August 04, 2020

What I'm Reading, Watching, and Listening To


Since I started 75 Hard, I've been doing a lot of reading (books), watching (shows), and listening (to podcasts and audiobooks).

Per 75 Hard, I read a non-fiction self-improvement-type book (10 pages per day). I'm really surprised at how 10 pages per day adds up! It sounds so easy--just 10 pages--but I finished one book and I'm on to another, just two weeks later.

I have been trying to go to bed earlier, and I found that reading before bed helps me to get tired. I used to watch TV or play a game on my phone, which could keep me up super late. Reading in bed has helped me to have an earlier bed time. So, nighttime reading is my "for fun" reading.

One of my 75 Hard workouts each day has to be outdoors, and I've been doing a ton of walking. I've done all of them outdoors until last week when I had to do a very early morning workout. While I walk outside, I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. On the treadmill, however, I like to watch TV shows.

So, I've been doing lots of reading, watching, and listening! Here goes... (I'm linking to these on Amazon, which are affiliate links--meaning if you happen to buy them through the links, I may get a small commission.)

Reading

For my non-fiction books to meet the 75 Hard daily requirement:

I just finished 'The Gifts of Imperfection' by Brené Brown. This was a great read (particularly the first half or so of the book). I first read it in 2017 and it really helped me to stop caring what other people think of me and to just be a more authentic me. I stopped trying to please other people all the time and it felt so freeing. I chose to read it again for a refresher and because I'd only read half of it in 2017.



When I finished that, I moved on to 'Can't Hurt Me' by David Goggins. I wrote about this on yesterday's post. This man pretty much invented the word "discipline"--to the tenth power.



I've also been reading a little more about intermittent fasting. I really liked 'Delay, Don't Deny' by Gin Stephens, which inspired me to give intermittent fasting another try. My mom just lent me 'Fast. Feast. Repeat.', also by Gin. I've been flipping around in that book rather than reading it straight through, and it's a good reference--it's answered several questions I had.

(This isn't normally spiral-bound; my mom took it to Staples and had it bound this way. I had no idea you could do that! It is so much easier to read like this. While it cuts off the left edge of the cover a bit, the pages don't get cut off.)



For my "fun" reading, I downloaded a new book by Suzanne Collins called 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'. It's a prequel to 'The Hunger Games' series. I love it! Not as much as 'The Hunger Games' (which is one of my favorite books of all time), but just reading something new about The Games is fun.




Watching

When I jumped on the treadmill last week, I just picked a random show on Netflix called Sweet Magnolias. I loved the first episode so much that I have done the last couple of days' walks on the treadmill (I do one outdoor walk for 75 Hard, and then my second has been on the treadmill). I don't want to binge watch it, so I am only going to watch it while on the treadmill. I just finished the third episode during my second walk today.



Listening To

I've been listening to a few podcasts and audiobooks. I have been mostly listening to podcasts when I work in the garage (it's slow going, but I'm still making progress!) and audiobooks when I walk. I've always loved true crime podcasts, but I started listening to a couple of intermittent fasting ones recently. I really like Six Miles to Supper--she shares a lot of the same viewpoints that I have.



As far as audiobooks, memoirs are my favorite. I love hearing people tell their stories, whether they are sad, funny, inspiring, or anything else. I listen to some podcasts where people tell their stories in a nutshell; but the memoirs are great because they are so detailed.

I recently finished 'Running Man' by Charlie Engle. I'm really surprised I'd never heard of him before! I haven't been keeping up with who's who in the running scene for the last few years, but after listening to this, I was interested to learn more about him. I'd like to watch the documentary that this book is based around, called 'Running the Sahara'.



When I was done listening to 'Running Man', I started listening to 'The Killer Across the Table' by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. I chose this because I really loved the book 'Mindhunter' (and the TV series). I didn't end up finishing this one because I just couldn't stay interested. This might be because I've listening to lots of true crime podcasts so the stories weren't new to me.



And that's about it right now... anyone reading/watching/listening to something interesting??

9 comments:

  1. I just finished listening to Alligator Candy by David Kushner, it is a memoir about the murder of Hus brother as a child. Very poignant, and real.
    Also I read Running with A Police Escort.

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  2. I love Sweet Magnolias! Try Virgin River when you finish it. It is really good too!

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  3. Hi Katie.
    Thanks for the recommendations.
    Here are a few more:
    Books:
    Claire Cook: SHINE ON and NEVER TO LATE
    Anne Morrow Lindbergh: GIFT FROM THE SEA I give copies to my girlfriends then they start to give copies to others. It is a timeless read.
    Randy Pausch: THE LAST LECTURE The book is great; and the TED talk is even better.
    Television:
    BETTER THINGS on Hulu

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  4. I’ve been reading The Obesity Code based on your recommendation, and it’s been excellent! Thank you!

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  5. I love Sweet Magnolias and I read Running Man a few years ago and follow him on Instagram (who followed me back and sometimes "likes" my pictures, so I suppose I could say I've had 2 "celebrities" acknowledge me now).đŸ¤£ I thought it was a great book.

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  6. Thanks for the recommendations. I always love blog posts like this. Brene Brown is one of my favorites and Sweet Magnolias was so good! I hope they make a second season.

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  7. I’ve read “Cant hurt me” once, and listened to the book 3-4 times. I love it and thought you’d finished it all before so I’m interested to see how much more you love it after completion. #stayhard

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  8. Thanks for all of the recommendations! We just finished The Expanse and we loved it. We just started Outer Banks (which I thought was going to be a stupid show about teenagers, but it's turning out to be much more than that). I'm definitely going to try your ten pages a day with some of my non-fiction books! Tracie

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  9. Loving Dark on Netflix right now!

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