New Start: On to 2011

So, I have sadly neglected this blog for far too long (this semester was rough, and I also found few books that impressed me) but one of my New Year's Eve resolutions is to blog more, starting with my newest toy: My Kindle. The first book I ordered was Happy Ever After, the last book in the Bridal Quartet series by Norah Roberts. Cheesy, yes, but I have a soft spot in a my heart for her novels. I mean, who doesn't want to marry a filthy rich, sexy, delicious lawyer who is just as good in the bedroom as he is in the court?

The verdict: I'm a sucker for a happy ending, especially when I'm feeling sentimental, and Nora Roberts knows what she's doing!


More to come, and I'm taking suggestions for more books to add to my Kindle.

So I picked up two new books (alas, not from my reading list - these ones were on sale at Borders, since I still have not found a summer job yet haha) and one I enjoyed both of them. Both books were by authors I had previously read, so I had high expectations for these books. The books, The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen, and Body Surfing by Anita Shreve, did not meet these expectations, as their other books have. Allen's Garden Spells was much more enchanting, though both books had the same elements of families who had a certain gift passed down from generation to generation, and a magicalness that followed certain characters. With Body Surfing, the paragraphs were kept short and choppy throughout much of the book, making it harder to read and lose myself in. I would recommend these authors in a heartbeat, but perhaps not these books.

Summer Reading List

Yay for completing (and surviving!!) my first year of graduate school at Emerson College. Now that I have some free time on my hands (though hopefully that won't last long if I get the job at Pearson!), I want to catch up on some over-due reading "for pleasure." Just a warning, my list will most likely be fluff - I'm all about trashy summer novels on hot days!

Here is my wish list:

Italy, where they drive on the sidewalk

Tonight I went to the Boston Public Library to see Frances Mayes speak. She is probably most well-known for her book Under The Tuscan Sun, made famous by the movie version starring Diane Lane. Frances has owned her house in Italy for over 20 years now, and has actually bought a second home in Italy, and lives there about five months of the year.

I can't even imagine owning my own home in the U.S. right now, much less in a foreign country! However, I am very envious. I spent two months doing a study abroad in Italy, and I have been trying my best to find a way back! For right now, the closes I'm going to get is to read is her other books on life in Italy: In Tuscany, Bella Tuscany, and her newest book, Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life

A fast-growing reading list!

While I was home for my holiday break from school, I found out that, sadly, the Waldensbooks in our local mall would be closing it's doors for good. Happily, all books were discounted 40-60% off! Naturally, I was in heaven! I quickly began scouring the shelves for books (By the time I looked, the books were so picked over that I was actually excited - as a publishing major, I always want to see people buying books because that is what will keep the publishing industry going upward instead of continuing it's recent downward trend) and I came up with a very nice little list of new books:

 - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

- Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda

 - A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Dave Eggers

 - American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld


With so many wonderful choice, where to start? I decided on The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I loved it. It was witty, touching, and made me wish for the time when people still went by snail mail.

For old time's sake, I think instead of e-mailing my penpal Susanna, who lives in Italy, I'll write her a letter - and maybe some of the charm of Juliet Ashton's letters from the book will rub off on my own writing!

Sweet Little Lies

Tonight, at the Prudential Barnes & Noble in Boston, I stood in line for over an hour to have actress-turned-author Lauren Conrad sign a copy of her newest book "Sweet Little Lies," the second in her L.A. Candy series. Truthfully, I originally went to get the autograph for a good friend who was a huge friend of L.C. and I'm guilty of not having read her first novel.

However, Lauren herself was lovely. I was near the end of the line, so I'm sure she must have been getting tired at that point. Still, she asked me how I was doing when I came up for my book to be signed, and I asked her if her hand was feeling like it was ready to fall off yet,  and she replied, 'Actually, I'm doing pretty good.. but I do have a papercut from the books!" and held up her wrist to show me. So celebrities are normal people after all.. who knew?

And, as an added bonus, I get to make a good friend's day with LC's signed book.. and that makes it worth the wait in line!

The passing of Salinger

Sadly, J.D Salinger, a great American  author passed away yesterday at the age of 91. This author had an indelible impression on the shaping of my teen years. Holden Caulfield, Franny and Zooey Glass, and the rest of the Glass family helped shape my world view, and to make sense of it, in my own terms.  They put into words the feelings I could not, or would not, dare to express, as well as giving me a new perspective on religion and life. Salinger will be missed, but his charcter will live on to inspire generations to come. And here is one way to do that: follow Holden Caulfield's footsteps around Manhattan.

Today, starting in the new year, I am attempting to make good on a resolution I made back in September: to start blogging. My reasons for starting a blog are not entirely for my personal well-being. I do want to start blogging as a way to log in my experiences living in Boston, and moving to a completely new city, since I know the time will go by far too fast, but I also want to be able to put down "blogging" on my job resume, and be able to pull this up as proof. In the age of new media and social networking, this is becoming an important skill to have. Successfully, though belatedly, here is my first blog post!