24 in 48 Hours Readathon

This just to state my intent that I will be participating in the 24 in 48 hours Readathon this coming weekend.  I don't know what books I will be reading at this time.

An open letter to @whitneyway

Dear Ms. Thore:

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to watch your show, My Big Fat Fabulous Life, on TLC.  And only after about half an episode on the TLC marathon, I grew concerned for you.

Before I go on, I should mention that I know 4 women who suffer from PCOS. Those women are myself and 3 other friends of mine.  All of us struggle with our weight and all of us will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.  As for my diagnosis, I was diagnosed when I was 30 years old (I am now 36) after a ovarian cyst burst during Christmas of 2009.  I was rushed to emergency due to low blood pressure during the early morning hours of December 26 (I fainted and was as white as a sheet).

Subsequently I was put on birth control due to my heavy and painful periods that I had had for the previous 10+ years.  And it has made a huge difference in my life.

I also suffer from depression and anxiety and can understand eating a whole pizza in the dark because I am upset about something and not in control of something or other.  I understand where you are coming from.

But what I don't understand is why you continually feed yourself the way you are doing at present.  I get that being overweight sucks.  I am overweight myself and have been for the past 10 years (I am 5'8" and weigh about 272). As a result this past January, I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic.  Now I do realize that part of it is that I have a family history of diabetes and that plays into it, but I can see you ending up with diabetes along with other health issues.

The reason that I ended up with a pre-diabetes diagnosis is because I ate in much the same manner that you are eating.  I love much the same things that you do and sadly it has the same effect on me that it does on you.  I love it so much that I would spend many an hour stuffing my mouth with candy, fast food, and sugary drinks to make sure I felt happy and oblivious to what I was actually feeling.  I still love that food, but I have find other things that can give me that sort of satisfaction, but doesn't give me the cravings that fast food and sugary drinks and food give me.  And yes that means denying myself a dessert or sugary drink when out with friends.  But sometimes I fail and overindulge on those foods and pay for it the next day when my numbers go up on the scale.

I think you have a wonderful personality and yes, people should accept those who are heavier and not stick thin, which is equally unhealthy.  But you seem to not realize that you are slowly killing yourself by not realizing the harm you are doing to your body by feeding yourself the food you are eating.  Being morbidly obese is equally unhealthy as being stick thin and I can understand that fear of  being that thin.  But you don't need to do this to yourself.  

I can only imagine how great a dancer you would be if you lost a good portion of your current weight.  You need to realize that what you are doing is harming yourself as much as somebody who is depriving themselves of food.  And its not only yourself that you are harming, it is your friends and family.   You can still be an advocate for those that are struggling with their weight at a lower weight because you know what its like to be overweight and you know how people view those who are overweight.  You have a great opportunity to be an advocate for those who need help with their weight and feel slighted by their weight.

I also know what its like to have a parent that wants you to outlive them and not have you have a chronic problem or be dead before they pass away.  You need to treat yourself better and get back down to a healthy weight and honestly I think that you'll feel a lot better about yourself and you'll stop making excuses as a result.

I hope that you take this letter into consideration and understand that this is from somebody who is concerned about your overall health.

Sincerely,

Melissa Wiebe  

Loreena's Gift - Colleen M. Story

Title: Loreena's Gift
Author: Colleen M. Story
Pages: 350
Published: 2016
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Edition: PDF
Source: I recieved a free copy in exchange for a honest review.

Description: A BLIND GIRL'S TERRIFYING "GIFT" ALLOWS HER TO REGAIN HER EYESIGHT--BUT ONLY AS SHE FERRIES THE RECENTLY DECEASED INTO THE AFTERLIFE.

Loreena Picket thinks she knows herself. A blind young woman who lives with her uncle, a reverend at a small-town church, she's a dutiful niece and talented pianist for the congregation.

But they're both hiding a terrible secret. Loreena can kill people with the touch of her hand.

While her uncle sees her as an angel of mercy, helping usher the terminally ill members of his flock into the afterlife, Loreena has her doubts.

Torn between doing her uncle's bidding and the allure of the fleeting moments when her eyesight returns on the journey to the other side, Loreena cooperates with her uncle until her troubled older brother returns to town. When she reveals her power by saving him from a local drug dealer, she is drawn into a sinister and dangerous world that will test the true nature of her talent and force her to consider how far she is willing to go to survive.

An exciting debut that crosses fantasy and literary fiction, Loreena's Gift is a thought-provoking meditation on life and death and what ultimately lies beyond this world.

​

Buy the Book:  Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  Book Depository  ~  Chapters Indigo

Thoughts:  I didn't know what to think of the book, but once I sat down and read the book, I thought it was a decent read.  I liked the early part of the book, but once I got into the middle of the book, I got a little confused as to what was going on. But despite the fact that I was little confused to what was going on in the book, I found it to be an engrossing read.

I liked how the author seamlessly made the transitions between Loreena being sighted and blind.  I also liked how Loreena took charge of a situation and didn't really feel sorry for herself and pushed on despite her blindness.  She seemed to take charge of situations rather than the situation take charge of her.  Despite the situation that she found herself in, she didn't really feel sorry for herself and tried to make best of the situation that she was in.

Bottom line: I quite enjoyed the quickness of the book and it really felt like you were by Loreena's side through out the book.  I would probably recommend the book for those that aren't quite into fantasy, but would like either a taste of fantasy or need something different in their reading.  Recommended.

Author's Bio:

Colleen M. Story writes imaginative fiction and is also a freelance writer, instructor, and motivational speaker specializing in creativity, productivity, and personal wellness. Her latest novel, "Loreena’s Gift," was released with Dzanc Books April 12 2016. Her fantasy novel, "Rise of the Sidenah," is a North American Book Awards winner, and New Apple Book Awards Official Selection (Young Adult). She is the founder of Writing and Wellness (writingandwellness.com) a motivational site for writers and other creatives.

​Connect with the author:  Website  ~ Twitter  

My favourite non-bookish podcast Pt. 2: 20-11

I know I said that I would share this one on the 2nd of July, but for some reason, I just was unable to do so.

I love podcasts.  I love the information that I get to learn and how specific they can be.  They are my connection to something that can be explainable in a world that is somewhat not explainable.

And ever since Books on the Nightstand announced that it was saying goodbye at the beginning of June, I have thought about my favourites.  While I enjoy my bookish podcasts and they are generally the first to go if I don't enjoy the first couple of episodes, the vast majority of the podcasts that I listen to are history related (big shocker here), with a smattering of sports-related podcasts.

I have included links to the main pages of the various podcasts, so that if you aren't an iPhone user, you can check them out. And yes, all that I mention here over the next 3 days are all available in iTunes.  You can find Part 1 here.

20. The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

I have only recently started listened to this podcast and am really enjoying the podcast.  The host presents the history of philosophy all the way back to the ancient philosophers in nice short chunks that makes even me, who doesn't like philosophy that much, want to listen to this podcast.

19. The History of England

I have been listening to this podcast for quite sometime, probably at least for 3 or 4 years at this point.  And I have really enjoyed this podcast.  The host not only covers the political events that have shaped the history of England, but also what was happening in the society at large and also what was happening in Europe to give a  bit of context.

18. The Jonah Keri Podcast

Like I said earlier, I am a bit of a sports nut and enjoy listening to podcasts that are sports related. One of my favourites is The Jonah Keri Podcast.  Jonah is a former Grantland reporter, who has now moved to Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports.  He has interviewed a wide variety of people in the sports industry, a large majority of who are or had worked for ESPN or are baseball reporters, being as Jonah started out as a baseball reporter and has continued in the industry.  But its a fun and insightful podcast and quite enjoyable.

17.  The History of English Podcast

Like others, I can't recall how I found this one, but I think I was low on podcasts at the time and the topic interested me.  I like how Stroud presents the topic and is very informative as to how English developed.

16. Our Fake History

A really fun podcast that looks at the various myths and tries to debunk various historical myths.  Excellent listen.

15.  The Memory Palace

Basically it is short stories of the past.  Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are sad, but they are always great.  Usually are
about 10-15 min long.

14. You Must Remember This

Explores the forgotten and/or scary stories of Hollywood's first century. The host speaks clearly and podcasts are usually about 30 minutes.  Well researched and enjoyable and can see why its a popular podcast.

13. 10 American Presidents

A look at 10 American Presidents that were influential or notable for a number of reasons.  They are also looking a 10 notable American Presidential elections as well.  They have some excellent narrators to do the various episodes.

12. History of the Great War

Looks at the Great War through the various battles that were fought. Goes through the various battles of the Great War (or WWI as we call it) in detail.  Look forward to it each week.

11. The Civil War (1861-1865): A History Podcast

A chronological look at the American Civil War, which is a particular interest of mine.  Love that the hosts ancestors were from both sides of the conflict and that they cover both sides fairly.








I apologize that this segment was late and that the descriptions are a little shorter than the first one. Hopefully I will have the last part in the next few days.

My favourite non-bookish podcast Pt. 1: 30 - 21

I love podcasts.  I love the information that I get to learn and how specific they can be.  They are my connection to something that can be explainable in a world that is somewhat not explainable.

And ever since Books on the Nightstand announced that it was saying goodbye at the beginning of June, I have thought about my favourites.  While I enjoy my bookish podcasts and they are generally the first to go if I don't enjoy the first couple of episodes, the vast majority of the podcasts that I listen to are history related (big shocker here), with a smattering of sports-related podcasts.

I have included links to the main pages of the various podcasts, so that if you aren't an iPhone user, you can check them out. And yes, all that I mention here over the next 3 days are all available in iTunes.

30. The Hockey Pdocast

For somebody like myself, this is a really good podcast.  I don't like analytics at all when it comes to sports, but for some strange reason this podcast appeals to me and is fairly easy to grasp a hold of, even though I find analytics a mystery to me and somehow still can't understand why some fans feel that its important.

29. Puck Soup

Its a mishmash of hockey talk and pop culture.  They seem to get really awesome guests who usually have an interest in hockey or are somehow involved in the hockey business.  If you are a hockey nut, you will enjoy this one.  Will note that there is language and is rated explicit.

28. Rex Factor

These guys are gutsy to say the least.  I don't know what else to say about them.  First off, they rated all the kings and queens of England from Anglo-Saxon times up until the present queen Elizabeth II and then they wittled the list down to the king or queen that was choosen as the greatest English king or queen.  Now they are doing the same for the Scottish kings and queens, up until James VI (or James I to the Brits).  I hope they will do the French monarchy.

27.  Serial

I am sure that most of you probably already listen to this one, but if you don't, I would suggest that you would and that you start with Season One, which I found amazing.  I heard about this podcast from a colleague and haven't been disappointed.

26. Life of Caesar

All I can say about this podcast is that I have never had so much fun learning about history.  If I were starting out, I would start out with Julius and then move into Augustus.  Ray and Cam make the learning process fun.  They include music and humor all the while making sure that you are learning something fascinating.  I should note that they like to make fun of certain groups and the language can be saucy and is not meant for the ears of those young and sensitive alike.  Also the last  20 or so podcasts on Julius Caesar are behind a paywall, so if you like the free episodes on Julius Caesar, I would recommend listening to the ones that you have to pay for.

25. The Napoleon Bonaparte Podcast

Sometimes learning about a man behind the myth is fascinating and so is the case with this podcast.  A really excellent and detailed look at Napoleon Bonaparte and the myths that surround him.  This podcast proceeded Life of Caesar and has slightly different hosts.  While Cam of the Life of Caesar hosts this, his co-host is a guy who has written a book called Napoleon for Dummies and seems to take up most of the time talking.  They did about 60 episodes, with about the last 40 behind a paywall (its about $10 US for the remaining episodes, if you chose to listen to all of the episodes, which I did and was so worth it).

 24. History Extra

This is an arm of the BBC History Magazine, so there is a lot of promotion of the magazine itself asking people to subscribe to the magazine, if they so wish to (really they just give the information as to what is in the particular month's magazine and how you can get a copy).  That being said, it is an excellent podcast, with interviews of authors and historians alike on various topics that range from the ancient to the present day (listened to an episode last night that talked about Hitler and his addiction to a wide variety of drugs that included cocaine, sleeping pills, uppers and downers, etc.).  Usually the podcasts include two interviews on two different topics, but occasionally they will include talks that the BBC History Magazine has recorded.   Well worth to listen to the back catalogue of episodes.

23. The Ancient World

Probably one of the best voices in the podcasting world.  Scott has a very clear voice that makes it easy to listen to the episodes.  This is one of those podcasts you need to listen from the beginning, as it goes in a linear fashion.  An excellent look into the ancient world, especially the area around the Mediterranean, the one that most of us in the West have studied about.

 22. The Pirate History Podcast

While this podcast doesn't cover the whole history of pirates (if you are interested in learning about history of pirates going back to ancient times, you will want the History of Pirates Podcast, which is also excellent), this podcast does cover what is considered to be the golden age of pirates and is well worth the listen.

21. The History Chicks

I was in one of my numerous fits with Stuff You Missed in History Class when I subscribed to the podcast.  The podcast is hosted by two lovely ladies Beckett and Susan and explores the history of prominent women throughout time.  I would listen from the beginning, even though it isn't in a linear fashion, as the women that they cover in the beginning are just as fascinating as the women that they have recently covered.  They do issue warnings at the beginning of episodes which might be sensitive, but on the whole they are clean and are great listening for the whole family.


Tomorrow I will go from 20 -11 and if you are in Canada, I hope you have a splendid Canada Day.