Fight Right: How Successful Couples turn Conflict into Connection - Julie Schwartz Gottman & John Gottman

 This is a pretty great book and I would highly recommend it for anyone who ever wants to be in a romantic relationship. It has lots of excellent insight that can help anyone, no matter where they are on their journey in life. It could even be applied to non-romantic relationships. Seriously, you need to read this book!

- "The Zeigarnik Effect: She found that participants could recall the details of the interrupted tasks 90% more accurately than the ones they had been able to finish to their satisfaction. It appeared that a desire to finish something, a sense that it was incomplete or unresolved, lead to that event being retained in memory much more vividly. The act of completing something then was what allowed to to begin to fade, to be forgotten." This is why unresolved relationship fights stick in your brain so hard. 

- "It's hard to push back against cultural and systemic pressures. Deeply coded expectations surrounding gender roles are one form of pressure that can make it hard, especially for men in this society, to accept influence when we should. But any of us can struggle with accepting influence.  And ironically, refusal to accept influence is the main way we give up our own influence. Don't be the rock. Here's the bottom line for all people and all couples: when you can't be moved or influenced, you lose all power in the relationship. If you're someone who always says 'no' to whatever your partner wants or proposes, you become and obstacle.  You're a dead end for them. There's no new information there. No in-roads to connection, and no collaborative way forward, so they find a way around you. . . When you won't accept influence because you don't want to give up power or control in a situation, you become that rock that your partner is just going around. Now you're powerless.  You have no influence. The only way to became powerful in a relationship is to be capable of accepting influence. It's only when there's a true give and take that a person has real power. That means you treat the other person, their emotions, needs, and dreams with honor and respect."

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The Rooted Life: Cultivating health & wholeness through growing your own food - Justin Rhodes

 This was a cute book and I feel that the author did a 100% A+ job of achieving his goal in writing to book. He writes convincingly and authentically about pros and cons and benefits of gardening/farming. It was quite motivating and I believe that even someone unsure of themselves when starting an agrarian adventure could be moved to finally take the leap upon reading this book. The author does a great job of including both stories and simple, factual how-to. I liked that as most books are either one or the other. There's also a plethora of other authors mentioned or recommended that you could follow an education trail to. I would highly recommend this book to anyone considering gardening for the first time on up to someone who has done it before but just hasn't found the push needed to get going again.  

The Golden Spruce: A true story of Myth, Madness, and Greed - John Vaillant

 I don't even know how this book came into my possession to begin with, but being as I apparently own it, I thought I should read it. It's not my normal read, but I liked it overall. It was particularly useful in that you could pick it up and put it down without missing much of the plot. For people that like nature and non-fiction, this would be a great book. 

The Kill Society - Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim Novel, Bk. 9)

 I'm definitely in love with these books. Typically, I try to read books I like slowly so I can enjoy them over time, but I went through this one pretty fast, and I think I enjoyed it more that way. I'm not sure why. I also heard a rumor that it was going on screen, not sure if the plan is a movie or series. (I saw both mentioned.) Either way, I'm excited and hopeful about that. 

Unlovable - Darren Hayes

 I've been a massive fan of Darren's work since the first few seconds of seeing the I Want You American music video. I've followed all his ups and downs. I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with his work. Therefore, my emotional attachment to the book is certainly more significant that the typical reader. That being said, it's an intense ride from beginning to end. I loved it, and hated parts too. The details on the long road to making the songs was mesmerizing. The trips through his childhood were awful. The suicidal ideations were so hard to listen to because I wanted to yell back, "You're too wonderful to be dead!" I greatly appreciate the sincerity behind all of it. I will re-read this book in the future and take notes on all the details about the songs so I can go back and listen to them in real time.