Thursday Bouquet #4
A Family Saga, Inner Peace, and Drugs are bad Mmkay?
It’s World Book Day Y’all!!
It’s also Dr. Seuss’s Birthday AND Read Across American Day!!
A big day for readers! Make some time to read a book today. Read to yourself, read to a child or load up an audio book and let someone read to you. No matter how you do it, just read!
Okay, We’re back to business as usual this week with a Read, a Listen and a Watch!
Read - Two Stories, One Book
This week, I’m reading “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A book that’s been on my radar for a while but, I put off reading because of a bad review.
It was just a random review on Goodreads that said “Why would I want to read a book about a bunch of spoiled rich kids having a party?”. Like the reviewer, that didn’t appeal to me either.
Now that I’m working my way through the story of the Riva family, I have to wonder if the reviewer actually read the book. Sure, one of the storylines is about the four Riva siblings and their annual rager, but the book is so much more than that. Saying “Malibu Rising” is about a party is like saying that “Forrest Gump” is about Alabama. It’s one piece of a big, multilayered story.
A big story that’s told in two interweaving parts. The first part introduces us to the adult Riva siblings. The second tells the story of their family, beginning when their parents met.
The movement between “past” and “present” is a familiar story device that works well to give this book an epic feel. It expands the time period where the story is taking place and gives the reader a wider scope to view it with.
The only drawback of this type of book is that one story is inevitably more compelling than the other. I’ve never felt this more acutely than when I read “A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki. Ozeki also told two stories at once, though I think Taylor Jenkins Reid presents a more evenly matched pair in “Malibu Rising”.
Though I genuinely loved “A Tale for the Time Being”, I felt conflicted after reading it. How do you rate a book that contains an excellent story and a mediocre story?
“Malibu Rising” suffers from the same problem to an extent. I am absolutely enthralled with the “past” thread. It feels like a page turner. I want to know what happens next.
That anticipation is doled out cleverly though. The chapters alternate, going back and forth from past to present. Chapters focused on the adult Riva children feel like palate cleansers. It gives me a chance to process the previous chapter and work up an appetite for the next one. It’s not a bad thing.
Thinking about it now, I’m grateful to that reviewer. Even though they delayed my pleasure. When I finally picked this book up, I got a delightful surprise. “Malibu Rising” is a really good book.
It’s the third book I’ve read by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I enjoyed “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”, but “Malibu Rising” is my favorite so far.
Listen - Meditation Masterclass
Drum Roll Please….The Rich Roll Podcast is our listen this week.
Is this starting to feel like a Rich Roll fan page?
I apologize for coming back to him over and over again. He just seems to be firing on all cylinders lately. At least the ones that spark my engine. Also…I really love Rich. He’s one of my heroes for many reasons we might have to get into someday.
Today, I want to talk about the “Meditation Masterclass” Rich released this week.
I’ve been meditating daily for about seven years and it has become an indispensable part of my daily routine. I struggled with insomnia, anxiety and panic attacks throughout my adult life. Meditation made a huge difference in my ability to cope with these issues and helped to alleviate them.
I always appreciate an opportunity to refresh my meditation practice. Learning something new and hearing about other people’s experiences is always inspiring.
The “Meditation Masterclass” episode features snippets from longer interviews Rich has done over the years with meditation teachers and long time practitioners. It’s a peek into a wide variety of perspectives on meditation.
The cool thing about this format is exposure to different methods and traditions. You can take what you like and leave the rest. If something appeals to you, you can go listen to the entire episode or seek out the work of the interviewee.
Light Watkins, for example, wrote an excellent book about Vedic meditation called “Bliss More : How to succeed in meditation without really trying”. Sharon Salzberg can be found giving talks and guiding meditations on the “10% Happier” app. She also wrote a book about Metta Meditation called “Loving Kindness” that I liked a lot.
If you are new to meditation, listen and see if something sounds interesting and feels doable for you. If you already have a meditation practice, listen and discover something new to reignite your excitement about it.
The podcast is available through apple, at richroll.com or, in video form on Youtube. Here are the links,
Rich Roll Podcast - Meditation Masterclass (Youtube)
Rich Roll Podcast - Meditation Masterclass (Audio)
Watch - Cocaine Bear
I have to do it. I took the teens (son & nephew) to see “Cocaine Bear” over the weekend and all three of us loved it.
You don’t have to look much farther than the movie poster to know this is not for everyone.
What you can’t tell from the poster, is that it’s actually a comedy. A very specific brand of comedy. If it’s your thing, you will love it. If it’s not, you will absolutely hate it. I don’t see there being a lot of in-between with this one.
The movie is gross, but it wasn't the bloody spectacle I was anticipating. The movie actually gives us a plot. It shows us how and why all of the characters ended up in the woods with a man eating, cocaine addled bear.
The characters are quirky and give the movie a familiar comedic vibe, aided in no small part by the surprisingly elite cast of actors. You will instantly recognize a lot of them, including the late great Ray Liotta!
Yes, when the movie chooses to go there, it’s gorey to the max. Moviegoers get a reprieve between those scenes though and somehow the movie manages to create so much chaos around the mauling scenes that many of them are actually quite funny.
Like I said…not for everyone. Or even most people. But if this is your thing, you’re gonna love it.
I left feeling entertained, as did the teens. It was a fun one to go see together. It was also fun to watch in a theater full of people. It’s the type of movie that’s enhanced by audience reactions. If you can’t see it in the theater, gather up some friends and make a night of it.
Now off you go! To read a book or two….
Enjoy this Booktastic day! Stop by your local library, or used bookstore. Pluck something out of that TBR pile. Put your earbuds in and discover a new narrator.
Whatever you choose to do….Happy Reading!!
See you Sunday.
Thanks for all the reading tips Jenny! I’m going to check the meditation ones out. I like reading but I am more into non fiction books. Although who knows how much fiction is included there too!