What I'm Into (July 2014)

July started off busily, but then slowed way down. When I think back to 4th of July weekend, it feels like months ago! I did a pretty good job of blogging my activities, but here's a quick recap of life between work and sleep:

• 4th of July was spent with friends (Dan, Mariel, Jon) at my apartment. We played games and ate sandwiches and strawberry shortcake.
• The weekend continued on with various activities that I discussed here.
• I went to Portland on my own to visit new places. I blogged about that here.
• Mariel and Jon came over for more games.
• I visited some local gardens to get out of the house and take pictures.

Books
I didn't read a ton, but enjoyed what I did read (listened to):

• Daddy's Gone a Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark - MHC is one of my unguilty pleasures. Her books are all the same, and I can joke about them, but there is something really comforting in listening to Jan Maxwell read them to me on my drives. They make me feel less lonely!
• Thin, Rich, Pretty by Beth Harbison - My first experience with this author, and it was a good one. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books!
• Last Night at the Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger - This is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which I have not read (only watched), but I have read a couple of others by her and enjoyed the escape into a totally different kind of lifestyle than mine. This one may be my favorite of hers so far.

TV/Movies
X-Men was the only new thing I watched this month, and I already talked about that. My wireless is currently down (due to a creepy/gross ant infestation of my router!), so I have been on a small break from Netflix lately, which is probably a very good thing.

Games
I played all of my usual favorites with friends, but Dan also introduced me to the Jet Punk website where you can take lots of quizzes. It's really fun and educational! We did several over the phone, and I tried many on my own time as well. As for apps, I've been playing a lot of Pet Rescue Saga, and recently downloaded Red Herring, a fun categories game that I heard of through 7 Little Words (which I believe my sister told me about).

Music
I realized Colbie Caillat came out with a new (partial) album, and downloaded that right away. She's one of the few artists where I'll automatically purchase her new albums when I come across them. So far I like Blaze and If You Love Me Let Me Go the most.

Food
I got hooked on what I call Hash Scramble this month. It's nothing new, I just cooked up hash browns, sausage (my favorite is Trader Joe's chicken breakfast sausage), eggs and cheese together in one pan (but not all at once--in stages) for a hearty breakfast casserole that doesn't require the oven. The best part is that it reheats well and I was able to make it ahead and have it for breakfasts (actually, any meal!). I ended up fixing it so much that I got a little burned out on it.

 I also made these Parmesan zucchini rounds a few times, because they're sooooo delicious.

Products

• For the past few months I've been using Dove dry shampoo. I've tried several kinds of dry shampoos, and this is the best one so far--at least for me. The smell is fine, the white residue comes off easily, it's only like $4, and it gives my hair some needed volume/texture to make it easier to fix. Plus, it actually does what it's supposed to do--it absorbs oils between washes so your hair doesn't feel as dirty. 
• I bought my first pair of glasses from Zenni and they're great. They're so inexpensive, and everything was processed and shipped fairly quickly. See below for a picture.

Instagram
I've gotten much more into Instagram and Twitter lately, and am happy for any new followers. Some of my Instagram highlights this month:

Misc

• Roses - I've been in love with roses lately, particularly since many are in bloom right now. I had a great time at the rose garden in Bush Park and took tons of pictures that I posted here.
• A/C and fans - It's been fairly hot (for us) here off and on over the past month. I'm pretty tired of it, but am thankful for a/c at work, fans at home, and relatively cool nights.
• Upcoming plans - I'm so excited about the fact that I get to spend Christmas with my younger sister's family and my parents! I haven't had Christmas with kids in awhile, and am thrilled that I'll be with my nieces. I'm also hoping to visit my older sister for Thanksgiving in her new hometown of Houston, TX (Pasadena, to be specific).

Bonus: Sister Love. My niece posted this in Instagram the other day and I had her send me a copy. Can't wait to spend Christmas with these two and their sisters and parents!

What I'm Into

[That photo is actually from April. :D I guess I'm into posting old photos.]
My friend Brenda does this (I guess a lot of bloggers do), and I always think, hey I should do that! But I don't, aside from some interests/updates posts that might mention things I'm into. So here goes my first official "What I'm Into" post.

General Highlights
June was a pretty good month, beginning with my niece's visit, which included trips to Silver Falls, Tillamook and the coast. My department went on a one-day work retreat to Lake Suttle. I spent the next couple of weekends chilling to make up for all that excitement (I'm weak!). I reconnected with an old friend, celebrated my friend Deborah's birthday at a BBQ, and did a lot of other little things that'll be covered in the following topics.

Read and Reading
I've had some bad luck with books lately, and have started a few only to quit on them. But I did enjoy the few books I finished in June...


Where We Belong by Emily Giffin: I've enjoyed several Giffin books even though I don't always like her character's choices. I loved this story!

A Place to Belong by Lauraine Snelling: The final book in a series I had read and enjoyed. And I didn't mean to have a "belong" theme in my reading this month. And yes, that book cover embarrasses me.

Hypothetical Future Baby: An Unsentimental Adoption Memoir by Claudia Chapman: I loved this! It's by a blogger I follow who adopted from Ethiopia. Definitely check out her blog and/or the book.

I'm currently working on several books, as usual, and who knows which ones I'll actually finish. I need to get to the library where I have more audiobooks waiting to rescue me from the ones I'm not enjoying.

TV/Movies
When my niece visited, we went to see The Fault in Our Stars, per her request. I'm not really into super sad movies--and it was--but this was well done and I'm glad we got to go. If you go see it, bring more Kleenex than you think you'll need.


Meanwhile, on Netflix I've been watching Once Upon a Time. I couldn't get into it the first time I tried, but I gave it another chance and have been enjoying it in the evenings. It's not the greatest ever, but it's interesting enough to keep me company while I play phone games or have dinner. Plus it's a family kind of show--fairly clean and includes all sorts of fairytale characters.

And since I don't think I've mentioned it here before, Parks and Recreation has become my new comfort show that I watch on repeat when I'm lonely, need a little cheering up or just want some guaranteed entertainment. IT'S SO FUNNY.

Music
I took a little trip down memory lane recently and dug up some old songs that I loved in my teens. I was always big into R&B and especially loved ballads back then, like Force MD's Tender Love and The Deele's Two Occasions. But in newer (to me) music, my aforementioned friend I reconnected with introduced me to Marc Cohn, and I particularly like Strangers in a Car.

Cooking/Eating
I think the best thing I ate this month was some carrot cake at Deborah's birthday BBQ. Wow, that was good! As for cooking this month:

• I made my own version of these Chicken Cordon Bleu Bites - They were good and froze well.
• I made a version of this Green Chile Mock Enchilada Casserole using ground turkey and it was fantastic.
• My niece and I made these No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter bars that are always awesome and addictive.

Purchases
I did a lot of shopping/spending this month (too much!) and a couple of my favorite purchases were:

Bath & Body Works Beautiful Day lotion - It smells so good! I want to get some more products in this scent.

LED Twinkle Star Tap Light - A silly impulse buy from Walmart that I've ended up loving, because apparently I'm 8 years old. It was like $3.something and I find it cute and comforting to turn it on when I go to bed. It shuts off automatically after 30 minutes.

Games

Candy Crush - Big news--I finished Candy Crush! Well, all of the levels they have created so far (590). I will probably go back and replay some levels or even start it again, because it's so fun.

Sumoku - My friend Dan sent me this game since I loved it so much when he first showed me how to play. It's really fun and good for all ages. I think it would be especially great for helping with basic math skills for kids.

Catch Phrase - Since Jimmy Fallon plays Catch Phrase on his show, Dan was craving to play and ended up purchasing the game, which we've played over the phone several times. I also downloaded a few apps for Taboo and Catch Phrase on my phone.

Work
Summer brings on a different atmosphere at work, as well as lots of building changes while the weather's nice. At my department retreat, I found out my office is moving to another building, so in August things are going to change a lot. I will go from sharing an office with one coworker to sharing with my entire department (we'll have cubicle walls). It should be interesting.

Other than that, my design projects are mainly for fall events, but I actually have a few projects for Christmas and Thanksgiving cards already! So I've been perusing lots of Christmas stock vectors and it feels a little wrong.

I also took on a freelance design project for a church invite card. It's good to get a little side work.

Miscellaneous

• The temps have been great for sleeping and not needing fans or a heater. My electric bill should be good!
• Timehop - This is an app you can download and it'll report to you what you tweeted, instagrammed and photographed on this date in years past. I find I look forward to reviewing my Timehop each day now, and I've been way more into Twitter knowing I'll get to revisit my tweets in a year.
• The other day I got to see a mom deer and her three tiny babies! The pictures I got were horrendous and not worth sharing here, but you should've seen these adorable fawns. After nursing on their mom for a bit, they hopped around like little grasshoppers. They were the tiniest deer I've ever seen.

And now I think I'm supposed to post this:

Feel free to share anything you were into in June!

A little spring

Just a few recent photos. Hint: photos tend to look more interesting in collage form.
This weekend has been fairly gray, but whatever. It's supposed to get much sunnier and warmer tomorrow! Here are a few things going on with me:

• MOVIES: I finally saw Frozen yesterday. I think all the hype influenced me and I liked it, but didn't love it. I prefer Tangled. I also watched Jobs on Netflix this weekend, and thought it was good and enlightening (depending on its accuracy). I knew very little about Steve Jobs.
• BOOKS: I just finished the book Parallel by Lauren Miller. I liked it! I also recently finished the second book in the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben, and I'm currently reading Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen and rereading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler.
• HAPPY: I'm looking forward to having some friends over next weekend for a spring gathering, and then visiting my parents over Easter weekend!

How about you? Seen any good movies? Read any good books? What are you looking forward to in April?

2013 Books

Here's what I read/listened to this year...


Some notes:

Most of these were audiobooks. I read a lot when you add up all the emails, websites and blog posts I am exposed to each day, but I wasn't in much of a mood to read books. Also, this year I started listening to books at other times besides just while I drive. I listened while doing chores and walking, or sometimes even when cooking. I hope to read more this year because I do enjoy it and I have so many on my Kindle. Plus, I could use some time away from my phone.

Rereads: Pride and Prejudice, The Boxcar Children and Twilight

Books I particularly enjoyed (and this doesn't mean they are the most well-written!): Starters by Lissa Price, The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer, Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella, Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann, Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick and Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

Best new (to me) authors: Patti Callahan Henry and Marissa Meyer (though I've only read 1.5 by her--it just seems she has a good, non-annoying style)

Authors I enjoyed less the more I read (sorry!): Barbara Taylor Bradford, Julie Klassen and Irene Hannon

Silliest: Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer (omg!), Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Footprints in the Sand by Mary Jane Clark

Surprisingly good: The Lauren Conrad series beginning with L.A. Candy held my interest. I haven't yet read the third book, but enjoyed the first two on my walks. I'm not saying they're fine literature, but the topic was fun. And then I wasn't sure how I'd like Cinder even though I had several friends rave about it, but I loved it! It's also one of a series and I'm currently reading the second book.

For funzies, I included two tiny books that I didn't count in my total--Walking Sticks and All My Friends Are Dead. The latter was a Christmas gift and it's really funny. Read through it if you come across it.

I am not afraid to stop reading a book if I don't like it, so I end up with a pretty high rate of enjoyment for my book list (and some I enjoy despite also finding lots of flaws). My taste in books is not all that sophisticated. I just like to be entertained in a fairly clean and light-hearted way. I don't like a lot of nonfiction because it gets boring and repetitive. I don't like graphic details in practically any topic, but especially sex and violence. I can't handle really heavy drama because it makes me feel depressed. So as I've gotten older, I've come to accept my somewhat cheesy taste in books and I try not to feel embarrassed about it.

Did you read anything good this year?

Books and Netflix

Happy August! This is the first day where I'm not really sure what to post. I had thought about posting my book list from July, but it's a little embarrassing. For instance, I reread Twilight. So how about my in-progress books, instead?

What I'm reading:
Currently I have audio of The Winter Sea (Susanna Kearsley) going in my car, Must Love Dogs (Claire Cook) on my phone (for walks), and an actual paperback* of The Sleeping Beauty Proposal (Sarah Strohmeyer) sitting near my bed. I've only just started the last two and don't have much to say. As for The Winter Sea, I have slightly mixed feelings so far. The writing is good, but some of the content is not really my thing (Scottish history and politics). I suppose I am enjoying it overall, though. I'd be interested in reading something else by her.

And while we're on the subject of leisurely entertainment:

What I'm watching:
I can't remember if I mentioned watching Arrested Development (a TV show, if you don't know). I really enjoyed the first three seasons--I literally LOLed at various points--but the bonus fourth season on Netflix was NOT great. In fact, I still haven't finished it, and I've only trudged through the episodes I have because I was just looking for something to turn on briefly during meals, and didn't know what else to watch.

Then I decided to give New Girl a try, and enjoyed the first season that's on Netflix. I wish Netflix would get all of the seasons of shows, but what do I expect for $8/month?

As for movies, last night I finished watching the Katy Perry movie/documentary, Part of Me. It was good. I am not crazy about Katy Perry for various reasons, but I definitely gained more understanding and appreciation for her after watching.

I'd love to hear any Netflix recommendations you have, or even non-Netflix. What are you watching?

August
August is a little bland for me. I haven't had a lot of wondrous things happen in this month, and it's at the point where I'm mourning the end of summer and not wanting to rush fall. I'd be happy for this August to prove me wrong this year and be awesome. Here's to a new trend: Awegust! ;) *clink*

*I know! Not audio or Kindle? There was no audio and the Kindle version was more than I wanted to spend.

May Books

I know I don't always post my monthly book lists here, but I thought I would this time, in case summer is your time for more reading.

The Box-Car Children - Gertrude C. Warner
You probably know that this children's (of all ages!) book is about four homeless siblings who move into an abandoned boxcar. A friend pointed me to the original version (with the hyphen in the title) of this posted online here. I had heard this story as a kid, but forgot most of it. It's very good and happy. I want all my nephieces to read it (plus there's a whole series).



Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella
Laura's great-aunt Sadie died at age 105 in 2005, but her Roaring 20s Flapper ghost is "haunting" Laura until she finds a particular necklace. My friend Dania recommended this a long ago, but I couldn't find an audio copy until recently. It was perfect timing as I started walking around my neighborhood. (My current walking motivation, besides my Fitbit, is to listen to an audiobook instead of music. It works well!). This is a really fun and heartwarming "celebration of life" story with a bit of romance and mystery mixed in. Sadie is annoying at times but otherwise, I loved it. It's probably my favorite Kinsella book so far.


The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
At age 21, Nell learns that her parents aren't her biological parents and that they found her abandoned on a ship when she was four. Later in life she goes searching for clues about her past. The book hops between time periods and perspectives from Nell in the 1970s, Cassandra (Nell's granddaughter) in the early 2000s, and Eliza (Nell's caretaker who apparently abandoned her on the ship) in the early 1900s. Dania recommended this book, and the story itself has potential, but I found it to be very slow and way too long. Sorry, Dania! :( And sorry, Kate. It's 16 CDs, and though it isn't completely uninteresting, I never felt sucked in. The last CD was more riveting, though, and confirmed some of my story-related suspicions.


The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen
17-year-old Emily goes to live with her grandpa after her mom dies. The small town where her mom grew up has secrets that are influencing how people treat Emily. Meanwhile, 36-year-old Julia (who went to school with Emily's mom) has returned temporarily to run her dad's restaurant, and is forced to face her painful past. This is by the author of Garden Spells, a book I really enjoyed last year. I enjoyed this one as well. It wasn't exactly action-packed or full of crazy surprises, but it was charming in the Allen way, with a bit of magic and romance mixed into small-town life struggles.


I'm currently listening to yet another Sarah Addison Allen book (I recommend her!), a Kim Vogel Sawyer book that is just ridiculous, and I'm rereading Twilight on my Kindle so I can highlight hilarious passages and laugh about them with friends. And, okay, I might be enjoying it a little, too. :) I've also been reading Landscape Photography by Tim Fitzharris.

Today I was reflecting on how awesome it is that there are so many books available for free. Not only that, but audiobooks have become so much more common than when I first started listening to them back in the 90s. It's awesome. I can listen on my drives, as usual, but I can also download them on my phone and listen while walking or doing chores. Then, of course, there are all of the e-books (for my Kindle) I can check out without even having to drive to the library and touch all the icky books. :D Thank you, Library2Go!

2012 Books

Happy new year! Here's to clean slates! *clink* This morning I made an egg nog coffee cake that I'll share the recipe for later on. So good. I'm going to have a slow day and enjoy the sunshine (it's nice and sunny today, though pretty freezing too) and my last day off work for the holidays. I wish I could take another few months off.

I read 41 books this year. I tried to finish a 42nd so my grid would be even, but it didn't happen. I find I don't read well under pressure (which explains why I so rarely read from my school textbooks).

A few notes...

1. Yes, I tend to like lighter reads. But don't let the covers/titles fool you. They aren't always fluffy chick lit even if they are supposed to appear that way.

2. Actually, I feel most of the books pictured here give the wrong impression about my reading preferences, but I will stop myself from explaining all the reasons why.

3. Favorites from the year are highlighted in green:

The Sunday Philosophy Club (and others from the series I've read so far) by Alexander McCall Smith. These are the first non-Ladies' Detective books I've read by him and I was kind of afraid I wouldn't like reading about anyone else besides Precious Ramotswe, but I did!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - I don't know what to say about it, but it's good. I'm afraid to see the movie and ruin it.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - A fun mix of light magic with the more serious stuff told in a light-hearted way so it wasn't depressing. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books but keep running out of time before the library takes them back.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen - Pride and Prejudice-esque. I guess I'm a little fascinated with that time period and social class, sometimes. Bonus points for being Christian fiction without being annoying in the way so many Christian fiction books are. It's sad that most wholesome books come at a sacrifice.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney - I'm not quite done with this series (four books) but was pleasantly surprised by it.

4. Least-favorites: Oh gosh...that list is too long, but the winners of said list would be The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King, House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson, and Summer in Tuscany by Elizabeth Adler. Don't get me started on why!

5. Most of these were audiobooks.

Does anything come to your mind as being a great or terrible read from this past year? I welcome recommendations!

2011 Books

I saw this cute idea on another blog and totally copied it. Only, mine isn't quite as neat and even as the other girl's, but I'm all about cutting corners where possible. You still get the idea.



A few thoughts...

1. Don't judge me! I read to escape, not to become a lit. professor.

2. I know all Mary Higgins Clark books are the same, but I still like them, and there are always plenty available on audio. I went through a phase where I was rereading some of her books, and I had even forgotten the killer in a couple!

3. These were my first Maureen Johnson books--I enjoyed them and will definitely read more of her stuff.

4. Sophie Kinsella is a good writer, but I'm not consistently impressed with her books.

5. Grace for the Good Girl was very good. I recommend it. I think I need to reread it.

6. Eight of these books were read on my Kindle.

7. Many of these books were audio... I loooove listening to audiobooks while I drive! And yes, they still count!

8. I just barely finished the Mindy Kaling book today. I wouldn't say it was LOL-funny, but it was entertaining and very interesting. She seems like a pretty cool chica.

9. The Barry and Fey books were audio and read by the author, which I highly recommend for that sort of book.

10. I can't remember, now, why I read Rescue Your Love Life. I used to read marriage books when I was a teenager, though, so I guess I was revisiting that hobby.

So did you read anything interesting this year?

Reading

I've skipped Project 52 two weeks in a row now! It was kind of an accident, but instead of trying to catch up or hunt down photos for each week, I'm just picking up where I left off next week. It's okay to not get all 52 pictures done in 52 weeks, right? :)


Oh yeah, and I got a Kindle. :) :) Thanks, Dad and Mom!

So far I love it. Do you have one? Or want one? I guess I love gadgets, and the idea of having several items to read (and games to play!) all in one little portable device appeals to me. I'm excited to take it everywhere so I can read at all the unexpected waiting times, but I'm waiting for my new cover to come before I just drop it in my purse. I don't want to wreck it! Though I do like the clean, white look...but soon I'll have an orange case for it. Mom, you'll love it!

[I know some of you (Brenda) will recognize what book I have on it in that photo. :)]

July books, links, etc.

It's a little late, but happy August!

In July, I listened to these two audiobooks:

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover - Ally Carter (6 disks)
Third book in the Gallagher Girls series, a YA story about teens going to spy school. The audio of these books has its annoyances, and they really shined in this book (sorry, author!). Dania and I listened to it when we went to Seattle and we often made fun of the silliness. The main character is such a drama queen about some things, or maybe it's just the reader. I don't know, but I was tired of it by the end. The story idea is cute, though, and eventually I'll read the fourth book.

Juliet - Anne Fortier (16 disks)
Julie's aunt (who raised her) dies, and leaves her a key to her late mother's safe deposit box in Sienna, Italy. Julie goes to Italy to embark on a sort of treasure hunt combined with discovering the history behind the story of Romeo and Juliet. This book was pretty long, and there were moments when I was slightly bored or annoyed (the main character is a little annoying). But overall it's very good and interesting.

Books for 2011: 18

I also finished a puzzle!



But it was used, so it was missing one piece. :/



I tried two different photo management programs and ended up preferring Picasa. It's better with the face recognition.

And I found some links that might be of interest:

Cutest Foods - I came across this through Pinterest (see below). They post a cute/clever food picture each day. Check it out, it's pretty fun!

Brown Eyed Baker - A cooking blog that has some yummy recipes without overloading me with pictures of EVERY step.

Princess Hairstyles - A blog with lots of unique and (some crazy) hairstyles meant for young girls. If any of you moms have extra time on your hands ;) you might want to check it out. No, seriously, some of them aren't too complicated.

Also, I joined Pinterest. I haven't used it all that much, mostly because I can tell it's addictive and I haven't wanted to let myself get too involved.

It's a free service that's basically like a virtual bulletin board for ideas and inspiration. You can "pin" anything you find online onto your various "boards" and it'll link back to the site so you know where to go later. The funnest part is just going through friends' and strangers' boards to see what they have pinned, and then you can repin anything to your board or comment on them.

People have found some really awesome, clever and funny things online. Like this hedgehog! People pin everything from yummy recipes, to beautiful photos and locations around the world, to ideas for kids crafts or home decor. I have some invites left, so if you want to try it, let me know and I'll send you one.

Have a great August!

August books

I thought I'd share my book list for August (I post it elsewhere, so it's easy to copy here too). No judging me on my light reading!

He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo (165 pages)
Years ago, a well-meaning friend suggested this book to me right after a very difficult breakup. It wasn't the right time for such a recommendation, and I don't advise you to tell any of your hurting friends to read this when they're freshly into a breakup from a serious relationship! That's your tip of the day. However, these days I have been in a much better emotional place to consider this topic. This book discusses many signs that a man isn't interested when a woman is tempted to make excuses for him and put up with an unhappy situation. It was funnier and better than I imagined, and also enlightening in ways I didn't expect. The message was much more positive than I had originally thought it would be. Of course this book is secular and discusses many topics that don't directly pertain to me, but it still has insight to offer most any single woman.


Free Fall - Kristen Heitzmann (14 tapes)
A woman named Gentry wakes up, injured and with amnesia, in the mountains of Kauai. She makes her way down to a house where a woman named Nica takes her in and nurses her back to health. Gentry turns out to be famous, but the locals just didn't recognize her at first. Now she has to try and remember what happened to her with the help of Nica's investigator brother. There's a lot more to this book, but I don't want to give it all away. I enjoyed it. I mean, it had its lame moments, but overall I liked the story.


Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott (275 pages)
Brenda mentioned this book to me. It's the memoir of a woman on her path from being a drug-using alcoholic to finding Christ, and learning what that means through various life experiences. It's interesting because she's definitely rough around the edges and not afraid to show it. The book is candid about all sorts of topics and has plenty of swearing and poor choices (both before and after her conversion, of course). It's very well-written, funny and thoughtful, and has some good nuggets of wisdom about life and God.




The Birth Order Connection - Kevin Leman (Abridged* - 2 tapes)
A reread, and kind of cheaty since it's abridged. I didn't remember that this book talks a lot about romantic relationships--I was thinking it was focused entirely on birth order (I guess that's another book). Most of it is just advice on choosing a mate that hardly relates to birth order! But it had some good reminders. And guess what? Middle children have the lowest infidelity rate. :) Go me. Snatch up those middle children--they're gems!


Bamboo and Lace - Lori Wick (Abridged* - 2 tapes)
Another cheaty book, and another reread (because I had nothing else to listen to at the time). Lily goes to visit her brother in Hawaii and learn about American culture (she's from a small Asian island). She falls in love and has to convince her ultra-strict dad to let her marry the guy. Something about this story is so simplistic and childish, yet I liked listening to it like I enjoy a Disney film. I rolled my eyes a lot, though, and felt the reader made the characters sound like very bad actors. It's probably not only the reader's fault, though.



The Chosen One - Carol Lynch Williams (5 CDs)
A YA (Young Adult, if you didn't know) novel about a 13-year-old girl living in a polygamist compound and being forced to marry her 60-year-old uncle. The story follows her efforts to escape the upcoming marriage.  This story is sad, disturbing and angering, but it also gave me a renewed appreciation for the freedom I have that some people don't. I know that this girl's situation is not common in the US, but around the world there are lots of similar "captive" situations where women and children are being forced into bad lives and brainwashed into believing certain things about God and the world. I was slightly disappointed with the end, because it didn't really give a lot of information about the future, but I suppose that was probably a good way to close without delving into another story. The end of the last CD also had a brief interview with the author, which I found very interesting.


So Yesterday - Scott Westerfeld (6 CDs)
Another Brenda recommendation! A "Cool Hunter" (one who looks for "cool" to report back to a major shoe company) gets caught up in a mystery when his coworker goes missing and he finds her cell phone stuck in an old building near a bunch of amazing shoes that have never been shown to the public. This is a fun, light-hearted action/mystery. It was a nice change of pace from what I had been listening to before, even if the whole premise was goofy and hard to relate to.





Book total for August: 7 (sort of)
Book total for 2010: 26

* I really hate reading abridged versions of books but, like I said, it's what I found on my shelf when I was between library visits. Why I had the abridged versions, I know not--I can be really crazy sometimes.

Some books

Hi, whoever. That photo was just sitting lonely on my camera, so I thought I'd put it to use. It's kind of random and it doesn't go with this entry at all. I took it yesterday morning because the sun was orange.

Remember how I mentioned that I ditched my 2010 reading goal of 50 books? I made that goal because last year I had the same goal and managed to read (or listen to--audio books count!!) 51 books. I decided to peruse my full list of them, and now I will mention a few that were the most enjoyable, as long as you don't judge me for my selections.

In the order I read them:

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman
A Young Adult (YA) book about two friends who really like Pride and Prejudice (and all things Austen). One of them is super, dramatically into it and drags her friend to crash a dance in search of a Mr. Darcy. Amazingly, I didn't really have any complaints about this book. It's an enjoyable, quick read with a simple storyline, yet I feel it was well written for a YA book of this size/topic.

The Million Dollar Mysteries series by Mindy Starns Clark
Christian fiction about a 33-year-old widow who is an investigator and ends up helping to solve murder mysteries in each book. I listened to the first one and read the rest because the reader for the audio version was a terrible choice, no offense. Okay, yes offense. Her voice is too old for the character. My other complaint is really a blanket complaint about almost all Christian fiction, and that's the corny witnessing moments. Still, I liked these so much I plan to read them again sometime.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
In this story, aliens have come to earth and inhabited human bodies. In the main character's case, the human is fighting to stay alive and so there's an internal dialogue and struggle between the two of them. Through memories and persuasion, the human is able to make the alien care enough to search for her boyfriend and brother. I'm not really a sci-fi person, but this is much more about relationships, mixed with some adventure. There were some parts that I was squeamish about, but overall I was really into it from start to finish. It gave me lots of happy feelings.

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp
I don't think I have to explain this one, but it's the true story that the movie The Sound of Music is based on. TSoM is one of my favorites, and I've even been to the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, so I wanted to know more about the family. This book was inspiring and convicting to me as a Christian, and I love Maria's personality and way of writing.

There were a lot more good ones, but this entry is getting long. Maybe I'll talk about other books later, gators.