February & March Book Roundup 2020

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, Lists, Miscellaneous, NonfictionLeave a comment

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I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced two months quite like February and March of this year. The world has changed so quickly, and now it feels like my normal life has come to a stop. Finding my new normal has been a challenge, but I’m grateful because if managing a new routine is my worst problem then I’m a very lucky person. In the spirit of staying positive, one of the best things that has come of this for me is that I have much more time to spend reading, so here’s a breakdown of everything I’ve read since January.

The Red Daughter by John Burnham Schwartz

This is a fictionalized account of Svetlana Alliluyeva’s life. Stalin’s youngest child and only daughter, she defected to the US in 1967. This narrative covers her experiences as she tries to find her way in a new country while also trying to maintain a connection with her past and the children she left behind in the Soviet Union. Spanning decades, the novel follows her relationship with the lawyer who helped to navigate her initial escape. I enjoyed this novel but I didn’t love it; at times it felt like it dragged on. I also didn’t like the way Svetlana’s character was portrayed which made it hard to love.

From Russia With Blood by Heidi Blake

Another Russia focused book! This one was a riveting nonfiction read. It covered a series of state-ordered attacks on Russian enemies in foreign countries, focusing mainly on Great Britain. These murders were committed via stealthy poisons that made deaths look accidental or health related. Despite mounting evidence that showed Russia (and the Kremlin) was behind the attacks, the UK and US governments refused to acknowledge the deaths as murder which eventually led to their own civilians being potentially harmed. This was an eye-opening book on recent history and foreign politics; it was both thrilling and terrifying to read.

Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Patsy is a single mother in Jamaica who dreams of living in the United Sates. Led on and encouraged by her best childhood friend, she leaves behind her daughter to move to New York in hopes of a better life. Once there, she faces the cruel reality of life as an undocumented immigrant and the realization that her friendship isn’t what she imagined it would be. The novel follows both Patsy and her daughter as they grapple with her decision and the impact it has on both of their lives. I enjoyed this novel, but I did feel that there were some side plots that weren’t fully explored. These plots took time away from the main story, and I would have preferred to explore the main story in more depth.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I’ve had this book on hold from the library since its publication date in November and I was happy to finally get a chance to read it. Many of my bookish friends were disappointed with this one, so I went into it expecting it to be subpar. I’m not sure if we just have different tastes or if having low expectations allowed me to enjoy it more, but I liked this book. There were many different storylines and characters to keep track of, which sometimes was hard to do, but I liked the mystery of piecing everything together. It was a fantasy novel set in a world of books, what could be better?

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

“Our call is to lift women up – and when we come together in this cause, we are the lift.” In this book, Melinda Gates shares the lessons and stories she’s learned from people around the world whom she’s met as part of her work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In an effort to find solutions for the world’s most vulnerable populations, Melinda (and the foundation) began to see that empowering women is the key to improving societies and has the power to change the world. She shares data and statistics alongside inspiring and heartbreaking stories, and even includes details from her personal experiences as a woman, wife, and mother. While some of the stories were devastating to read, the overall message of empowerment carried through. This book opened my eyes in some ways and broadened my understanding in other areas. It was both an uplifting take on how far we’ve come but also a stark reality on how far we still have to go.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Sometime during the past few years I’ve realized that I haven’t read much classic literature. AP English could only cover so much, and I was a business major in university so there’s a lot of recommended reading that I’ve missed out on. In an effort to correct that I’ve tried to include a few classics in my yearly book lists, and The Count of Monte Cristo was the most recent. In my last post I shared more details about how much I loved this novel, so here I’ll just say it was one of the best things I’ve read in a long time.

 

Next up…

I’m so excited about the books I have coming up in my to-read pile! Travel might be impossible due to current events but books will be taking me to Spain, Chile, Costa Rica, Russia, and different regions in the US. I can’t wait to share more details!

 

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction1 Comment

I purchased The Count of Monte Cristo on my last visit to Powell’s. I have no idea when I’ll be able to browse through a whole city block of books again, so for that reason alone it was worth cherishing. Then I started reading and suddenly I was in love.

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I’ve always hated the question “What’s your favorite book?” I read so much, and I enjoy such a wide variety of genres that it’s hard to nail down a top five, let alone a single favorite. My reading tastes often depend on my mood, interests, or daily experiences; I don’t know if I’ve ever answered this question the same way twice. In the past I could fall back on the Harry Potter series, but I think I’ve reached a point in my life where I can’t claim that my favorite books are a young adult series. Harry Potter is ageless and can be enjoyed by all generations, but I’ve matured over time and so should my favorite things. In the past few years when I’ve been asked what my favorite book is I respond with a few titles that I’ve read recently. But now, ten days and 1,078 pages later, I can say without a doubt that The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book.

For a long time I’ve been familiar with the basic plot: a young man is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit; years later he escapes and finds a vast treasure which he uses to seek revenge on the people responsible for his imprisonment. Reviews promised a book packed with action and adventure, romance and revenge. I was excited to finally read this classic.

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Arc de Triomphe in 2009- more cars than carriages compared to 1838

I got all the action I could possibly want- from the middle to the end I could hardly put the book down because I absolutely needed to know what happened. There were moments when I literally was sitting on the edge of my seat, and there were a few times when I audibly gasped and clutched my heart (who clutches their heart in the 21st century?). I was wholly invested; I’ve had a few nights of little sleep in the past week because I needed to read as much as possible. The most monotonous section were the chapters covering the Carnival in Rome, but it’s easy for me to forgive any tediousness there. I studied abroad for a semester in Rome, so I too was once young and drunk running around the Eternal City. The Corso, Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, St. Peter’s, the Colosseum- these places are all familiar to me, and I found myself looking at old pictures and maps to test if my memories were accurate.

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Piazza del Popolo, Rome

Beyond the action, though, I was most drawn to the character development of Edmond Dantes. From the optimistic and joyful young man to the depressed prisoner to the vengeful manipulator, then finally to the man who comes to terms with all his past; it was a beautiful cycle to follow. The Count of Monte Cristo is known for being a story of revenge, but it’s also very much a story about love and the power it holds over us. Love is the thing that saves us, and patience and hope are the things that get us through. My mind and heart are still processing what I’ve read but I can tell that this one will sit with me for a while. After all, The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite book.

January 2020 Book Roundup

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, Historical Fiction, Lists, Memoirs, Nonfiction, RomanceLeave a comment

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The beginning of the year is always a time to reflect on the previous year and set intentions for the new year, but as usual I’m a little late to that party. I do know how many books I read in 2019 (38) and that only a fraction of them were nonfiction (25%), and both of those numbers mean that I missed my targets (40 and 50% respectively). But the fun thing about reading is that it’s a hobby so it doesn’t matter at all what those numbers are! The only downside to reading fewer books is that my to-read list has grown exponentially faster than the number of books I’m capable of finishing; my list spreadsheet is currently sitting at 351. Oops.

On the upside, I started off strong in January and finished 5 books! This is thanks in part to being sick over a weekend and spending a solid chunk of time on airplanes last month, but I’ll take the win. On top of that, three of them were nonfiction, so if I keep up this trend then I will surpass my goals from last year. I guess we’ll see how long this momentum lasts…

Anyway, my first book of 2020 was In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Larson has a special place in my bookworm heart because his The Devil in the White City was the first nonfiction book that I absolutely loved. Thanks to him I had the courage to step out of the familiar literature section of the bookstore, and it’s been an amazing journey ever since. Unfortunately, I didn’t love Beasts as much as White City, but I found it an interesting albeit dark read. It follows a year of events in Berlin starting in 1933, with the focus centered on the US ambassador to Germany and his adult daughter. From a history perspective, it provided more details on specific events and attitudes of various people in the beginning of Hitler’s rise to power. It was eerie to read some of the accounts when I knew what hell and horror awaited the world over the next ten years, but that dark edge is what I enjoyed most in the book. What I didn’t like was that a lot of the source material was based on journals, letters, and unfinished manuscripts, so I felt like I had to read everything with a critical eye and that there might be more to the story that I was missing. Maybe that’s just a byproduct of living in the fake news era, or maybe that just means I’ve grown to be a more critical reader. Also, I didn’t care for the ambassador’s daughter. Had I been alive in 1933 I’m pretty sure we would not have been friends.

Moving on to (fictional) people that I would want to be friends with, my second book of the year was The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I really enjoyed this book, which was surprising to me because I was expecting it to be a bit of a dud after all the press it received ahead of publication. It follows a small group of women who run a mobile library in the backwoods of Kentucky, despite facing personal hardships and ire from many of the people in their community. The plotline was a bit much (it covered everything from marital problems and illegitimate children to natural disasters and racy courtroom trials) but the characters at its heart made it worthwhile. I think each of the women, but especially Alice and Margery, were very well flushed-out and felt like they could be real people. I felt connected to their challenges and was totally invested in wanting to know how their stories ended.

Third on my list was Call Them by Their True Names by Rebecca Solnit. This collection of essays fell a little flat for me, but I think that was based more on my attitude and interest rather than the quality of writing. I had been so looking forward to reading this in December, but by the time I started it in January I wasn’t as into it. I enjoyed how Solnit presented her views; she discusses the linguistics of the Trump era and challenges incorrect uses of language to highlight problems in our current society. However, I found myself skimming some of the essays rather than really reading them. I just didn’t feel drawn to what I was reading in the way I thought I would. I think I’ll pick this collection up again at some point in the future, I want to give it a fair shot when I’m more in the mood for this type of content.

Next up on my reading list was How to Stop Time by Matt Haig, which was a little out of left field for me. This is one of those rare books that magically appeared in my life without ever landing on my epic to-read list. I found it in the laundry room in my apartment building. There’s an area where people sometimes leave unwanted items (pots, fans, old Christmas decorations, etc.) and one day I saw a book on the pile. I grabbed it without really looking at it, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for months. When I was sick for a few days I wanted to read something light and fluffy, so I picked it up again. It’s about a man who ages incredibly slowly- he was born in the 1500’s but looks to be about 40 in the 21st century. He’s part of a society of people like him, and their purpose seems to be to live, keep their lives secret, and limit interactions with regular humans. The novel covers his growing disillusionment with the society, his inner conflict about a potential love, and his desperate attempt to find his daughter from his first marriage in the late 16th century. It was a fun sci-fi/romance/history hybrid and was the perfect light read for a sick day.

The last book I read in January was anything but light, but it was easily the best that I read last month and might be my best book of 2020 (yeah, I’m calling it early). The book was Know My Name by Chanel Miller, and damn did I feel things. Chanel was the woman who was sexually assaulted while unconscious by Brock Turner- you know, the piece-of-shit former Stanford student who was found guilty and convicted of sexual assault yet was only sentenced to 6 months in prison because apparently his skin color, wealth status, swimming accomplishments, and male gender made him more important than minimum recommended sentences for sexual assault felons. Chanel, known at the time only as Emily Doe, wrote a profound victim impact statement that was published on Buzzfeed and instantly went viral. I can remember reading it in my office at my old job and feeling like I was punched in the gut. She held nothing back. In many ways her book is an expansion on that original statement. My physical reactions were just as intense; I couldn’t read more than a chapter at a time because I had to get up and move around, try to let out the rage and despair that she had to experience this, that she’s not alone, that 1 of 6 American women are victims of rape or attempted rape, that there are millions of people right now at this very moment grappling with the same reality, and that again and again and again our society says that if you are a white male your life and future opportunities and value as a human being are worth infinitely more than a woman’s. It is impossible for me to accurately describe the undercurrent of fury buzzing through my veins, but Chanel does an amazing job of capturing her emotions and walking us step-by-step through her experience. I could probably go on forever about this book and how much it made me feel and how important her message is, but instead I’ll just end my rant and say that this should be required reading. It’s a fierce criticism of our society and the systems and processes that are designed to protect us but often fail, yet it’s also a personal and eye-opening account of triumph and hope.

Looking forward to February, there are a few Russia-related books on my radar, a novel about immigration and motherhood, a book on feminism and equality, and possibly a classic adventure novel if I’m able to maintain my current momentum. Cheers to 2020, it’s been off to a great start!

 

Favorite Books in 2019 (so far!)

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, Lists, Memoirs, Miscellaneous, Nonfiction, Our Shared Shelf, TravelLeave a comment

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Somehow it’s autumn, and I don’t know where 2019 went. Or rather, I know where it went, I just don’t want to believe it’s almost over. This year has passed by in a montage of airplane windows, mountain views, sunset walks, 6am meetings, indulgent dinners, countless beers, and yes- a number of books enjoyed from my couch, a park bench, and hotel rooms all over the world. But now it’s fall- my favorite season full of all the best things in life: cozy sweaters, apple cider, pumpkin beer, ankle boots, colorful leaves, and red wine. Keeping in the spirit of all my favorite things, I’m sharing the top ten books that I’ve read so far in 2019 (and a few honorable mentions because I’m incapable of limiting myself).

  1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

This book was on my radar for a long time, and I finally read it in July. Months later, I still feel haunted by this novel. The story and characters have stayed with me, I can’t shake them from my head. Much of this book took place in the confines of one hotel in Moscow, but the themes and emotions it inspired go far beyond building walls and the pages that contained them.

  1. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

On a rainy Friday night in March I treated myself to a Bradley Cooper movie marathon, and Silver Linings Playbook was part of the lineup. Watching the movie again reminded me of how much I enjoyed the book, and so I decided to reread it. It’s a beautiful story that explores relationships and mental illness; it’s equal parts endearing, heart-wrenching, and at times comical. Pat, the main character, is so engaging that you can’t help but root for him to succeed, even if you know what he’s doing is ill-fated. (And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a certain attractive, blue-eyed actor as the mental image of the main character.)

  1. Red Notice by Bill Browder

Another book that haunted me, but this one is a true story. It’s a combination of high-stakes business, international law, Russian politics, and ultimately the global fight for justice for a man wrongfully imprisoned and killed. The events in this memoir read like a James Bond novel, and it was sobering to remember that it was all real. This was also one of the first nonfiction books that I’ve read that has mainly taken place during my lifetime, and it was disturbing to picture where I was and what I was doing at the time of some of the more horrific events in the book.

  1. Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

This book started out slow for me, but once I was hooked I couldn’t put it down. After an embarrassing first encounter with a crippled girl, a young lieutenant takes pity on her and begins a friendship. She misinterprets his interest as romance, and he plays along to keep her happy and in good health. His actions are kindhearted in intent but cruel in practice, and they get worse as he finds himself more and more entangled with her family. This was a brilliant exploration of compassion and human nature set against the backdrop of pre-World War I Austria-Hungary.

  1. Butterfly by Yusra Mardini

This was a moving memoir, beautiful in its simple and direct style but heartbreaking in the events described. Yusra tells the story of her childhood in Syria, and her dreams of becoming an Olympic swimmer. As she enters her teens she describes the gradual yet devastating way that war took over her normal life, and how her family made the unimaginable decision to flee to Germany. Their journey was difficult, terrifying, exhausting, and very nearly fatal. As Yusra goes on to eventually compete in the 2016 Olympics on the refugee team, she reflects on what it means to be a refugee and have that word thrust upon you by a world that seems determined to use it against you.

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Rereading To Kill a Mockingbird always feels a little bit like going home. I love Scout as a character, she reminds me a little of myself when I was younger. The story is so familiar to me yet it never seems to bore me. Scout’s innocent perspective of a very mature and traumatizing situation not only makes Tom Robinson’s trial more “palatable” to read but it brings out the true injustice and unfairness of the case.

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Blomkvist’s apartment overlooking Gamla Stan in Stockholm
  1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I’ve loved this book since I first read it in 2012, and this year I had the wonderful experience of rereading it while in Stockholm, staying in an Airbnb just a few streets away from Blomkvist’s address! Never having been to Stockholm before I didn’t realize how much of the city makes it into the books, but within a few hours of walking around Södermalm all I wanted to do was read this book and find the real-life locations mentioned throughout. Thanks to my local library and the Libby library app I was able to satisfy this craving and virtually borrow the book from nearly 5000 miles away- technology is great!

  1. In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

This is the better, real-life version of Moby Dick. It’s more exciting, less wordy, and based on the disaster of the whale ship Essex that inspired the novel. It’s an amazing tale of survival, and an interesting piece on early American history. I expected it to be dry and boring, but I was captivated. It had my book club talking for months!

  1. Educated by Tara Westover

This was an eye-opening memoir that made me feel truly grateful for my own family, upbringing, and opportunities for education. Growing up off the grid in rural Idaho, Tara Westover didn’t set foot in a classroom until she was seventeen. It was amazing to read of how she came to grips with her family and the unconventional way that she grew up while also accepting that she has every right to the education and accomplishments she has earned thus far in her life.

  1. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

This is unofficial required reading for anyone interested in mountaineering and travel. This is Krakauer’s account of the 1996 disaster on Mt. Everest that claimed eight lives, and until 2014 was the deadliest year on the mountain. I think it’s brilliant how he captured the essence and personalities of his fellow climbers while also showcasing the physical, mental, and emotional toll that summiting Everest entails. It was clear that he was still reeling from the disaster as he wrote the book, and I appreciated his honesty in admitting his mistakes and regrets.

Honorable mentions…

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

This is Angie Kim’s debut novel, and I was very impressed with it. She really brought the characters to life and made them real people with believable thoughts and actions. I can’t say I’m happy with how the novel ended, but I loved the way the story was told.

Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick

This was another eye-opener for me. Despite all the CNN that my mom watched when I was a teen, I’m disappointed to admit that I didn’t know a lot of what was discussed in this book. Warrick researches the people and events that led to the founding of ISIS. He highlights decisions and mistakes that were made for the sake of politics- in both the US and Middle East. It’s sad to look at the state of things today and wonder if the situation could be any better if only a few different choices were made.

 

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Nine Perfect Strangers was published in November of 2018.  Sometime before Christmas I placed a hold for the book at my local library.  Four months after that I nearly missed the email notification that a copy was finally available for me to borrow.  In the months since I placed the hold, I had veered away from mainstream new releases in fiction (I was tired of being led astray by good reviews only to be disappointed in writing quality and style) and instead was focusing on more nonfiction books, and returning to timeless old favorites in between.  I had forgotten what the book was supposed to be about, but a quick skim of the summary brought it back: nine strangers spend 10 days at a health retreat and face unexpected challenges.

In a lot of ways, this book is what I associate with typical Liane Moriarty: some kind of bizarre mystery, a dash of ridiculousness, a touch of humor, and a range of characters that are frustrating and endearing and sometimes one-dimensional.  Just like Big Little Lies, Three Wishes, and Truly Madly Guilty, I blasted through the book, determined to see what happened as fast as possible.  Moriarty knows how to hook me; a health retreat is just about the last setting in the world that I would want to delve into, but there I was on my lunch break, extending my time just so I could finish one chapter.  And the next, and the next one after that…  Beginning with the unfair confiscation of wine and chocolate and moving on to LSD smoothies and fire safety awareness, the health retreat went from annoying to sinister in just a few days.  I can honestly say I wasn’t prepared for the strange turn of events, so I have to hand it to Moriarty on a job well done of keeping me entertained.

However, the biggest thing I struggled with is something I’ve experienced while reading some of her other novels: there are just too many characters for me to feel a connection with.  Obviously in this book the writer Frances Pelty was intended to be the main protagonist, but there were eight other guests and three employees at the retreat that had histories and personalities of their own.  While the book explored all of them in some detail, it was hard to be deeply invested in any of their narratives.  The Marconi family experience and Masha’s backstory were probably explored the most other than Frances, but I would have loved to read more about Carmel’s evolution from businesswoman to mother (and caretaker and volunteer) and Lars’ family life, among others.  The most annoying characters by far were puppy-dog Yao and the Kardashian-wannabe Jessica; I would have loved to trade their plotlines for more details on ANY of the other characters.  I didn’t understand Yao’s character development at all, and Jessica’s was entirely unbelievable because I couldn’t understand how someone hadn’t slapped her in the face at any point in her life.

I also felt that some of the loose ends weren’t tied up in the last chapters.  While there was a general sense of ending (I don’t want to give away any spoilers here) it seemed like some characters had more detailed “epilogues.”  There were a few points mentioned in the last chapters that alluded to certain things happening, but there were several possible interpretations and I wasn’t sure which one was the intended plotline.

Even so, I did enjoy reading this.  It’s a fun book with twists and turns, and I was captivated until the end.  It had just the right balance of comedy and I was genuinely entertained.  I’m happy to say that Moriarty has yet to write a book that I dislike, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.

 

Alone Time by Stephanie Rosenbloom

On By onehappybookwormIn Memoirs, Nonfiction, Travel1 Comment

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It’s been a year and a half since my last post, and a lot has changed in that time.  2017 was a rough year for me, mentally and emotionally.  I was unhappy with many aspects of my life- work, relationships, myself; and these feelings spiraled out of control on a few occasions.  In the fall of last year I think I hit my breaking point, and I made a few decisions that have since changed everything.  While the end of last year was spent preparing for these changes, 2018 has been about making them happen.  This year, I quit my job, I traveled solo through Chile and Peru, I moved across the country, I started a new job where I’m mentally stimulated daily, I’ve made amazing new friends, I’ve immersed myself in new experiences.  It’s been an exhilarating journey, and I’m now in a place where I’m extremely happy and simply loving life.

I’ve been wanting to restart this blog for the past few months, but if felt insignificant amid all the other changes in my life.  Though I’ve been reading more books than ever before (I’ve finished 38 so far this year) it seemed silly for me to write a post about a new release, a bestseller, a book club choice.  I wanted my return to this blog to mean something more.  And then I read Alone Time by Stephanie Rosenbloom.

In the book, the author discusses the benefits and enjoyment that can be found in solitude- whether that time alone is spent traveling or in the place you call home.  Told over four seasons in four cities (spring in Paris, summer in Istanbul, fall in Florence, winter in New York) she talks about being present, enjoying the moment, dining alone, embracing curiosity, feeling safe, and much more.  Interspersed among her own thoughts and experiences are references to other sources- both artists who reveled in alone time and psychologists who studied the benefits of it.  I was captivated by this book; as someone who had spent over a month traveling solo and then exploring a new city, it resonated with me on a personal level.  I felt like this book was written just for me, it couldn’t have found me at a more appropriate time in my life.

When I added this book to my Goodreads account I noticed a few negative and mediocre reviews, and at first I was worried that it would be a disappointing read.  However, after finishing the book I feel like those readers maybe didn’t understand the point of the book prior to reading it.  Alone Time isn’t meant to be a travel guide or narrative memoir (as some of the comments alluded to).  It’s meant to focus on how enlightening spending time by yourself can be.  It’s about the little details you notice when your attention isn’t divided between your surroundings and a companion.  It’s about savoring moments that are uninterrupted by aimless conversation.  It’s about learning to be comfortable by yourself- something many adults admit they struggle with.  It’s about embracing mindfulness and being present wherever you are, and finding peace in disconnecting from your smart phone for even just a few minutes.  It’s about embracing curiosity and the spirit of exploration, whether you’re wandering the streets of a foreign city or rediscovering a place at home that you haven’t visited in a while.

I especially enjoyed the last section, when she talks about New York in the winter.  New York is the place she calls home, and she talks about how over the years she had lost a sense of wonder and excitement about the city.  However, as part of her journey in this book and as a follow-up to her solo ventures abroad she makes an effort to explore New York with fresh eyes.  She began what she called tourist Tuesdays: days in which she went out of her way to go somewhere she hasn’t been or explore an attraction on her own.  If something piqued her interest she explored it, she started walking rather than taking the subway, she went to museums by herself.  This section gave me a different mindset on city living, and as I’m adjusting to my new home I’m taking this to heart.

I’m going out of my way to explore neighborhoods I haven’t been to yet, I’m making a point to visit some of the museums and tourist attractions in the area, and I’m taking time to just sit at an outdoor table and savor a drink while enjoying my surroundings without checking my phone constantly.  It sounds simple, but already those are things that have slipped past me in the months since I moved.  Reading Alone Time was a reminder for me to enjoy these moments and to not lose my sense of curiosity, and I’m looking forward to fully appreciating every bit of solitude that comes my way.  This book couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in my life, and I’m using it as the starting point for my next chapter.

Wild by Nature by Sarah Marquis

On By onehappybookwormIn Memoirs, Nonfiction, TravelLeave a comment

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I remember reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed a few years ago, and how I felt so in awe of her experience on the Pacific Crest Trail as well as her personal transformation over the course of her journey. I was inspired on so many different levels, and I remember researching the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail at the time. I remember that I thought I wanted to attempt one of them, at least until I realized I was already working full-time at that point and probably wouldn’t be able to support myself for so long without income. I like to think that because I’m a hiker and avid about the outdoors my inspiration was on a deeper level than the women portrayed on the Gilmore Girls revival A Year in the Life, but who knows. I’ve accepted the fact now that I probably won’t be doing any thru-hikes in my lifetime, and I’m okay with that. But the feeling of awe never really went away, and since then I’ve been drawn to books and memoirs by and about other PCT hikers, and Appalachian Trail hikers too (see my On Trails post here). When I stumbled upon Wild by Nature in the bookstore this past December, though, I think I was in shock.

It was one thing to spend a few months or a summer hiking a trail in one’s native country. It is a completely other (and in my opinion more monumental) thing to spend three years walking through some of the world’s most desolate landscapes in a journey that encompasses two continents! Not to mention the dangers that inhabit each of the countries Sarah Marquis wandered through, and the fact that this was all a completely solo expedition! She takes her love of the outdoors, and Earth overall, to a level that I had never encountered before. I couldn’t wait to dive into this book.

I started reading Wild by Nature on a plane on my way to Texas for a work trip. I was traveling with a male coworker who is in his sixties, and he noticed the book and asked to look at it. I handed it over, and he looked at the cover and glanced through some of the photos before giving it back. “Wow,” was his only comment. If you knew this man personally, you would understand that this is actually one of the highest compliments he can possibly bestow on anyone.

Marquis’ journey is incredible. She faced so many hardships throughout the expedition, but despite everything she remained positive and happy and so grateful about the experience. She walked through sub-zero temperatures and scorching heat, she faced down thieves on horseback and drug dealers, she battled dengue fever and tropic ringworm and a severe tooth abscess, and yet she continued her trek with an amazingly positive attitude. The distance and length of the expedition is awe-inspiring enough without the rough spots; she crossed over 10,000 miles on foot over the course of three years!

While reading the book, I think I was most inspired by her positive attitude, and I can’t say that enough. Many of the sections ended with Marquis offering up a grateful “Thank you, thank you…”. It provided me with a much better perspective on things in my own life. If she was able to continue the expedition and stay positive after dealing with some of the obstacles she faced, then I think it’s time I adopt a similar attitude for situations (not as intense) in my personal life.

I think when I started this book I was expecting more of an adventure story. While it does chronicle Marquis’ solo trek through the wilderness (which is indeed adventurous), I think I was more drawn to the spiritual and philosophical aspects of her journey. Marquis stressed the importance of a simple life tied to nature, and I think this book was a gentle reminder that I need a little more balance in my own life. Things have been crazy lately; I feel like I’m constantly jumping from one thing to another and it’s definitely been taking a toll. At one point in the book, Marquis talked about how your body knows what it needs and gives you signs to signal those needs; all you have to do is listen. I can’t help but draw parallels to my own life right now. I’ve been running, and admittedly stressing, almost nonstop since the holiday season. I kept saying that I needed to start slowing down and taking care of myself, but for January and most of this month I continued to ignore my own advice. So what did my body do? It threw a sinus infection and tendonitis at me, quite literally forcing me to take it easy and rest. And as odd as this may sound given my current condition, I actually do feel better!

As I’m reflecting on it now, I’m grateful that I read this book. It wasn’t quite what I expected but it was what I needed at this point in my life. Sarah Marquis is without a doubt an amazing individual, and I am truly inspired by her story. I’m looking forward to following her story on any future expeditions she challenges herself to.

 

 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

On By onehappybookwormIn Fiction1 Comment

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“Never Let Me Go” has been on my reading list for a long time. I remember adding it to my list back when I still kept track of books that I wanted to read on the Notes app on my iPhone. But somehow, over the years, it kept slipping further and further down my list, and it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I decided to read it on a whim.

On the night that I bought it, I had plans to meet a friend for dinner after work. But dinner reservations were for that awkward time that would make me too early by going straight from the office, but not really worth it if I went home first. So naturally I stopped at a bookstore on the way to kill some time. I’m participating in a book exchange that one of my friends started, so I needed to stop there anyway to pick up a copy of “The Alchemist” to send off. I remember wandering around the bookstore aimlessly, going from the fiction section to biographies to business books, trying to find something for myself. And then I noticed “Never Let Me Go,” and I remembered how long I’ve been wanting to read it, so I grabbed it and left.

I’m rambling a little bit about why I bought it because I don’t want to go into too much detail about the book itself. The basic summary of the book is this: Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy grew up together at an exclusive boarding school in the English countryside. Now they’re adults and have reentered each others’ lives, and Kathy finds herself reflecting on and trying to understand everything about their past. That’s not much of a description, but I feel like that’s all I really knew when I started reading the book. And I think I enjoyed it so much because I didn’t know too much about it- which is why I’m trying to avoid talking about the plot here. This is one of those novels that doesn’t really have an introductory scene, it just picks up with one of the characters going about their day. You don’t really know what’s going on, or why they’re doing what they’re doing, or to some extent what they’re talking about. But you figure it out as you keep reading, and everything settles into place.

Another thing that took some getting used to was the conversational tone of the book. It’s written in Kathy’s point of view, and it’s as if she’s sitting with you and telling you a story. But it’s just like any story that a friend or family member tries to tell you; sometimes she backtracks to explain other details before starting on one topic, and at other times it feels like she’s getting ahead of herself and talking about things you don’t understand yet. But once I got used to her tone, it almost made the book seem more intimate. I felt more connected with the characters, and to everything that happened to them.

Once I started to understand the characters, and what the premise of the novel was about, it became more and more heartbreaking. And it wasn’t sad in the sense that I was crying over any particular scene (there were no tears shed, I’m not much of a crier when it comes to books). It was more of a growing sense of pity and compassion for the characters. But I don’t want to say too much about it, because I think not knowing is part of the beauty of the novel.

This book is one that I’m really trying to encourage my friends to read, mainly because I want to talk about it! But I also think it would be great for a book club; there are a lot of topics presented that would make a good discussion. When it comes to enjoying books I think some are meant to be consumed all at once, and the thrill is in reading the story as it happens. For other books, I think the pleasure is in the way they sit with you after you finished reading them. “Never Let Me Go” is definitely one of the latter, at least for me. I’m so happy that I finally decided to read it, and I can’t wait to hear what other people think.

All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister

On By onehappybookwormIn NonfictionLeave a comment

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I must admit, I’m starting my 2017 reading list much better than 2016. I started this one on New Year’s Day and finished the other night. My reading challenge goal on my Goodreads Account last year was 50, and I only read 39 books. This year I adjusted to 45, and if I keep up this pace then hopefully I’ll meet my goal!

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book! Reading it put me in a very “Girl Power” kind of mood, and I felt so much more comfortable with myself being a twenty-six-year-old single woman. On a very basic level, one of the things that struck me about “All the Single Ladies” was that most (if not all) of the women interviewed are so successful, and they are all relatively young! I was so impressed with the accomplishments of these women, and just reading about them has given me motivation that I’ve been lacking recently. I’m not going to lie, since I started this book I’ve begun putting together a new five-year career plan, something which I’ve never bothered with before. I feel like I have always been a “go with the flow” kind of person, and since I’m reasonably smart and hard-working I’ve just always assumed that things would work out in good ways. But reading about the amazing women in this book who are starting companies and nonprofits, and they’re socially and politically active, it just really hit me: I could be doing so much more. Instead of just reading about amazing women I could actually be one myself.

“All the Single Ladies” also provided a view of women’s rights that I’ve never really considered before. It never occurred to me that by default, the system is pretty much designed to make it much harder for single women to live a happy, independent life (compared to married couples and men). And I’m a single lady myself! You would think that I would’ve thought about this, but I haven’t. And now that I am thinking about it, I’ve realized that I’ve had conversations with co-workers and colleagues circling these ideas, though framed in different contexts. One of the things I really appreciated was the appendix of this book, where Traister listed policies and attitudes that she believes must change as single women move forward in the world. It’s a good resource for talking points, as well as what to look out for in politics.

When it comes to feminism and what that means socially and politically, sometimes I feel like I’m just not as knowledgeable as I would like to be. Though I’ve always identified as a feminist, it wasn’t until I joined Our Shared Shelf (Emma Watson’s feminist book club on Goodreads) last year that I really started learning more about what that actually means for different people. Feminism is all about equal rights for men and women, and there are so many different perspectives you can examine. That book club has really opened up my eyes to women’s experiences that are vastly different from my own, and it’s been a great learning experience. This book, however, looks at it from the perspective of single women in the United States, who face their own set of troubles and limitations, which is something I relate to very much.

In its most general sense, “All the Single Ladies” is an investigation of the current trend of delaying (or opting out of completely) marriage. In this book, Traister has put together a comprehensive study of all aspects of single women: history, politics, relationships (both friendships and sexual), poverty, independence, city life, and more. Some of the chapters I felt really hit home, and I was able to identify with them very well. Other chapters, not so much, but I was still invested in the discussion.

In the introduction, Traister quotes Simone de Beauvoir’s observation about real life women: we “are married, or have been, or plan to be, or suffer from not being.” For most of history (and often still today) women are expected to marry and raise children, and if they don’t they are viewed as incomplete or damaged or selfish or any combination of these. This topic came up at work yesterday, and was directed at me. One of my (female) co-workers said that she was “looking out for a man for me.” Trying to speak lightly about it, I responded by saying that I wasn’t really looking anyway, and her answer was that that’s why she was doing it for me. And that conversation isn’t the only time my singlehood has been discussed at work; it happens on a fairly regular basis, which becomes very annoying and sometimes hurtful. But seriously, I’m happy that I’m not married or trying to get married anytime soon. I’ve come to the realization lately that I am generally more unhappy when I’m in a relationship, compared to when I’m not. And for the first time in my life, I’m really focusing on myself and what I want, and it’s freeing! I feel like I’ve been much more excited about things lately, and this book added to that feeling. It was probably one of the best ways to start off a new year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what I accomplish, as well as all the other single ladies across the country.

The Best Simple Recipes from America’s Test Kitchen

On By onehappybookwormIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

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First things first, I didn’t really intend for my first post of 2017 to be about a cookbook. But last night I cooked one of my favorite meals and it occurred to me that it was a recipe originally adapted from one in this book.  With it being a new year and people making resolutions to be healthier, maybe it’s a good time to post about a cookbook.

I generally enjoy cooking, but I’m not one to buy cookbooks all the time. I probably only purchase one a year, if that.  But I’ve had this one for about 4-5 years now, and it’s without a doubt the one that I’ve used most often throughout the years.  I first discovered it through a recipe I found on Pinterest for a spicy sausage pasta bake.  The blog post indicated the recipe had originally come from this book, and when I enjoyed the meal I thought it was worth it to buy the cookbook itself.

Like I said, that was about 4-5 years ago, and it was just after I finished college. Back then, I really wanted to start cooking decent meals that were more elaborate than the “make-it-a-meal” option on the back of your standard boxed side dish.  I had grown up in a household of really good home-cooked dinners and I wanted that for myself, but life was getting in my way.  With my job, I wasn’t getting home from work until close to 6, and my evenings were spent trying to juggle friends, networking, and dating as well as basic adulting skills like cleaning, cooking, and working out.  And that’s not including the downtime I wanted for myself to read books, binge Netflix, and learn to knit/play guitar/speak Spanish/insert random hobby (I’ve had a lot of “learn how to” goals over the years).

My biggest problem with cooking was finding the time to make a meal, and that’s why this cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen was perfect.  All of the recipes in here are designed to be made in 30 minutes or less, so it’s not like I was spending a huge chunk of my evening to make a gourmet meal.  And the recipes are good!  Thinking about it now, I can list at least 5 or 6 meals that are some of my favorite go-to’s now, and they’re recipes that are either straight from or slightly adapted from this cookbook.  And as an added bonus, there are so many helpful tidbits throughout the book about buying fresh vs frozen, what to look for when buying different types of meat, how to prepare different foods, etc.

One thing to note though, some of these recipes do take a bit longer than 30 minutes (at least for me!). Sometimes I think the prep time takes a little bit longer than it should.  I have to acknowledge the fact that my vegetable-chopping skills are below average, so in my case that’s where some of the extra time comes from.  Though I have improved since I got a Slap Chop, I would highly recommend it if you have the same problem!

The other thing to note is that the recipes in this book typically make 4 to 6 servings. This isn’t a problem if you have a family or group of people to cook for, but as a single person living alone I always make adjustments.  Usually I half the recipes and eat the balance as leftovers, which has worked out well for me over the years.  I did take a quick look at other cookbooks that they offer, and they have a Cooking For Two and a Make-Ahead Cook version which might be worth taking a look at as an alternative.

So in the spirit of New Year’s, if one of your resolutions is to cook more at home then I would definitely recommend this cookbook! For me, one of my resolutions is to update this blog more often, so hopefully I’ll be posting more about regular books soon!  Happy New Year and hopefully we all keep up with our goals!