now posting regularly

Wednesday round-up time again! (The time between Wednesdays seems to fly once I sit down to do these posts... strange...)

The usual suspects are here, mostly because the times of day that I have the ability to listen to NPR are pretty consistent- breakfast prep time, lunch prep time and dinner prep time. Oh, and each of those meals' clean-up time, too. (Guess which room has the radio?) Here's what I was interested in this week:

• From All Things Considered, this very funny essay that starts with the best line: "Everyone hates the HR Department." I'm pretty sure that lovely hubby's job is technically in HR, so this really cracked me up, and I hope that he'll click on it. (No pressure, but it's under 4 minutes, so c'mon, babe!)

• The day after Thanksgiving marked the National Day of Listening, which I think is a simply lovely idea, because as much as I love telling my own stories, I also adore listening to other people's stories, too. And, we all have stories- funny, endearing, touching, sad, terrifying, fun, and not-so-fun stories. This piece was recorded by a woman who asked the man who stands outside her local Safeway to tell her his story, and it's a worthwhile listen.

• For now, a full 2/3 of the male population in my household is made up of hardcore Star Wars fans, and I'm pretty sure it will only be a few more years until that number goes up to 3 for 3. When I heard this story, which talks about a website that I actually already have heard about (and looked around on, I'll admit...), I immediately reached for my NPR clicker, because I knew I wanted to go back and listen again. I love this whole idea, and you can check out the site they mention- Star Wars: Uncut.

• This is a really interesting piece about the National Book Award winner Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, one that is definitely on my TBR list (and apparently others in my area, too, since the library wait list is pretty long!). JAM and I have been interested in Philippe Petit's high wire experience since we first read The Man Who Walked Between the Towers a few years ago, but I've yet to see the documentary "Man on Wire." I'm really looking forward to reading this novel!
  

• And finally, The Kojo Nnamdi show from Monday featured Barbara Ehrenreich in a segment called "The Danger of Looking on the Bright Side." It's really worth the hour-long investment to listen, and I found myself agreeing with so much of this in a way that I don't think I would have been able to articulate on my own. I liked when she said something about this not being a choice between thinking postively or thinking negatively, it's more about thinking realistically. As usual, I only heard bits and pieces of it, so I'm saving this to listen to during a quiet evening after the kids have gone off to bed.

Giving props to NPR,



P.S. From now until 12/8, please check out a slew of giveaways on 5 Minutes for Books' Gift Guide & Giveaway!