To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading? “Prozac Nation” by Elizabeth Wurtzel-Apparently there’s a movie based on this book, but I have never even heard about it, although the name did sound familiar. I’m not very far into this book yet and so far I am actually surprised at how much I DON’T relate with the character…I thought the fact that I deal with depression would make the character relatable to me, but this character takes a lot more medication than me for her depression, has more severe symptoms than me and has tried drugs…and this is just what I have found out so far. I CAN relate to her feelings when she tries to stop her medicine and people are like, “She’s acting crazy again, she should be a good girl and just take them!”….but I relate to that from back in the early 2000′s when every time I cried or acted upset(even if it was for a legitimate reason), people would ask if I was taking my medicine and it made me feel the same way a woman feels if she is overly emotional for a GOOD reason and someone asks her or assumes she is on her “monthly”….Is it just me that gets bothered by it? It’s this feeling of, “Other people can be sad or angry sometimes and it’s considered normal, can’t it be possible that my feelings are a normal life reaction and not always based on my depression OR something every woman goes through?”

What did you recently finish reading? “Then Came You” by Jennifer Weiner-I personally LOVED this book and the way it showed how people can change for the better and a family doesn’t always have to end up being what we may traditionally consider family to be…The story is told from 4 different person’s sides but it meshes together so well and clearly that I had no problem following along!

“Black and Blue” by Anna Quindlen-Loved and hated it…Hate only because of the reality in this book….So many women who are abused never see the man guilty of it charged with the crime or punished for it and this fact makes me sad and angry at the way the world works. The ending was realistic and somewhat good, somewhat bad…I find myself hating that it’s realistic because I want a fairy tale ending BUT at the same time, you HAVE to show the reality if you expect people to be aware and try to make a change.

What do you think you’ll read next? I really don’t know for sure…I have 3 more library books checked out, ONE on hold that was due back Monday but shows it’s still checked out! UGH! and 2 more books coming eventually in the mail from Books Free….as well as my new Stephen King book that I am dying to read! So you will have to wait until next week to see what I read next!

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Giving Thanks Day #9: Today, I am thankful for the ability to hear. Besides reading, music is a huge importance in my life, but without my hearing, I would have never known what Music was like. I would never have been able to experience the syncopation of beats, the major and the minors, and the way music can be your best friend when dealing with heartbreak or make cleaning the house more bearable. Music has been there for me through years of depression and I honestly don’t know where I would be in my life without the joy of it. I have an older brother who is deaf and that really makes me think about how lucky we are to be able to hear. Every time I go see a movie on the big screen, I feel sad for my brother who doesn’t get to enjoy that experience the same way without an interpreter signing to him every word that is said. Sure there are horrible things our ears may hear through the years, but it’s because of the wonderful things we also can hear that make it all worth it. A newborn baby cooing and giggling, a little niece telling you she loves you when you’re sad, the words “I do” repeated by your husband on your Wedding Day, your name called at graduation…….all blessings of which I am thankful I have heard through this ability bestowed on me.