~*Spooky Scary*~

It's October and I'm LIVING MY BEST LIFE! I don't know what it is but I freaking love October. Spooky books, Halloween specials, candy everywhere you turn, Brett's birthday, hot beverages, comfort food, football.... you really can't ask for more! Something is just so fun about this month and I feel like I'm ~in my element~. If only we could have October then skip over winter... that would be ideal. :P I've been celebrating my favorite month with a new wallpaper on my work computer (I know, I know... my life is truly glamorous):

You can find this wallpaper in all sizes here!

I'm working really hard (and have been for MONTHS) to find the motivation to not instantly crawl into bed as soon as I get home at the end of the day. I feel like I'm so mentally and physically drained after my commute that I only have the energy to lay in bed and scroll on my phone until I pass out, which is NAHT how I want to live my life tbh. So I'm trying to make an effort to not walk directly into my bedroom, maybe do a bit of exercise (a mini ab/ body weight workout), and read whatever book I'm in the middle of before shoving food in my face and pouring myself into bed. We'll see how well I do pushing through the lack of motivation because it's honestly been so tough this year for some reason.

Speaking of books I'm currently reading, I've been absolutely LOVING Beartown by Fredrik Backman! It's one of those books that I want to read as fast as I can to find out what will happen next, but also want to take my time with so it doesn't have to end. Luckily my schedule keeps me pretty sleepy so it forces me to put the book down and take my time with it :P but it's a top contender for favorite book of the year at this point which I am, of course, THRILLED about! The live discussion of this book will be on my channel this Saturday at 8PM EST. Join us if you'd like!

Attempting to take a National Black Dog day photo with Lupita... she wasn't having it. :P

Thankfully, we've had a bit of a reprieve lately from the insanity that was last week. Things have seemed to calm down a bit, even if I only was able to have a one day weekend this week (I had to work an open house on Sunday #SAlife). We did find out that Brett will be needing surgery on his nose, which will happen at the end of next week. Of course, neither of us are thrilled because the hospital told us that he wouldn't need surgery, but I guess what the specialist says, goes. Hopefully the surgery and his recovery goes smoothly and we can finally move on from this situation!

Mug that I got at a New Staff Orientation I went to on Monday #newstaffperks #swagswagswag

This weekend is a much needed looooong weekend. As you know from last week's post I was originally intending to run the Newport Marathon this weekend, but since I've deferred my registration my calendar is WIDE OPEN which I am so excited about. I will be putting a nice long run on my schedule and lots of quality reading time. I'm personally hoping for a rainy/gloomy forecast to really make this long weekend as relaxing as possible. I love me some gloomy weather! #emo :)

Read Your Face Off Book Club & Read Along Announcement!

Today I'm really excited to be announcing the launch of the Read Your Face Off Book Club over on GoodReads! Basically, I wanted a place where I could host buddy reads and read alongs and it would be easy to have a discussion about the books we read. I've found the GoodReads is the easiest place to hold large group discussions so I thought why not start a book club! There will be three components to this book club: 1. Monthly 24 Readathons: You guys are already familiar with the #ReadYourFaceOff 24 Hour Readathon that I've hosted a couple of times this year. Becky made the suggestion to host one every month which I'm super into! There will be announcements on the Events section of the book club page as to when future rounds will be, so be on the look out for that.  The next round will be Saturday, April 14 at 9AM in your time zone to Sunday, April 15 at 9AM in your time zone.
2. Monthly Buddy Reads: Each month I will post a poll of four books to pick between for the following month's buddy read. The poll will close about 10 days before the end of the month to give folks time to acquire a copy in time for the start of the buddy read. Be sure to vote in the Polls section of the book club page! The poll for May is open now, so go and vote for the book you'd like to read! 3. Read Alongs: This is the main reason why I wanted to start this Book Club - I want to host read alongs of longer books or series so they're less daunting to get through! It's always much more fun to take on a bigger series with a group of people. The first read along we will be tackling is the A Song of Ice and Fire series! We will start in May and will have two months to tackle each of the five books that are currently released in the series. Here's the schedule if you'd like to see how everything breaks down:

I hope you guys are able to join the book club!
I think it's going to be a lot of fun. :)

bit.ly/ReadYourFaceOff

Elephant Awareness Month | The Elephant Keeper REVIEW

Sadly, August is coming to a close and with it, Elephant Awareness Month. :( However, I am very excited to share my review of The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson with you all! I really, really enjoyed this book. I was a little nervous about choosing a fictional story about elephants for my Elephant Awareness Month pick, but it turned out to be so wonderful - heartbreaking, but wonderful. I'm not going to spoil anything about this book in this review so if you're hoping to read it you can read this review safely!

Synopsis

The Elephant Keeper is about a stable boy named Tom. Set in the 1700s, Tom's rich employer buys two elephants in the exotic animal trade. Tom is charged with caring for these two elephants, despite the fact that no one in Europe has really studied these animals in any capacity. Throughout his time caring for these two elephants, he creates a history of elephants from his own observations and develops a magnificent relationship with both of these creatures.

Review

This book, as I said, was wonderful, yet sometimes painful to read as an animal lover. As much as I hate to know that the exotic animal trade was as wide spread as it was for hundreds of years, it is needed to be recognized in order be invested in this story. And you do get very invested in this story and the characters that are in it (mainly, Tom and the two elephants which Tom names Timothy and Jenny). There are turns in this story that leave a sinking pit in your stomach and your heart in pieces (may or may not be tearing up just thinking about the story!) which really makes it a great story.

As a heads up - there is a scene involving sexual assault in this book and the repercussions of this assault are quite severe. I did not see this coming at all which was an interesting curve ball, but I believe it was handled well for the time period that it is set in.

The chapter structure of this book is a bit strange - the first third of this book is the History of the Elephant, and then the rest of the book is Tom's journal, which was a very strange choice, I thought. I think that if this book was structured a bit better it would have really enhanced an already great story, and it leaves me wondering about the true potential of this book overall. I think that the plot and story was enough to save the book despite its structure, but if other books were structured in a similar fashion I don't think they would do quite as well.

Overall, I thought this story was so lovely and was written in a language that I connected with easily but did not make me fall out of the time period it was set in. I think Nicholson did a really nice job with this book and I would love to hear what his process was in researching for it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a lover of animals, is interested in stories regarding the understanding of exotic (for the time period) animals, with sprinkles of the human story scattered throughout.

RATING: 4/5

Elephant Awareness Month | Book Club Selection - The Elephant Keeper

HAPPY ELEPHANT AWARENESS MONTH EVERYONE! 

August is the month where we can celebrate these beautiful creatures, learn more about them, what we can do to enhance their conservation, understand the struggles that this species has faced over the years, and just overall know what we can do to ensure their place on the planet. I'm so excited to celebrate this month for the second year now here on the blog and over on my YouTube channel and I hope you will join me in raising awareness of the need for conservation for elephants! If you'd like to know more information about how you can get involved, check out World Elephant Day online. I always have a link to their page on my blog under the "Community" section of my sidebar - just click the button with the elephant! :)

Like last year, I wanted to select a book to read through August that has elephants as its central focus so I can learn a bit more about them. Last year I selected Love, Life, and Elephants by Dame Daphne Sheldrick (review can be found here) which was an excellent memoir of her time raising orphaned animals in Kenya with her husband David (founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust). This year I decided to go with The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson - a fictional novel set in 18th century England about a boy who cares for elephants and learns form relationships and communicate with them.

"England, 1766: After a long voyage from the East Indies, a ship docks in Bristol, England, and rumor quickly spreads about its unusual cargo—some say a mermaid is on board. A crowd forms, hoping to catch a glimpse of the magical creature. One crate after another is unpacked: a zebra, a leopard, and a baboon. There's no mermaid, but in the final two crates is something almost as magical—a pair of young elephants, in poor health but alive. 

Seeing a unique opportunity, a wealthy sugar merchant purchases the elephants for his country estate and turns their care over to a young stable boy, Tom Page. Tom's family has long cared for horses, but an elephant is something different altogether. It takes time for Tom and the elephants to understand one another, but to the surprise of everyone on the estate, a remarkable bond is formed. 

The Elephant Keeper, the story of Tom and the elephants, in Tom's own words, moves from the green fields and woods of the English countryside to the dark streets and alleys of late-eighteenth-century London, reflecting both the beauty and the violence of the age. Nicholson's lush writing and deft storytelling complement a captivating tale of love and loyalty between one man and the two elephants that change the lives of all who meet them."

I've already started reading this book and I am really enjoying it so far. I'm excited to hear more about Tom's story, and I'm pretty sure this book will probably make me sob by the end. I will be reviewing this title at the end of the month, but I would love to have you all read along with me (it's currently $1.99 for the Kindle edition)! Let me know if you've read this book or if you'll be reading along with me this month in the comments!

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2016

I recently came across the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge when perusing through YouTube. One of my favorite book-tubers was talking about finishing up the 2015 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge and, being curious and a lover of participating in challenges, did a quick Google search to see what it was. It turns out that this challenge asks you to read a wide variety of books, but instead of assigning you titles to read, assigns you categories of books that you have to fulfill. I love this idea, and of course wanted to participate, and with a few more clicks came across the PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2016!

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I know there's probably no way that I'll be able to finish this challenge (as you know I've been struggling to find time to read!) but I thought it would be a fun little reading scavenger hunt to participate in and to guide my reading choices for 2016. We'll see how this goes over the next 12 months, and of course I will keep you all up to date!

Have you ever done a reading challenge?

December Book Club Selection: Sick in the Head

For this month's book club I chose a bit of a newer book that I snatched up from Amazon a few weeks ago - Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow! This book is a collection of interviews that Apatow has conducted by a wide range of famous comedians that he has worked with in the past. I'm so excited to read this because I love so many of the projects that Apatow has worked on (Superbad, Anchorman, Pineapple Express, and one of my all time favorites Forgetting Sarah Marshall, just to name a few!). I've heard it's a great light read, so it will be awesome to end 2015 with this book.

A collection of intimate, hilarious conversations with the biggest names in comedy from the past thirty years-including Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Roseanne, Harold Ramis, Louis CK, Chris Rock, and Lena Dunham. Before becoming one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood, Judd Apatow was the original comedy nerd. At fifteen, he took a job washing dishes in a local comedy club-just so he could watch endless stand-up for free. At sixteen, he was hosting a show for his local high school radio station in Syosset, Long Island - a show that consisted of Q and As with his comedy heroes, from Garry Shandling to Jerry Seinfeld. They talked about their careers, the science of a good joke, and their dreams of future glory (turns out, Shandling was interested in having his own TV show one day).  

Thirty years later, Apatow is still that same comedy nerd-and he's still interviewing funny people about why they do what they do. Sick in the Head gathers Apatow's most memorable and revealing conversations into one hilarious, wide-ranging, and incredibly candid collection that spans not only his career, but his entire adult life. Here are the comedy legends who inspired and shaped him, from Mel Brooks to Steve Martin. Here are the contemporaries he grew up with in Hollywood, from Spike Jonze to Sarah Silverman. And here, finally, are the brightest stars in comedy today, many of whom Apatow has been fortunate to work with, from Seth Rogen to Amy Schumer. And along the way, something kind of magical happens: What started as a lifetime's worth of conversations about comedy becomes something else entirely. It becomes an exploration of creativity, ambition, neediness, generosity, spirituality, and the joy that comes from making people laugh. Loaded with the kind of back-of-the-club stories that comics tell one another when no one else is watching, this fascinating, personal, and borderline-obsessive book is Judd Apatow's gift to comedy nerds everywhere.

While I'm excited to read this book, I wanted to note that I will be putting the Book Club on pause for a while. I've been finding it difficult to sit down and read lately (I've barely made a dent in The Hobbit!) and I want to be consistent with my book club posts if I'm going to continue them! So while I catch up with my November selection as well as my new December selection, I'm going to put the Book Club on hold. I'll definitely review these titles as I finish them, but for 2016 I'm thinking I'm going to come up with a new strategy for the Book Club. More on this soon!

Let me know what favorite titles you've read lately so I can start compiling my book list for 2016! :)

Book Review: 1984

Last month I read George Orwell's 1984  for the first time. Despite the fact that this title is considered to be a literary classic, I had never had the opportunity to read it in school even though I took countless literature classes in high school and college. I'm really happy that I've challenged myself to read more books that are considered to be classics that I missed because they are definitely classics for a good reason!

When I was considering buying this book for my collection, I kept seeing review that said things along the lines of "even though this story is based in 1984, it couldn't be more relevant for today's society". I totally agree with this, especially in today's societal climate. For example, there's been a lot of discussion of "over-political-correctness" and the prosecution of those that are not careful about what they say, which could be a less extreme version of Orwell's "thoughtcrime". If you think about our dependence on technology, especially on our phones, laptops, and televisions, is extremely comparable to the "telescreens" installed in the homes of citizens to monitor every move and every thought of the people of Oceania. It's pretty scary to think of how the description of society Orwell puts forth in 1984 is so applicable to our society today, especially when you remember that this book was originally published in 1949!

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The plot is divided into three very distinctive parts - the first is establishing the landscape of the dystopian society that the main character Winston lives in, the second is significant character development for both Winston and his love interest, Julia, and the third is the consequences of their relationship. It has a very natural arc to the story, but it doesn't make you feel like you know exactly what is going to happen. There were some points that Iwas a little bit bored, but for the most part I kept wanting to know more about this world that Winston and Julia lived in and continued to wonder if they could ever escape from their oppressive government.

I can imagine that this story was very cutting edge for its time and I can't imagine how a post-WWII, mid-cold war, propaganda-filled society would have reacted to a book like this. It is often said that this book is what ended up killing Orwell (the book was published in 1949, Orwell died in 1951) and I could totally see how that ides could be plausible. I, of course, can't imagine what it is like to live through a World War, but I can imagine that millions of people had very strong feelings toward what the war was, and it is certainly clear of what Orwell's feelings were through reading this book. I wish I had read this in a literature class to learn more interpretations of this piece because it came out in such an important and interesting time in world history.

How do you feel about this book? What are some of your major takeaways from this piece? I would love to hear more from those of you that have read this in the past. Please let me know in the comments!

November Book Club Selection: The Hobbit

Somehow it's November which means it's time to read a new book! Going with the theme of "Classic Literature that Literally Everyone Else In the World has Read Besides Riley", I've decided to read The Hobbit this month! I've seen the final movie with Brett when it released in theaters last winter, but other than that one film, I don't know anything about this story - not even the more famous Lord of the Rings franchise! I figure that winding down the year with a classic like this.

If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise.

I'm excited to finally read this book! I've had a copy of The Hobbit sitting on my shelf since I was in about 6th grade (the cover is actually really cool! It's not the one shown above and I couldn't find it with a Google image search, but perhaps for the review I'll take a picture to show you all!) but I've never picked it up for some reason. I'm sure I'll really enjoy it and I'm definitely looking forward to reading this story!

How many of you love The Hobbit?

Book Review: The Help

This month I finally got my hands on The Help by Kathryn Stocket. You guys. This book is so good. I know I'm tardy to the party on this book, but I loved it so much. Per usual, I chose to wait until I read the book before I watched the movie, and of course, life started to get in the way and it took me forever to finally pick it up and read it. I'm kicking myself that it took me this long to finally read this story. For me, this book was one of those that I would be itching to get back to when I was working or doing other things. There were multiple times while driving that I was wishing I lived within the radius of public transportation so I could spend my commute reading!

Anywho, this book is set in the mid-1960's in Jackson, Mississippi and each chapter is told from the perspective of one of three women - Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson, and Eugenia Phelan, also known as Miss Skeeter. Aibileen and Minny are both black maids that work for affluent white housewives, and Skeeter - though not a housewife herself is a part of the housewife inner circle - is a recent graduate of Ole Miss who has a dream of becoming a writer. Disgusted and frustrated with the way she sees her friends treat their maids, she approaches Aibileen with the idea to interview her and a handful of other maids to tell their stories of what it's like to work for the white women they spent their lives raising - something that could spell serious trouble for all involved.

Stocket does a fantastic job in giving all three narrators unique voices and stories, and the way that she was able to weave each of these characters as well as the supporting characters into each others' lives was remarkable. Each perspective had it's own unique draw to it that I found myself thirsting to know how each character was reacting to each situation. When I was wrapping up a Miss Skeeter chapter, I was dying to hear Minny's side of the story. When Minny's chapter ended, I so wanted to know what Aibileen was thinking. The way this book was written made you want more, and I loved each page of it.

If you haven't read this book, I HIGHLY encourage that you do. I watched the film with Brett immediately after finishing this story and I would say that the movie did a great job in sticking to the story line, but the book provides with so much rich detail that you miss out on in the film. This book quickly shot into being one of my favorites and I'm so happy that I finally took the time to read it for the book club!

What did you think of The Help (either the book or the film)?

Let me know in the comments!

October Book Club Selection: 1984

October - one of my favorite months of the year! I love Halloween and spooky things, so I thought that this month I would go with a dystopian piece to get into the spirit of the season. I've always loved reading dystopian fiction but for whatever reason I've constantly passed over dystopian titles in favor of memoirs and other genres. I was never assigned 1984 in any of my English classes growing up (I feel like I missed out on a lot of awesome titles in school), so the last time I was in Barnes & Noble I picked it up for a chance to read it as an adult. What better time to read George Orwell's haunting classic than Halloween time?

"In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party's official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

Newspeak, doublethink, thoughtcrime--in 1984, George Orwell created a whole vocabulary of words concerning totalitarian control that have since passed into our common vocabulary. More importantly, he has portrayed a chillingly credible dystopia. In our deeply anxious world, the seeds of unthinking conformity are everywhere in evidence; and Big Brother is always looking for his chance."

I remember my senior year we were able to take English electives and there was a dystopian literature class option that I didn't take advantage of. I always wish I had taken that class because I remember how excited the students would get about the books they were reading, 1984 included. I'm very excited to start reading this book and finally get to see for myself why this book is considered to be a classic.

I know that many of you might have already read this book in school, so please let me know what you thought about it (without spoiling anything) in the comments! If you haven't, then I'm super pumped that I'm not the only one that's nearly 70 years late to the party. :P I'm excited to read along with you and hear what you think at the end of the month!

Happy reading!

Book Review: Modern Romance

For the month of August, I chose to read Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari. I was PUMPED when I found out he had written a book. He's one of my favorite comedians so I knew I had to get my hands on it ASAP. I definitely was not disappointed, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had snagged this book thinking it was a memoir of sorts, but it actually turns out that this is an extremely well-researched and extremely entertaining piece that examines dating in this day and age. Ansari does throw in a few personal anecdotes here and there, but for the most part the book outlines how dating in handled by millenials in the United States and how it compares to not only other generations in the US, but millenials* in other parts of the world as well.

Topics such as texting, Tinder, cheating, marriage, one night stands, and others are covered in this book. I found the study of how our generation compares to older generations particularly interesting. Ansari points out our generation's need to find the perfect match before even considering marriage at all, and how with the advancement of technology and the endless options that online dating have provided us, we're always wondering if our next partner will be even more perfect than our current partner, making settling down extremely intimidating. In older generations, the criteria for a spouse came down to "they lived near me, they had a job, and they were nice". Like... what?! It seems like that's unheard of to us. However, with the limited options that older generations had, that was the typical route to go.

This book was great - funny, informative, a bit thought provoking, and all around entertaining. If you are familiar with Aziz Ansari, there's a good chance you can hear his voice reading to you as you read through the pages**. This is a quick read, so it would be great to take along with you on a trip or bring with you in your bag to pass the time when you're waiting for things. I would totally recommend it if you're looking for something fun!

If you've read this book, let me know what you think in the comments! 

I would love to hear your thoughts.

*Total side note: I wanted to point out that my computer is giving me a red-squiggly under the word "millenials" but is not giving me a red-squiggly under the word "squiggly". Get with the times, computer! "Millenials" is a real word!

**I actually hear the audiobook version of this is incredible. I would recommend that version if you're not familiar with Aziz - you'll get a better understanding of his humor!

September Book Club Selection: The Help

Hello, everyone! I have no idea how it's already the end of August. I get so distracted with everything that's going on in my life that time seems to fly right by. Anywho, with the end of another month comes the arrival of a book club selection! For the month of September, I'll be reading The Help by Karthryn Stockett, and I'd love for you all to read along with me!

This novel has been popular for quite some time, and with the release of the 2011 film adaptation, has continued to stay relevant throughout the 2010's. I came across a damaged hardcover copy in Barnes & Noble that was marked way down back in January (I believe it was around $8, marked down from around $30, just because a box cutter slightly damaged the cover. #score), and since I'd been wanting to read this book I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add it to my collection. I'm so happy to start reading this novel this month!

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. 

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. 

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. 

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope,The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

I'm a handful of chapters into this book and I'm already in love. The voices that Stockett has given to these characters ring in crystal clear and all I want to do is learn more about each one of them. Every time I pick up this book I feel transported right into the homes of the women that Minny and Aibileen work for and it is so easy for me to get lost in these pages for hours. I already highly recommend picking up this book if you haven't already! I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this book and to see what you all think of it! :)

August Book Club Selection: Modern Romance

Remember when I had a little book club on this blog back in 2013? Well now that I have actual time to read, I thought it'd be great to bring it back! Each month I'll post the book that I'm planning on reading for the month, and if you'd like to join and read along with me you can let me know in the comments! I'm also going to get back to posting book reviews of both the book club selections and any other books I happen to finish. Reading for pleasure what completely sacrificed during grad school, but I'm really starting to get back into it which I am thrilled about!

Anywho, August's book club selection will be a book by one of my favorite comedians - Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari! Ever since this title released this summer I was dying to devour it, and a thoroughly intend to do just that. I wouldn't be surprised if I tear through this in a couple days like I did with both Amy Poehler and Tina Fey's books.

At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even just decades ago. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated? 

Some of our problems are unique to our time. “Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should I go out with this girl even though she listed Combos as one of her favorite snack foods? Combos?!” “My girlfriend just got a message from some dude named Nathan. Who’s Nathan? Did he just send her a photo of his penis? Should I check just to be sure?”  

But the transformation of our romantic lives can’t be explained by technology alone. In a short period of time, the whole culture of finding love has changed dramatically. A few decades ago, people would find a decent person who lived in their neighborhood. Their families would meet and, after deciding neither party seemed like a murderer, they would get married and soon have a kid, all by the time they were twenty-four. Today, people marry later than ever and spend years of their lives on a quest to find the perfect person, a soul mate. 

For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for Modern Romance, the book, he decided he needed to take things to another level. He teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massive research project, including hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed behavioral data and surveys and created their own online research forum on Reddit, which drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the world’s leading social scientists, including Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike any social science or humor book we’ve seen before. 

In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world. 

I can not wait to read this book and laugh the whole way through. Ansari's standup is always so hilarious (in my humble opinion) so I can't imagine that his writing style would be any different, especially on the topic of dating - which he covers quite often in his comedy. Clearly, I'm going into this book with extremely high hopes, so I really hope it can deliver!

Let me know if you're going to read along, and if you have any suggestions for future book club selections, please leave them in the comments! I would love to hear what you'd like to read!

Ocean Voyage Reading List

Saturday my family and I are going off on a seaward adventure! (I mean, we're not setting sail until Sunday, but we leave on our trip Saturday and get to spend a night in NOLA - so cool!) I have made an effort to get ahead on my homework so I wouldn't have to worry about it at all on this trip and can just enjoy the sunshine and family time. While we are at sea and visiting different countries in the Western Caribbean, we will be WiFi-less, which will mean very limited technology usage. I'm actually pretty excited to unplug and will be spending a lot of our travels doing what I don't typically get to do since I've been in grad school - read for fun! 

I have five titles picked out for our journey, and while I'm not counting on getting through every single one (I'm a fairly slow reader), it will be great to just have them at hand. I have a lot of lounging around to catch up on. What better lounging companion than a great book? ;) Here are the books I selected to bring along on the trip with me:

 

1. Where'd You Go, Benadette by Maria Semple | I found this book when I was shopping around in Barnes & Noble with a gift card I had received for Christmas. It seemed like a fun read to take on vacation with me, and when I had posted on Instagram that I had bough it, a few people commented saying what a great book it was! I'll probably be taking this one on the plane with me to pass the time.

"Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world."

2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed | I've been wanting to read this book for quite some time (According to my GoodReads account, I added this to my to-read pile back on Christmas 2012, which is actually when I received my Kindle as a gift!) When I heard that it had been turned into a film, I knew that it was the time to finally buy the book and sit down to read it. I have a feeling this is going to be the perfect vacation book filled with adventure!

"At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her."

 

3. Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story by Dame Daphne Sheldrick | I came across this book a few weeks ago when I had first found out about the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Of course, becuase of the work they do with endangered animals, especially elephants, I was automatically intrigued by the story of the Sheldricks and wanted to study more about them! I thought this would be a wonderful place to start. I downloaded a copy to my Kindle and I am so excited to find out more!

"The first person to successfully raise newborn elephants, Dame Daphne Sheldrick has saved countless African animals from certain death. In this indelible and deeply heartfelt memoir, Daphne tells of her remarkable career as a conservationist and introduces us to a whole host of orphans - including Bushy, a liquid-eyed antelope, and the majestic elephan Eleanor. Yet she also shares the incredible human story of her relationship with David Sheldrick, the famous Tsavo National Park warden whose death inspired the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the orphans' nursery, where Daphne works to this day. From her tireless campaign to preserve Kenya's wildlife to the astonishing creatures she befriended along the way, Love, Life, and Elephants is alive with compassion and humor, providing rare insight into the life of one of the world's most fascinating women."

4. DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education by Anya Kamenetz | Of course I couldn't take a break from professional development while on vacation! This book was loaned to me in the fall by my Director at BSU, Cindy. The title definitely got me interested, as there is definitely a "traditional" approach to higher ed, but I feel like there has been much more unconventional innovation in the field as of late. I can't wait to find out more!

"The price of college tuition has increased more than any other major good or service for the last twenty years. Nine out of ten American high school seniors aspire to go to college, yet the United States has fallen from world leader to only the tenth most educated nation. Almost half of college students don't graduate; those who do have unprecedented levels of federal and private student loan debt, which constitutes a credit bubble similar to the mortgage crisis. The system particularly fails the first-generation, the low-income, and students of color who predominate in coming generations. What we need to know is changing more quickly than ever, and a rising tide of information threatens to swamp knowledge and wisdom. America cannot regain its economic and cultural leadership with an increasingly ignorant population. Our choice is clear: Radically change the way higher education is delivered, or resign ourselves to never having enough of it. The roots of the words "university" and "college" both mean community. In the age of constant connectedness and social media, it's time for the monolithic, millennium-old, ivy-covered walls to undergo a phase change into something much lighter, more permeable, and fluid. The future lies in personal learning networks and paths, learning that blends experiential and digital approaches, and free and open-source educational models. Increasingly, you will decide what, when, where, and with whom you want to learn, and you will learn by doing. The university is the cathedral of modernity and rationality, and with our whole civilization in crisis, we are poised on the brink of Reformation."

5. We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a True Story by Josh Sundquist | I had heard about Josh Sundquist in the past, but really got to know more of his story by listening to his episode of Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link. When he spoke about his journey to find out what was going wrong in his romantic endeavors and the book he wrote about this journey as a result, I was very intrigued! I just had to download the story to my Kindle and just indulge while I lie in the sun. Josh lives a very unique and interesting life and I'm very excited to learn more about him through this memoir.

"Josh Sundquist only ever had one girlfriend. For twenty-three hours. In eighth grade. 

Why was Josh still single? To find out, he tracked down the girls he had tried to date and asked them straight up: What went wrong?

The results of Josh's semiscientific, wholly hilarious investigation are captured here. From a disastrous Putt-Putt date involving a backward prosthetic foot, to his introduction to CFD (Close Fast Dancing), to a misguided "grand gesture" at a Miss America pageant, this story is about looking for love -- or at least a girlfriend -- in all the wrong places."

And there you have it! My list of vacation reads for this trip. I can't wait to get lost in these books and just forget about the world for a week. 

What kind of books do you like to take on trips with you? 

Leave some suggestions in the comments! 

December Book Club Selection - Holiday Edition!: The Christmas Sweater

Guess what everybody?!
The Book Club is making a comeback this month for a very special Holiday Edition!

For this month, we'll be reading The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck. I received this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago, but I have a personal rule that all things Christmas related must be kept between December 1st and December 25th. At the very least, until after the Thanksgiving turkey is consumed! I miss the days where Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was the first thing Christmas related you saw each year...

I'm getting off topic.

Long story short, I haven't read it yet, and it's been staring at me from my bookshelf for a couple years, so what better time than now to check it out? (And it's also one of my December Goals, so killing two birds with one stone! #win)

When Eddie was twelve years old, all he wanted for Christmas was a bike. Although his life had gotten harder — and money tighter — since his father died and the family bakery closed…Eddie dreamed that somehow his mother would find a way to have his dream bike gleaming beside their modest Christmas tree that magical morning. 

What he got from her instead was a sweater. “A stupid, handmade, ugly sweater” that young Eddie left in a crumpled ball in the corner of his room.Scarred deeply by the realization that kids don’t always get what they want, and too young to understand that he already owned life’s most valuable treasures, that Christmas morning was the beginning of Eddie’s dark and painful journey on the road to manhood. 

It will take wrestling with himself, his faith, and his family — and the guidance of a mysterious neighbor named Russell — to help Eddie find his path through the storm clouds of life and finally see the real significance of that simple gift his mother had crafted by hand with love in her heart.

Let's be real here. I'm not expecting this to be a great book, I'm not expecting to tear up with every turn of the page, and I'm not expecting to recommend this book to everyone I know. I'm expecting a cheesy, sappy, Christmas story that would be completely inappropriate any other time of the year, and I'm sure that's exactly what I'm going to get! And I couldn't be happier about it ;)

If this doesn't seem like something that's up your ally, but you're still looking for a holiday themed read, check out Let It Snow - a collection of short stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I read it last year around the holidays and really enjoyed it! Check out this review to get an idea of what it's about. :)

Do you have any favorite holiday novels?

July Book Club Selection: Girlchild

I know, I know. I'm about 10 days late with this post, and admittedly I'm already about half way through this book (it's great, by the way), but I thought I'd share with you the book that I've selected for the book club this month anyways, and maybe you can read along with me for the rest of the month.

This month, I've picked Girlchild, a novel that's been sitting on my iBooks app on my phone since the beginning of the year (you know, an emergency book if I'm ever bored out in the world somewhere) and had yet to be read. The book description is as follows...

"Rory Hendrix, the least likely of Girl Scouts, hasn’t got a troop or a badge to call her own. But she still borrows the Handbook from the elementary school library to pore over its advice, looking for tips to get off the Calle—the Reno trailer park where she lives with her mother, Jo, the sweet-faced, hard-luck bartender at the Truck Stop.

Rory’s been told she is one of the “third-generation bastards surely on the road to whoredom,” and she’s determined to break the cycle. As Rory struggles with her mother’s habit of trusting the wrong men, and the mixed blessing of being too smart for her own good, she finds refuge in books and language. From diary entries, social workers' reports, story problems, arrest records, family lore, and her grandmother’s letters, Tupelo Hassman's Girlchild crafts a devastating collage that shows us Rory's world while she searches for the way out of it."


Like I said, I'm already well into this book and I'm really enjoying it. It's incredibly sad, but it's one of those stories that's so tragic that you've just got to keep reading. I'll save the rest for my review, but so far, it's a book that I'd highly recommend you read! This is definitely a good month to join the book club!

Click "read more" for my review of last month's book, A Dog's Purpose!

June Book Club Selection: A Dog's Purpose

For the month of June, the fiveleveninety book club will be reading A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron! Much like The Wednesday Letters, this book has been a part of my collection for a few years without once being cracked open. (The water stains at the bottom of the book itself suggest that I've had it since I spilled water all over my window sill, where I used to keep my books my sophomore year in college - 2009. Yikes!)

"All dogs go to heaven... unless they have unfinished business here on Earth. 

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? 

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders - will he ever find his purpose? 

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on Earth is born with a purpose."

Being a dog lover, I knew that this would be a great read (whenever I got around to it), and what better time to read a fun book like this than summer time! Let me know in the comments if you're reading along or if you've read this book before and what you thought of it!

For my review of last month's book, The Wednesday Letters, click "Read more"!

May Book Club Selection: The Wednesday Letters

Hey y'all! For the very first book of the fiveleveninety book club, we will be reading The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf, UNREAD, for a couple years now, and I forgot why I purchased in the first place. I read the jacket and was immediately reminded!

"They died in each other's arms. But their secret - the letters - did not die with them. True love keeps no secrets. 

Jack and Laurel have been married for 39 years. They've lived a good life and appear to have had the perfect marriage. With his wife cradled in his arms, and before Jack takes his final breath, he scribbles his last 'Wednesday Letter.'  

When their adult children arrive to arrang the funeral, the discover boxes and boxes  full of love letters that their father wrote to their mother each week on Wednesday. As they begin to open and read the letters, the children uncover the shocking truth about their past. 

In addition, each one must deal with present-day challenges. Matthew has a troubled marriage, Samantha is a single mother, and Malcolm is the black sheep of the family who has returned home after a mysterious two-year absence. 

The Wednesday Letters has a powerful message about forgiveness and quietly beckons for readers to start writing their own 'Wednesday Letters.'"

This book seems like a quick and easy read (only 280 pages), and a great way to kick off your summer reading! Let me know in the comments if you're reading along, or if you've read this book before and what you thought of it. I'll post up my review in a few weeks! :)

Happy reading!

Let's Start a Book Club!

With summer and lazy days on the beach right around the corner, I've been getting super excited about diving into some new books. Everyone has a busy life, and not many of us take the time to sit down with a good story and just forget about the world of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram that we live in today. So why not get together and start up a book club and challenge each other to read more?

Starting May 1st, I'll post up a book that we can all read together, and after a few weeks of reading I'll write my review on the book, and you all can share your opinions as well! It'll be a great way to promote reading and to get each other off the internet and our phones for a change!

For now, I'd love to hear any suggestions of books any of you have. I, of course, have my own ideas of what I'd like to read, but since this is a club that I'd like open up to everyone, I'd MUCH rather hear your opinions! Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments, or to let me know via Twitter or Facebook. I'll let you know what we will be reading next Wednesday! :)