About My Age...don't label me please!

Looking UP by b+

I was reading an article the other day about what people should call themselves as they grow older. Are we in the Third Stage or Boomers or OAD (older than dirt)? According to a lot of people it seems we need an age group name or we are not valid as a part of the human race. Teens are called teens and we know what to expect when they come to visit. So when people my age come to visit, you need a label so you will know what to expect. It must be important...or not!

It occurred to me that I don't really fit into any mold. You should not assume anything about me. Honestly, I am what I am. In fact, probably for the first time in my life, that statement is absolutely true. I am no longer the dominant mother or wife or teacher. What I am is just....well me! It is a very good thing.

So I have decided that I am going to use a different way to define myself. To begin with these are the facts:

1. I love to travel. The world is my home and I find myself visualizing myself staying forever in the the place where I sleep at night.
2.  My closet if full of art supplies and my greatest joy is creating. 
3. The friends I enjoy are of all ages. 
4. The need for learning is burned deep into my soul and while I may read a lot of fluff, I am never happier than when I am digging for something that I don't understand. 
5. I am the most comfortable inside the cover of a book and can remember the names and authors of books I read since I began reading. Those names clutter my mind but also give me a sense of place somehow.
6. A day without a goal or a job of some type is not a very good day. I love to work physically very hard. Those days are my happiest. 
7. A job well done gives me great pleasure. Writing is a job of sorts for me...or at least I look at it that way. 
8. I am a woman that loves beautiful things, clothes shopping and a day getting my nails and hair done. 
9. I have a room in our house called the garden room and we dine formally in that room.  It is my favorite place.
10. Music fills my day...all kinds of music. I never get enough.
11. I love TV...a lot. There is something about a story that is fascinating for me.
12. Pinterest gives me a lot of pleasure because it just satisfies my need to see other peoples aesthetic.
13. I am in love with my husband.
14. My family is very important to me.

So can you put me in a box when you read this.  Pretend you did not read the title of this blog. Am I old or young, rich or not. See, when I look at myself this way, it does not matter. What is important is what I am NOW not the title of my age group or even the number of decades I have lived. Just take me for what I am and forget all the other stuff.

Here's to new beginnings!

b+

7 Best Books Links + How To Judge Best Books before You Read

I am in the market for a list for summer reading.  Here is what I found.  Links for books that ranked in 2010:

Publishers Weekly Best Books for 2010

National Post Best Books for 2010 (The Afterword)

NPR Best Books of 2010

Amazon Best Selling Books

NYT Best Books for 2010

Best Books for 2010: Book Beast
Oregon Live regional and national best sellers in 2010 

New Article on Senior Citizens and ebook readers:  Will Senior Citizens Embrace E-book?

Finding just the right book in this day and age is very difficult.  There are so many books on the market and I always think that perfect book is out there waiting on me.  But it is very hard to choose.  I have a tendency to love a certain kind of art on the cover.  But like a beautiful lady, the cover does not reflect was is inside. When I shop in a books store I have to be careful of the beautiful covers.  I instead try to be more selective.  I buy...

• if a books has been recommended by two people I know, it is a winner. If a book has won prizes in categories I respect and enjoy.  The Pulitzer Prize winners are evergreen in that they are good no matter when they were written.
• if a book is second hand and it is so worn it is almost falling apart.
• if a book is written by an author I have enjoyed before.
• if a book has been chosen as a featured book by the book sellers at my favorite book store.
• if a book is one that has been read by other readers with like tastes in reading.  (I check on Amazon to see what other readers are reading.)
• if a book appears on more than one best books list.

b