The Pulse: April 2014

If you’re looking for some spring reading, check out these books before their film adaptations hit theaters later this year.

Gone Girl
(in theaters Oct. 3)
Book by Gillian Flynn
Film starring Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris

This Is Where I Leave You
(in theaters Sept. 12)
Book by Jonathan Tropper
Film starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver

The Giver
(in theaters Aug. 15)
Book by Lois Lowry
Film starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep

The Fault In Our Stars
(in theaters June 6)
Book by John Green
Film starring Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay
(in theaters Nov. 21)
Book by Suzanne Collins
Film starring Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

April is tax time and, if you’re lucky, you’re getting a return. Here’s what you can buy with the average individual tax return in Texas, or $2,687.68

• 673 Sumo tangerines from Whole Foods Market
• 34 annual memberships to Austin B-Cycle
• 12 weekend passes to Austin City Limits 2014
• 1 pair of Lucchese Sweetwater crocodile skin boots

Book Bit

From Duel in the Sun: The Story of Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America’s Greatest Marathon by John Brant

“In the course of all his marathons and in all the thousands of miles he’d covered in other races and workouts around the world—from a gravel road along the St. Croix River on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border to the London Bridge across the Thames—Dick thought he’d seen, heard, touched, and felt everything possible. He’d been chased by dogs. The skin between his thighs had chafed until he bled. His muscles had cramped into iron. Opponents had knocked him down, and he had knocked down opponents. He’d been snowed on, rained on, hailed on, scorched and frozen, and raked by tempest winds. He had taken wrong turns. He had run superbly, wretchedly, and indifferently. But he had never, ever felt phantomlike pillars of air where his legs ought to be.”

Willie Nelson marks his 81st birthday on April 23, so let’s celebrate by listening to some of his greatest hits and covers.

Playlist: Willie Nelson
“Whiskey River” — Willie Nelson
“Shotgun Willie” — Willie Nelson
“Roll Me Up” — Willie Nelson feat. Snoop Dogg
“On the Road Again” — Willie Nelson
“Always on My Mind” — Willie Nelson
” My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” — Willie Nelson
“Midnight Rider” — Willie Nelson
“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” — Willie Nelson
“Cold War with You” — Willie Nelson feat. Lukas Nelson
“Forgiving You was Easy” — Willie Nelson

Listen to the playlist on Spotify HERE