books tv housing & learning

I have read a bunch of books lately. You know how sometimes you get on a roll?

• The Double Bind: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian - I've enjoyed each of his books this was no exception
• Letter from Point Clear: A Novel by Dennis McFarland - a little slow but interesting characters
• The Knitting Circle: A Novel by Ann Hood - fun, easy and a surprisingly good storyline
• Right now I'm reading Up from Orchard Street by Eleanor Widmer for my Soroptimist bookclub.
• Did you see that Ann Patchett (author of Bel Canto) has a new book out called Run?

We wait all summer through bad reruns for a fresh fall TV lineup and here are my favorites so far. New shows have mostly been a disappointment (Cane, Bionic Woman...), but a few with potential are Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money and Big Shots. And I have to say my favorite is the Women's Murder Club which premiered last night. It's based on the James Patterson books and I really think they picked the perfect actresses to play the roles! And I'm happy to see my old friends in the returning shows: Brothers & Sisters, Heros, Boston Legal, House, and Greys Anatomy! Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love was just on Oprah last week. It was awesome! I loved that book and it was especially great to see Oprah ask questions about her year of self discovery.

We've been busy helping Kevin and Tyler find a place to live so that Kevin doesn't have to commute from Chandler to his job in North Phoenix. They have signed a lease on a condo in Scottsdale which is absolutely perfect. Great location near old town and totally rennovated so that all the appliances and even the bathtub are brand new! Ty flies in tonight and I'm so excited to welcome her to Arizona! They still need to buy the basics like a bed and a couch but I think they will love their new home.

At work I had a training class this week which was very motivational. Microchip works with Steve Chandler on leadership training. For the class we all read his book 100 Ways To Motivate Others and we were able to have a workshop with him based on work examples. What I really thought was cool is that his philosophy brought together many of the pieces from The Secret's Law of Attraction, things I have read by Martin Seligman on the science of happiness like Authentic Happiness and many other books I have read about optimism and leadership all into one accessable package. His approach is the perfect combination of down to earth and spiritual. He was able to use words like compassion without alienating a room of technology managers. I look forward to reading more of his books, following his blog and someday I totally want to have a mastermind group with some of you! In many ways we already have one - challenging each other to create and implement goals, brainstorm ideas, and support each other with total honesty, respect and compassion!