What I've Been Reading Lately

I can't believe I'm so behind - the days keep getting away from me!  Here's a list of a few of the books I've been reading!

This has been one of my favorite Grisham books so far - which is saying a lot.  The main character is quite the unorthodox defense lawyer - only taking on basically hopeless cases of murderers other lawyers wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole.  He works out of his van with his driver/assistant/PI/bodyguard  and finances an ultimate fighting champ on Friday nights.  Outside of typical Grisham style, the book features several cases, intertwining through the story line, which keeps it interesting.  Loved it!!

American Heiress was a fun read.  Cora Cash is heir to one of the largest American fortunes and her mother is determined to marry her off to an English title.  Quite by accident, Cora literally falls into the arms of a Duke, marrying him and becoming a Duchess.  But with her new Double Duchess mother-in-law, a meddling "friend," money issues, and a husband who isn't who she thought, Cora isn't sure she's cut out for this life.  It was a good book and an easy read, but the characters' attitudes and overall demeanors changed too abruptly for me.  Cora, for instance, comes across as a defiant, spoiled girl, but then becomes self conscious and unsure of herself in an almost pathetic way.  But, like I said, it was a fun, easy read.f

I guess between the move and having a 1 year old, I had no idea there was another Robert Galbraith book out.  I saw it on Amazon (and got 15% off :)) and immediately ordered it.  I finished it last night and it was a page turner!!  There is a modern day Jack the Ripper on the loose - and he's after Cormoran Strike's secretary-turned-partner Robin.  Oh - it's so good I won't spoil ANYTHING but you need to read these books if you haven't already!  There are 2 Cormoran Strike books before this one, and while they aren't a "series," they reference previous books.  Again, I will read anything Rowling writes (but I haven't read her non-fiction).  But it's amazing and a definite page turner that will have you looking over your shoulder everywhere you go!!!!

-khl

#3 The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion was book #3 of my 30 before 30 challenge.  It's Joan's narrative of her husband's sudden death and the year that follows.

A year full of her daughter's almost fatal illness, grief, and memories of her husband.  The book was also full of stories of the amazing life Joan and her husband lived together - traveling events, people they met, etc. It was definitely a depressing book to me, but it also made me realize just how short life is, and that we should be grateful for every moment we spend with our loved ones.

I know that was a short post about that book, but I really didn't enjoy it that much.  It was definitely a thought provoking book.  Here's a good review from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/books/review/the-year-of-magical-thinking-goodbye-to-all-that.html?_r=0

Frog Music by Emma Donohue

A few years ago, I read Emma Donoghue's novel Room.  It was disturbing and intense and a really great read.  Definitely something different - more psychological than plot-driven.  I've had Frog Music on my list for a while, and finally picked it up at the library last week.  This second book (that I've read) did not disappoint!

Set in San Francisco in 1876, Blanche Beunon is also known as Blanche la Danseuse.  Blanche, a former circus equestrienne, works as a burlesque dancer and high priced prostitute and lives with her "mac" Arthur and his former trapeze partner Ernest.  She and Arthur have a son, P'tit, who they have sent to live on a farm outside the city.  Blanche supports the men's gambling habits and owns the building they live in in Chinatown.   When the free spirited, pants wearing, frog catching, singer of random songs Jenny Bonnet runs into Blanche with her high wheeled bicycle, Blanche's life changes drastically.  Jenny beings to make Blanche question everything about her life - most importantly, where P'tit is being held.  Before, Blanche, in all her self-centeredness,  never questioned where she sent her son, and only visits him when the nurse brings him to her.  When she arrives at the "farm," only blocks from her own apartment, she finds rows and rows of cribs with piled with babies.  P'tit is starved and drastically underdeveloped for a one year old child.  Blanche takes him home although she has no idea how to care for him - only the obligation to do so in response for her previous abandonment.  

So begins the problems with Arthur and Ernest, who are not too thrilled with her quitting her very lucrative job.  One night, the men attack Blanche and she flees - realizing too late she has left P'tit with the men.  She runs away with Jenny for safety, but Jenny ends up being shot dead in their lodging room. Blanche spends the rest of the book searching for P'tit and seeking justice for Jenny.  I won't spoil all the details!

I really enjoyed this book.  Again, it was a time period/setting I haven't read much about and the relationship between Jenny and Blanche was so strange yet compelling.  Jenny was so free spirited with wild stories and random songs, never revealing anything personal about herself but always butting her nose into other people's business.  Blanche is so clueless and naive, but at the same time, very wily and determined.  Oh, and I didn't mention that this is historical fiction!  All but a few of the characters actually existed, as did the murder of Jenny Bonnet.  

Definitely recommend this one!  I stayed up late last night finishing it, which is always a good sign.  Next up, John Grisham's Rogue Lawyer.

Book #2 The Bluest Eye

Toni Morrison has a way with words.  No doubt about it.  First impression of this book is that it is absolutely beautifully written.  The way the words flow and describe people, places, and events is wonderful.

The story mainly centers around three young African American girls and tells of their struggle with poverty, molestation by family members, segregation and racism.  Pecola is raped by her father and becomes pregnant.  She is looked upon with pity by the community and even her friends feel awkward being around her.  These girls live under these circumstances and watch Shirley Temple on TV and read about her in magazines.  They want to be her  - have blue eyes because they associate that with beauty and a comfortable life.

I'm almost done with the book - I couldn't keep my eyes open to finish it last night, but I should be done tonight - so I'll update tomorrow on my final thoughts!

I finished the book last night.  It was a sad book about horrible circumstances.  But, the theme crosses time and generations.  These little girls looked to movie stars and lusted after their lifestyles because they were "perfect."  Having blue eyes would make these girls happy.  But would it?  Isn't that the way we feel today?  Having the prefect body or hair or makeup or house or car would make us happy. But does it?

The Fate of Ten

There are very few authors whose books I wait for on pins and needles when their latest release comes out.  This is for the sake of my house not being overrun by books, my bank account, and the lack of room on my bookshelves.  John Grisham and JK Rowling are on that list.  As is Pittacus Lore.  The I Am Number Four series is absolutely addictive.  I've probably talked about it on here before.  Every August, a new book comes out to continue the story the author left hanging (sometimes literally).  I don't know why I do this to myself - I should just wait until the series is finished, go away for the weekend, and binge read.  But, that's just not my style.

So, the premise behind the series is that Lorien children, "The Garde" came to Earth with their Cepans (handlers and trainers) when their planet Lorien was destroyed.  They have lived on Earth in anticipation of the Mogadorian invasion soon to come.  Setrakus Ra, the leader of the "Mogs" is after the Garde but the catch is they have to be killed in order - 1 through 9.  1, 2, and 3 are dead.  I am Number Four is the first book where we meet John Smith, his Cepan, Henry, and his dog/alien pet Bernie Kosar.  John meets and joins forces with the other surviving Garde as Setrakus Ra and his Mogs invade Earth.  They even find a tenth Garde, Ella, they didn't know existed.  Setrakus Ra, Ella's great grandfather, has captured her and is using her to defeat the Loriens.

In the latest book, "the Fate of Ten," the world is at war with the Mogs.  Half of the Garde is in Mexico at a sacred Lorien site and half of them are in New York City fighting Setrakus Ra.  Then Setrakus Ra heads to Mexico to steal the Lorien powers and must be stopped in order to save Earth.

Now, SciFi is not generally my genre of choice.  But these books - oh my gosh - they're so good!  There's so much action that is easy to follow.  They definitely have to be read in order - the story builds and builds and builds.  I thought this book was going to be the last one, but it better not be the way it ended!!!!  But no spoilers from me!

-khl

Book #1: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jane Austen.  Oh dear.  Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Alley, Persuasion, etc.  I desperately wanted to be one of those girls that have read and are deeply in love with every one of her books and have obsessive relationships with her characters.  But I'm not.  I've picked up and put down Pride and Prejudice more times than I can count.  I've bought both Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion and watched them sit on my shelf unopened.  I've seen the movie; I've watched the Jane Austen Book Club movie.  But reading any of her books?  I just can't do it.  I feel stupid.

So I started this 30 Books challenge - and on the list - Persuasion.  It was on my shelf (one of the few books on the list that I own) so I tried to save it from the Packers during the move (it didn't work - they even packed the book on my nightstand I was currently reading - ugh).  Anyway, I wrestled my way through it and finally finished it.

I enjoyed it, I might even try another Austen novel in another 15 years.  I won't bore you with plot details because I'm sure you're all smarter than me and have read it before.  I did find it interesting that relationships between women and men span the ages - the feelings, thoughts, awkward moments - it happened then and it happens now.  But anyway, one book down, twenty-nine more to go!!

30 Books to Read Before You're 30

I came across this list right after my last birthday - the big 2-7 - and I thought - hmmm...That's 10 books a year, and several of them are ones I probably need to read.  So, why not?  I can make a project out of it.  There are a ton of these lists out there, but this one was compiled by Katherine Brooks and published on HuffingtonPost.com.  So, here it goes! 

1) Persuasion by Jane Austen
2) Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro
3) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
4) The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
5) In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders
6) Ulysses by James Joyce
7) The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
8) Middlemarch by George Eliot
9) The Sabbath by AJ Heschel
10) A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
11) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
12) My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
13) White Teeth by Zadie Smith
14) I Love Dick by Chris Kraus
15) Kurt Vonnegut, Letters edited by Dan Wakefield
16) The Symposium by Plato
17) Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
18) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
19) Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
20) Everything I Never Told You by  Celeste Ng
21) Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
22) Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
23) Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
24) Delta of Venus by Anais Nin
25) Lesabendio: An Asteroid Novel by Paul Scheerbart
26) On the Genealogy of Morality by Friedrich Nietzsche
27) Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lerner
28) The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe
29) Girls to the Front by Sara Marcus
30) Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

Here's the link if you want short descriptions of each book:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/10/books-to-read-before-you-are-30_n_7538880.html

Happy Reading!

-khl 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I should just skip the produce and head straight to the cookie aisle.  I buy bananas with good intentions of eating them for snacks, and then they sit on my counter all week.  And because I feel guilty for buying them and not using them, and because I love to bake, I end up making banana bread.  Because I'm not bowled over by banana bread, I discovered this recipe: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.  So, next time, I should just cut out the middle man and go straight to the Oreos.

But I digress....

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Recipe By:iggytakahashi

"Super amazing banana bread. Moist and tasty!"

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 tablespoon milk

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan, preferably glass.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir bananas, milk, and cinnamon in another bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a third bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir banana mixture into butter mixture. Stir in dry mixture until blended. Fold in chocolate chips until just combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. **I make 2 medium sized loaves
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

**It also stores well in the freezer so you can make several and keep them on hand for a quick dessert or snack!!

 

-khl

10 Things I've Learned In a Year of Being a Mom

In honor of Harper's first birthday, I decided I would impart my "wisdom" and the things I've learned in the past year.  I know this is a little late, but it's been a crazy month!!

So...Here it goes.

1) You will never please people. 
     When the diamond goes on your finger, people want to know when the babies are going to happen.  Then, you get pregnant and people want to know what it is.  Then, you find out the gender and people want to know the name.  Then, they're upset when you don't know the name because you want to see your baby before permanently inflicting a name upon them.  Then, before that baby is out of newborn clothes, people want to know when the next one is coming.  So I say again, YOU WILL NEVER PLEASE PEOPLE.

2) Babies aren't babies very long.
I printed out Harper's month pictures for her first birthday party and was absolutely blown away.   I remember her at every stage, but how she morphed from one to another is beyond me.  My favorite quote right now is, "Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different." - C.S. Lewis  Watching her grow and learn is the most amazing thing ever - but I was NOT prepared for how quickly she grew out of the baby stage.

3) Childproofing is not to protect the child from what is in the cabinets/drawers, etc.  Childproofing is to protect the child from the parent when all the child wants to do is to pull EVERYTHING out of said cabinet/drawer.  
Tupperware, sippy cups, cups, shampoo, cheese graters, trash bags, cleaning products, music books, -- you get the picture.

4) The "mom hair cut" is a lie.
The cat's out of the bag ladies.  The "mom hair cut" is not because you're stressed and don't have time to do your hair in the morning.  Let's drop the act.  The real reason for the shorter locks is because your hair ALL FELL OUT and now it's a stringy mess with 2 inch long new hair all over your head that frizzes out like a fiend when it's humid (read:all the time).  

5) Your life doesn't have to end because you have a baby.
The most popular response to our pregnancy was "Your life is going to change!"  I always wanted to say, "NO $#!&!" but always managed to smile and nod.  Austin and I dated for 5 years, were married for 5 years, and knew full and well what we were getting into (well, as much as we could...).  Do things take a little more planning than it used to?  Yes. (Less now that we don't have to pack formula, bottles, baby food, etc.etc.etc.) Do we let it stop us?  No way.

6) Mom really does know best.
No explanation needed.

7) Your life with a child won't look like the Pinterest-Perfect life you want it to.
Pregnancy? Nope
Birth? Nope
Daily Life? Nope
Most of it is NOT "just how you imagined it." 

8) Cherish the moments that are. 
 Those days that you are having a picnic in the park with your family after an amazing bike ride.  Those days that you are all napping at the same time.  Those days that you are swinging on the swing set surrounded by your family.  Cherish those moments.

9) The bad days are not your husband's fault.
 On a more serious note, this is one I struggle with on a daily basis.  Your not picture perfect day, screaming baby, body issues, insecurities, messy house, etc. are not his fault - they are all apart of this crazy life.  Just because you're frustrated does not mean you can take it out on him.  Let him help you - don't push him away.

10) Mama needs some me-time.  And it's okay to take it.
I'm a better mom when I have some "me time."  I need alone time anyway - I used to go to bed 30 minutes before Austin just so I would have 30 minutes all by myself.  And having a tiny human need you 24/7 - definitely calls for some alone time every now and then.  Sometimes, I feel guilty about "abandoning" Harper or shirking my responsibility and sometimes I just have to completely forget about her (not really) because I'm a control freak and I'll stress about whoever is keeping her "doing it right", but when I come back I'm 100% a better mom.  Even if it's a glass of wine while I'm reading Harry Potter for the 14000th time. 


 

I picked up this book at Books-A-Million for $5 while we were on vacation last week.  I wasn't able to put it down!  This is the story of a 7 year old little girl during the Communist Revolution in Cambodia in 1975.  Her family is royal - elite - until the Organization takes over and everything changes.  She and her family are shipped from one work camp to another, each one getting more barbaric and further and further away from the life they once led.  She faces the deaths of her family members, executions of total strangers, starvation.  She is repeatedly stripped of people and things that she loves but manages to stay alive, remembering her father's stories and plans for her life.

Early in the book, Raami's aunt says, "The problem with being seven - I remember myself at that age - is that you're aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst."  In Raami's case, unfortunately, she understands the hunger, death, destruction, and chaos around her and it is the worst.  She doesn't understand the Revolution or the Organization, but even many adults did not know what was going on.  But even still, she has the will to fight to live.

This story parallels the author's own experience in Cambodia as a child.  She did make small changes and combine her own family members to create characters in the book, but in essence, this is her story.  It hooks you, tugs at your heart, and makes you want to scoop Raami out of the horror she finds herself in.  Like I said, I have not been able to put it down!  It was a fabulous read and I definitely recommend it!

“The problem with being seven—I remember myself at that age—is that you’re aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst.” - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/In-the-Shadow-of-the-Banyan/Vaddey-Ratner/9781451657715/reading_group_guide#sthash.cK6jYpNj.dpuf

“The problem with being seven—I remember myself at that age—is that you’re aware of so much, and yet you understand so little. So you imagine the worst.” - See more at: http://books.simonandschuster.com/In-the-Shadow-of-the-Banyan/Vaddey-Ratner/9781451657715/reading_group_guide#sthash.cK6jYpNj.dpuf