What I Read Wednesday: Sparks and Speeches

I'm a frequent "reader" of audiobooks, but last month I mixed it up with a real paperback! 

I got "The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks for Christmas and finally read it, mostly while on a trip out of town. 

I have read several of his books already, and seen a few of the movies.  I know they always have a formula: romance plagued by hardship, death, tear-jerking scenes. I expected that with this book too, but it was just too predictable. Not long in, I had an idea of how it would go. I held out hope, though, expecting that this time, good ol' Nick would surprise me. Nope. 

If you love this kind of formulaic predictability, read away. If you have knowing 2/3 through EXACTLY how it's going to go- skip it. 

I've been listening to "Stand and Deliver," a Dale Carnegie (of "How to Win Friends and Influence People" fame).  I hoped to get some help on my anxiety about public speaking. Turns out, I need a book about anxiety, not public speaking. The tips haven't helped me with that. However, if you have a speech or talk to give soon, this is a good one to make sure you are engaging and interesting. But, I'm not sure that the tips in the book are anything you couldn't get from a good google search on public speaking. 

Currently I'm listening to "Call the Midwife," which has been made into a series on PBS. I haven't seen the show, but am enjoying the book so far. It's interesting to learn about how different delivering babies was back in the 1950's, and the specific stories and struggles of the poor in London. 

What are you reading?