{Book} Paris In Love (Eloisa James)

As I have mentioned, my schedule is all over the place right now.  If I have any time to read at all, it usually comes in 5-10 minute increments.  When such is the case, I usually skip reading altogether because it's just too hard to get into a book and out of it again in such a short time.  But luckily for me, Paris in Love is the perfect book for "incremental reading".  The story is constructed in snippets--a memoir built out of social media posts and little records jaunted down here and there from Eloisa James' time in Paris.  And so, picking the story up and putting it down again in 5 minutes time is very easy.  By finishing a paragraph, I can finish an entire thought process.

This little excerpt from a moment between James and her husband is one of my favorites, and gives--I think--a great sample of the book's wit and charm:

"Last night I asked Alessandro if he ever lies in bed and thinks about chocolate--say, about the way dark chocolate feels in your mouth, or how different it is when spiked with orange peel.  He said no.  Then he said that the only time he thinks about food in bed is when he wakes up in the middle of the night and wants steak.  Somewhere in that clash lies a profound truth about the difference between the sexes."

Also, James likes to talk about food as much as I do.  So naturally, I enjoy her book.

Happy reading, friends.

{Book} Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

This book was mesmerizing, infuriating, enlightening, empowering, exhausting, frustrating, powerful, sad, funny, and ironic all in 230 pages.  I knocked it out within 24 hours.  I feel conflicted after reading it; this book gave me a night of insomnia--a night filled with thoughts and concerns about culture, parenthood, ambition, and happiness.

I also wonder if Amy Chua has discovered a way to add a 25th hour to her day, based on what she seems to accomplish.  Geez.

Read this book.  It will change you, in some little way at least.

their eyes were watching god - zora neale hurston

"Some people could look at a mud-puddle and see an ocean with ships.  But Nanny belonged to that other kind that loved to deal in scraps.  [Janie's] Nanny had taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon--for no matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you--and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her.  She hated the old woman who had twisted her so in the name of love."

Zora Neale knows humanity--knows it well.  I read this passage, and instead of hating the grandmother like Janie, I felt sad for her.  Because, unlike Janie, I know the grandmother's sacrifice: that as a slave, she was beaten and raped and driven from her only known home for carrying her abuser's child.  And that defined her, and made her scared, made her to cling to precious things, to choke out dreams because dreams are dangerous for a slave.  The grandmother protected Janie by choking her dreams, and Janie hates.

If you haven't yet, read this book.

Peter and the Starcatchers

I finally read another book.  Peter and the Starcatchers.

Peter Pan is one of my favorite stories, and so I was excited to read this "prequel to Pan" story.  Though not the most well-crafted tale, it drew me in with its lovable characters.  And Dave Barry is obviously hilarious, so that helped my enjoyment level.

The Utah Shakespeare Festival is putting on the play version of this novel this summer, and I'm really looking forward to it. The play is markedly different than the novel, but when seen as two separate works, the differences are more than livable.

I recommend partaking of both.  Go catch yourself some starstuff!

Cold Mountain

It's been forever since I've posted about a book.

And I'll admit this first thing:  I didn't even finish this one.  I kept feeling like I needed to take notes. Charles Frazier is brilliant and his writing dense (there is a reason he won the National Book Award) and I couldn't read his story without wanting to dissect and analyze it to pieces.  Since my purpose was to have a book to somewhat "fall" into between shifts at work and it is impossible to simply fall into Cold Mountain, I found myself avoiding reading altogether.  I refused to lower my self-expectations to discover every intricacy Frazier wove into the book, but I couldn't muster the time or energy to meet those expectations.  So, untrue to myself, I stopped reading and turned to Sparknotes.

Since the ending turns out to be dreadfully disappointing, I'm glad I did.

I may be way off on this, but some segments of Cold Mountain involving Inman's trek home reminded me of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.  However, it's been a while since I read that little dreary piece, so forgive any ignorance.

Anyway, I'm still adding Cold Mountain to my list of books.

The Rent Collector

My mother-in-law gave us The Rent Collector, written by Camron Wright, for Christmas. The story is set in Cambodia, in a dump called Stung Meanchy, where the residents of the dump pick trash every day for a living, selling plastic, aluminum, and other elements of value to buy rice.  They actually have to pay rent for the shacks that they live in.

Though I found the characters' traits inconsistent throughout the book, I believe the story to be beautiful.  While the premise rests on one girl's journey toward literacy, richer threads about atonement, struggle, hope, and truth really color the story.

I've already shared some thoughts about this book, found {here}, but I want to share a few more.

Sopeap Sin, a drunken bitter old lady, is teaching Sang Ly, a peasant, to read.  Here, she is teaching about stories:

"Our trials, our troubles, our demons, our angels--we reenact them because these stories explain our lives.  Literature's lessons repeat because they echo from deeper places.  They touch a chord in our soul because they're notes we've already heard played...Stories teach us to not give up hope because there are times in our own journey when we mustn't give up hope.  They teach endurance because in our lives we are meant to endure."

Oh how I love stories.

Have a blessed day,

~K

A Softer Heart and Bigger Lungs

A valuable thought from the book I'm currently reading:

After finding a trashed clock in a Cambodian dump where she lives, the main character hangs it on the wall of her shack.  She says,

"Someday if we ever have the money, I want to take it to a clockmaker and have it repaired.  It's silly, I know, because buying a new clock would be less expensive.  Sometimes broken things deserve to be repaired."

Here's to recognizing when something (or someone) is worth repair, regardless the price.

***

On another note, I swam 2000 meters today.

I know, I know.

It has taken me way too long to push myself that far.

But woot woot for new distances!  Especially when I recall a few years ago when it took me an hour to finish 800 meters.

Also, I swam the mile comfortably (okay, mostly comfortably) under 40 minutes!  My love for this form of exercise is still going strong.

***

Lastly, found this treasure in my phone.  Car seat + 10 hour drive = faboosh!
Rock that 'do, Baby Luke.

And thanks to Preston, my suggestion that Wreck it Ralph looks like Ryan Reynolds is now proven.

Sweet dreams friends.

~K

First Book of 2013 and a request

There is this website with a name I can't seem to recall.  D________.  But you keep all kinds of records on it.  Like miles run, Cokes consumed, reality shows watched.  And I'd been keeping records of the books and number of pages I've read using this website for some time.  And then I forgot about it.  Entirely.  Which is why I can't even remember what it's called.

Also, I like to condense things.  And I like lists.  So I am going to adjust to my forgetfulness, continue to ignore that website of sorts, and begin my 2013 book list on this here blog.  I'm not a critic (officially), but I might at times include some thoughts about the book as well.

Most importantly, if you have book suggestions for me, please share.

First book finished of 2013:

Saboteur by Dean Hughes.

Maybe I'm biased because I fell in love with Wally in Hughes' Children of the Promise series when I was a little girl, but I like Dean Hughes, and I love his characters.  The same rang true in this book.  I never got bored.