Similar questions with read, biography, tennis, player, Ashley, Harkleroad

Ashley Harkleroad may have made her initial splash in the sporting public’s eye in 2001 when she wore extra-tight shorts and a midriff-baring top during her match at the U.S. Open in New York, but Harkleroad has been a known entity in tennis circles for years now and has certainly come a long way since losing that first round matchup. 

Harkleroad turned pro in 2000 and in both 2000 and 2001, she reached the number one ranking in U.S. women's 18-and-under tennis. She made her official Grand Slam debut at age 16 at the 2001 U.S. Open, losing to Meilan Tu in the first round in a tough three-set match. 

2002 saw her win her first tour matches, reaching the second round at San Diego, Hawaii, and Bratislava, where she made her first doubles semifinal with partner Maria Emilia Salerni. She ended 2002 in the top 200 for the first time.
Harkleroad’s breakthrough year was in 2003, when at Charleston, she defeated three top 20 players at the time (No.16 Elena Bovina, No.19 Meghann Shaughnessy, and No.9 Daniela Hantuchová), while losing just 11 games along the way to reach her first WTA tour semifinal. 

She became the lowest ranked semifinalist (No. 101) in the event's history since unranked Jennifer Capriati reached the finals in 1990. After that performance, on April 14, 2003 she broke out from No.101 to climb to a No.56 ranking. She subsequently reached the semifinals again at Strasbourg and scored her second Top 10 win and second over Daniela Hantuchová at Roland Garros while reaching the third round and for the second time at a Grand Slam. 

In June of 2003, she soared into the Top 50 at No.39 and reached the final in doubles at the Japan Open in Tokyo.
In 2004, she made her career first, Tour final at Auckland before eventually losing to defending champion Eleni Daniilidou.
For most of the 2005 season, Harkleroad sat out due to various injuries, but the time she was on court was spent on the ITF Women's circuit winning 2 titles. She did however reach a tour doubles final at Quebec City.

Sources: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/51402/ashley_harkleroad_biography.html

I have eclectic reading tastes -- I enjoy reading several types of fiction, as well as non-fiction.  Also, I’m not always sleepy when bedtime rolls around, such as on Friday and Saturday nights.  So, since I don’t have to go to work the following days, I enjoy reading something more stimulating, whether it be intellectually or emotionally so.

 

If I can stay up until 3:00 AM, I will pick up a book I can either get lost in, or really sink my teeth into.  The thing is, if the book is really interesting, I have to continue reading until I finish it, or come as reasonably close to that as I can.  This happened with the Twilight saga, as well as the Harry Potter series.  It can also happen, though, with a self-help book, or any other non-fiction book on topics that interest me -- such as theology, psychology, and philosophy.

 

Sometimes, I’ve been mulling or brooding over a particular problem or issue I’ve encountered during my daily activities.  I will then pursue it further at bedtime -- if I’m not too sleepy, that is. 

 

When I’m experiencing insomnia, I usually find that spiritual literature, such as the Bible or some other inspirational book, can very gently lull me back to sleep.  This is not, of course, because I’m bored, but because such literature is specifically designed to relax the mind and soothe the soul, provided, naturally, that one chooses s passage or verse that will have these effects.  Certain Psalms, or parts of Psalms, are especially good for this purpose.  I like to read them over and over, letting their message really sink in.

 

At this time of year, I love to read Christmas Regency romances.  There are also a few Christmas paranormal romances that I’ve recently read, and absolutely enjoyed!  

 

Other types of books I like reading, whether at bedtime or any other time, are fantasy and science fiction novels and stories.  I do prefer to reserve these for the 3:00 AM weekend marathons, though, as they are much too interesting and stimulating for weeknight reading.

 

I decided to research the subject further, and came up with the following related links:

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2218322_plan-bedtime-reading.html?ref=fuel&;utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

 

http://www.marriagetools.com/maintaining/cuddlingup.htm

 

www.robinsharma.com/content_files/RugbyArticle-BedtimeReading.pdf

 

 

Sources: personal reading experience, books, online articles

It got to the point where I really felt like I had read every plot ever written.  I mean, how many variations can you do on strong woman overcomes adversity and gets ahead in life?  Wise-cracking detective solves a horrific crime and also saves the helpless female just in time? 

I’d wander through the bookstore or the library, pick up a book, read the blurbs and the reviews, and put it back down. I knew I obviously hadn’t read everything, but nothing was screaming "read me" to me. It was pretty depressing.

 

So one day I went to the library and picked up the first five books alphabetically by author. Abate, Abbot, whoever they were .... I read them as they come up. So now I’m going through our library alphabetically by author.  The only ones I skip are romance novels, horror stories, and ones that seem like they’ll have a lot of gratuitous violence.

 

I’ve found two or three new favorite authors this way, and I’ve found many plots I hadn’t read before. I’m reading genres I wouldn’t otherwise ever consider, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. I’ve been at it for just over two years and I’m still in the B’s.  Unfortunately, Askville isn’t helping much with my reading rate.