Posts tagged fearless

Gift Books for Martha Stewart Living Show – and For You!

December 7, 2011 · Filed under Book Reviews, Events · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We just wrapped.  Betsy and Brian and I – on the Martha Stewart Living show.  Asked to prepare a Gift Book segment, I have so many gorgeous, stimulating books that we didn’t get to them all.  Hence, the list here!

I’ll begin with Non-Fiction…because that’s where we left off on the show.  And, in fact, these are the most perfect of adult books. For the girlfriend with the snappy sense of humor, there’s Thx Thx Thx.  For your friend with the warm heart, there’s Unlikely Friendships - about unusual, feel-good pairings, like the kitten and gorilla, and how they came to be.  Two magnificent books about John F Kennedy – one, through Jackie’s own words.  It’s an historical, first-person view we so seldom get – and it comes with 8 CD’s.  Plus, there’s Chris Matthews’ stunningly different portrait of the president.  Two of the most amazing books in my gift collection focus on cultural icons – one fantasy (Batman), one real (Marilyn Monroe).  Although one might argue that Marilyn Monroe is fantasy, as well as Batman.  Both books are evocative, magnificent art, and a complete treasure.

Adult Non-Fiction:

 

1.     Thx Thx Thx: Thank Goodness for Everything by Leah Dieterich; Andrews McMeel

2.     Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom by Jennifer Holland; Workman

3.     Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F Kennedy by Caroline Kennedy; Hyperion AND Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews; Simon & Schuster

4.     Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis by David Wills and Stephen Schmidt; HarperCollins

5.     The Batman Files by Matthew Manning; Andrews McMee

Another great gift idea is calendars.  And, Pomegranate is my favorite, especially an artist named Susan Seddon Boulet, whose work is mesmerizing – about Shaman and Goddesses.  Another calendar is the Reading Woman Wall Calendar.  Give it, along with one of the books on my list.

And here is the rest of the list – the highlights of our discussion on Martha Stewart Living – are The Third Gift for kids, The Hunger Games Trilogy for YA, Damned by my friend Chuck Palahniuk, and Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire.

Kids:

 

1.     The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park; Clarion Books

2.     The Happy Elf by Harry Connick, Jr w/CD; HarperCollins

3.     Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee; Simon & Schuster

4.     Three Classic Children’s Stories – Drawings by Edward Gorey, Text by James Donnelly; Pomegranate

5.     The Wizard of Oz: A Scanimation Book by Rufus butler Seder; Workman

 

YA:

1.     The Hugo Movie Companion by Brian Selznick; Scholastic

2.     The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg; Houghton Mifflin

3.     WonderStruck by Brian Selznick; Scholastic

4.     Dearly Departed by Lia Habel; Del Rey

5.     The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins; Scholastic

 

 Adult Fiction:

  1. The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson; Little, Brown
  2. Damned by Chuck Palahniuk; Doubleday
  3. 11 / 22 / 63 by Stephen King; Simon & Schuster
  4. The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition by William Peter Blatty; HarperCollins
  5. Out of Oz: The Final Volume in the Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire; William Morrow

 

No secret that I love books.  They saved my life when I was a kid.  They led me outside the abusive world I lived in, to know that there was a greater beauty where I could live instead. What these books have in common – while they’re from all genres – is that connection with that greater gorgeousness.  No coincidence that many of the books on my list were sparked by the authors’ insistent dreams.

Enjoy!  And, feel free to comment on any of these books.

Love,

Diana

l

 

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Taking Time To Live

June 25, 2011 · Filed under My Book: BookMark, Personal · Tagged , , , , , , ,

A gorgeous finish to a beautiful day at the Oregon CoastFunny thing about taking time to live.  More stuff gets done.  It’s like pulling your feet off the brakes, and putting them on your handlebars, like you did when you were a kid. And just rolling with it.

And, that process allows for magic.  Hey, I’m a journalist, and I observe magic all the time.

I’m at the Oregon Coast.  I can’t tell you the last time I broke away from my long list of to-do’s, and my sense of lacking money.  Probably three weeks ago, I printed up my 375-page manuscript, pulled out a brand-new red pen to edit the crap out of it, and there it sat.  Chelsea Cain, in Workshop, commented that I should just go somewhere where I’d never been, and bring the thing – not try to edit it at home, amid the dings, pings, and stacks of post-it notes with ideas, details, and things-I-must-do-now.

So, I put it out there.  Much like a dandelion wish, where you blow, and it’s carried away.

I also, many months ago, wished for an all-expense paid trip to a sunny place, knowing that that would probably have to be a plane trip somewhere.

Well, guess what.  4am Friday morning, I’m on a list of people who gets an email from a friend who happens to have trade at a wonderful hotel on the Oregon coast.  Lodging free, and more than enough script to cover my non-alcoholic, sweet-loving ways.  She can’t use it.  Use it or lose it, she wrote – who wants it?  I put in.  I got it.

I brought a small bag of clothes; my manuscript; and I remembered when I arrived, after a beautiful sunny drive, that if somehow I needed a bathing suit, I always carry one in my purse.  Hey, you never know!

I stayed in flow.  Didn’t fight the river.  Didn’t set any alarm.  Smiled a lot.  Laughed even more.  Said thank you thank you thank you all day long.  Because today was bikini weather!  Very warm and sunny, and I sat out on the deck overlooking the ocean, editing my manuscript all day long.  Except for a couple of long walks at the ocean’s edge, in bare feet.  Heaven.  I finished the edits.  My skin is sun-kissed.  And, those post-it notes didn’t nag me one bit.  Relaxing into one of the few sunny days I’ve ever experienced at the coast, it occurred to me that when you put those desires out there, and you don’t worry them, you just let them float aloft like a helium balloon, they get answered so creatively, you could never have imagined it this way.

Stunningly delightful.  I love living.  And, no, I’m not posting the picture of me in my bikini, editing out on the deck.  I ate oysters, burgers, scallops, french fries, creme brulee – too much!

 

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14 Rules for the Little Kid Inside You

May 29, 2011 · Filed under Personal · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For years, I hid it, never spoke about it.  Until finally, it pushed up out of me like a beach ball you press down in the water – it pops out.  Has to.

And, one day, the gift of that childhood trauma becomes apparent.

First, the damage and danger twists synapses, neural pathways, belief systems, trust, whom you love and who you run from.  What does a four-and-a-half year old girl learn from being raped by her mother’s new husband?  Handsome guy, her mother head over heels in love with him, her cutting the little girl’s real father out of every photo, changing the girl’s name, and silencing her when she tries to speak it.  Mother, an alcoholic, suicidal, schizophrenic.  Real father, gone, after the little girl reaches age six, because the stepfather beat him up and told him to never come back.  She never saw her dad again.

Little girl escapes Read the rest of this entry »

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Dan Millman, Peaceful Warrior

May 12, 2011 · Filed under Author Interviews, Book Reviews · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

The Four Purposes of Life: Finding Meaning and Direction in a Changing World

By Dan Millman

starts with

PublishedApril 14, 2011 (Hardcover) H J Kramer

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Dan Millman’s life looked spelled out.  A trampoline artist, his next stop was the Olympics.  But, weeks before he was to leave, another life plan intervened – Dan was in a motorcycle accident.  And it shattered his leg in forty places.
The story is told in his Way of the Peaceful Warrior, and adapted into a feature film Peaceful Warrior, starring Nick Nolte.   All that came before our first meeting, when I interviewed Dan about his book Everyday Enlightenment.  It was a good ten years ago, but he remembered me, graciously saying that he had enjoyed that interview.
Despite the rain, Dan had walked to the studio where we met.  The cameramen still fussing with lighting and gear, Dan and I sat on a bench, reconnecting.   There was no hurry to Dan.  No rush.  Just as in his book The Four Purposes of Life, Dan lives in the moment.   That’s the fourth purpose, by the way, a blend of the first three, living in the moment.

The first purpose is learning life’s lessons.  Much like his motorcycle accident derailed his Olympic dreams, life often has grander plans for us.  Dan is a teacher, sweet and humble, admits he doesn’t always get it right, but, well, that’s what life is for, it’s a classroom.  Fortunately, it’s pass/fail, and we get to try again.  Let me rephrase that – life will hit us again, harder each time, till we get the lesson.  The second purpose is finding your career and your calling – which may not be the same thing!  The third purpose is discovering your life path.  You can find that on Dan’s website, it is akin to numerology.  Mine is 35/8.  The three is for expression, the five for freedom, and the eight pertains to recognition.
After editing, the interview will be posted on the Earth2World network – a new venture for me.  It’s video – and I’m open to attracting the perfect sponsors for my show, Conquer the Odds: Pursuing Your Passion.  After the interview, Dan signed my book “for my respected friend, media angel, Diana.”  I may have blushed.

The main takeaway for me?  Just enjoy life – whatever comes at you – and realize that it’s all on purpose.  It’s a faith thing.  One of my lessons.

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Random Thoughts About Speaking

May 6, 2011 · Filed under Personal · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged.  And, this is, in part, an apology for not having checked in.  I’ve been making my own art, and making a living.  I’ve been interviewing and reading – just haven’t written here.

I decided to take tonight “off,” and not produce the 30-minute podcastor, not prep for my next appearance on KOIN-TV’s Studio 6, not rework the last two chapters of my memoir.  Instead, my housemate, who is leading me into learning how to “play,” watched with me the Academy Award winning movie, The King’s Speech.

The film struck me deep.  Read the rest of this entry »

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From a Mom to Her Challenged Son on His Birthday

January 26, 2011 · Filed under Personal · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is like nothing else I’ve ever written here.

Mental illness, and the challenging journey is on my mind, especially since talking to Linda Gray Sexton about her poet mom, Anne Sexton, on my show, Open Book with Diana Page Jordan. And especially since today is my older son’s 27th birthday.

For nine years – since just before his 18th birthday – my son has been battling Read the rest of this entry »

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EXPOSED – Life as a Rock Star Photographer

November 1, 2010 · Filed under Author Interviews, Book Reviews, Open Book · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock ‘N’ Roll

By Mick Rock

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Published September 1, 2010 (Hardcover) Chronicle Books

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What else would you do if you were born Mick Rock – but photograph rock musicians? He swears that is his given name – just as mine is Diana Page Jordan.   It is. Who knew I would grow up to interview authors and review books?  Shooting rock musicians colored Mick Rock’s life just the way books saved mine.  But, shooting rock musicians nearly took Mick’s life. Read the rest of this entry »

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Inspired Destiny – Book Review

October 24, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Inspired Destiny: Living a Fulfilling and Purposeful Life

By Dr John F Demartini

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Published July 15, 2010 (Paperback) Hay House

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Of the dozens of Law of Attraction books I’ve read over my twenty-plus years of interviewing authors, Inspired Destiny is one of the best. Dr. John Demartini doesn’t lecture down from a mount.  He draws from his own difficult beginnings:  A dyslexic kid whom teachers told had no chance of succeeding in the world.  As a teen, he ran off to be a surfer.  The author of dozens of books, he was featured in the film phenom, The Secret.

A little secret from me to you: Read the rest of this entry »

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Take a Lesson From Robert Dugoni

October 19, 2010 · Filed under Author Interviews, Book Reviews, Open Book · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bodily Harm

By Robert Dugoni

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Published May 25, 2010 (Hardcover)  Touchstone

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Tonight I met with the rest of the committee that put on the 2010 Willamette Writers Conference – and is gearing up for 2011.  Bob Dugoni’s name came up.  And, coincidentally, before I knew we were meeting, I had decided Bob’s show would air today.  Bob Dugoni blew the freakin’ doors off during his speech at the August Willamette Writers conference.  If Bob returns this year – and we hope he will – we will book him a double room for his lectures.  He was so hot, Read the rest of this entry »

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Arnold and Maria’s Daughter Gives Girls (Of All Ages) Good Advice

October 17, 2010 · Filed under Book Reviews · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rock What You’ve Got: Secrets to Loving Your Inner and Outer Beauty From Someone Who’s Been There and Back

By Katherine Schwarzenegger

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Published September 14, 2010 (Hardcover) Voice

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“When did life turn into a constant beauty pageant?” Katherine Schwarzenegger asks in her book Rock What You’ve Got.  Smart book.  Substantive.  So before you start hearing her father’s voice saying “I’ll be back,” in your head, listen up.  If you’ve got a daughter – maybe even if you just are a daughter – you’ll relate to a lot in her hot pink and purple book.  I’m interviewing Katherine tomorrow about her book at my home studio.

Only two percent of women describe themselves as beautiful.  Which may mean that those women are the models you see in fashion magazines.  The average fashion model is over six feet tall and weighs far less than 120 pounds.  The average American woman is five feet four inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.  Less than five-percent of all women have the body they see in those mags.  Read the rest of this entry »

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