Early Bird and Reading Revival

I can’t remember why I woke up early one January day to go to the gym in the morning instead of after work, but I did and I LOVED it.

My gym is very crowded right after work, so it’s often tough to find a parking space and a free treadmill. Plus there’s traffic on the way there, tons of nekkid bodies in the locker room, etc.

In the wee hours of the morning, there are no cars on the road. There are plenty of parking spaces. I have my pick of treadmills. Plus, I get to relax in the evenings!

So I’ve taken to waking up at 4:30/4:45-ish to hit the gym and pay my sweaty dues before work. It’s not quite as nice as when I used to wake up around the same hour to do sunrise runs at Green Lake in the summer, but it’s a vast improvement over gym rush hour!

Actual Green Lake sunrise last August. Can’t wait for more of this!

In other news, I’ve committed to reading more this year. I love checking out e-books from the library on my Kindle and reading on the bus to and from work.

I’m kind of obsessed with memoirs and biographies, but I’m mixing in some fiction, too. Here’s what I’ve read so far this year:

JANUARY

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? – Mindy Kaling (very funny)

The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant – Dan Savage (interesting look at the early years of gay adoption)

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn (gripping! couldn’t put it down!)

Oprah: A Biography – Kitty Kelly (juicy!!)

Bossypants – Tina Fey (interesting, but not as funny as Mindy’s book)

FEBRUARY

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – Jamie Ford (interesting novel about the evacuation of Japanese from Seattle following the bombing of Pearl Harbor)

I got a ton of reading done in January because I spent several hours on planes and a whole week on vacation, but I was much slower with my reading this month — just one book that I’m rushing to finish before my e-book checkout expires in three days! I’ll try harder next month. 🙂

Some friends and I are starting a book club (aka: wine club where we talk about books a little bit), so I need some book suggestions to bring to our first meeting in mid-March.

Give me your best fiction picks, Tumblr!