You know, maybe think about downloading an album for them.
Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
Happy Tuesday!
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Five Books, Five Blogs III
10 MayI read five books again! (Well actually more than five, but these are the five I’ve chosen to share.) I’ve done this before, here and here. Good book suggestions and blogs are always fun to find. Here are a few I suggest:
Books:
THE WEIRD SISTERS – Eleanor Brown
Unique. Poignant. Of all the books I’ve recommended on the blog to date, this is the one I’d most describe as literary. I originally picked it up because I have four sisters and thought I might be able to draw some entertaining parallels. The father is a Shakespearean professor, which lends way to Shakespeare references throughout, and each of the sisters are working through own life problems. I wouldn’t describe it as a book I couldn’t put down, but rather one that was enjoyable and thought-provoking.
STILL ALICE – Lisa Genova
Beautiful. Heart-breaking. This is one of those books you think about for quite a few days afterwards. Alice is a mother of three adult children and married to another Harvard professor. She has enjoyed a wonderful academic and family life, until she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The book chronicles Alice’s journey through her perspective, and the reactions of her family, friends and colleagues. The author, Lisa Genova, has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and tells a very moving story. It’s a bit terrifying, but definitely one to add to your TBR list if you’ve not already.
IF I STAY – Gayle Forman
Emotional. Layered. This is the YA book of my line-up, a genre I thoroughly enjoy. Forman tells a story of Mia, a girl who gets in a car accident with her family and has to choose whether to stay or die. She watches herself throughout the story, until she makes a decision. This is a beautiful reflection on how we view our lives and the choices we make. I sped through it on a car ride with Kyle and cried more than once.
THE VIOLETS OF MARCH – Sarah Jio
Fresh. Comforting. Sarah Jio shines in her debut novel. This is the perfect beach read, plane read, anything read! Jio transports the reader to Bainbridge Island, where Emily Wilson is recovering from her divorce. Emiy finds a diary from the 1940′s with parallels to her own life and begins to heal. The setting is described so well and the story combines loss, love, renewal and mystery beautifully. This book actually feels like a little indulgent healing for the reader. I definitely recommend it!
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS – Rebecca Skloot
Remarkable. Vivid. Rebecca Skloot spent ten years researching this important story. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman who died from cancer at the age of 31. What makes her story so riveting is that doctors took her cells (named HeLa), without her permission, and created an immortal cell line. Her cells created a billion-dollar industry, and were instrumental in research for cancer, polio, viruses, fertilization and more. What’s even more interesting is that, when Skloot interview members of her family (afer various failed attempts), she discovers most of them can’t even afford health insurance. It’s an important read, one that I learned quite a bit from. I’m not much of a “science person,” but the book certainly held my attention.
Blogs:
Sarah Jio: She’s mentioned as an author above and also has a blog. If you click over right now, you can enter to win a copy of her book!
papernstich: I love looking at beautiful things, and there’s plenty to be found here.
sweet juniper!: I love this dad’s perspective. Always thought-provoking for me.
Picky Palate: A fun cooking blog to add to your line-up.
The Accidental Olympian, Alaskan?: She used to live in Olympia, WA. She just moved to Alaska. There are pictures of moose. She’s also an avid reader, gardener and just plain amusing.
What are you reading?
Five Books, Five Blogs II
28 MarI’ve done this “Five Books, Five Blogs” style of post before, and I have a few suggestions to share so I’m doing it again! Without further introduction, my latest set of fives:
Books:
DRIVE – Daniel H. Pink
Insightful. Inspiring. Philosophically, I agree with many of Pink’s sentiments. He argues human beings are truly intrinsically motivated and extrinsic motivations, (AKA carrot and stick) such as bonuses, aren’t always effective and can actually do harm. The entire third part of the book is filled with tools the reader can use to put the ideas of autonomy, mastery and purpose into practice. A must-read for anyone interested in business and motivation.
COLUMBINE – Dave Cullen
Detailed. Disturbing. Cullen spent 10 years researching and writing this book. As a former journalism major I was impressed with his meticulous reporting and the detailed account of the massacre at Columbine High School. He set out to understand the killers and what became of the survivors–in doing so, he debunks a lot of the early Columbine myths and provides great perspective as to why this happened.. I could not put it down.
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS – Stephanie Perkins
Lovely. Attractive. This is the only YA book of my line-up and, truth be told, I don’t read as much of it as I’d like! I’m often intrigued by Young Adult literature and Perkins’s debut sucked me right in. Oh my goodness, I want to go to Paris. I read somewhere that Perkins rented a flat in Paris for a month to do research for her book and it shows. Paris leapt off the page and her characters made me wistfully remember those young, sweet days of, “Is he going to kiss me?” and “Wait, does he even like me?!” I’d get this one for all the tweens and teens in your life.
THE HELP – Kathryn Stockett
Thought-provoking. Vivid. I gave this one four stars on my Goodreads profile as opposed to five. This is obviously an extremely popular book that has been read by many. What I loved were the characters and the description of that time period and how much it made me think. Though I can’t relate to actual events that transpired, I’m endlessly fascinated with relationships and their complex layers. My criticism comes primarily from the last 70 pages or so—the many threads Stockett wove sometimes felt wrapped up too quickly and I thought the writing lacked the strength earlier parts of the book showcased. Overall, however, I would recommend it as worth the time to read.
INTO THIN AIR – Jon Krakauer
Enthralling. Tense. I started this book and somehow trailed off and read several other books (some mentioned above) before I returned to this one. Interestingly enough, however, once I picked it back up, I was hooked and stayed up too late to finish it. I gasped out loud more times during this book than any other I can recall. The strength of a human being and untamable spirit of a climber amaze me. Though I’m not personally motivated to climb, this book makes me want to go outdoors and explore.
Blogs:
Whisker Biscuit: Her hilarious blog is definitely worth reading, and more awesomeness can be found at her etsy site, The Velveteen. You’re welcome.
the grumbles: crunchy mom, talented, funny…i love her daily posts. and no, she doesn’t use caps.
Carolina Valdez Miller: A lovely author-blogger who recently landed an agent. She’s smart, witty and a great writer. Go!
Stephanie Perkins: Since she’s featured as an author in the books section, I thought I’d mention she has a worthy blog as well.
Green Wedding Shoes: Even when I’m not planning a wedding I’ll keep this one in my RSS feed. The pictures give me loads of inspiration.
What are you reading right now? Next on my docket are Anne Riley’s THE CLEARING and Eleanor Brown’s THE WEIRD SISTERS!
Five Books, Five Blogs
3 JanAh, the typical end of the year beginning of the year post for those of us that start, but do not finish when intended. These books are not necessarily from 2010, but I experienced them for the first time this year. My opinions:
Books:
Room, Emma Donoghue
Captivating. Troubling. Told through the eyes of a five-year-old who has never been outside the same four walls. Though it was difficult to read at some points, I couldn’t put it down–the sign of a truly good read, for me.
The Girl Who Played with Fire Trilogy, Stieg Larsson
Intense. Intricate. I was amazed by the heroine, Liz Salander. She is unlike any other character I’ve read before and because of that, I always wanted to know what would happen next. The trilogy itself is unique; Liz Salander completely sold the books for me.
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins
Consuming. Emotional. The Hunger Games consumed me–the metaphor for war, the characters and the emotion all struck me. Catching Fire was impressive. I was disappointed with Mockingjay–my expectations were high and the finale in this trilogy didn’t deliver. However, I still recommend the trilogy as worth a read.
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Touching. Beautifully written. This book is a few years old, but I just got around to reading it this year. It was absolutely fantastic. It is told from the point of view of an ninety-something-year-old, interesting man in a nursing home–both his current life and his younger life in the circus. Gruen is an impressive writer and the story stuck with me for days afterward.
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand
Incredible. Detailed. I read this because one of my sisters trains horses for a living. She has always been obsessed with all things horse, and I put this on my list because of her. Hillenbrand is a brilliant author and I can’t wait to read her latest, Unbroken. Even if you have no interest in horses, this story is unlike any other. Not only did I learn so much legendary racing history, I got an amazing view into the life of a jockey.
More of what you should read, on a regular basis, follows below.
Blogs:
The Pioneer Woman: If somehow you aren’t already, DO IT. Recipes, hilarity, photography, giveaways…what’s not to love?
Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing: Hilarious blog from author Tawna Fenske. She brightens up my Google Reader with her daily blogs, writing advice and funny pictures.
Small Things: Ginny is a Catholic, homeschooling mama–a couple of things I am not. But she is authentic, sweet, interesting and I love the joy and honesty in her posts.
Seth Godin’s Blog: I nod my head at nearly everything he writes. He’s a wise best-selling author who makes you want to DO SOMETHING. Something that matters.
Nathan Bransford: A former agent, a current author and an all-around nice guy with good advice. His posts are thought-provoking, relevant and generally get great conversation started.
Here’s to 2011! A year to discover, grow, devour more books, cook new recipes, take tons of pictures with the new camera, marry the man I love, celebrate the precious boy I brought into this world turning six and document it all here. Whoa!
My blanket goal:
I will not let life just happen to me. I will make it happen.
What’s are you looking forward to?
Thirty Update: Surprise + Shoes
29 NovBack in October I posted a 30 before 30 list. I have an update: I’ve checked two exciting items off the list.
The first is a luscious, caramel-colored pair of beautiful boots. I spent far more on them than I’ve ever spent on a pair of shoes (although in fairness, I did have a 30% off coupon) and I adore them. I’ve worn them nearly every day since making the purchase and I couldn’t be happier with them. They go with skinny jeans tucked in, with dresses, with black, with brown and everything else I own. They have enough of a heel to boost me up a little but are flat enough to be perfectly comfortable for extensive walking and wearing. I did it. I finally purchased myself a pair of shoes I love no matter the cost and I’m pleased to report I’ve not suffered a moment of buyer’s remorse, even though it was necessary to dip into savings to get them. Here they are, my stunning little foot companions:
My other check off is far less selfish than this. Although it’s a slight modification of my earlier statement–throwing someone I love a surprise party–I did pull off an epic surprise. Out of my four sisters, the one I surprised is least like me. She is vodka to my lemonade, logic to my emotional tendencies. She is the one who thinks this blog, this public chronicle of my life, is just plain stupid. But I have photographic evidence to prove I shocked her good.
Without giving too much of her personal life away (lest she drive up and pull big sister stuff like stringing my underwear up with Christmas lights in the front of my home) I will disclose she once dated someone who lives in another country. They are, shall we say, rekindling that flame. And I contacted him about a month ago to fly across the ocean and show up at our family Thanksgiving.
She was shocked. Her jaw hung wide open. She jumped out of her seat and into a hugging frenzy.
It was awesome.
It was also pure awesome to say, “Oh, and by the way, I called your work and got you the week off. Enjoy!”
Really, I think it was better than any surprise birthday party could ever be.
So here we are. Twenty-eight items to go, although some are in the works. I must admit, I think this will be rather fun. It’s certainly been a ride so far.
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