I get to read again!

I'm done with school, so now I get to choose my own books. I'll put which ones I'm reading so any people following this can share their thoughts on the books.

I just finished reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I loved it! It talks about how we define success and provides some interesting perspectives on predictors and determinants of success. I really liked it. He talks about how the time of year you were born, your upbringing, and cultural legacy can have a major effect on your success. It was a compelling argument.

I found the cultural legacy section very interesting. He talks about how family legacies and the cultures that your family comes from can have a major effect on your life success. He provides many examples throughout history to explain his reasoning.

Malcolm Gladwell is not LDS, but his argument made me think of another example, Joseph Smith. He came from a poor, farming family where work was required. Religion was also an important part of his legacy. Not organized religion, per se, but he read the Bible growing up. This was a cultural legacy of his family. Had this legacy not existed, he would never have read James 1:5. Think of the impact that cultural legacy had not only on Joseph Smith, but on the world. These legacies play an important role in all of our lives, whether we recognize it or not.

I would definitely recommend this book, but it has to be accompanied by a lot of questions and even more thinking. There's a lot of really interesting things in this book that I think are valuable. Good book!

I'm currently reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It's about the Civil War. Historical non-fiction is definitely my favorite genre of book, and I'm loving this one! It tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg from the perspective of some of the main players, basically generals from both sides. It's very interesting and engaging. I'll share more thoughts as I continue reading it.

My New Quest...which I offered myself...and which I already chose to accept

For the rest of 2011, I will eat no sweets. No store-bought candy. No homemade brownies, cookies, or other delights. I have become very good friends with Double-Stuffed Oreos as of late. I've been best friends with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups for a long time, and this newfound friendship with Oreos has got me thinking. I just need a break. It's time for me to take some me time and just think about things. This time away will be beneficial. It will allow me to hang out with someone I hate much less...my gut. That's the problem with these friends of mine. You can't hang out with them without also hanging out with Mr. Spare Tire. I've decided it's not worth it anymore. I'm going to rediscover my younger days.

Ok, enough cryptic talk. I'll start updating my blog with thoughts and other updates during this quest of mine. Should be fun. This quest will also be accompanied by working out a lot more and eating smaller portions. I haven't done awesome at the smaller portions thing quite yet (read: I've been terrible at it), but that will change. I'm excited for this challenge. Wish me luck!!