Book Recommendations for You!

I hate how I read thirteen books this summer. I mean--I loved reading them, but I wish I read just two more so I could say I read fifteen books instead--that sounds much more impressive. Oh well, what do ya do?

I have ranked my summer books from the ones I would recommend the least to the ones I would recommend the most. The rankings are based mostly on how much I enjoyed reading the book, but also on how the book made me feel and on the themes I drew from it. If I say something offensive about your favorite book, please don't hate me. If you loved a book I didn't (or vice versa), good for you! You're opinion's not wrong.

I will write short/sweet/superficially shallow explanations of my rankings, so don't expect any insightful reasoning here. I'm also tossing in some quotes from the books.

13. The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain 

Okay. Mark Twain. He's, like, one of my favorite authors ever. Tom Sawyer? Huck Finn? Pudd'nhead Wilson? Delightful, clever, and mind-opening. So I am as shocked as you that my least favorite book of the summer came from Twain himself. Dull and very plot-driven--felt like an extended fable.

12. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 

Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same. 

I was expecting more of Heathcliff since he's notorious for his brooding bad-boy charm. But no. No, no, no. I hated every character. Harsh? Yes, but they were all awful. Barely redeemable. Note: Never, EVER, under any condition watch this (extremely boring) movie! (Okay, maybe under the condition that someone pays you fifty bucks. But that's it. Heathcliff isn't that good-looking in it anyway.)

11. Temple and Cosmos by Hugh Nibley

Truth did not come into the world naked, but she came clothed in types and images. (Gospel of Philip)

I took a class from Nibley's daughter and got interested in his works. Much of this book went over my head. I mean, the guy's a genius, but I felt like he failed to simplify, summarize, and explain the significance of many of his points. He's a rambler for sure. Likeable, though.

10. Dracula by Bram Stoker 

How sweet it was to see the clouds race by, and the passing gleams of moonlight between the scudding clouds crossing and passing--like the gladness and sorrow of a man's life. 

It was cool to familiarize myself with this classic. It has that great Victorian-esque feel. However, it's very long and not too much action happens. A lot of repetitive events. This is definitely not the same type of horror authors write today.

9. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The future belongs still more to the heart than to the mind. To love is the only thing which can occupy and fill up eternity. The infinite requires the inexhaustible. 

I know this is like THE book everyone says you have to read, but alas, it only made number nine on my list. I read the abridged version--850 pages instead of 1600ish--because numerous people told me this was the only way to read it and not go crazy, as the long version has tons of superfluous passages. The way Hugo words things is interesting, as he originally wrote the text in French. I loved the whole justice vs. mercy thing going on. There were lot of insightful, albeit didactic, pithy statements. But in the end, I wasn't jumping up and down to turn the page. I was relieved when it ended. Still stoked for the movie!

8. 1984 by George Orwell 

In the face of pain there are no heroes. 

What knowledge have we of anything, save through our own minds? All happenings are in the mind. 

This book exceeded my expectations! Contrary to popular belief, I found it to be less about government or dictatorship and more about society in general and its reaction to its own mortality. It got me thinking, "How do we as humans employ doublethink (which is basically convincing oneself of falsehoods to stay put in a comfort zone)?" Read the book--it has tons of interesting philosophical musings that'll get you thinking!


7. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. 

This book is a failure, and had to be since it was written by a pillar of salt. It begins like this: Listen: Billy pilgrim has come unstuck in time. It ends like this: Poo-tee-tweet? 

Billy Pilgrim says that the Universe does not look like a lot of bright litle dots to the creatures of Tralfamadore. The creatures can see where each star has been and where it is going, so that the heavens are filled with rarefied, luminous spaghetti. And Tralfamadorians don't see human beings as two-legged creatures, either. They see them as great millepeds--with babies' legs at on end and old people's legs at the other," says Billy Pilgrim. 

Have I mentioned I love Postmodernism? No? I do. Why? See above quotes. Non-linear, non-conventional, and delightful. Get prepared for a ride if you start this book, because it takes you to other worlds (like, literally. The guy gets abducted by aliens...unless he's crazy, you never really know.)

4. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

You hate to tell new stuff to somebody around a hundred years old. They don't like to hear it. 

This book really gets to the center of the rebellious teenage mind. It has a simple, beautiful, and unstated moral. It's not didactic; it simply portrays life and allows you to draw your own meaning. Quirky with a witty voice--first person narrative rocks.

5. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. 

Baldwin is a renowned contemporary author who writes gorgeously. The book starts out with an on-the-surface view of several characters and then delves into their past.  It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you marvel at his poetic language. Lovely. Reminds me what it is to be human.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.

How did I get through high school without reading this classic? All about compassion and understanding. A real heart-warmer. Read it if you haven't. Five stars.

3., 2., and 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Do I lose all credibility by placing these children/young adult novels above classics like Les Mis and Dracula?  I am SO impressed with J.K. Rowling. She created an imaginary world that rocked the real one. I was excited to turn each page. It inspired me, touched me, entertained me. I saw themes of bravery, loyalty, understanding, friendship, and love. I saw that people can turn out to be better than they seem (hello, Snape?), that power corrupts when valued above people. My favorite sections of the books, though, are the ones in which Dumbledore gives his two cents. These truths are simple enough to be in a children's novel, yet profound enough to keep us all all thinking. Here's some Dumbledor-isms to end this post:

To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself.

Ah, Harry, how often this happens, even between the best of friends! Each of us believes that what he has to say is much more important than anything the other might have to contribute!

Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.

Sammich Making

Today, I amazed myself.

Let me introduce you to what I like to call "Heaven Between Two Slices of Bread."

K, maybe I'm not the best at taking gourmet pictures of sandwiches... but let me assure you, it was amazing.

This is a turkey pastrami avocado spinach pesto grilled cheese. Too many ingredients, you say? You're wrong. 

I kid you not when I say that this was as good as/better than any Zupa's sandwich I've ever had--and MUCH cheaper. So go throw some random things together and make yourself a sandwich! Like I always say, anything tastes good if it has melted cheese in it! (Ok, I don't always say that...but I should because it's pretty darn true.)

The Quote Wall

This:

is our apartment's quote wall.

It is my pride and joy.

For the past four months, we have tried to capture every funny moment on paper and stick in on the wall.

I think it's pretty cute, myself.

I'm sad to see the end of the wall. We'll probably save the papers in a photo album or something. But for now, I have chosen what I feel are the top ten quotes. Of course, things are never as funny out of context and when you don't know the speaker... but these are still pretty funny regardless. 

10. 

9. 

8. 

7. 

6.

5.

4.

3.

2. 

1.

Slow Loris Sunday

Since I'm currently packing up all my stuff and getting ready to move to a new apartment, I thought I'd write a post reflecting on the summer and musing about change. Then I decided to post pictures of slow lorises instead.

I recently discovered these things, and I must say that they are at the same time the freakiest and cutest animals I have ever seen. Just look at those eyes! Is this real life?

Anyway, just thought you might appreciate the fact that these exist.

Now you can go on with your day.

List Love

To understand me you have to understand that I have an abnormal obsession with lists. Here are the lists that I currently have saved on my computer:

Daily to-do list
To-do over 2 week break list
Fall bucket list
Life bucket list
Meal/treat ideas
Life lessons learned since college
Movies to see
Books to read
Books I have read this summer
Books I have liked since high school
Favorite words
Favorite jokes
Favorite book lines
Favorite quotes
To buy for new apartment list

So now I probably have you all convinced that I am clinically insane. But I predict that many future blog posts will come from these lists, so I just wanted to give you a heads up.

P.S. Look it's a sleeping bag snuggie!

The Search for an Obscure Instrument

So last week I decided I would learn an obscure instrument. Why? Why not. I'm kind of addicted to finding random things on Amazon (like the head massager I have coming in the mail--woohoo! It sounds weird but if you tried it, you'd be obsessed.) Here are some of the instruments I was looking into (each costs about $20):

1.

The ocarina. This would be cool because apparently Link plays it in Zelda.

2.

The panpipes. This would be cool because apparently Peter Pan plays it. I guess I'm intrigued by instruments played by fictional characters.

3.

The Irish pennywhistle. There's a youtube video of this girl playing the Harry Potter theme song on it and it's perfect.

4.

The kalimba. It's African--need I say more? It sounds absolutely beautiful if you get one with lots of keys:



but sounds pretty lame when it only has 9 keys... and the ones with more than nine keys are freaking expensive.

5.

The mijwiz. These are Middle Eastern and have a cool name (big selling point). Unfortunately, they are hard to master--you play both flutes at the same time. The funniest thing about the mijwiz is the buying recommendation that came up along with the page on Amazon:

If people are buying this instrument with goat leggings, it must be pretty legit.

So after hours of looking up prices/difficulty levels/youtube videos of several unique instruments, I started to seriously imagine myself with one of them and decided I'd never actually use it. I didn't buy one  and saved myself the money. I guess you could say I'm fickle.

As Long as You Love Me

Yesterday I was in a car.

And people were talking about all these underground bands and how great they were.

And I didn’t have anything to contribute to the conversation.

Then I was like, “So has anyone seen Justin Bieber’s new music video?”

And everyone laughed.

But I wasn’t joking.

It was a serious question.

It’s so fantastically dramatic. It makes me laugh.

P.S. I learned Big Sean's rap from this video. You should too.

First Post

Confession: Sometimes I write blog posts in my head.

So I figured I should probably just start typing them out. I don't have much else to do at this blasted laundromat anyway (Oh yeah, that's where I work. Hi.)

Funny things happen in life. So many things have happened to me this summer that have made me think, “This would make a funny blog post”--like the time that I started a fight/chase in the Laundromat by giving a kid candy, or the time I found sushi socks, or the time my friend and I disguised our failed tofudog baking attempt as sugar cookies and gave them away…

K, now I feel like I’m just bragging about how awesome my life is. But that’s part of the point of blogging I think. So here we go!