I loved it then, I love it now!
Rounded out with a Gala apple (perfectly crisp!) and a stick of colby jack string cheese.
My workout today actually served a dual purpose… Sadie’s exercise for the day and my workout rolled into one. Right before lunch, I took a 35-minute break to take Sadie on a nice jog around our neighborhood.
After a quick shower, this lunch was the perfect post-run reward.
December Book Club
I debated doing a December book club, but after lots of encouragement from you guys via the PBF Facebook page, I couldn’t resist!
I wasn’t sure whether or not everyone would be too busy with the holidays to get some reading in, but sometimes curling up with a good book is a great way to escape some of the holiday madness, right?
Below are three books taken from your recommendations on the PBF Facebook page.
Please vote on the book you would most like to read below.
On Wednesday, January 4, I’ll dedicate an entire post to my review of the book and include discussion questions for everyone to answer in the comments section. It’s an online book club, baby!
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.
Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily’s good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.
- Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
(Note: Since many people pushed for this book to be an option again this month after being overlooked in November, it is!)
Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hell-raiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded.
On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun.
Please vote for the book you would like to read below.
[polldaddy poll=5735078]
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I am going to join in this time on the book club! I am hoping it will motivate me to read more! And I did your arm workout you mentioned yesterday morning, loved it! I agree though I really need to work on push ups!
Hi Julie,
Not sure if i’ve just missed it, has Violets of March been chosen as the book for December? I need to get my read on if so! 🙂
Ooh I’ve heard about Born To Run – that’s definitely my vote! Hopefully I can find some time over the holidays to actually do some reading! 🙂
Great idea Julie! I’ve been looking for a good book to read so I’ll definitely participate! I think both Violets of March and Unbroken sound great. Can’t wait to hear what the book will be 🙂
Hard to choose. They all look good!
I am loving Unbroken–so I say that one FOR sure!! Born to run was a great one as well!
I LOVE a good sandwich–and yours looks tasty!
LOVE love love Born to Run!
“The Violets of March” reminds me of “Sarah’s Key” (in that it’s refers back to an old story from the 1940’s), which I read in one night. Very intriguing. I really like old mysteries like that.
the description reminded me SO much of sarah’s key, too!!
Ahh, that was such a good book. Thanks for that recommendation.
If you like mysteries of the past (digging up family history), I really enjoyed “The Thirteenth Tale”. It took a while to get into it, but was really good by the end.
http://www.amazon.com/Thirteenth-Tale-Novel-Diane-Setterfield/dp/0743298039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323283821&sr=1-1
Hi!! I kind of sort of attempted a Book Club on my site but it didn’t go well because even though there were several participants, no one ever finished the book. Everytime you post a book, I’m like HEY!! I read that, or just started it and/or would like to read it. So I should probably just start your book club.
Annnnyway, I read the Violets of March, I liked it a lot. But I voted for Unbroken because I haven’t read it and would love to have a group to read with virtually.
XOXO – Jenna (big fan.)
These all look good. I don’t even know which one I would choose. 🙂 I haven’t participated in your book club yet but I would really like to!
I’ve read all three, ha! I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend Unbroken. Just oh my gosh, what a great book. I’m disappointed that I didn’t like Born to Run as much as I was expecting to 🙁 Violets of March was a cute little read, but if you want to read something that truly tugs at you, Unbroken is definitely my vote.
Popping my commenting cherry to say Born to run is an amazing book! You should read it on the side if it doesn’t get picked for book club!
I am about 40 pages into Violets of March and LOVE it!
Violets of March, please 🙂
and thank you
Born to Run looks amazing. I’ve been looking for something good to read!
The setting of Violets of March is in the same county as my hometown! Sounds like an interesting book!
I am already reading Unbroken…so I am open to any 🙂
born to run is incredible. i have never read such an inspiring, interesting, cant-put-downable nonfiction book. i finished it last night and have spent the day (and every bit of free time while i was reading the book) researching to find out more about the characters, the race that is the subject of the book and yes, barefoot running. i hated for it to end and even if it isn’t the book club pick, you just have to read it.
My vote is for Unbroken, no contest.
I love this idea!!! And I had a reallllly hard time picking between those books!
Born to run is the first running book I ever read and it inspired me so much. Talk about a sport to be thankful for!
I liked the Violets of March! Good book 🙂
I just finished Born to Run, but Violets of March sounds interesting.
I saw TWO cars today with the reindeer horns and red noses. Quite exciting.
Also, the third option, The Violets of March sounds like an easy holiday read.
I have 98 pages left of Unbroken and it is AMAZING. No matter what, you definitely need to read this book sometime. If you like running and stuff about WWII (which I love both), then this novel is the perfect book. Highly, highly recommend!
Born to Run is on my to-read list, and Violets of March sounds interesting, so I’m definitely joining in the book club this time around!
oo i asked for violets of march for xmas…so thats my vote!! ive read born to run, its great!
goat cheese makes everything better!
i have an AMAZING recipe to share with you julie! my roommate and i were on pinterest and found a recipe for cookie dough dip.. sounds amazing, right? it’s HEALTHY! it’s kind of like dessert hummus, but it tastes delicious and you don’t have to feel guilty for eating an entire bowl (or two) of it. here’s the link to the recipe if you want to check it out!
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/23/want-to-eat-an-entire-bowl-of-cookie-dough/
The book additions are super! Born To Run seems very interesting. Will give it a peak.
Born To Run is a favorite of both me and my husband (and he doesn’t like to read). Highly recommend it!
I picked Unbroken bc i’m DYING to read it- I’ve heard such amazing things.. I’ve already read Violets of March actually, and it was great!
I voted again for Unbroken but I have a feeling Violets of March will win. I read that last month and it was awesome!
Goat cheese is so good, I love it on egg sandwiches!
oh! i need to try that!
So excited for another month of book club! I love it!
How long is the voting open for?
I vote born to run because my cousin got it for me for my birthday and I’m going to read it anyway! Shes actually read it twice, and shes a marathoner! Haha and I actually only have time during the holidays to read!
I have read Born to Run and Unbroken. I would strongly recommend BOTH! They are fabulous…. but for that same reason, I have to vote for Violets of March! Looks great!
I’ve read Born to Run and it’s great! The audiobook version might be awesome to listen to while running! 🙂
All the books look great! But I’d love to see your review on Born To Run – it’s such a brilliant book.
“unbroken” is amazing. I can’t believe what Louis and the others overcame. Gave me a brand new respect for our vets.
Born to run was one of my favorite books of 2011!
Yay for the online book club! I have had “Born to Run” on my e-reader for a while now. I just need to get through finals and then I can’t wait to read it and to comment on your questions! 🙂
Violets of March is SOOOOOO good. I read it in one sitting… Couldn’t put it down.
I am eager to read “Born to Run”, this is the first I’ve heard of it and I’m set to go pick it up tomorrow! I will definitely be reading it this month even if it doesn’t win the vote 🙂
I’ve been wanting to read all of them, but I’m voting for Violets of March 🙂
Have you ever read the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain?
It’s told from the dogs point of view, and it is good! Maybe something to consider for later months?
And Born to Run is my vote! Although I have read Unbroken and I will encourage anyone I meet to read that book. Amazing and inspiring.
I put Unbroken on hold in the library and it finally came through….so i vote for that 🙂
Have you heard of the book The Nazi Officer’s Wife? Because it’s amazing. If you ever want to do an autobiography of the month, it’s written by a woman who survived the holocaust by taking on an Austrian identity and living in Germany, and ended up marrying a nazi.