Summer Reading Chart & Latest Reads

Over a month ago my family held our first book club discussion.  No, we weren't all in the same city, in fact we were in 4 different time zones, in 7 different cities around the world!  We managed this amazing feat by utilizing Google Plus and it's sweet "Hang Out" feature.  Have you tried it yet?  It takes me back to elementary school when we would play "future" and come up with all the crazy technological advances that we'd be able to do in the future - like talk face to face while on the phone.  It's a bit trippy that so many of my childhood "what if's" are being invented at an astonishing pace!  

But I digress.  Google Hang Out lets you see everyone on your screen in little individual squares at the bottom and then whenever someone talks, their screen pops up in a big square above all the small squares so you can see them better.  It's amazing and a very effective way to get an international family to spend some quality time together.  Never mind that we were the only family members who couldn't be seen or heard even though we were able to see and hear everything perfectly.  Boo-hoo.

For our first book we read, "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall.  It was fascinating, eye-opening and entertaining all at once.  It also had a handful of "f" bombs and other colorful word choices, so proceed with caution!  

Then, this past week Burke and I finished reading "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell.  Our good friends the Gonzalezes generously gave us their copy and we loved it!  Loads of inspirational stories from a unique perspective.  It made me realize how many opportunities Burke and I have been given in our lives from the families we grew up in, the towns we are from and especially our religious beliefs that have guided us through it all.  No joke, being a Mormon gives you a huge leg up in the world as we are taught some of the core principles of success from nursery up.

We're finally picking back up on our Harry Potter streak, the next Bush Bunch Book Club read as well as some church literature that I've been neglecting.  And after seeing a sweet summer reading chart like the one below (thanks Ellen!) I half-wish I was still a teenager and had time to cuddle up with a good book for hours on end.  All things in their season I suppose.  I've only read 15 of the 101 books listed.  How about you?   What are YOU reading this summer?

Via Teach.com and USC Rossier Online