Current Influences

I'm going to start a new blog series called- you guessed it- Current Influences. I believe that what I read, watch and listen to strongly influences my thinking, and my thinking strongly influences my writing. So to give you some insight into where my mind is during any given time period, I thought I'd post what I'm reading, watching and listening to. In that way, the posts that follow will seem to have an organic source.

So here are my Current Influences:

What I'm reading/recently read....

The Attachment Parenting Book by Dr. William Sears
Which is making me think about... how natural and instinctive attachment parenting is; that I was doing it all along without knowing it had a name

Don't Know Much About... The American Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis
Which is making me think about... how fascinating American history is; how we got to the place we're at now in our country's history; how money and the media have worked against the presidency from the very beginning; how proud I am that I can name all the presidents in order now :)

Grindhopping by Laura Vanderkam
Which is making me think about... how important taking little steps and taking advantage of any opportunity are when working toward a large career goal

Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah (fiction)
Which is making me think about... how much I hate when an author changes the rules in the middle of the book. Spoiler alert! In this one, you find out halfway through that most of the story up to that point took place in a coma patient's imagination. It's like the end of The Sixth Sense, which yes, was fascinating, but also felt like the writer had broken some sort of contract with me.

The First Husband by Laura Dave
Which is making me think about...
...ummm, nothing. This book wasn't very good.

What I'm watching...

The Cosby Show
Which is making me think about... the importance of family and especially laughing with family

House Hunters 
Which is making me think about... how cool it would be if my book sold really well and we could afford a big new house with a huge kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and a wrap-around porch with Amish-made rockers...
...but then I remember that I'm perfectly happy with my house, and shows like House Hunters are designed to bring out the greed in American culture. Which is already way greedier than it should be.

Downton Abbey
Which is making me think about... how awesome Maggie Smith is

What I'm listening to...

Dave Brubek
Which is making me think about... how much I hope Edwin is into jazz

How Stuff Works: the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast
Which is making me think about... a ton of things, because each podcast focuses on a completely different place and time in history, and I have over 400 of them to listen to since they began in 2008 and I'm only just starting them now. I love this podcast!


And all of these influences should lead me into my next group of blog posts. Have a great MLK weekend everyone!