Read and Wright

I used to love Sundays but lately they have made me really sad. One of my small goals is to change that this year! Sunday’s are a fresh start and even better, today is the first Sunday of the month! 

This week I want to conquer Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine! So many people LOVE this book. Ever since I posted it on my instagram my DMs were flooded with people asking me how I was liking it and it got me so excited! 

When I started it on Friday I was like, “woah, this is definitely going to be an interesting read,” because it feels very stylistic to me so far! 

It also doesn’t seem like a 3 or 4 day book…but I do have a train ride back to the city from Connecticut so I’ll hopefully be able to knock a portion out! 

Do you ever get one of those books that you love but you know it’s going to take you a bit to read? 

Woohoo, it’s the weekend! I love Saturday and Sunday. But today I have a BUSY day ahead with my mom! We are trying to find a dress for her for my brother’s wedding this July, bridesmaids’ dresses for my wedding next June, and maybe trying on a few wedding dresses for me 😉 

I stopped by Barnes and Noble this week since they were having their big book blow out 50% off sale! I picked up 3 books and those are going to make up the majority of my March To Be Read list. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine—I started this yesterday and I’m still waiting for it to grab me…everyone I know loved it so much but I’m not quite into it just yet. 

Nine Perfect Strangers—I started this back in January and could not get into it. I promised myself I wouldn’t buy anymore books until I finished this one! 

Where’d You Go Bernadett?—I know this is an old one, but it’s being made into a movie this year (I think?! I need to do further research) and it was 50% off so for $7 I figured it was time to pick it up. 

Outward Blonde—I have no idea why I chose this one other than it was $5 and looked like it could be a light, fun read! 

Haunted in Hollywood—Yeah, looked light and fun and was only $5. I love The Mediator series by Meg Cabot so that was my main impetus for picking this one up! 

What are you planning on reading this month?! I really want to reread all the Harry Potter books in one month…but I keep getting distracted by new books! Anyone have any advice on how to focus on it?! 

Have a great weekend, friends! 

What a month for reading! I was beating myself up for not hitting my monthly goal of 7 books, BUT then I remembered February is the shortest month of the year. So it’s okay to have only gotten through 6 books! 

There’s no point in berating yourself for not reaching a specific number.

Here’s what I read this month: 

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict—Oh my gosh, it feels like a lifetime ago that I read this book and I can’t believe it was only at the beginning of the month! I loved this read, until the last like 60 pages. I felt like it wrapped up too quickly and I missed a lot of details. However, definitely a great feminist read and WWII history if you’re into that! 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot–One of the most riveting and important reads of the (my) year! I still need to watch the moving (starring Oprah!) but if you have any interest in vaccines and medicine, this is a great book for you. But also as a human being, this book is sooooo important. 

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish—I think Tiffany Haddish is hilarious, but I’m really glad I read this because I had no idea she had such a hard childhood and even harder adulthood. Comedians use humor to cover up pain, but wow. I admire her even more! 

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas—I LOVED The Hate U Give but I think I may have loved On the Come Up even more. The thing I loved about it was that there wasn’t a political tragedy like in The Hate U Give, although Bri, the main character, does reference Kahlil’s death frequently throughout. It’s not a sequel, but both books exist in the same universe. Instead, you are given the real life of a teenage girl growing up in Garden Heights and trying to help her family make ends meet while also following her dreams. I grew up in a very white suburban neighborhood, so I appreciate stories like these that help me check my privilege and also educate me on what minority kids are going through. I really loved this book and was so impressed with the raps…only to learn that Angie Thomas used to be a teen rap star! No wonder she’s such a good writer. 

Parkland by Dave Cullen—you can read my full review here! 

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis—Okay so I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding this book since it is written from a place of SUCH privilege. I also don’t think there’s anything profound about this book; other than the Hollis’ blunt delivery, I think the idea that we are the ones with the power to change our own lives isn’t new. I liked points she had, like mere sentences, that resonated and I was like “oh yeah, totally” but overall, I kind of cringed throughout the whole book. 

Currently it’s snowing outside my window and you all know how I feel about a fresh month. I’m tired of saying that “things happened, it was a weird month” because it wasn’t (other than that stomach virus, bleh). But I failed in my 28 day challenge to commit to myself and my health. I’m going to start again! Have a great weekend, friends! 

I was really lucky this year for my birthday. I was gifted an incredibly generous gift card to Barnes and Noble, which I’ve been trying to use in the most effective way—only for books I NEED and can’t wait for from the library. It’s not always easy to wait so I’m grateful to be able to own some of my new favorites for 2019! 

The one impulse buy I’ve made with my gift card so far has been Parkland by Dave Cullen. I talked about it frequently on my Instagram but I wanted to write a comprehensive review here. 

Even if you think you don’t need to read this book, you do. Cullen does write about the tragedy, but for the most part, this book follows the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine’s Day 2018. I think you’d have to be living under a rock to not have heard of the remarkable kids who started the March For Our Lives Movement to encourage legislators to push forward responsible gun control. Their movement also works to register and empower youth voters. 

I was so impressed by what I learned in this book. These kids are SMART, dedicated, and passionate. But I also appreciated that Dave Cullen profiled other students at the school who dealt with the tragedy. The media really only focused on a handful of the students, like Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, and Cameron Katsky. But MSD is made up of thousands of others who went through the same thing, who didn’t have the desire or ability to dive headfirst into activism. 

Dave Cullen’s interviews and writing are very well done. I finished this book relatively quickly and would have finished it sooner if I didn’t get hit with a stomach virus over the weekend! 

I grew up in a blue state and I have always been Pro Gun Control, especially after Sandy Hook which is 20 minuets from my hometown. However, the MFOL kids aren’t trying to take away guns or destroy them, just work with law makers on RESPONSIBLE, LOGICAL, reforms on the use/purchase/availability of guns in the United States. It also opened my eyes to a lot of what the NRA does to influence fear mongering among 2nd Amendment warriors and supporters, without painting responsible gun owners as the enemy. This is about protecting kids in schools across the nation. 

It also goes into detail about how the MFOL crew teamed up with other organizations trying to find a solution for gun violence in cities like Chicago. Again, I was so impressed with how socially aware the Florida teens were in checking their privilege in order to join black teens in the fight against gun violence; these kids had been facing it outside of schools their whole lives. 

I hope you read this book and learn something; I certainly did. 

Wedding Wednesday in the blogging world is one of my guilty pleasures. I looked forward to them before I was engaged, and now that I am engaged and actively planning my wedding, I’m addicted. I don’t even care if that’s shameful to admit! I have a few friends who have gotten married but none of my close friends are engaged right now, so I turn to strangers on the internet (who have quickly felt like friends) because they are feeling all the things I am feeling right now.

Wedding planning is fun, exciting, exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, and at times, lonely. I really don’t know how people do it if they don’t have flexibility or are unorganized (but I guess that’s why wedding planners exist!). 

I figured I’d start by sharing a little about my relationship with my fiancé. He’s the most incredible partner and I am so lucky (and excited!!!) to be marrying him. We met in college and pretty instantly became best friends.  After dating other people, we quickly realized we had feelings for each other and have been together ever since. 7 whole years to be exact! 

Since we began dating as teenagers, I always knew an engagement was going to be long way off. Even though I knew just a few months in he was “The One”(sorry for the cliche), we were still kids and I had big dreams. 

Growing up together has been one of the best parts of our relationship. We’ve gone through some MAJOR adolescent moments together and began figuring out how to adult together. Nick has always supported my dreams and never in a million years would ask me to give them up to just be a wife. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if that’s your dream, PLEASE by all means live it! But I have always wanted to be an actress and I feel so lucky to be living that dream every day. 

We are going to be getting married in June 2020, which is much longer of an engagement than I anticipated. However, fairly recently after we got engaged, my mom suffered a stroke. I had a few other dates in mind, particularly in Fall 2019 or Winter 2020, but I took my mom’s sickness really hard. I couldn’t fathom planning without her and wanted to give her my full attention in recovery, so we pushed back our plans. 

What’s funny about it all is that when we graduated college, I always said I wanted to get married in 2020 because it would look beautiful on an invitation. Life has a way of making things work out. 

My mom has made almost a full recovery and I am so happy about that, so we are in full on planning mode! 

I have lots of ideas for Wedding Wednesday and I appreciate you (mystery readers out there) indulging this one day a week. I do have a lot literary wedding ideas to dish out, so I’ll always try to tie it in! 

Are you engaged or married? Or just dreaming or waiting for your ring? Let me know! 

I follow a lot of bloggers. It’s a world I’m fascinated by. I think it’s so cool to share what is going on in your life, but I started a blog focused on what I’m reading because it seemed safer. Now, I realize one of my favorite parts of this project I embarked on was that I LOVE connecting with fellow readers: book lovers, readers of this blog, and other blog readers. 

I don’t know why I stopped writing in the new year. I always have a hard time transitioning out of fall/Christmas time into January because I LOVE September-December so much. I always feel like I am my best self during that time and then January-February I’m just a blah monster waiting for spring. Give me a couple snow days and the chance to stay home all day reading, and that’s about all I care about when it comes to those winter months. 

But I miss writing. I miss having this purpose. It also doesn’t help that this time of year is “audition season” in the acting world. It’s really overwhelming and sometimes, I just need a break. I need to turn my brain off and focus on the work. 

It’s also been a tough time because I am in the midst of planning my own wedding and my brother is getting married this July. It’s made it hard to turn down work I’ve been offered for the summer and not feel like I’m falling behind in my career goals. But there are some things you have to prioritize. 

So, I’ve been reading a lot and trying to write more fiction in my down time, but that doesn’t happen a lot. I was walking through the city yesterday and just wanted to scream, ‘FINE UNIVERSE I GET IT’ but I try to keep a relatively low profile, yeah? Just kidding no one knows who I am. 

I finished Parkland by Dave Cullen last night and want to right up a full review this week! I love structure but I think this blog got a little too structured and I was struggling to fit into the mold I created for myself. 

I hope you’re excited for some wedding content. It’s something I’m really involved in right now and I love finding other bloggers who are getting married. I don’t even know who reads these posts…but if you do, please leave me a comment about what kind of content you’d like to see? I did an instagram poll and only received one “No” regarding wedding content. 

Spring is just around the corner and I’m ready for it. I’m ready to shake this off. 

And now we are two weeks into the year! Time is already flying. But if that gets me closer to my wedding, I don’t care! This was a weird week so that probably helped things move faster, so I’m not complaining. Here’s what I read this week. 

Finished: Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan 

The final book in the trilogy! China Rich Girlfriend was my favorite overall, but I am happy with how the series ended. I’ll do a full review next week! 

Station Eleven

Currently: Love, Life, and the List by Kacie West

Next Up: Nine Perfect Strangers and Geekarella 

Recommendation: Station Eleven

This book is gorgeous. It’s poeticism leaps from the page and I’m so glad to have read it. It took me a little bit to get into it, since I’ve been reading a lot of lighter fiction (Christmas books) and memoirs. But once I found my rhythm, I loved it. How do you feel about dystopian fiction? Sometimes it freaks me out but I’m also fasciated by it. For example, one of my favorite movies in The Day After Tomorrow. Like…what Phoebe?! 

Enjoy your weekend! 

So this isn’t my usual Throwback Thursday Review style…but this book did come out in 2018?! Truthfully this review got pushed back due to my injury (did you see yesterday’s post?) so since this is my blog I’m breaking the rules and sharing my review of Becoming today! 

First of all, I don’t like when people believe politics should be “left out of” every day life. We are living the way we are because of the political climate in the United States today. Here’s a little about me to help explain. 

I live in Manhattan, an extremely liberal city, but grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut which can be described as socially liberal but fiscally conservative. I was 15 when Barack Obama ran for President and absolutely adored him and his family. But I could not vote and didn’t really do any research on John McCain. I knew he was a respected war hero and long time senator. 

That was about it. I didn’t have a stake in the election since I couldn’t vote and still lived under my parents’ roof. I had health insurance, access to a private college preparatory education, and plenty of food. I didn’t know what Obama was talking about with Universal Healthcare or why the Republican party was so opposed to it. But what I did tune into was that people were scared of the change Obama so wholeheartedly believed in. 

He won, we watched the Inauguration in my Western Civ class because my teacher Mr. Marino said it was a monumental day in history. I remember being inspired but also hungry and concerned about my chemistry test later that afternoon. 

Barack Obama made me laugh and inspired me to get more involved in politics but Michelle Obama made me want to be a stronger voice for women.

Fast forward 8 years and Donald Trump was elected president. My roommate and I sobbed, terrified and heartbroken. November 9, 2016 was the only day New York City felt as close to the day after September 11, 2001. 

Reading Becoming, I had no idea how much the Obamas went through. I knew Barack and Michelle were intelligent people, but I did not realize what the political landscape was like, or how much his policies were blocked by bitter conservatives. 

I don’t think I need to provide a summary of this book except that it made me wish I had either been older in 2008, or cared more, paid more attention to the world around me. I was spoiled, growing up the way I did. I didn’t need to care about social change because the system was working for me. I had no idea how others lived around me. 

Becoming is in my top 10 favorite books of all time. Please, even if you think you don’t like the Obamas, this book needs to be read. Michelle Obama is the strongest, most inspiring writer I’ve read in my twenty five years. 

Oh jeez, I did not mean to take so many days off from posting! I hurt my back at the gym on Thursday and then at work, lifted something entirely wrong and really injured myself. I spent most of Sunday crying by myself on the floor of my living room. It was not a pretty sight…but thankfully I am feeling MUCH better. Definitely not 100% yet, but getting there day by day. 

It did give me ample time to read at least. I finished Rich People Problems and I’m glad to put that series to rest, but it also allowed me to start Station Eleven, which is what I’m currently reading. 

Has everyone watched Bird Box on Netflix yet? I feel like I was the last person on Earth not to have seen it. I’m not wild about scary movies which is why I wasn’t jumping at the chance, but my curiosity peaked and I watched it Monday morning. I actually enjoyed it! But then found it a little unsettling when I jumped right into Station Eleven, which is another “End of Days” or post-apocalyptic/dystopian style book. 

So far, I’m really enjoying it! I love Shakespeare and have been kind of disappointed with the Hogarth Shakespeare series (full post on that coming soon!). Station Eleven is the story of society after a deadly flu kills the majority of the population, but art remains a source of light. The book is about a Shakespeare Troupe that travels the ravaged Earth performing the classics, proving how timeless and necessary they are. 

This book has been recommended to me for YEARS. I kept picking it up at the bookstore but I just wasn’t convinced I would love it. At the time, and now still, I was trying really hard to only purchase books I truly wanted and couldn’t wait for to become available at the library. And as much as I’ve loved dystopian fiction (The Hunger Games, Divergent), I was just nervous this one would disappoint me. 

I’m only about 100 pages in (it’s small font!) so I can’t give a full review yet, but I do really wish I had picked it up sooner. 

Happy Hump Day! 

One of my favorite parts of this project I’ve started is figuring out the structure of my consistent posts. In the new year, I’ve decided I want to include more posts on the weekend. I tried when I first started the blog, because my favorite blogs to read post content every day. But it is really hard to do that! However, I am determined to try it for this month. Do you like reading weekend posts? 

For now, I want to share what I read this week and what I’m looking forward to diving into as well. 

Currently: Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan

If you were following along last year, you know I read the first two books in this series and was a big fan of them. I always try to warn people that the first book is tough to get through but really does pick up at the end. The second book is totally thrilling and I flew through it! 

I’m enjoying the third one so far. I still believe that Kwan found his voice in China Rich Girlfriend, but I do still find the money talk exhausting. However, I’m guessing that might be the point. 

On Hold: I have SOOOO many books on hold at the library and on Overdrive. Nick and I have dubbed this The Year of Saving, so I’m on a book buying ban until March and I’m also not buying anything that isn’t essential until then as well. 

An American Marriage by Silver Sparrow

Marriage Vacation by Pauline Brooks

The Library Book by Susan Orlean 

The Defining Decade by Meg Jay, Ph.D 

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

I do have plenty to read before these come in, but I want to sink my teeth into all of them!!!

Next Up: After I finish Rich People Problems, I’ll probably read Station Eleven next. It’s been recommended to me for YEARS but I’ve always put it back down at the store. Are you ever like that with buying books> I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to picking out books at the library, since they’re free. If I don’t like them then it’s back to the shelf they go! But with buying a book it always feels like a huge commitment. Thankfully this one was a birthday gift from my brother, so hopefully this year I will be able to dive in! 

Recommendation: Becoming by Michelle Obama

This is a NEED TO READ. A full review is coming Sunday but I absolutely LOVED this book. I teared up many times. What an inspiring, hardworking, graceful human being. 

Have a great weekend, friends!