It’s Monday! I finally finished Necessary Endings!

This past week, I finished:

Demigods & Magicians: Percy and Annabeth Meet the KanesDemigods & Magicians: Percy and Annabeth Meet the Kanes by Rick Riordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even though I didn’t finish The Kane Chronicles, I really like Carter and Sadie, so it was nice to spend some time with them without all the extra that comes with their series. It’s always fun to see characters from different stories interacting with each other, and seeing the similarities of Percy to Sadie and Annabeth to Carter was extra fun. So yeah, I really liked this.

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Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move ForwardNecessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward by Henry Cloud
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Me: I have been reading this book forever. I am going to finish it today because I am sick of saying I’m still reading it.

Mom: Sounds like you need to make a necessary ending on that book.

Me: Yes, exactly.

There is a lot of really useful and helpful information in this book, and I got a lot out of it. Most of it is stuff I had already learned, but I did learn some new strategies and think about some situations differently, both in the NE group I was in that made me decide to read the book and in the book itself. For example, I learned that I didn’t actually hate my job; I was just burnt out so needed to end some of the practices around it. I also had to make a personal necessary ending, which I probably wouldn’t have cast in those terms before. So, you know. Useful.

I think it took me so long because the writing is kind of dry and I kept reading it right before bed. Also, I lost the book for about a week, which didn’t help with the whole finishing it part. But it’s done now, and that’s all that matters.

If you’re trying to figure out how to end something you know you need to but don’t know how, this book may be helpful to you and I recommend it.

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Last week, I posted:

More A to Z!

[wrap-up-posts week=”16″ year=”2016″ category=”Blogging A to Z” listtype=”ul”]

 

As of today, I’m reading:

 

I’m still making my way through Furiously Happy which is funny so far, and I can see why it strikes a chord with my daughter. I started Alex + Ada Vol. 2 today and should also be getting to Scrum later this week. Of course this is my insane grading week (end of term! finals!) so we’ll see how far I get with any of those.

 

Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children's lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.
Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children’s lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.

Happy reading, everyone!

U is for Usher

True story: I had no idea what I was going to write about for U until someone on Facebook suggested I write about Usher, and then I remembered I have very strong feelings about Usher.

Let’s start with Confessions.

Confessions

 

You may remember Confessions. It gave us the club banger “Yeah!” that was THE song of 2004. And I know it was a club banger because that was back when I still went to the club.

 

 

Okay, but “Yeah!” isn’t even my favorite song, though it is pretty great. (I mean, it’s super great.) I also like “Do It to Me,” which is Usher doing his best Prince impression/homage.

 

 

I could talk more about Confessions (I mean, it’s pretty solid from beginning to end), but let us also talk about 8701, which has two of my favorite Usher songs of all time.

 

 

“Can U Help Me” may be my favorite Usher ballad. MY HEART. It clenches every single time I listen to it. It’s just so earnest and heartfelt, and I WISH I COULD HELP YOU, USHER. I AM SORRY YOU ARE SAD.

And then there’s “U Don’t Have to Call”:

 

 

This song and this video are pure glee and fun and love. He just looks like he’s having the time of his life there. It makes me so happy. Just. Everything about it.

Okay, and never forget that time Usher was on Sesame Street.

 

 

He is adorable and I love him. I am also a big fan of that haircut.

I remember when he was on The Voice bringing joy and beauty into my life on a weekly basis. That smile! That voice! I love him. Usher, I love you.

Thanks to my FB peeps for reminding me.

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for V!