When times get rough, the weather gets cold, when my heart gets broken, when there isn’t enough money, when someone lets me down… all I need is a good book and I will lose myself within a literary world of wonder. I love reading and all that has meant to me my entire life. I am lucky to have found such a passion for something in this world… I am lucky to have many such passions.

What are yours?

“Books are becoming everything to me. If I had at this moment any choice in life, I would bury myself in one of those immense libraries…and never pass a waking hour without a book before me.”
~ Thomas B. Macaulay

(Photo property of Crowgyrls.com)

Stop whatever you are doing… and read! Pick a good book… go to the library, the book store. Ask me! I can recommend the right book to just about anyone. What are you feeling passionate about? What are you lacking? Tell me and I will tell you what books might fill the voids or compliment the track you are on. I love love love to read and have been doing so frequently. It is the summer of reading aloud for me. I intend on reading at least 10 books aloud. So far, so good.

What are you reading these days?

Want to read it aloud? Why not record yourself reading it and share with a friend or a stranger… why not share it with me?

© BeNonsensical.com / Crowgyrls.com

Oh, the road gets so bumpy and rain falls. Good thing I love rain, love, love, love it. And bumpy roads make for great photographs, don’t they? I will move forward through the muddy times, through the sadness, through the tears and find new photographs to take, new books to read, new friends to make, new adventures, new cubbies to explore.

Life is all about the cobblestone and rubber boots. It is all about the rain and the struggles and the unexpected connections. It is about the frailty and exposed state of being exactly who you are…

© Copyright 2010 BeNonsensical.com (Do not use without permission from me!)

Goal: 1000 books.

If you care to follow my journey or to join me, you can find it here…

What are your waiting for?

I can definitely recommend, Sh*t My Dad Says as a quick, funny read…his father is hilarious and crass. Chelsea Handler’s father would be proud…

I am also reading to myself as well but it is fun to read aloud and a good diaphragm workout. =) Try it, you might just like it…and I thoroughly recommend all the books I’ve read this week…they have all been worth the read. =) Good stories, strong characters, fun reads.

(Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panta/2366755479/)

OH! The joy of it… I love to read and lately I have been afforded the excellent opportunity of reading aloud each day, not once but twice and often 3 times! How fortunate for me… yay! I love to read aloud and to be read to. It is comforting. A lovely way to bond with people AND share a good book. How fun for me and for them. Do you read to anyone in your life? If so, tell me about…

If not, start today! Pick easy books to help discussion, try junior fiction. It can be super fun. =) Commit to x amount of chapters a day. I don’t recommend x amount of page numbers as this may not lend to following the story. Chapters are better. But, however it works for you and them… just do it! =) You won’t regret it!

1. Give someone flowers, anyone, strangers or someone you care about… near or far… pick them up at the grocery store, the florist, your garden or FTD them to a long-distance friend
2. Write an unexpected letter for no other reason than to say hello and ask someone how they are doing
3. Ask questions and listen, really listen, to the answers
4. Participate in StoryCorps even if it unofficially done at your own home with a $7 microphone on your computer or tape player. (Ask a friend or family member to join you!)
5. Offer to do the dishes when everyone is tired
6. Pick up trash in your neighbor’s yard or in your apartment courtyard
7. Help someone with their groceries
8. Clean up after yourself
9. Fold the laundry
10. Ask if anyone else would like anything while you are up or out
11. Order or bring enough lunch for two and share
12. Make a lunch and bring it to leave in the fridge at work with “THIS LUNCH WAS MADE FOR ANYONE WHO IS HUNGRY — ENJOY” (add a nice quote or note inside!)
13. When making a sandwich for someone, cut it into fun shapes, even if they are 92 years old, they will love it
14. Offer to run errands for a sick or elderly family member or just someone who is super busy
15. Paint a picture for a friend
16. Draw people pictures
17. Sing aloud bravely, it will encourage others to do the same
18. Dance with anyone who will dance with you even if there is no music…hum it!
19. Decorate a gift box for holidays
20. Make your own greeting cards, personal and appropriate for the person and the occasion
21. Cover for someone so they can sleep in just a little while longer
22. Invite friends or family over for tea or water and a chat
23. Call someone you haven’t called recently
24. Laugh heartedly and encourage others to do the same
25. Give out Smile Cards
26. Give a waitress or barista an extra generous tip — 35%, 50%, 75% … 100%
27. Pay your rent early
28. Volunteer in your community
29. Read aloud to someone
30. Sweep the sidewalk in front of your apartment, house and your neighbors
31. Plant flowers and share them
32. Put up a tree swing
33. Plant a tree
34. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your outgoing letters and cards
35. Send / share your favorite recipes with family, friends or strangers
36. Make your favorite dish for someone else, bring it to them or invite them to your house to enjoy it
37. Drop off the ingredients and instructions to your favorite dish with someone you haven’t seen in awhile
38. Learn to knit and make a scarf for everyone you can next Christmas
39. Pick your favorite songs and record them to a disc and give it away — or leave it on a park bench
40. If you are not using a coupon, leave it on a public display board for someone else or go to the store where it can be used and give it to some random shopper about to make a purchase
41. Start a coat drive for the coming winter, or a blanket drive, or a food drive, or a book drive
42. Pack an extra lunch and give it to someone homeless
43. Stop and say hello to homeless people, they are humans too, ask them questions… they have a story
44. Smile at everyone you see today, a big, genuine smile, they are contagious
45. Forgive someone, everyone (even if you cannot continue to be in their lives)
46. Share your favorite book with a friend
47. Donate just a little money
48. Donate a little more of your time
49. Share, anything with anyone
50. Make a birdfeeder and hang it in a place others can enjoy watching the birds eat
51. Invite a friend to the park
52. Clean out your car and take someone on a drive
53. Offer to wash a friend’s car or bicycle
54. Clean out your closet and donate it to a local homeless shelter or YWCA for women and children who must leave everything behind to be safe from violence
55. Keep a list of things you appreciate about someone you love and then give it to them for their birthday or Christmas or your anniversary
56. Write your favorite stories / memories of one person in a journal and then give it to them
57. Take pictures of something fun or beautiful and share them
58. Find a dress or shirt or skirt you no longer wear, repair it, add a bird or some other felt decal to it and give it as an upcycled present
59. When you rent an interesting movie, invite others to watch it with you: family, friends, neighbors
60. Pay a small bill for someone else
61. Listen attentively
62. Write thank you notes and hand deliver them whenever possible
63. Schedule mini-vacations with those you love, explore the local areas
64. Find out the freebie days at local museums and art galleries and invite a friend
65. Buy the food or drink for the car behind you in the drive-thru or the person behind you in line
66. When you see someone crying, ask if they are ok, and listen when they respond
67. Send postcards to someone who lives far away or cannot be with you wherever you go
68. Build a snowman in someone else’s yard
69. Play with the children in your life, listen to them, laugh with them, have fun with them, read to them
70. Make a date with a child you know, ask them to read to you or cook their favorite meal with them — let them do most of the work
71. Switch roles with someone in your life for a day or even half a day
72. Turn your work in a little early, finish that project just a little bit early
73. Go that extra mile for someone or something
74. Share your favorite quotes or stories with people
75. Tell the ones you love how much you love them and why, often
76. Cut out giant colorful letters “WELCOME HOME” and hang it in a prominent spot
77. Greet people enthusiastically
78. Hug others often, offer hugs even more
79. Pay for someone else’s fare (on the bus, to a movie, a concert, on a ferry)
80. Let someone else take that parking spot, enjoy the walk, they may be in a hurry
81. Allow others the opportunity to be helpful
82. Be vocally and visually grateful
83. Send good morning texts, messages, make the phone call or stop by just to say hello and wish them a good morning — do it often
84. Donate your old electronics responsibly  (you can give your old cell phones to the local shelters for domestic violence victims, if you are not familiar with one — email me below with your city and state or country and I will find one or more options for you)
85. Refill the ice trays or water bottles, change the paper towel or toilet paper roll
86. Make scrapbooks of special times with your family and friends and give them to them
87. Recycle, reduce, reuse
88. Leave an encouraging note in public (i.e. “Everything is going to be alright, maybe not today, but eventually)
89. Start a book discussion group in your local area or online
90. Post genuine comments on someone else’s blog or webpage without linking to a product or a page where you hope to sell your product
91. Think of 100 additional ways to be thoughtful and share them in response to this blog (http://www.crowgyrls.com/)
92. Attend special events, even if you do not feel like it, we all need support and a cheering section
93. Invite a friend or family member to take a class with you
94. Apologize quickly and whole heartedly
95. Play 20 questions at dinner or what if questions (i.e. If the house was on fire, what one thing would you want to take with you and why?) and listen to the responses, engaging in conversation about each answer
96. Learn another language
97. Buy a snack or soda from a vending machine and leave it behind
98. Donate blood and sign up to be a bone marrow donor — go a step further and sign up to donate your organs in the unlikely event of your death, you don’t need the organs once you are dead but someone might
99. Do some research for someone else, for anyone else and share it with them (a simple guide to recycle properly, safest ways to invest, how to plant a tree, make a family book with stories from all the living people and pictures, if possible, and get it printed for each member of the family for their birthday or Christmas)
100. Share your books, movies and games with others at sites like Bookmooch.com and Swaptree.com

Let’s be the change we hope to see in the world… please, share your list or ideas with me as well…

Read part 2 here (Persnickety’s list) and/or read part 3 here (nephew’s list) and/or read part 4 here (Madhattress’ list).

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