recruited to help the English understand and decode the German "enigma" machine. A small number of linguists and mathematicians make up the team that works hard every day to figure out the cipher before midnight when the code will change. The team gets mad when Alan won't help, but they will soon realize that he is working on a machine (which he calls Christopher

I know I'm almost pushing the "Sunday" thing here since it's almost Monday, but better late than never. (I was out watching the Minions  movie). I'm going to be busy this week, but I've been slacking on my posts due to work and I would like to try to make that up to you.

I recently rediscovered Demi Lovato's "no makeup monday" selfies, and I know we still have a little bit o time until Monday, but for today's Sunday Sayings I would like to do a No Makeup Monday edition. The idea is to promote natural beauty and self confidence in order to teach girls that looks aren't that important, but also that everyone is beautiful in her (or his) own way.