I am an Obliger

Yes, I know this post is late.  Memorial Day threw me off.

Hello, my name is Lisa, and I am an Obliger

"An Obliger?" you might ask.  "What is that?"

According to Gretchen Rubin in Better Than Before, "Obligers meet outer expectations but struggle to meet inner expectations.... Because Obligers resist inner expectations, it's difficult for them to self-motivate--to work on a PhD thesis, to attend networking events, to get their car serviced.  Obligers depend on external accountability, with consequences such as deadlines, late fees, or the fear of letting other people down."

Rubin also identifies three other tendencies: the Upholder, the Questioner, and the Rebel; but as I read this part of the book, I was in shock.  "That's me!," I thought.  "OMG!  That is so me!"  I still can't believe that someone pegged me so perfectly.

So, what does this mean?  How does this affect my life?

Well, it means that I have  a difficult time meeting all the goals I set for myself.  I need accountability.  I am trying some different methods of holding myself accountable.  I am using trackers and offering myself rewards if I continuously meet my goals.  I am very purposefully setting aside time for each activity in my day.

If I continue with this long enough, this could become a habit, and I will no longer have to think about it.

But maybe that is wishful thinking.

After all, I am an Obliger.

The Likeness by Tana French

From the Back Cover:
"In the "compelling"* and "pitch perfect"** follow up to Tana French’s runaway bestseller In the Woods, it's six months later and Cassie Maddox has transferred out of the Dublin Murder squad. But an urgent telephone call beckons Cassie to a grisly crime scene. The victim looks exactly like Cassie and carries ID identifying herself as Alexandra Madison, an alias Cassie once used as an undercover cop. Suddenly, Cassie must discover not only who killed this girl, but, more importantly, who is this girl?" 

What I Thought:
I saw my double once, as a child, on vacation in the west of Ireland.  We were driving on a country road, and she was walking in the sunshine.  At the time I wished I could have stopped to talk to her. Now I wonder what her life was like.  Did she have the same struggles and successes that I have had?  How different were our lives?  I can't imagine what I would do if I saw my double's dead body?

When Cassie now only saw her double's dead body but also found out that her double had been living the life of one of her former undercover personalities, curiosity must have taken over.  Imagine sneaking into your double's life and taking over where she left off.  It would be so tempting.  And her life was so different.  I felt it pulling her in and surrounding her in its comfortable rhythm.

The book did drag at times, but I feel it was reflective of Cassie's desire to allow the investigation to drag on, so she could wallow in her new life for a while longer.  I figured out the true murderer long before Cassie did but, again, I think she hid the truth from herself as long as she could.  She did not want to rush back to her real life.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend it.  There are times where the story slows and the reader can put the book down and take a break.  Other times it keeps you on the edge of your sear and you won't want to put it down.  I can't wait to read more Tana French.

Have you ever read a book by Tana French?  What did you think?

Any book recommendations?

Quotable Books: The Breaking Light by Heather Hansen

I read this book as an e-book on my Kindle.  I got it as part of the Kindle First  program.  As a Prime member, I get to choose one book each month from a list of new releases.

What it's about:

In a stratified society where contact with the sun is a luxury reserved for the elite, those kept prisoner in the darkness will do anything to find the light. Arden-beautiful, street-smart, and cynical-is one of the citizens of the lowest Level, known as Undercity, of an off-world colony. A blackout band traps Arden in her district, but as sister to the leader of the most powerful gang in Undercity, she has access to Above.

There she meets Dade, one of the few lucky enough to be born into the sun-kissed families who reside in the Towers soaring above the rest of the city. But life isn't perfect in the sky. Dade, desperate to escape his upcoming arranged marriage, has a secret of his own, and he's willing to risk everything for it.

An unlikely romance develops between the two teens-but their love faces opposition from above and below. When her gang pressures Arden to help break the grip of the elite and end Dade's interference with their drug trade, she is forced to make a deadly choice between love and family loyalty. But will the brewing class war destroy the world around them first?

What I thought:

I really enjoyed this book.  It's a different look at the future, and I thought it was a fascinating idea.  Especially in this day and age, where we hide from the sun, sunscreen and skin cancer, it surprised me to read a book where sunlight was saved for the elite. 

The main character is an intelligent and strong female, another reason to love this series.  Although she falls for the handsome, rich man, there is more to her life than the romance.  She has very difficult decisions to make about where her life will lead.

The basic story line is the story of star-crossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet, but the ending is different although still full of tragedy.  The book ends with a cliffhanger that left me wanting more.  Surely some pages were missing?  No such luck.  I guess I will have to find the next book in the series to find out what happens next with Dade and Arden.

Have you read this book?  What did you think?

Quotable Books: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
From Barbara Kingsolver's website:
"Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption."

I read this book as part of Erin's Book Challenge for the category of a book by a favorite author.  Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors.  I really admire how she mixes her knowledge of science with beautiful words.  I even wrote her a letter a few years ago, but never mailed it because I was embarrassed.  Maybe I should give that another try...

I loved this book.  Reading it felt like talking to an old friend.  Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are two artists that I admire and I have read a lot about their lives, so to meet them as characters in a book was a treat.  I enjoyed every moment of this book and would definitely read it again and again! 

5 out of 5 stars

★★★★★

Have you read this book?  What did you think?