So my parents planned this great ski vacation for Christmas break. I'm sitting up in Summit county in a hotel in peak ski season and guess what? I'm not skiing. My knee is giving me some trouble and I am letting it heal. Getting in proper ski position hurts it the most, which makes me think I hurt it skiing rather than running. I have never had a single knee issue in my life, so this is a little disheartening. So, instead of hitting the slopes with my dad and Troy, I'm hanging out in 3 degree weather with Annie and my mom. I've been catching up on my reading, in fact I just finished A Million Little Pieces. Wow, I just could not put it down. This book was all the rage a few years ago, but when accusations surfaced that the author skewed the facts it got a bit of a bad wrap. I had stayed away from it because of what I had heard. My mom gave it to me a few months ago and I just got around to starting it. I keep a stack of unrad books in my bookshelf and the ones I'm less excited about always seems to stay on the bottom of the pile. BUT, when I am reading a lot I end up with only the books on the bottom and sometimes I am so surprised at what gem I let sit there for months. I could not put it down. I don't read in the car b/c I get sick, but I read it on the entire drive up to the slopes. I couldn't put it down for three days. The author refers to a book called Tao Te Ching. I had never heard of it, but apparently it's well known. I really liked all the quotes he used from the book, ones like this:

Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment. Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self requires strength; He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures. To die but not to perish is to be eternally present. (chap. 33, tr. Feng and English)

The book is supposedly a memoir about the authors time in rehab. I am content to see it as fiction, and even in that light, it holds it's own. I was very fond of the style of writing. Good Book.

Next up, The Sound of Butterflies. Two chapters in, and I'm really excited about this one. It's old-worldly and descriptive. I'm excited.

AND...after that? Humm. I'm really in the mood for a good non-fiction book. Not quite sure what type. Nothing political, or war related, but maybe something finance, adventure, or self discovery-ish. I would like to know more about Coasta Rica as well. Anyone out there reading have any good suggestions?