The years were flying by, they soared.

Got a few more questions sent to my formspring! -

I love the fact that you love to read, sorry if this has been asked. I've been searching for new books to read...what books would you recommend to read?

I am usually asked this by friends who want to know what to pick up next; I size up their tastes and favourite genres and base my recommendation on that. Since I don't know you, here are the best books I read this year and books I'd recommend  to anyone and everyone (i.e., 2666 simply isn't a book I'd recommend to everyone!) --

The Road, Cormac McCarthy
Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
The Sound of My Voice, Ron Butlin
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The World in Half, Cristina Henriquez

Hope that helps!


Also, New York is an amazing place! I'm here on vacation, it's wonderful. Love the vibe you get from here. Different from the west coast where I'm from. Anyways, what do you do during your free time in NY?

My free time in New York is mostly spent with friends. During the week I do a lot of running errands, grabbing after-work dinners or drinks with friends, and occasionally go to a bar if something is especially enticing. Lately, the weekends have been me trying to catch up on household stuff or relaxing due to my sickness (ugh!) but before the holidays I would try to fill my weekends up with stuff that really interests me - a bookstore I read about online, an independent movie getting good reviews and only playing in one theater, a small art gallery I heard about, a vintage store I eye on a walk through SoHo, any restaurant Kells wants to try out (that's been real fun!), and whatever else my friends suggest that interest me, etc. In any other season besides winter I love walking around with no aim, and just finding whatever the streets have in store.

And believe you me, I'm still not done exploring New York. I have future trips to certain museums and galleries and restaurants planned for upcoming winter weekends!

You probably hear this a lot but you are super pretty! I always love your hair and makeup!! :)

Aw, thanks! Secret: I legitimately can't do make-up. I try! I TRY! (And apparently succeed sometimes!) But I really have no idea about how to apply eye shadow, blush, etc. The only thing I really have down is liquid eyeliner and red lipstick. Otherwise, I beg my friend Jiscilla to let me in on her secrets.

I totally see the resemblance with both Lea and Idina. Can you say, Triplets? This isnt a question but I just want to tell you how much I love love love reading your blog and your tumblr. I've been reading your blog ever since you started and may have left you a comment or two on some of your posts. You've inspired me to read more and get my nails done more often (LOL). - Lurker from Seattle :)

Awesome! Thank you, lurker! Glad you're hitting the books. Ha. Also, I just started becoming obsessed with getting myself manicured since moving to New York. Only had had one professional manicure before moving here when I was 23. And ever since finding a couple of cheaper manicure salons, it's become quite a little ritual (especially with my friend Amber). I'm becoming accustomed to nail files - something I wouldn't let near me a year ago. (Seriously, they make me shudder.) Of course, I also spend a lot of time just doing it myself, too!

My Year in Books: 2009

And so here is my final tally! In 2009, I actually read fifty-THREE books! I feel quite accomplished, and it certainly was an arduous undertaking. I answered some specifics regarding books and how I read and what I choose to read in this post, but here I'll list all the books and my star ratings! The ones in bold have become a part of my all-time favourite books list. Leave a comment if you have any more questions or inquiries regarding the project or if you too love a book I loved or are even doing your own reading of fifty two books for 2010! I think we all know I love to talk about books!

01 A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (01.05.09) ****
02 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (01.18.09) ****
03 Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (01.20.09) *
04 The Road, Cormac McCarthy (01.22.09) *****
05 Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughn (01.27.09) ***
06 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyers (01.31.09) **
07 Infinity Blues, Ryan Adams (02.12.09) ****
08 The Best American Magazine Writing 2008 (02.28.09) ****
09 First Love, Ivan S. Turgenev (03.08.09) ****
10 Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (03.15.09) *****
11 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (03.16.09) *****
12 The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera (03.24.09) *****
13 Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro Kazuo (03.29.09) *****
14 The Last Vampire, Christopher Pike (04.05.09) *****
15 Whisper of Death, Christopher Pike (04.13.09) *****
16 Monster, Christopher Pike (04.21.09) ****
17 A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin (04.30.09) *****
18 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith (05.15.09) ****
19 Crimson, Brian Augustyn (06.15.09) **
20 2666, Roberto Bolaño (06.07.09) *****
21 The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (06.17.09) ****
22 The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett (06.19.09) ****
23 The Lover, Marguerite Duras (06.22.09) *****
24 The Sound of My Voice, Ron Butlin (06.25.09) *****
25 Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy (07.07.09) ***
26 L.A. Confidential (Film Criticism), Manohla Dargis (07.10.09) ****
27 Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea, Chelsea Handler (07.12.09) *****
28 Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card (07.18.09) *****
29 The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (07.26.09) ****
30 Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger (08.05.09) ****
31 Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion (08.09.09) *****
32 Seven (Film Criticism), Richard Dyer (08.15.09) ****
33 Delta of Venus, Anais Nin (08.17.09) *****
34 The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende (08.23.09) *****
35 The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters (09.05.09) ****
36 To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf (09.10.09) **
37 White Teeth, Zadie Smith (09.27.09) *****
38 Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote (09.29.09) *****
39 Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Márquez (10.02.09) *****
40 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson (10.08.10) ****
41 Jesus' Son, Denis Johnson (10.12.09) ****
42 Perfect Fifths, Megan McCafferty (10.13.09) ****
43 The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (10.19.09) *****
44 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson (10.27.09) ***
45 Bad Behavior, Mary Gaitskill (11.03.09) *****
46 Come Together, Fall Apart, Cristina Henriquez (11.09.09) *****
47 Daughters of the North, Sarah Hall (11.15.09) ***
48 Night, Elie Wiesel (11.16.09) *****
49 I, Lucifer, Glen Duncan (11.22.09) *
50 Delirium, Laura Restrepo (11.30.09) ****
51 1984, George Orwell (12.09.09) *****
52 Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (12.20.09) *****
53 The World in Half, Cristina Henriquez (12.29.09) *****

So what's next, then? What do I have planned for 2010? Well, as of January 1st, I began reading Tolstoy's behemoth War & Peace. I'm reading it with my fellow book club (FSJBCB) member, Sean, who you may remember read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with me last year. Others have expressed their interest in our lofty goal and decided to join us, as well.

In related news: I've decided not to spend this year working towards reading another fifty-two books. Instead, I plan to read the gargantuan novels that reside on my shelves - the novels I was hesitant to pick up last year because they would take far too much time to read, really grasp, and enjoy. In 2010, I'm reading the big ones! I'm starting off with War & Peace, and will continue on through the year reading other novels like Bolano's The Savage Detectives, Steinbeck's East of Eden, and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov - among other works. I'll continue to update my Goodreads page with my progress! I plan on keeping the same pace as I did last year in terms of how much reading, but my list will likely be much shorter because of the heavy tomes I've decided to take on.

Jesse really helped determine my goal this year - for Christmas, he got me a Kindle. He almost didn't get me one because I had railed against them in the past. I truly do love carrying a book, flipping it's pages, and sometimes studying it's cover. There's a tangibility there I cherish, and it's not available with e-books. However, I realized that with novels like War & Peace, it would be much harder to carry the 1800+ page book on the subway every day without feeling completely weighed down and burdened. Enter the lovely, beautiful, sleek and lightweight Kindle. I'll continue to buy actual books, but there are many reasons owning a Kindle is beneficial to my reading habits and future-library-planning. Besides having a much lighter version of a heavy book, there are some books I'd be interested in reading but not in owning (like certain best-sellers everyone is talking about), and the Kindle is absolutely perfect for travel. I don't have to lug a few books for a long trip like I did for the honeymoon (seriously, I brought like ten books, and books weigh so much!).

To everyone that is reading fifty-two books this year: GOOD LUCK! I'd love to hear about your own experiences doing so! Most are already my Goodreads friends, but if you're not, add me! I love hearing about what others are reading, and if you happen to be blogging about it - the better. Leave me a link!

After me comes the flood.

This week has been a lot of catching up, cleaning up, and (of course!) reading. I just finished Jam's recommendation of Devil in the White City. The true stories contained in the volume are fascinating, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in history, architecture, or serial killers.

The Chicago World's Fair, 1893.

What I found most interesting, however, was how the book was written. As someone who went to college for journalism, I tend to read things in two ways - to enjoy in the story and the characters, and to in some way decipher or theorize how the writer put it all together. This book was particularly fascinating because it was journalistic - Erik Larson put together the histories of two men and one world event of the 1890s not only through newspaper research, but through diaries, letters, and other personal belongings. These personal writings served as the most incredible testaments to the times and these men; a letter the lead architect wrote to his wife while he was away showed how stressed he was, but also how much he was looking forward to seeing her. The words would be considered quaint today, but Larson points out that his sentiments were racy enough to "steam the envelope open" in its own time.

And, of course, this isn't the first time letters have been used to gain insight into a person's life and thoughts. However, I can't remember the last time I've written a letter detailing my life and sent it to someone. Instead, I have (we all have) e-mail, blogs, twitters, and those pesky social networking sites. We have expanded the sources of our personal thoughts and they are all available at one place: a computer. So, in the chance that I do something remarkable or brilliant or even something that turns out to be infamous - one needn't wonder about the person I actually was, because it's all here. On this blog, in my e-mails to my friends, and displayed and updated nearly daily. There's no mystery to me, and maybe that makes me considerably un-interesting, but any good writer could weave a shocking tale full of foreshadowing of "the events she was to face later in life."

You know, whatever. Dramatization. Soap opera. You can do it with everything, especially the internet. And to Larson, some steamy letters from 1892. The letter-writers and diary-keepers of the 1800s are the e-mailers and bloggers of the present.

Literate and stylish.

I know I've been sporadic as of late. It's been a tough week to get back in the groove of work after a couple of pretty sweet two-day workweeks.

I've seen a lot of people deciding to read 52 books this year as a promise to themselves in 2009. I think I'd like to try that goal and read more, if possible. That'll be pretty tough with the whole "getting married" hoopla and whatnot, but I think I can do it. I commute everyday via subway (prime reading time!) and I do a lot of travelling otherwise - to go home, to visit Jesse.

Though Jesse's been home for quite a while and methinks he'll be here for some time, too.

I've already finished one book, the second book in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Clash of Kings, which Sean got me into. I started it in 2008, but I'm counting it because it's 1001 pages long. SERIOUSLY.

With the help of Goodreads.com* to keep me organizied and vigilant in my quest, I'm starting the countdown with all the books I got for Christmas, plus a book Sean and I have promised to "Book Club" together.

Also, I'm counting Eclipse of the Twilight series, as I'm only 200 pages in and I started reading it in or around the beginning of December. These books are hard to get through, HOLY CRAP. Jesse can attest to me picking up the book on the bedside table, groaning, and going, "Okay, okay, okay, I can get through this," and then he just laughs at me and goes, "Why???" But I shall conquer this, because I know not even horrible writing and nonsensical plots will defeat me! Okay, I'm getting melodramatic.

I present, my burgeoning list:

01 A Clash of Kings, George R.R. Martin (DONE 01.05.09)
02 Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer (CURRENTLY READING)
03 Infinity Blues, Ryan Adams (CURRENTLY READING)
04 Y: The Last Man, Brian K. Vaughn (CURRENTLY READING)**
05 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks (CURRENTLY READING)
06 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (Future Sean/Jessica Book Club Book - FSJBCB)
07 The Road, Cormac McCarthy
08 A Storm of Swords, George R.R. Martin
09 Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
10 The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent
11 Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
12 Daughters of the North, Sarah Hall
13 2666, Robert Bolano
14 The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
15 The Red Tent, Anita Diamant
16 Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer (UGH LAST ONE FINALLY)
17 Crimson, Brian Augustyn (graphic novel series)
18 A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin
19 Best American Magazine Writing 2008, ASME

So. That's where I'll start. What are you reading? Anything I should be reading? Leave any suggestions in the comments to check out and possibly add to my "to-read" list! And add me on Goodreads if you have an account!


*To my Shelfari lovers - I simply couldn't; I had already invested myself in Goodreads and Shelfari wasn't as detail-oriented about the books as GR is. I like being able to update my book-reading status with page number and notes(couldn't figure it out on Shelfari) and it was easier on GR to browse and find interesting books. I deleted my Shelfari account.
**Y: The Last Man note: it's a series of graphic novels, 10 volumes at about 120 pages each - I'll count them all together as one book.