Books #7-9

I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging lately – in fact I have an IRA post that has been sitting on my Word document that I haven’t finished writing but I have been keeping up with my 22 Before 23 List. In fact, since I’ve had a little time on my hands, I’ve been catching up on reading tons of books. And since I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging, I thought I’d just compile them into one post.

Book #7: Ella Enchanted
Does this count because I’ve read it before in the 6th grade or something? Eh, why not. While I was in Austin for Thanksgiving, Ella Enchanted was on TV and I remembered the movie being way worse than the book. But I couldn’t remember what was different. So I picked up the book and reread it. The book was WAY better.

Book #8: Give and Take
I had to read this book for work as part of our work book club, though we call it “enrichment” instead of book club since that was sort of an old-timey connotation. “Give and Take” is written by Adam Grant, the youngest tenured professor at Wharton. He categorizes people into three types: givers, matchers, and takers. He then goes on to explain why each has its own merits but ultimately those who are “self-focused, otherish givers” are most successful. I think my feelings on the book are somewhat mixed. Some parts I honestly felt like, “Duh, people who give back obviously get more out of life.” And though he does give plenty of examples of givers that have become very successful, it got a little repetitive. I think “Give and Take” probably merits its own blog post but that will have to wait for another day.

Book #9: The Fault in Our Stars
Cue the water works. This book has been on my to-read list for a long, long time. I’ve read “Looking for Alaska” and I do enjoy John Green, but for some reason, I just haven’t gotten around to reading his books. But that’s going to change! “The Fault in Our Stars” is a heart-breaking book, but John Green manages to capture the words of a 16-year-old, cancer-ridden girl so poignantly. He doesn’t set out to write a happy ending YA book, but instead one that’s truthful and has a lot of self-referencing. It makes me wonder, is John Green a mirror of Peter Van Houten, the author in “The Fault in Our Stars?” I haven’t done extensive research on the book, but I think there’s a lot of to be unearthed through his writing. Anyway, I finished this book on Christmas Eve and it made me feel that much more grateful that I had my family around me with everyone happy and healthy.

So there we have it, that’s three books since my last post, which was about three weeks ago. I think that’s pretty good progress on my 20 books before I turn 23. The next few books I’m looking to tackle are going to be doozies. I’m going to read “The Gunslinger” by Stephen King, attempt “The Fellowship of the Ring” (I know, I know, how can I not have read these books already), and “Why We Broke Up), by Lemony Snicket. That last book I started after “The Fault in our Stars” but honestly, I had an emotional night after John Green’s novel so I needed a break from all the waterworks. Anyway, here’s my quick book update, I may try to finish up that IRA post that I’ve had sitting on this document for a while now…

Lessons Candy Crush Has Taught Me

We all have that one friend that whips out her phone during any down time and stares intently at the screen crushing candies until she inevitable runs out of lives and then starts asking you to send them to her. In some circles, it’s two people that send each other lives. In some circles, it’s that one friend that keeps telling you to start playing Candy Crush because it’s “the best game ever! No really, try it!” Some of us might even be that (girl)friend that installed it on her man’s phone just so she could send herself live (may or may not have been guilty of this in the past). But what can we make of this Candy Crush phase? Here are a few lessons this addicting game has taught me?

1) Think ahead – as you progress in the levels, it’s less about just moving around the candies and more about planning ahead. What you do during one move can affect the board later on and come back and bite you. Planning ahead can save you grief later on and thinking about how your actions can affect things down the road.

2) Sometimes you just get lucky – no matter how strategic you are, sometimes you just need a little luck. Sometime the board is stacked in your favor, sometimes you just happen to do the right thing at the right time. Luck isn’t something you should count on but if it plays into your hand, don’t question it. just let it happen.

3) Patience, patience, patience – things don’t always happen on the first try. Or even the fifth try. Or even the 234748365 try. Just be patient. If things were always easy, we would never feel a sense of accomplishment when we finished something hard. Patience helps us learn the ethics of hard work and it keeps us hungry.

4) Take a break – after a week or two of being stuck on the same level, sometimes I feel like throwing my phone (on my bed so it doesn’t break, let’s not get crazy) and screaming at the world. At that point, it’s time to take a break. Like everything else in life (work, relationships, math, cooking), sometimes you just need to step back and take a break from it all. Sometimes we put on our concentration caps so we can focus but sometimes that cap becomes tunnel vision and we’re unable to see past our box. Taking a break and stepping away from it all gives us a chance to regroup and our brains a chance to think about something else. I find that after a break, 15 minutes or a full night’s rest, the level doesn’t seem so challenging anymore.

5) Rely on your friends – Candy Crush is really a social game. Granted it’s not Survivor or anything like that, but it helps to have some friends on your side. Whether it be to ask for extra lives, a little advice on a particularly hard level, or just to provide a little friendly competition, having friends is a plus. Also, you need your friends for support (and tickets). Without them, you’d lead a lonely existence and be a hermit.

6) Sometimes, shit happens – sometimes, no matter what you do, everything explodes and you’re left with shit on the board. It happens. Just like luck happens, shit also happens. There’s nothing to do but shake it off and move on. Those stupid hurricanes wreak havoc on everything and all you can do is grimace, curse a little, and move on.

So there it is: life lessons from Candy Crush. What else has this colorful, addicting game taught you?