review | joy to the world, by scott hahn.

Hello, blog. It's been a while. I will soon be posting more regularly, but, in the interim, here's a short snippet of a review on a book I have recently read.

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Not long ago, I stumbled upon a blog post about Blogging For Books. Naturally, I was intrigued.

My first book selection is Joy to the World, by Scott Hahn. I chose this book back in October, because, with the Christmas season quickly approaching,  I wanted a book that really got me into the Christmas spirit, while also taking on the role of educating me a little bit more in the scripture surrounding this time of year.

I couldn't have been more pleased with this book in that regard. I often have turned away from books about Christianity, not having interest in reading them. I am so glad that I read this book, as I feel that is has opened doors for me to enjoy a genre that I have been overlooking.

In all, I was pleased with this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for more knowledge surrounding the birth story of Jesus, a renewal of the Christmas Spirit, and an unexpectedly exciting read.

Have you read Joy to the World? What did you think?

PS - I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

reading and writing, and things in between.

Today, I decided I was going to embark on the journey of reading all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, starting with Little House in the Big Woods today.

Today, I decided that I am going to learn to sew.

Yesterday, I color-coded my school email inbox.

Today, I read blogs. I browsed Pinterest. And instead of feeling overwhelmed, I felt inspired.

I’ve been thinking of things and writing pieces in my head. I’ll hopefully soon put them down in ink, and then I will - hopefully, finally - share them here.

Writing means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but I like what it means to me the most.

recent reading.

And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini - I love Hosseini's books, I really do. I tore through The Kite Runner & A Thousand Splendid Suns, & though those books tugged - HARD - on my heart strings, I always felt uplifted & peaceful at the end of them. I tore through And The Mountains Echoed with the same speed & ferociousness, but I found the experience of reading it thoroughly depressing. Whatever Hosseini writes, I will read, but I hope his next book is more reminiscent of the two aforementioned tomes.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn - Wow. Now I understand what all the hype was about, that was surrounding this book for so long. It was definitely an edge-of-my-seat, roller-coaster ride of a book. I was hooked on it. I found myself getting angry with whoever interrupted me from tearing through its pages. I felt like I knew the characters, as if they were old friends. Even now, when I'm writing this mini-review weeks later, I can picture the characters perfectly in my head. I plan to read Flynn's other novels later down the line, because I just enjoyed the experience of reading this one. I did not like the ending, but that doesn't mean it's a bad book, in my book.

Divergent, by Veronia Roth - Meh. This one didn't quite live up to its hype, in my opinion. It was nothing more than ok. I wanted it to be better. I just didn't feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked. I did, however, enjoy the vivid picture painted of the factions - what the people of the factions wore, what their headquarters looked like... I loved all of that. If only I had loved the characters as much. I plan to read all the books in the series, & I hope they get better.

The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman - I am head over heels in love with this novel. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I felt like I had been transported from my Wilmington living room into the misty spray of a lighthouse island. I could see the pastel teals & pinks & grays of the setting sun on the ocean. I was present in the lighthouse as Tom explained in expert detail all of the working parts of the light. I felt joy, I felt sorrow, I felt resolution. I loved this book, & I plan to buy it for my collection.

On the Lights, you account for every single day. You write up the log, you report what's happened, you produce evidence that life goes on. In time, as the ghosts start to dissolve in the pure Janus air, Tom dares to think of the life ahead of him - a thing that for years has been too improbable to depend on. 

up next on my reading list:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling

An Object of Beauty, by Steve Martin

Emma, by Jane Austen

The Yokota Officers Club, by Sarah Bird

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Want to join me in blogging every day in June? The more the merrier. I even made a button to celebrate the occasion. Feel free to use it in your blog sidebar or in the body of your posts. Let's encourage one another to get back to our blogging roots. Happy blogging!

recent reading.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling - Considering this is my third? fourth? time reading this series, and the ending of this book still brought a nostalgic tear to my eye, I'd say this is a good one. I love the Harry Potter series, and I hope to re-read them many times in the years to come.

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler - Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is one of my very favorite movies, so I thought it would be nice to finally read the book series on which the movie is partially based. The movie is actually an adaptation of the first three books in the series, so I am anxious to find out what happens in the story past that point. I love the style in which these books are written. On Wikipedia, they are described as belonging to the Gothic Fiction, Absurdist Fiction, Steampunk, and Mystery genres. I'm looking forward to moving forward through the series, and I loved all of the extra details I discovered through the first book, which were left out of the movie.

The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling - I loved J.K. Rowling's debut adult novel - The Casual Vacancy - so it was really no surprise to me that I loved this novel, which is her first crime/mystery novel, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Cormoran Strike, the main character in the novel, is one of those characters you grow to love through his eccentricities, and I can't wait to get to know him even better in The Silkworm.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling - It's true: I've been reading a LOT of Rowling's work lately. I guess to say I'm a fan of her writing is an understatement. I find her books to be so easy to read - I zip through them, like a hot knife cutting through butter. This is the book I'm currently reading, and I plan to do an update on my recent reading each time I'm on the fourth of my next set of books.

up next on my reading list:
Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld
And The Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
The Reptile Room, by Daniel Handler
Pretties, by Scott Westerfeld
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

"a beautiful, writerly home."

"I had created a beautiful, writerly home, full of paper and books..." 

- Anne Lamott, Real Simple, December 2013

I am a bad blogger.

You see, I have not yet posted one, single, solitary photo from our October 2012 honeymoon. I have drafted posts, yes. I have edited photos, yes. I have hemmed & I have definitely hawed. But something never felt quite right. 

Until today. 

But let's go back to a couple weeks ago, first. On a plane from Atlanta, Georgia, to Monroe, Louisiana, I sat nestled in my tiny chair, reading the December 2013 issue of Real Simple magazine. And when I read the quote above, by Anne Lamott, I stopped in my tracks, fished my highlighter out of my carry on, & proceeded to revel in this quote's majesty. It's a simple sentiment, I know, but one that I hope to be able to speak aloud one day, in regard to our own home. And though I was anxious to share this quote with you all, I had to wait, because I wanted a photo to accompany the quote, & I'm sure any bloggers out there will be able to relate. 

The photos you see above were taken in a filled-to-the-brim, books-scattered-all-over-the-floor bookshop in Portland, Maine. I still remember it like it was yesterday, which is lucky, since as I said, I have made practically no moves to document this trip as of yet. It was very chilly as we walked the quaint downtown, which actually has one of those flat buildings that New York City has [in which the Starbucks is located, no less], & we spied a book shop, the name of which is escaping me at the moment, & we went in. And as we made our way through the mountains upon mountains of books, one at the top of the pile in a back corner caught my eye.

It was The White Castle of Louisiana, by M. R. Ailenroc. A book written by one of the daughters of John Hampden Randolph, the man who built Nottoway Plantation. The very place we had just gotten married the week before. 

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How had this book even gotten here? The only place I had ever seen it sold was the Nottoway gift shop. And now, many, many miles away - in Maine, for goodness sake - we happen to stumble upon a copy of this Louisiana born-and-bred book, written by someone who lived in the very house where we just got married? 

My mother bought this book on one of our many trips to Nottoway, & unless I'm remembering incorrectly, it was in the year 1997. I have since stolen this copy from her, always intending to read it [though I still haven't just yet]. Despite this fact, I quickly snatched that copy up in the Portland book shop, holding it close to my heart, exclaiming to Justin that I couldn't believe the treasure we had found. That book now sits on a bookshelf in our house, waiting to be read. Its presence is a reminder to me that nothing is done without meaning, that happy mistakes like that aren't random - there is a thread holding all of our lives together, breathing in purpose, familiarity, goodness, & truth.

on the seriousness of selling yourself short.

I am guilty of something.

On its surface, it doesn't really seem that serious. Maybe just a blip on the radar, maybe just producing a couple of turned heads or shuffling feet or shifting eyes. Maybe producing a little bit of disappointment among my loved ones. Maybe producing just a little bit of disappointment within myself.

But it's there. And it manifests itself through weeks of silence in my ink & paper journals, months of practical silence here in this space, as I mask myself with photos & outfit boards & not-really-writing that I tend to put out when I'm falling back into this detrimental behavior.

It's nothing serious - nothing to be scared of. But, it's there. And then again, it manifests itself through a closing-off of myself. Through a sort of denying, a sort of squelching of identity. A forgetting of who I am, what I like, what I'm meant to do. 

I am guilty of selling myself short.

And, you know, maybe it is something serious. Maybe it is something I need to work my hardest to eliminate from my life. Maybe it is something worth fighting.

We only have one life to live here on this Earth, & I don't know about you, but I'd like mine to be the best, the fullest, the most-effort-given kind of time there can be. And that kind of time doesn't happen when you feel as though your all is not worth anything, or that your all is not enough. 

So, I'll fight. I won't let what I'm guilty of win. Because it simply doesn't deserve to.

on creativity & its timeline.

The moment of inspiration always comes at the most inopportune of times. Usually in the morning, actually, about seven minutes away from the time I'm supposed to start getting dressed for the day. But sometimes, in the middle of a workday, when I find myself scribbling in tiny handwriting on post-its, or perhaps while driving along in heavy traffic, or perhaps when washing my hair in the shower, when all that is really left to do is desperately cling to the idea & hope that it is still there when it's safe to jot something down... when I'm squeaky & clean & have access to ink & paper.

I think I learned a long time ago that there is no planning inspiration. And there is also no laid-out time to expect it. Though this would be ideal, it is just not the reality. And that is why we hear of writers' block, why painters neglect their brushes for months on end, why designers stall out on projects for weeks until they have that a-ha! moment & can go on. 

Being creative involves having a very creative schedule indeed. Sometimes you sit down, raring to go, & still the words will not come. And sometimes, like I talked about up there, you cannot stop the flow of words, you cannot write them down fast enough. And, you know, it is not really the fault of the creative themselves for not producing consistently. It is simply the nature of the beast. Something you learn to deal with, expect, & try to work with. Realizing & accepting that, I believe, is the first step to a healthy relationship with your own creative leanings. If you try to force it, it will not come.

But if you open your mind - & always keep a pen & notebook on hand - you should be just fine. That's how I'm getting by, at least.

a song, a book, a quote, a look.

song | Breezeblocks, by alt-J

book | And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini

quote | A true classic & a great reminder

look | Maybelline Baby Lips in Cherry Me, as seen here

share your SBQL list with everyone via jenna, here

sidda just loves books.

I don't widely advertise the existence of my Tumblr*, mainly because I use it only to catalogue Instagram photos. Why do I need to catalogue Instagram photos, you ask? Because doesn't Instagram do that for you? Well, I suppose I do it just for the sake of having a Tumblr. Back in 2010, when Tumblr was the thing, I used to go on there & re-blog what I called inspiration photos. However, after Pinterest got going & the issue of proper sourcing came up, I ditched that form of blogging & hung tight with creating my own content, so I would know I was sourcing properly.

Now that we've gotten that little spiel out of the way,  I can get to the point of today's Blog Every Day In May prompt: a favorite quote. 

I mentioned my Tumblr page, because my Tumblr page happens to house one of my all-time favorite quotes in its header:

Sidda can't help herself. She just loves books. Loves the way they feel, the way they smell, loves the black letters marching across the white pages...

The quote comes from one of my all-time favorite books - Little Altars Everywhere - by one of my all-time favorite authors - Rebecca Wells.

And while you're reading this, you might be noticing some things. Like, for instance, that my blog is called siddathornton... & my Tumblr is called siddalee. And that the character in the quote is named Sidda. Obviously, these aren't mere coincidences. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by a couple of my blog friends, why my blog is called siddathornton, & I felt that this was as appropriate a time as any - considering my sharing of this particular quote - to explain. And the explanation is simple, really: I am in complete & utter love with Rebecca Wells' books that focus on the relationship between Vivi & Sidda. Thus, when faced - years ago - with the problem of creating a Twitter handle I was certain no one would be able to decode as myself**, I quickly - almost subconsciously - typed out the word siddathornton. Sidda, for Siddalee, my favorite character in Wells' books; and Thornton, the Louisiana town where the story takes place.

And that's that. If you haven't read Wells' books, I suggest you give them a try. They aren't for everyone, as they do tend to be a little dark, but you may just find yourself falling into the sisterhood, devouring each of the little black letters, marching across the white pages.

*well, i guess now i do
**that went out the window a long time ago

 

i can have both.

Reading today's lifestyle posts around the blogging community has inspired me to scrawl out one of my own. See here & here if you're wondering what I'm talking about.

The past couple of years/time since I've graduated college/time since 2007, when I was a student worker in the Labor Unit at LSUHSC-Shreveport have been a time of me choosing a career path, changing my mind, changing it again, re-changing it, going back to square one, & repeating this same circle over & over & over, for what feels like a million times. 

I think the main battle I've been waging with myself has been over whether I choose to go with my creative side, or the side of me that feels pulled toward the medical field.

Why was I telling myself I have to choose? Well, because I'm one of those people who have an all-or-nothing personality. This trait has manifested itself in my past eating habits, when I was either meticulously counting calories or binging like there was no tomorrow, as well as in my career, when I was practically wearing a stethoscope around my neck while taking prerequisites for Physician Assistant school or shirking all responsibilities while indulging in the artistic lifestyle of guzzling coffee & penning pages of prose. 

Then, slowly but surely, this past year, a break-through occurred.

I don't have to choose. I can have both. 

I'm not going to lie to you & say that I haven't gone back & forth EVEN MORE, after this breakthrough occurred around November. Because I have. Tears have been shed, ideas have been second-guessed. But for now, I believe I am on the right track. 

There is a long road ahead of me, but I'm going to indulge in the ride. I'm going to delight in the journey. Because really, that's always the best part. And while I'm indulging, I'm going to be sharing. Because sharing makes it real. And keeps me accountable. And reminds me that this is going to be fun.

photo: the beginning of my first novel \ instagram

critique cache: the hobbit.

to say that i loved re-reading j.r.r. tolkien's the hobbit is a severe understatement.

i first read the hobbit in a seventh-grade english class. that very copy i read so many years ago was recently discovered in a box, locked away in storage. the degree to which it is battered & time-worn seems a testament to how much i loved it then, & exactly how much more i loved it the second go-round.

first off, the book is filled to the brim with witty, sarcastic, & unexpected tangents & remarks. 

'what do you mean?' he said. 'do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether i want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?' [page 11].  

'... and knocked their king golfimbul's head clean off with a wooden club. it sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment' [page 21].

as the reader progresses through the novel, they will find that remarks such as these are plenty - & these are precisely the reason i love tolkien's style so much in this classic.

not only does tolkien have a knack for wit, he also has a way of charming the reader. 

'it was a beautiful golden harp, and when thorin struck it the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that bilbo forgot everything else, and was swept away into dark lands under strange moons, far over The Water and very far from his hobbit-hole under The Hill' [page 18].

'their spirits rose as they went down and down. the trees changed to beech and oak, and there was a comfortable feeling in the twilight' [page 44].

'then suddenly when their hope was lowest a red ray of the sun escaped like a finger through a rent in the cloud. a gleam of light came straight through the opening into the bay and fell on the smooth rock-face. the old thrush, who had been watching from a high perch with beady eyes and head cocked on one side, gave a sudden trill. there was a loud crack. a flake of rock split from the wall and fell' [page 162].

the spinning of such vivid & peaceful imagery, the capturing of such alluring energy, seems to be a trademark of tolkien's. i was wooed & drawn in with every passage that resembled that of the above. tolkien is a master at spinning simple phrases that feel impossibly cozy.

and then, of course, the simple bits that leave you captivated, though you have no idea why... tolkien's writing just feels like an old friend.

'he had eaten most, talked most, and laughed most' [page 32].

if you're looking to compare the tolkien's writing to that of rowling's, for example, it seems to me that gandalf - while every bit as lovable - is more believable than dumbledore.

'gandalf thought of most things; and though he could not do everything, he could do a great deal for friends in a tight corner' [page 57].

not to mention, the made-up words [or as i've annotated in my volume, 'the ironic use of non-words'], the tongue-in-cheek remarks amongst one another, & the sense that these are all [well, at least bilbo is] just simple people, on a more-than-simple journey.

i promise you: if you enjoyed any small part of the above - if you liked any of the categories, one, two, or all - you will enjoy reading the hobbit. and perhaps you need a bit more persuading? go see the movie. if anything, it piqued my interest in the written word even more.

p.s. make sure to read a copy with the accompanying illustrations. personally, it made me feel even more connected to the work, when my visions of the words were affirmed.

have you read j.r.r. tolkien's the hobbit? please link up & share below if so.

winter wrap-up reading list.

if you've been reading this blog for a long time, you may remember that i used to post reading lists for each season. often, i tried to read at least ten books each summer, but i've found that with all the wedding hubbub, as well as moving states away from home, reading has fallen to the wayside. 

for this reason, i've opted to reinstate my seasonal reading list posts. of course, each book i complete will be acknowledged through its very own critique cache post, instead of the wrap-up posts of yesteryear.

beautiful creatures, by kami garcia & margaret stohl

little women, by louisa may alcott

the bad beginning; or orphans!, by lemony snicket

the casual vacancy, by j.k. rowling

i'm actually allowing myself to the end of march to complete these books, so i can get back into the flow of reading regularly & swiftly. this may result in a shorter spring list. we'll see. please do share what you're reading - or planning to read - this year. i'm already on the hunt for books to add to my spring & summer lists.

photo: books & a nook \ nikon

a note about critique cache + the happiness project.

around six months ago, i started a feature here on siddathornton called critique cache. the idea was that i would review a book or movie that i had read or viewed that month, while also inviting my readers to link-up & share a critique of their own. while i loved being able to share with everyone my love of books & movies, as the wedding [and all the festivities that went along with it] approached, i found myself neither reading nor watching any new movies.

for that reason, i decided to discontinue critique cache until i was again ready to put in the appropriate amount of time & effort to produce something worthwhile for both me & those who happen to read this blog.

which brings me to the exciting news that critique cache will officially be back on wednesday, january 9! all subsequent months' posts will go live the second wednesday of every month.

a couple changes: i will announce the book i plan to review the following month on each critique cache post. that way, you can plan on reading it to link up with the review - thus, making it more like a virtual book club, which was the original premise.

with all that being said, i thought i'd go ahead & write up a book that i finished a few weeks ago...

i'm going to be completely honest: i was expecting a little bit more out of the happiness project, than what i found. maybe it's my tendency to have really high hopes for practically everything, but i feel like this book could have been so much more than what it was. 

when i first started reading the book, i couldn't get over the similarities between myself & rubin. these quotes especially gripped me:

whenever you read this, and wherever you are, you are in the right place to begin.

more than twenty years later, i still remember that gold star, and i still want more of them.

but, as the book went on, i found myself identifying less & less with the author, which made the book hard to get into. this, obviously, doesn't necessarily mean the book is bad, it just means it stopped resonating with me. and that made it difficult to finish.

one thing i also didn't really enjoy was the outline-like fashion in which the topics were laid out at the beginning of each chapter. the generic terms called to mind the type of material i could never commit to memory in school. i guess the bottom line with this, is that i felt it lacked originality, which caused a lack in interest on my part. 

on the flip side, i largely envy rubin's amazing knack for information recall & organization. where most of the time i feel like there's a huge jumble of info bouncing around in my head, making things difficult to retrieve, it seems rubin has all of her thoughts catalogued in a virtual filing cabinet, stored in her head. for me, that was both inspiring & interesting, in equal parts. 

i was also impressed with her drive & self control. these aren't really things that were discussed in the book, but - i guess, indirectly - the purpose of her book was served, in that i was encouraged to make some improvements to better myself, leading to happiness. 

overall grade: B-

did you read the happiness project? write about it & link up below!

handwritten.

 in my october love list post, i mentioned a handwriting link-up that joelle of something charming is hosting this week [and i even hand-wrote my love list, too]. of course, i've been meaning to get my post up all week, but alas, here it is, thursday, & i'm just now getting around to it. every time i move, i always think it's going to be simple keeping up with blogging & getting my posts up, but to tell you the honest truth, it's just... not. but, i've promised myself that next week will be a better week on the blogging front, as i quite miss it.

anyway, enough about that, let's talk about handwriting: for as long as i can remember, i've loved handwriting. practicing my own, seeing what others' looks like, seeing if i can mimic a certain person's style. i'll never forget: in the second grade, there was a girl whose handwriting i absolutely adored. i also adored her, & i thought if i wrote just like her, i could be just like her. she always used short pencils with very dark, soft lead, & they were always extremely sharpened. no matter what i did, i couldn't write in her handwriting, even though i used short, sharp pencils with very dark, soft lead. i'll save the moral of that story for another day, but the point of this whole spiel is this: i love handwriting. 

so, here is a little sampling of mine...

i'm doing my best to get past the slightly blurry quality of these photos, but there you have it.

what does your handwriting look like? go link up with joelle & show everyone!

link-up: write it down & link it up \ something charming

photos: taken with iphone \ edited with pxlr express

ps - joelle is also hosting a giveaway to go along with all this handwriting awesomeness. go enter!

the road to wilmington, day two: for the love of dracula.

greetings from the road between mississippi & georgia!

just kidding... i totally wrote this post on thursday night.

i know it's way past halloween at this point, but i had to share the most

halloween-y thing i did this year, & that was dressing up for our dracula book club meeting.

if you happened to read my rave review of bram stoker's dracula, you'll know how psyched i was for this particular book club meeting. and as per usual, lindsey had her house decked out to the nines... with a bad-a outfit to match. i sure do hope that i can find some girls to start a book club with in wilmington!

since i first read dracula in june of this year, i thought about re-reading it before our meeting, but as i'm currently getting through the happiness project, by gretchen rubin, i decided now wasn't the time. but the discussion definitely reminded me that i will want to re-visit this captivating classic.

photos: dracula book club \ vsco cam

the art of writing a thank you note.

when getting married, you are more than likely going to receive some gifts.

as it happens, our family & loved ones have spoiled us silly & thrown three showers for us. view them here, here, & here. showers translate into gifts, which - in my opinion - should translate into thank you notes. yes, of course, i always tell gift-givers thank you in person, but i feel that a thank you note conveys extra thought & extra gratitude. and i absolutely never want my gratitude to get lost in translation. 

luckily for me, i actually enjoy - and dare i say it, look forward to - writing thank you notes. chalk it up to my love of all things handwriting & penmanship related. chalk it up to my love of the act of writing, of stringing words together. either way, i love indulging in the art of writing thank you notes.

and here's a little trick i've picked up over the years: if you approach writing the notes as simply writing a letter to a loved one in which you mention a gift they've given you, things have a way of becoming much more natural. the note doesn't have to be the technical drivel that thank you notes have been reduced to in recent years [i.e., dear friend, thank you for the blender. i'm going to use it to blend things].

so i just let go & talk to my friend via ink & paper. and i always find that i'm actually having fun. and i hope that when they open up their mail box & see a letter from me, it brightens their day. because, really, who doesn't love receiving mail?

photo: you've got mail \ instagram

a critique: where we belong, by emily giffin.

'"i'll be right back," conrad said,

leaving the radio and air-conditioning on.

relieved that i didn't have to buy the test myself, i slouched down in my seat, switching the stations, wondering what last song i'd hear before i got the bad news confirmed. tlc was singing 'waterfalls' when he returned with a plastic bag and a somber expression.' - pg. 82

well, ladies & gentlemen, emily giffin has done it again.

time & time again, she wins me over with her heartfelt, wrenching, gripping prose that i would even venture to label 'suspenseful.' last summer, i was caught up in the drama of ellen & leo while reading tearing through love the one you're with, & then the tumultuous unfolding of events in heart of the matter, while venturing through south carolina & georgia with justin. and really, who can forget something borrowed & something blue? long story short: i have yet to be disappointed by an emily giffin novel.

so it didn't really surprise me that where we belong saw me keeping late nights, simply dying to know what was going to happen between marian, kirby, conrad, & everyone else involved in the story.

this book centers around secrets. the keeping of them, the reasons for them, & - ultimately - the telling of them. marian is a successful television writer with a big secret: she had a baby at 18 & gave her up for adoption. and her choice to keep the adoption open - to allow her biological daugther access to her files upon her eighteenth birthday - leads to a series of events - & a knock on her door in the middle of the night, that changes everything.

memorable moments:

'"he'd always rather stay at home, read, play solitaire,
watch old movies and television. he even bird-watches,"
she says, finally smiling a real smile. "he's nothing like
the guy you see in the courtroom."' - pg. 68

'conrad kep a running commentary going,
his opinions about music passionate and definite...' - pg. 73

'at some point, conrad put his hand on my knee and kept
it there, even as he took hard, sharp turns through his
neighborhood, moving it only to shift gears as needed.
when he pulled into his driveway, he took my chin and
made me look in his eyes. "it's going to  be okay," he said.
"i got your back."' - pg. 82

most of all, i think what i love about emily giffin's books is the meaningful & touching dialogue between the characters. i love the way she uses their exchanges to bring forth a bigger meaning. the meanings that summon tears, thoughts, & a sense of connection with mankind.

'"so i guess what i'm trying to say is that life is fast.
and it keeps speeding up. sometimes i lose track of the season
- or even the year. and we just have to make the best of
it all. our choices. our fleeting moments together."' - pg. 219

final grade: A+

if you haven't yet picked up where we belong, get to your nearest book store - or, like i did, download it to your nook - & get reading. you won't be sorry.

critique cache september: graceling, by kristin cashore.

it's not that i didn't like graceling - really, that's not it at all. but it did take me entirely too long to read.

and you know, maybe i was just going through a literary dry spell, because those happen.

every time i picked graceling up, though, i was sucked into the story... for a little while. i think it may have to do with kristin cashore's writing style - i'd be hooked, reading about a thrilling situation, or getting worked up over katsa & po's relationship, & then she'd just... switch gears. i know that's a tactic many authors employ, & sometimes i don't mind it [or even notice it], but in graceling, i found it a bit frustrating, like it disjointed the story.

in a similar vein, when not reading graceling, i didn't miss it... didn't yearn for it. and to me, being lonesome for a book is the gauge by which i measure my affection for it.

so graceling... i liked you, but i didn't love you*.

memorable moments:

'a torch on the path nearby caught the glimmer of small gold hoops in his ears.' - pg. 14

'"i trust you," he said suddenly. he stepped out of her path and waved her forward. she thought him very strange, and impulsive, but she saw he'd relaxed his guard, and she wasn't one to waste an opportunity.' - pg. 15

'the city was waking, and the streets smelled of baking bread.' - pg. 22

'perhaps if katsa had six older brothers, she would also have six friends.' - pg. 71

'the days were beginning to shorten. the air would crispen soon, and the castle would smell of wood burning in the fireplaces. the leaves would crackle under her horse's hooves when she went riding.' - pg. 75

'"i know when someone wants to hurt me, and how," he said. "i know if a person looks on me kindly, or if he trusts me. i know if a person doesn't like me. i know when someone intends to deceive me.' - pg. 103

final grade: B-

*there was, however, an excerpt from cashore's bitterblue in the back of the book, which i found more compelling. i may check it out.

what have you been reading lately? listening to? watching?

share on your blog, then link up below.

critique cache july: dracula, by bram stoker.

i am about to tell you something a bit embarrassing - especially for a self-proclaimed book lover like me. the last time i attempted reading a classic was in 2008. it was wuthering heights, & my bookmark is still collecting dust somewhere between how can there still be a plot line after that happened & i give up.

so i'm sure you can imagine that i was a bit frightened & skeptical when i [digitally, thanks nook!] cracked open dracula, by bram stoker. something a bit funny is that i purchased a hard copy of this particular book on the exact same day i purchased the aforementioned wuthering heights. these purchases were all part of my attempt at absorbing more of the classics (which you can see really took off for me...).

anyway, back to dracula.

my copy of the book had an introduction by brooke allen. and here's where i'm going to tell you another embarrassing little tid-bit about myself: i never read introductions. but, for some reason, i felt like reading the introduction would be a good idea with this particular read. and it was, because i got to read things like this:

'morally and physically ugly as he is, he is so consistently associated with a very real, tangible, even violent beauty that the beauty ends up in some manner becoming a part of him.'

quotes like that one above made me really want to read this book. i was sucked into the story before even beginning it, & for that reason, i urge you to make sure any copy of dracula you decide to pick up has this particular introduction. the one caveat is that you will indeed know how the book ends & what happens to nearly every character if you read it. i'm sure this won't be a problem for most readers, as they have more than likely seen one of the many film adaptations* of dracula. i had not, but knowing the outcome in no way, shape, or form, extinguished my interest in this suspenseful adventure.

if you're like me & enjoy the romantic language of classics [i'm looking at you, jane austen], you will enjoy a similar effect with this novel. as it was written so long ago, you will find the sing-songy prose endearing & engaging. and, well, if you don't enjoy that kind of language, you may find yourself repelled. the one saving grace is that the book is positively brimming with adventure, & that is why i think many men would enjoy this book. it reminded me a lot of one of my dad's favorite novels, timeline, by michael crichton. similarities between the two tomes include quests of epic proportions, gallantry, pacts between groups of people that deal with something nearly unbelievable, & a profound sense of adventure.

something else i found intriguing about this book is how very long any of the characters put off actually speaking the word vampire. they spoke in circles of this particular type of being, never daring to utter the term... wishing, i think, to dispel thoughts of its existence. when the word is finally said aloud, i breathed an almost audible sigh of relief. finally, finally, they had admitted the truth.

for fear of spoiling any part of this book for potential readers, i'm going to leave you in the dark about the plot. but one last thing i'd like to touch on is the aspect of horror in this work of literature. stoker's novel has been put up to that of poe, & i have to say, i agree. as a poe lover myself, i found that same scared-yet-excited feeling in the pages of dracula - and that fear had me holding on until the very last page was turned.

'but my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when i saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down, with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings. at first i could not believe my eyes. i thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow; but i kept looking, and it could be no delusion. i saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall.'

*i do plan to soon view one of the many film adaptations of dracula, & i will be doing a critique cache follow up post on it sometime in the next month or so.

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now it's your turn! link up this month & share a critique of a book, movie, or whatever you've been experiencing in the past month. i love hearing about what you like & adding it to my list.