Summer Reading

Even though I'm not working a 2nd job this summer (first summer since 1996 where I haven't!!) I still feel very busy and my days seem to fill up pretty quickly - hence the lack of blogging in the past few weeks!

I'm thankful that I've been able to do a good amount of reading this summer. I honestly cannot remember the last time I read for fun, and it's something I need to do more of.  Growing up, I was always reading (not just during the summer when we usually had to for school anyway!) and I'm mad at myself for not carving out a little time each day to pick up a book.  As much as I adore my iPhone and my MacBook, I think time away from them is a good thing - especially since I feel that we are a society that is slowly but surely moving away from actual physical books and I want to enjoy them while I can!

Ok, so onto some of my summer reads:

This is the sequel to "Something Borrowed" which I read this Spring. I also saw the movie and really liked it (I'm secretly hoping they're coming out with a movie for the sequel too!) If you haven't read "Something Borrowed," it's about 2 best friends, Rachel and Darcy.  To make a long story short (and sorry for the spoilers!), Rachel randomly sleeps with Darcy's fiance, Dex, and the 2 have an affair.  Eventually Dex realizes that he is no longer in love with Darcy and wants to be with Rachel.  At the end of the book, you find out that Darcy has ALSO had an affair with one of Dex's friends  (Marcus) and is now pregnant. Oh, and the story is written from Rachel's point of view.  In "Something Blue," the story picks up where it left off, but instead, it's written from Darcy's point of view.  Darcy lives with Marcus (the baby daddy) but soon realizes he is not the kind of man she wants to be with (and vice versa - Darcy is extremely high maintenance) and decides to move to London to stay with her childhood friend Ethan (Darcy, Ethan and Rachel went to school together)  I won't give away too many spoilers, but I really liked this book better than "Something Borrowed."  Maybe because Darcy goes through a complete character transformation (which, yes, did seem a little far-fetched at times) and I was literally in tears by the end of the book. All I know is I really enjoyed the book and I can't wait to read more of Emily Giffin's novels.  I like her writing style and the characters she creates.  

I just finished reading this last week and I can't wait to see the movie (which I've heard is very good!)  I know I'm a little late to "The Help" scene, because it came out awhile ago and I just never got around to reading it til now.  What an amazing story! Without giving too much away (although I feel like most of you reading this have probably already read the book!) the story centers around 3 women living in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962.  Aibileen and Minny are black maids and Skeeter is a white socialite.  Together in secret, with the help of several other maids living in Jackson, they write a book about what it's like to work for white families in the South.  The books is told from the points of view of the 3 main characters, which I really enjoyed.  I didn't love the ending, and I'm curious how the movie interprets it, but other than that, it was a phenomenal book.  I'm a recent Mad Men fan, so reading this book had me thinking of the show, because they're both set in the early to mid 60s. I liked reading about the clothes they wore and how their houses were decorated, etc. Historical fictions are definitely my favorite and I need to find some more!

**Disclaimer** I haven't finished this one yet (only on page 89!) but I am reading it for school and already loving it! The book is "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee."  So much of what the author, Wendy Mogel, is writing about, I find myself nodding my head, agreeing with.  Her book is about how to raise self-reliant, respectful, and compassionate children using Jewish teachings. She talks about how parents want to be their children's friends instead of authority figures and how this ultimately hurts their child.  I can't wait to read more of this book and discuss it with my colleagues in the fall.

I recently signed up for bookfree.com, which is basically like Netflix for books.  You can decide how many books you want at a time, and there are no late fees - just send back the books when you're done and you'll be shipped the next book on your queue.  The two I have at home are "The Shack" and "Water for Elephants." I started "The Shack" but then I switched over to my book for school because I wanted to start reading it before September.  I know a lot of people who have read "The Shack" and didn't like it but I want to keep an open mind.  The only thing I'm not liking (even after reading just a few pages) is the writing style.  Too many adjectives, if that makes sense. I don't like when books are super wordy or describe things in a weird way.  So if I can get past that, hopefully I'll be able to read the whole thing.  I picked "Water for Elephants" because I know it was a popular read and I'd like to see the movie at some point, too.

So again, I apologize for the lack of posts, but it's because I've been busy reading! Oh, and chasing after this guy:

I can't believe he's almost 13 weeks old!! Loving every minute with our Mars :)