I know, I know, I fail.

It's pretty easy to see that my attempt at a standard format to make entries "easier" on me failed miserably. Directly after my posting of Mitch Albom's book, going back and following the format seemed like a huge chore. That, coupled with life, meant that I neglected the blog for a couple of months.

In fact, I neglected to read. Period.

Normally books are my number one escape. I smash through them at light speed and can't wait for more. But the last few months have not been easy for me, dealing with health, pets, work, and the massive changes that life has thrown at me in general.

Well, I did read. I have been reading collections of Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Cathy... comic strips that are completely mindless and the perfect tonic for an exhausted, stressed out brain. I needed pictures and immediate gratification.

But they don't count.

In the last week, though, I've been reading again. I picked up a book that's been sitting on my shelf, just waiting for a re-read. I know it's a book that I enjoy and is light, but piques my deeper interests also. And that's gotten me thinking about the blog again and the fact that, I can come back, admit that my experiment in formatting was a huge fail, and get back to what I like doing. Reading books and jotting what I liked about them.

Tonight, I came across something else. Something that has me EXCITED to read. Something to LOOK FORWARD to. I haven't been excited or looked forward to something in a long time. This feels like a bit of a tonic for me and I am ready to do this. I am stoked.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/

When Mike and I went to a resort in Cuba a few years ago, there was an informal library where guests took books, left books, etc. So I took a couple of books from that library, but left a few that I had brought with me - cheap used book store finds that I wouldn't miss. But there was a bit of a thrill, thinking about them moving on to someone else. Maybe moving on to yet a different part of the world altogether. It reminded me of when I was younger and I liked to hide little treasures for people to find. Small toys or pretty rocks or a quarter. When I was older it turned into moving the lawn ornaments around in suburban yards. I wouldn't damage them, just place them oddly for the owners to find in the morning.

That goes back even further to a talk show episode I saw when I was very young. Someone had stolen a small plastic duck lawn ornament from a yard, and then took pictures of it in different locals all over the world and mailed them back to the owners. They loved getting updates on their little duck and then one day, the duck showed up in their yard again. It was a bit more beat up, the colour had faded, but it must have had stories to tell. And someone is doing that with a rubber duck right now. I love it. http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110816/NEWS/708169979