But wait - there's more!

You are probably not wondering what on earth happened to me, but on the off-chance you are, I'll tell you.

I have been working and learning, which is part of my work.  Lots and lots of exciting work.

Then on Saturday, I had an "out-and-about" day, and a very nice woman came up and introduced herself to me as a reader of my blog.  Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  Besides my sweetest and kindest friends, I didn't think I had any readers.

So that got me thinking, I'd kind of left my blog hanging.  So I thought I'd better have an update.

So without further ado, here are some Qs and As.

What about my book?  It's finished.  But it may be renamed and further edited (by someone else - yay!).  And there is more exciting news I have which is preventing me from releasing the book to you yet.  Which I can't tell you yet.

What about the app which is related to the book?  It's finished too, but it will never be released.  That is because, after advice from someone I trust, I don't think working on iPhone apps is something I want to devote any more energy to.  I don't think the returns are worth it, plus I don't want to be tied in to any more Apple products or under their umbrella.  

What about my daughter?  She is as lovely as ever.  She still tweets in french, occasionally plays piano and still hasn't become the hideous teenager I was told was inevitable.  So she'd better hurry up with that because as a 17 year old, she is past halfway through her teenage years.

What about the online shop?  That's still going.  But is being redesigned which ties in with the book.  So that is as far as I can go with that.

What about my writing?  I am still doing lots.  I have had lots of articles published online lately, mainly about using youtube in business.

What about Christchurch and the earthquakes?  The aftershocks have more or less stopped and Christchurch is better than ever, especially in Autumn.  I have a spectacular red-leafed tree on the street which I get to enjoy every morning from my upstairs bedroom window.  But today's a very windy day.  Wild is the wind.  (See what I did there?)

What are you reading?  Lots, as usual.  I have several on the go at any one time usually.  Sometimes I limit myself to a chapter at a time then go on to the next book,  like switching from television programme to television programme.  At the moment, I'm reading the following:
Martha Beck's new one.
Finding Your Way in a Wild New World
I hate self-help books nowadays but I guess you could say this is one and I really like it so far.

A biography of Imran Khan,of all people.
By Christopher Sandford.  I'm not a fan of cricket, or even Imran Khan, but I really love reading biographies, particularly about people I have absolutely nothing in common with, it widens my world.  Imran Khan really fits the bill there.  I have to say, I'm finding him quite likeable.

Yikes!  Surely not another self-help book!  Not really, but definitely a meep and deaningful for women:
What Did I Do Wrong?: What to Do When You Don't Know Why the Friendship Is Over
A fascinating read.  As far as the friendship I have had in the last year that has ended, I definitely know why the friendship ended.  It's because I've seen the mean streak and ungenerous spirit which is something I find most off-putting, although maybe I had been naive before then.  In those cases, friendship ending is definitely a lucky escape.  And like the women in the book, both know that the friendship is over, but the reason why never got discussed.  Why go there?  It won't change anything and there's no turning back.

The Oriental Wife by Evelyn Toynton.  Love it!  I could barely put it down from the first page.  I am trying to read more fiction in my spare time.  Here's the synopsis from Amazon:
The Oriental Wife is the story of two assimilated Jewish children from Nuremberg who flee Hitler’s Germany and struggle to put down roots elsewhere. When they meet up again in New York, they fall in love both with each other and with America, believing they have found a permanent refuge. But just when it looks as though nothing can ever touch them again, their lives are shattered by a freakish accident and a betrayal that will reverberate into the life of their American daughter. In its portrait of the immigrant experience, and of the tragic gulf between generations, The Oriental Wife illuminates the collision of American ideals of freedom and happiness with certain sterner old world virtues.

The Happiness of Pursuit: What Neuroscience Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Shimon Edelman.  I just love a good book about the brain.  It's not a self-help book in any way shape, or form and I have to say some of it has been a bit hard-going.  But with the first or second chapter talking about the brain as a computer/calculator, it had me sold.

The Dirt-Cheap Green Thumb: 400 Thrifty Tips for Saving Money, Time, and Resources as You Garden by Rhonda Massingham Hart.  I like to think I'm a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to my garden, especially when it comes to gardening on the cheap.  But even then, I am always open to more knowledge, particularly if it looks like the writer is on the same page as me.  I spend a lot of time in my garden, doing things like working, harvesting, reading, drawing, eating and lately, writing.  And if I am not in the garden, I am thinking about it or planning for it.  And usually one of the books on my bedside table is related to it.  This book I love.  There is enough new knowledge to make it worth my while to read, and the size and layout of it couldn't be more perfect, particularly for sitting in a swing and reading.

So, if you're still reading this - what are you reading in the way of books?