6 Books I'd Like to Read in 2015

I got my wisdom teeth out on Friday + because I know none of you want to read my loopy ramblings, I've scheduled this post ahead of time. So if you're wondering why I haven't replied to your email/tweet/comment but I'm still posting...just know that I'm not! I'm on pain medication and in bed. Yay.

This Christmas season, without school taking up all my time, I've decided to read two books. I love to read but I just don't get to much during the school year (which, yes, is a sort of lame excuse). But as I've been looking around for what books to read, I've been updating my to-read list. Here's what I'm thinking for the next few months! Please leave your own suggestions in the comments! :)

1 / Anything That Moves by Dana Goodyear

2 / The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

3 / Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

4 / We Only Know So Much by Elizabeth Crane

5 / Four Fish by Paul Greenberg

6 / Tigers in Red Weather / Liza Klaussmann

What are you reading these days? What was the best book you've read this year?

Recently Read

You know what? I've been meaning to post a book recap for months. Months. But it's taken me that long to actually finish three books. It's actually pretty embarrassing. Almost as embarrassing as the fact that I still can't spell embarrassing and have to rely on spell check to remind me of that double-r.

But nevertheless, guys, I've read three books. I'm about to tell you about them + which ones you should read + which ones you should proceed to deposit in the nearest trash can (I kid, I kid).

Book #1: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Synopsis, adapted from Goodreads: On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy. Yet when his daughter is born, he sees immediately that she has Down's Syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect his family, he asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. But Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the infant and raises the child herself."

Someone recommended this book to me after I read The Light Between Oceans (which I mostly liked) and I can see why. Both books involve moral dilemmas involving children + are sort of sad. But in general, I hate sad books. Hate them. This book was well-written for sure and definitely kept me interested. But I didn't enjoy reading it. And even for a sad book, no one ended up really happy in the end. It told the two parallel stories of David and Caroline, one who screwed up and one who was sort of a savior. Understandably, the book documents David's guilt and unraveling over giving up his daughter. But it continually frustrated me that Caroline didn't get a happy ending.

I'd recommend if...you don't mind a sad book that will make you think, you have time to read it for decent chunks of time and you want a truly realistic (not romanticized) book.

My rating: 3/5 stars

Book #2: Reconstructing Amelia

In short: Kate Baron is called at her work as a high-powered lawyer and told that her high-achieving daughter Amelia has been suspended for cheating. Shocked and determined that the accusations are false, Kate drives to Amelia's school. But when she arrives, she finds that Amelia jumped off the school building and Kate is determined to find out why.

I expected this book to be pretty much a mystery novel, set in a NYC prep school. Instead, I felt it delved way too much into minute details of some characters and left others completely undeveloped, not to mention mostly unlikable (including Amelia). I never felt like I understood Amelia's girlfriend and while I felt the author wanted to make her seem mysterious, I just felt like she wasn't real. And speaking of Amelia's girlfriend, this was almost like two separate (and mostly unrelated) stories in one: one of the investigation behind Amelia's death, and one of her unexpected relationship. And in the end, there ended up being really boring answers to all the so-called mysteries. 

It felt like Gossip Girl and SVU tried to have a baby and it just wasn't happening. But then again, most people on Goodreads either gave it one star or five.

My rating: 2/5 stars.

Book #3: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Unemployment has send web designer Clay to work in Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, a mysterious store containing random assortments of books. But the customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything—instead, they “check out” large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Clay and his friends try to figure out the mystery behind the bookstore.

Welp. Sorry if I'm being Negative Nancy over here, but this book sucked too. So many people recommended it to me + the reviews looked promising, but I couldn't even finish it (and that rarely happens). I expected this book to be a great mystery set in an old bookstore, but you know what the first 100 pages were about? Web design. Programming. Weird art. I'm not even kidding you. It was just so weird. This book sounded so promising but it just wasn't worth the effort after awhile and I stopped reading. But if you're into reading about programming and installation art....go for it.

My rating: 1/5 stars.

Have you read any really good books lately? Pleeeeease share!

Weekly Goals #33

Happy Monday, dollface! It has been so long since I've made weekly goals because of my blog break towards the middle of the month. On the subject of that blog break, can I just say that it was exactly what I needed? I felt a little guilty taking a break + I think those of you who are bloggers understand the feeling of not wanting to let your readers down. But at the heart, blogging for me right now is a hobby, and I would be crazy to let a hobby take up valuable time that I didn't have during exam week. So thank you for allowing me to feel okay leaving the blog for a bit + thank you for welcoming me back!

Last Week's Goals:

(Otherwise known as, the goals I made more than a month ago and haven't followed up on.)

1. Finish my review book + exam prep. Done and done! Well, my exams are over so I sort of have to be! But I do feel like I ended up spending enough time reviewing...even for that devil of a class, European History! I feel pretty confident that I did well on all my exams, but I won't get my scores until July 7, which sucks a ton. Hey, at least by that point I won't care if I don't ace 'em.
2. Finish reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. You know what? I didn't do this, and I'm totally okay with that. This book sounded super interesting: old bookstore, mystery, crime. But you know what the first hundred pages were about? This random guy's computer programming. Whaaaa?! I just wasn't interested. I'm a big believer that if I'm 75 pages in and still not interested, it's not a good book for me. 

This Week's Goals:

1. Make a to-do list every morning + actually get things done. As of last week, I'm officially on vacation! This week (until my graduation on Saturday--yay!), I have almost nothing planned. I plan on spending this week exercising, cleaning, organizing, practicing calligraphy and generally doing productive things. But I'm totally one of those people that spends their first week of vacation lounging around eating Cheetos. Except I'm too broke to spend money on Cheetos. So I'm hoping that this goal will help me actually do stuff--even if it's fun stuff!
2. Read at least 15 minutes a day. During the school year, I really just don't have much time to read. So when summer rolls around, I have the time, but I'm not in the habit. When I was at the beach with my boyfriend H last weekend, I started a book that I've wanted to read for ages called When a Gene Makes You Smell Like a Fish. Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds. 

What are your goals for the week?!

January in Favorites

Let me tell you, January has been pretty calm around here! I expected the transition back to school to be stressful, but between lots of days off (including snow days) + working a little less lately, everything has been peachy keen! I finished four new designs in January + started a fifth (my fave this month was for Hannah//The Homesteady). Plus, I totally rebranded my own blog and I'm so in love with the rad, but clean feel + the general Allie-ness that is oozing out of my computer screen (sorry, oozing's kinda a gross word #sorrynotsorry) every time I pull up my homepage. I feel like I'm really coming into my own as to having skills and a distinct style as a designer, which is just a super awesome feeling. :)

So I know I haven't done one of these monthly recaps in awhile (I think not since September!), but I'm switching things up around here + bringing some old stuff back!

So I've mentioned before that I totally go through phases of music? Where I'll have a week where I just want to listen to folk and then the next week I only want celtic rock or something equally awesome-weird? Yeah, this whole month was a giant phase dedicated to Elvis. Somehow, even though I feel like I know a ton of music, I had never really listened to anything Elvis before this month, which is just craziness. But relax guys, I've seen the light. I'm officially obsessed. So a few weeks ago, I shared some of my favorite Elvis songs and the story behind the first time I really sat down + listened to Elvis.

I'm so sorry, reading gods, I didn't read a single. book. this month. Not one. Believe me, I'm well aware of how pathetic that is. But I'll be getting back on that real soon, I promise! Every time I'm in the airport, I look at all those lovely books + I take pictures of all the ones I want to read. Needless to say, all those pictures are taking up way too much room in my iPhone camera roll. I've specifically had a hankering for some good, unconventional fiction books (like Where'd You Go, Bernadette). Any recommendations?

But as for non-book reading, I've done quite a bit (as in blog-reading). I'm still absolutely awful about commenting because I like tor read straight from the Bloglovin' app + it's a nightmare to try to leave comments on a phone. Is there a better way to comment on iPhones? Anyways, I loved Crystal's post on 3 Simple Stretches to a Calmer You, Bethany's Ultimate Email Tips and Sarah Von's post on the super easy, low-tech thing she does every night to stay happy + productive.

I'm really proud of my writing lately, I'll be honest. I absolutely love blogging, but I've never considered myself a genius writer. (To prove it, I just accidentally typed 'righter' instead of 'writer').  But I've been working on really developing core ideas about my blog + for the most part, I'll be sticking to writing about design, positivity + productivity. There will be music + science + randomness thrown in, but that's my plan.

This month, I was particularly proud of my post on my Word of the Year: 'Open'. I also really connected with a few other posts of mine: 4 Ways to Have a Productive Day Off, which has tips that I use every. single. Saturday so that I don't lay in my hammock and watch SVU all day + also, How to Create the Perfect iTunes Playlist, in which I show my method for creating a balanced, continuous playlist that I like to have on in the background while I design, blog + do schoolwork.

Oh man, do I love a good (preferably online) shopping day. If I had more money, this blog would be alll about fashion, makeup + good ol' home decor. But alas, I don't. But just for fun, I thought I'd share just a couple things on my wishlist lately.

Clockwise from top-left: Modern Wood Burned Sign // B+W Polka Dot Raincoat // Red Rope Knot Necklace // Mini Faux Taxidermy Elephant

If you have a month recap post, please share the link! I love reading a good recap! Now you help me--what books should I read in February?

August in Favorites.

This month I feel like I wrote a lot, and I've been loving that. But I also did a lot in my real life too! I had a Great Gatsby themed dinner party to celebrate the end of summer. I switched my blog over to self-hosted, which was both excruciating and so great! In the process, I learned how to refrain from verbally stabbing customer service reps. I started a new series about loving your brain and intelligence. I helped some of you lovely bloggers improve your blogs in super simple ways, in less than five minutes (for realz)! I co-hosted the Book Chat with The Tangerine and we talked about required reading books that we've loved and hated. And lots more! What was your favorite post that you wrote in August?



Because we all know bloggers love blogging and reading about blogging, Kenzie from Chasing Happy wrote a To Don't List for bloggers on social media. Jasmine wrote a post with cute pictures overload called Six Reasons My Dog is High-Maintenance. M'lady Kayte got engaged!! Woohoo!!



I'll be honest, school started. Not much book readin' going on in these parts other than school reading. I did read Pride and Prejudice for school (again) and loved it (again). But that's it. Instead, let me share with you what's on my list to be read as soon as I get a spare minute!

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Have you read any of these? What did you think?



Ophelia // The Band
North Side Gal // J.D. McPherson
Uptown Girl // Billy Joel
Sugar, Sugar // The Archies
You Can Call Me Al // Paul Simon
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) // Billy Joel
Walk of Life // Dire Straits





Now tell me your favorites this month! What did you blog? What did you read? What music have you been listening to? Share share share!

Catching My Eye 11: igloos + mushrooms + no pants

Oh man guys. School is getting to me already and I've only had three days. I drank my first cup of coffee, EVER last night. I hate caffeine so much but I just had to. Sigh. So just a heads up, that I won't be posting 7-8 times a week like I have the last few months, but it'll be at least 4-5. I'll be here y'all!

Now for my favorite links of the week:

♥The igloo hotel in Kakslauttanen, Finland. Get up close and personal with the northern lights. Yes, please!

Built from a special thermal glass the temperature inside the igloo always stays at a normal level. It also prevents the glass from not getting white frosted, hence keeping the view clear even when the temperature outside drops to under -30°C. Every igloo is equipped with a toilet and luxury beds. On every evening a hot sauna and a refreshing ice hole are waiting for you.

♥Eight things I learned from 50 naked people. (And no, not me, the author)

♥This awesome video of what women have looked like through the centuries.



♥Super cool pictures of bioluminescence in action

♥Jasmine shares fall television shows you should be watching.

♥The awkward years project:

Remember the years between being a cute kid to the awesome person you are today? I'm talking about your awkward years. I want to share a collection of people sharing their most awkward years and show how great of people they turned out to be. To all of you who are struggling out there, and those that love before & after portraits, this project is for you!

♥Goodreads's list of Movers & Shakers every month always brings me some of my favorite new reads.

♥Kayte makes it easy with seven tips for travelers.



♥My favorite tumblr for travel pictures: Exquisite-planet.

♥Lena Dunham's awesome response to her no-pants critics. #thightstillidie

♥You might have missed: Love your brain: a new series ♥ Easy peasy ways to make your blog prettier in 5 minutes ♥ How to refrain from verbally stabbing customer service reps

What are you loving this week? Leave me some links!

Three Must-Read Memoirs

This is a post I originally shared at The Nectar Collective. Today I'm linking it up to Book Chat over at the Tangerine.

Today, I’m super excited to share with y’all some of my favorite nonfiction books. Now, don’t get scared! These aren’t textbooks you struggled through in school or anything of the sort. These are just memoirs, biographies and stories. I like reading nonfiction because true books remind me of reading blogs. I get a little peek into someone’s life that is way different from mine and sometimes that can really be entertaining or thought-provoking. Most nonfiction books that I like fall into three categories: slightly nerdy, moving or funny. Today I’m going to introduce you to one of each.



The Slightly Nerdy: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman in the South in the mid-1900s when she developed cancer and underwent treatment at John Hopkins Medical Center. She passed away but unknown to her–or her struggling family–her cells were being grown and sold around the world. The book follows the family more than the science aspect as Skloot introduces us to Henrietta’s family and their lives. This true story touches on themes of crime and racism as Henrietta’s daughter comes to terms with deceit and injustice since Henrietta’s cells change the world but her own daughter can’t even afford healthcare.

Quote: “She’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother is so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” –Deborah, Henrietta’s daughter

Why You’ll Love It: It’s just enough science that you feel like you’re learning a little, but enough crime and drama that you won’t want to put it down. Rebecca Skloot makes her characters so real that you’ll really feel like you know them by the end of the book.

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The Moving Memoir: Beautiful Boy by David Sheff

Called a “fiercely candid memoir,” Beautiful Boy traces Sheff’s journey dealing with his son Nic’s transformation from a joyful, athletic, good-natured, and kind Honors Student to an out-of-control delinquent addicted to crystal meth.

Quote: “I’m not sure if I know any ‘functional’ families, if functional means a family without difficult times and members who don’t have a full range of problems.”

Why You’ll Love It: This book is sad, but I also couldn’t stop reading. He balances out the heart-breaking moments with stories that make you love Nic. In the first few pages, Sheff shows you just how great his son is and how he the addiction devastated him. I will never read this book again but I truly believe everyone should read it. Definite trigger warning though, if you couldn't gather that.

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The Witty Tale: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

If you like humor, you have got to read David Sedaris’ books (I’ve heard Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls is hilarious as well). In this book, Sedaris tells a series of short stories from his life on all sorts of topics ranging from bull fights and learning French to family bands. It will make you laugh all along the way.

Quote: “I find it ridiculous to assign a gender to an inanimate object incapable of disrobing and making an occasional fool of itself. Why refer to lady crack pipe or good sir dishrag when these things could never live up to all that their sex implied?” –On Learning French.

Why You’ll Love It: It’s hilarious. What more reason do you need? Plus every chapter’s a different story so you can flip open to a random chapter, read for fifteen minutes, get yourself a good laugh and be on your merry way. If you can, find the audiobook at your library--it's hilarious in his voice!

What about you? Have you read any of these books? Do you like reading memoirs?

July in Favorites

Things I love about me + why that's not arrogant
5 more things I'm not ashamed of (but probably should be)
Three Must-Read Memoirs
Where'd You Go, Bernadette [book review]
Marie Curie, karate chopping stereotypes.
Funky Mood? Not for Long.
The Good and Bad of Living in Alaska [guest post]



Beautiful Boy by David Sheff.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye. Not done with this one, so that might be cheating but it's great so far!



Amanda makes super cute geometric jean shorts with a bleach pen and raspberry-rosemary sorbet. FancyHands shows a really doable way to live richly and avoid regret. Melyssa shares the experience of getting and dealing with her first negative commenter. Sarah introduces me to Jes the Militant Baker. I found Emily's pretty and natural blog, Growing Wild Ginger. Mary shares her thoughts on the Trayvon Martin case. Kelsey shares some super duper cute patterned things! Crystal works out at home.





I Want You to Want Me / Cheap Trick
Somartider / Gyllentider
Thrift Shop [electro-swing cover] / Postmodern Jukebox/Macklemore
I Would Walk 500 Miles / The Proclaimers
Jackie Wilson Said / Van Morrison
Hey Willy / Shannon and the Clams
Guaranteed / Eddie Vedder



[8tracks width="400" height="400" playops="" url="http://8tracks.com/mixes/1912963"]

What were your favorite things this month?

Where'd You Go, Bernadette [book review]

So this is a book review. I've stayed away from book reviews from a long time because I thought I'd have to use phrases like "a novel that subverts conventions" and "affecting characters" and all sorts of phrases that actually tell you nothing about the book and why you should wanna read it. But this is my version of a book review.

The book is called Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Here's the cover.



Here's the basics: Fifteen-year-old Bee got good grades in eighth-grade. And what did her parents promise her? A trip to Antarctica. Yep, that's right. The only smallish problem is that Bee's mom (Bernadette) is agoraphobic and pretty much hates people and socializing and being in public. To her, spending time on a cruise ship is just too much to handle. So Bernadette disappears and Bee has to go halfway around the world. To some, Bernadette is crazy, but to Bee, her mom is her best friend.

Why you'll love this book: It's so funny--but intentionally. It's like it's smart funny and it makes me feel smart that I think it's funny. There's a lot of dry humor and sarcasm and that's just splendid. This book is very creatively written too. The book is made up of all of Bernadette's emails, receipts, journals and instructions to her virtual assistant in India (who turns out to be in the Russian mafia) and more that Bee "compiles" to make the book.

My favorite quote: “This is why you must love life: one day you're offering up your social security number to the Russian Mafia; two weeks later you're using the word calve as a verb.” --Bernadette

Basically: this book is funny, involves Antarctica, the Russian mafia and drama. Please, just read it. It was a great book.

Awkward book review done.

Over and out.

June Book Challenge Update

Ten days into June, after I had made my reading goal to read ten books in June, I started panicking. Why? Well, I had only read one book. One third of the way through June. However, after I made my weekly wish last week to read an hour every day, I'm catching up! I'm super proud to say that I have now read seven books out of my goal of ten--and June isn't over yet! Some of them are school books, which, while I feel great that they're done, I'm not quite recommending them as the most riveting reads.

The Forest Unseen  by David George Haskell
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.
Wool 1 by Hugh Howey
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner.

Up Next: (probably--my literary moods change quickly)

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

What have you read lately?

 

Catching My Eye 02.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnydFmqHuVo]

This week:My sister got home from Italy♥I cooked cheesecake, all by myself! Usually, the toaster presents enough of a challenge, but not today...♥Went on a frozen yogurt date with the boy♥finished my first book of the summer♥ran many miles.

Now, for the best of the interwebs.

♥This album by Common Labor is so great. It's like rap and folk and awesomeness. Even better? Name your price.

♥Portraits of zoo animals in clothing make me smile. I'd love some postcards of these prints!



♥Skittles burgers? Oddly themed weddings? Sometime Pinterest seems to be drunk.

♥Is this real life? A vending machine that prints books.

♥Try out this recipe for salted caramel cheesecake. If I can make it, you can.



♥This lovely offbeat bouquet.

♥This post from Of Corgis & Cocktails with all things popsicles for summer.

♥Lastly, here are ten yoga poses to do in bed. At the end of the day, I love relaxing with a couple of these poses and find that they help me fall asleep faster and relax more. My favorite? Definitely happy baby.

♥YOU MAY HAVE MISSED: ReverbNation Gems♥June Book Challenge♥One for the Road [playlist]♥The Forest Unseen [book]

June Book Challenge

In June, (and I realize I'm already five days behind) I am going to read ten books! At least that's my goal. I'm not sure how many book I usually read a month but it's probably close to this in the summer. Then, in July, I'd like to increase that goal. Here are a couple books that I can't wait to read!



 

1. Wild: Lost and Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again.

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Jane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues.

3. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale. Precocious, self-conscious and preternaturally gifted, young Bruno, born and raised in a habitat at the local zoo, falls under the care of a university primatologist named Lydia Littlemore. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore goes beyond satire by showing us not what it means, but what it feels like be human -- to love and lose, learn, aspire, grasp, and, in the end, to fail.

4. Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman. In this sumptuous offering, one of our premier storytellers provides a feast for fiction aficionados, traveling around the world and examining the lives and nuances of locales.

5. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. A guy walks into a bar car and...From here the story could take many turns. When this guy is David Sedaris, the possibilities are endless, but the result is always the same: he will both delight you with twists of humor and intelligence and leave you deeply moved.

6. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell. Rose Baker seals men’s fates. With a few strokes of the keys that sit before her, she can send a person away for life in prison. A typist in a New York City Police Department precinct, Rose is like a high priestess. Confessions are her job.

[summaries excerpted from GoodReads.com]