Reading is My Love Language.

I love reading more than most things in life. An afternoon with a good book and a cup of coffee is my happy place. It's one of the little things in life that is really one of the big things. People read for a variety of reasons: To learn things, to escape reality, to become better at something, to get lost in a story. It is truly amazing that the same hobby can be used for so many different things. 

It blows my mind when I meet people who say they don't like to read. I can't imagine living in a world that didn't include reading...my very earliest memories include stories of some kind, and books have been a part of my life ever since. I could write forever about all of the reasons I love to read (and think everyone else should, too), but I think my love for books boils down to three main reasons. 

1. An entire assortment of worlds exist, just waiting for you to discover them. When you read, you visit more worlds than just your own. You travel to places you may never get the chance to go. You meet people you would have never known existed. You experience magical things without ever having to leave your hometown. 

Life can sometimes become so mundane, and we're quick to complain about how we feel stuck and need an adventure. Sure, it'd be nice to peace out of work on a Tuesday afternoon and catch a flight somewhere exotic, but chances are, your boss thinks that's frowned upon. 

While you may not be able to shake things up with an adventure across the globe, you can dive into an adventurous book when you get home. And still make it to work the next day. It's a win-win.   

2. Whether you have 10 minutes or an entire afternoon, you can lose yourself in a good book. I love that reading is a hobby that you don't have to dedicate a whole day to--but you totally can. I love making crafts, but if I have a ten minute break, I can't really jump in on the middle of a craft project, spend ten minutes, leave it, and then be able to pick back up that night right where I left off. Too messy. But with reading, you can jump in and out whenever you have time. 

3. It's impossible to read a book without learning something. Even if it was a terrible book, chances are, you learned something, no matter how small. It doesn't have to be a non-fiction biography to be educational--sometimes fiction books are the best teachers of all. 

Why do you love reading?

Books I Read in August and Whether or Not You Should Read Them

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Plot: "Alice Love is twenty-nine, crazy about her husband, and pregnant with her first child. So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. 

Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over." -Via Goodreads

Favorite quote: 

"It was good to remember that for every horrible memory from her marriage, there was also a happy one. She wanted to see it clearly, to understand that it wasn’t all black, or all white. It was a million colors." 

My thoughts: I loved this book. Absolutely loved it. It was different than I was expecting, since the other two Moriarty books I've read were filled with mystery and, well, murder, but this one was just as compelling. 

She has a way of flawlessly weaving multiple characters' stories together in a way that is satisfying but not overwhelming. When I finished the book, it was like I had finished three books about three different people, and I didn't have any questions left about any of them. 

This book made me think a lot about marriage--what it means, what mine means, how certain things can change it and hurt it and help it. It was a really, really thought-provoking book. Can a relationship as big as a marriage stay the same when two people change so much? 

I don't really know how to go all the way into telling you why I loved it without spoiling some things, but I will say this: I was incredibly satisfied with the ending...and that doesn't happen too often! 

Should you read it? Yes!

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy

Plot: "Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There's the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, and the constant worry. Of course, no woman is spared the discomforts and humiliations of pregnancy, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not Jenny McCarthy! In the New York Times best-selling Belly Laughs, actress and new mother Jenny McCarthy reveals the naked truth about the tremendous joys, the excruciating pains, and the unseemly disfigurement that go along with pregnancy. Never shy, frequently crude, and always laugh-out-loud funny, McCarthy covers it all in the grittiest of girlfriend detail. From morning sickness and hormonal rage, to hemorrhoids, pregnant sex, and the torture and sweet relief that is delivery, Belly Laughs is must-read comic relief for anyone who is pregnant, who has ever been pregnant, is trying to get pregnant, or, indeed, has ever been born!" -via Goodreads

Favorite quote: There is not a single quote I can write here that isn't too embarrassing or too crude. And that tells you everything you need to know. 

My thoughts: My sweet friend Meg gave this to me (just right before she went into labor, actually!) and told me "Ignore the fact that it's by Jenny McCarthy...it's hilarious and true and you will cry from laughing." 

I read this in one day--it's short and sweet and the chapters are 2-3 pages each. It didn't teach me anything, didn't tell me to do anything, it just sympathized with me hilariously. Yes, you WILL be pregnant forever. No, anchovies and ice cream isn't gross at all. No, you're not psychotic at all. It's totally normal to throw things at the television because you hate the commercial thats on.

Should you read it? If you're preggo and looking for a laugh, go for it. 

One More Wish (Christy & Todd: The Married Years) by Robin Jones Gunn

Plot: I'm not going to put the plot here because there are so many more books to read before this one, and I don't want to spoil anything for you. You can read it here if you want.

Favorite quote: 

"The future didn't frighten her when she felt this content. It was the joy of the sacred "now." 

My thoughts: Sometimes, fiction books can teach me more about what I'm needing to learn than books actually written on that subject can. This book taught me a lot about patience and contentment and not worrying about the unknown--it was the absolute perfect read for me right now. 

The Christy Miller series was my favorite in middle school/high school. Much to my happiness, the author has continued writing about her life, so it's like I've grown up with Christy. While I was turning 23 this year, she was turning 26. Reading this book was like catching up with an old friend, and I loved it. 

Should you read it? Yes! But, if you've never heard of Christy Miller, than no. You need to go read the very first book in the Christy Miller Series and then go from there. 

Books I Read in April and Whether or Not You Should Read Them.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Plot: "On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, a girl at the periphery of schoolyard games and her distracted parents’ attention, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose. 

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern." -via goodreads

Favorite Quote: 

“We hit the sidewalk, and dropped hands. How I wished, right then, that the whole world was a street.” 

My Thoughts: This is an extremely creative story. It's whimsical and magical and moving, and I think there is a certain type of reader that will fall in love with it. Just not me. The ending left me uneasy, unsatisfied in a bit of a depressing way, but I think that's what she was going for. I also hated the lack of quotation marks. I understood what she was going for, but it made me lose track of who was talking or if anyone was talking at all, and I didn't like that.

It's a story by an incredibly talented author who has a stunning way with words, and it does sweep you up. I just think it's a book for a very particular type of reader. 

Should you read it? No. But that's just my opinion. If someone who knows you and your taste in books recommends it, then read it!

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

Plot: "Marina Keegan's star was on the rise when she graduated magna cum laude from Yale in May 2012. She had a play that was to be produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and a job waiting for her at the New Yorker. Tragically, five days after graduation, Marina died in a car crash.

As her family, friends, and classmates, deep in grief, joined to create a memorial service for Marina, her unforgettable last essay for the Yale Daily News, "The Opposite of Loneliness" went viral, receiving more than 1.4 million hits. She had struck a chord.

Even though she was just twenty-two when she died, Marina left behind a rich, expansive trove of prose that, like her title essay, captures the hope, uncertainty, and possibility of her generation. The Opposite of Lonelinessis an assemblage of Marina's essays and stories that, like The Last Lecture, articulates the universal struggle that all of us face as we figure out what we aspire to be and how we can harness our talents to make an impact on the world."

Favorite Quote:

“What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating from college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have.” 

My Thoughts: It's impossible to read this book without feeling incredibly inspired to get up and accomplish what you've always wanted to. This book is a beautiful way to honor her memory, but it's also full of really good stories and essays. It reminded me of the nights I used to spend swapping essays with other people from the English department, getting that small feeling of Wow, that's beautiful. Yes, I feel that way too! 

If nothing else, at least read the essay that went viral. It's a heartbreaking reminder that every day should be lived, because you never know how much time you have to leave your mark. I wrote about that here right after finishing this book.

Should you read it? Yes.

Paper Towns by John Green

Plot: "Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew..." -via Goodreads

Favorite quote: 

“This was the first time in my life that so many things would never happen again.” 

My Thoughts: Paper Towns is absolute magic. Pure, wonderful, awkward, real magic.

There are three reasons you need to read this book:

1. It's becoming a movie and will be out in July. Read the book first, because duh.

2. John Green wrote it. Really, that could be reasons 1-3.

3. It perfectly sums up the awkwardness of growing up and the need for something different and the disappointment that is often life. 

Hands down, my favorite read of April. It gave me major book-hangover. I couldn't read anything else for a few days because this one was just SO FREAKING GOOD.

Should you read it? Absolutely yes.

What have you been reading?

4 Books I Read in February & Whether or Not You Should Read Them.

This month is shaping up to be pretty full of books, so I thought I'd go ahead and write about what I've read so far!

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Plot: Lara Jean copes with breakups (and non-breakups) by writing her heart into a love letter, addressing the envelope, and then hiding it under her bed to never be seen by anyone else. Until one day, all of her letters get mailed. She's left to deal with the fact that all those boys have seen all those letters full of things she never said. (read the full plot here)

Favorite quote: "This is our life; there's no use in asking what if. No one could ever give you the answers. I try, I really do, but it's hard for me to accept this way of thinking. I'm always wondering about the what ifs, about the road not taken."

My thoughts: This one was full of quirky characters, which I loved. I read this book in one afternoon, curled up with a blanket and some tea and getting lost in the world of a seventeen year girl who knows absolutely nothing and absolutely everything about love. It was adorable.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan 

Plot: "Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers are about to cross paths. From that moment on, their world will collide and lives intertwine." (read full plot here)

Favorite quote: “When things break, it's not the actual breaking that prevents them from getting back together again. It's because a little piece gets lost - the two remaining ends couldn't fit together even if they wanted to. The whole shape has changed.” 

My thoughts: This one is weird because I went into it 1) Not knowing anything at all about the plot, and 2) expecting to love it, because John Green, duh. And while I didn't love it at all, and think I actually kind of disliked it, I've found myself thinking about it and almost missing it since finishing it. But I think that's due to the fact that the characters were so well-created. I just wasn't a huge fan of the storyline.

Should you read it?: Nah, not if there are other books on your list.

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

Plot: Mia is headed to the Hamptons to spend the summer with her cousins, but she quickly realizes she doesn't fit in with them anymore. She's getting ready to settle into a lonely summer when Simon comes along, who also doesn't fit in anywhere. They join up in their loneliness and help each other experience new things over the course of a memorable summer. (read full plot here)

Favorite quote: “If you stay on the sidelines of the here and now then your future will only ever be a pale version of a dream you never had the courage to experience.” 

My thoughts: I went from pretty disinterested, to vaguely interested, to no just no. Not a fan. It had some good elements; I just wasn't a fan.

Should you read it?: No.

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty:

Plot: "Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret." -via Goodreads

Favorite quote: “None of us ever know all the possible courses our lives could have and maybe should have taken. It's probably just as well. Some secrets are meant to stay secret forever. Just ask Pandora.”

My thoughts: Since this book follows three story lines, at first I felt like I was reading three different books. It did take me a couple of chapters to get into it, mostly because it was very different from what I normally read. But then little things started weaving the stories together, and it got so good. It was a love story and a regret story and a mystery and it was fascinating.

Should you read it?: Yes!

What have you been reading?

3 Books I Read in January & Whether or Not You Should Read Them.

I was in a strange and rare autobiography mood this month for some unexplained reason. But, it does explain why I only read three books this month. I just can't tear through them like fiction books.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Plot: Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?” -via Goodreads

Favorite Quote: 

“I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I want to hear that you guys watch every episode of The Bachelorette together in secret shame, or that one got the other hooked on Breaking Bad and if either watches it without the other, they're dead meat. I want to see you guys high-five each other like teammates on a recreational softball team you both do for fun.” Her thoughts on married life. 

My Thoughts: I got to a lunch meeting early, so I sat in my car and read this. At one point, I was laughing out loud so much that I put the book down to wipe my eyes, only to notice that someone had parked next to me and was full on gawking at me, presumably making sure I wasn't having a seizure alone in my car. And that tells you everything you need to know about this book. 

Should You Read it?: If you know who Mindy Kaling is, then yes. If not, you need to go watch The Office.

I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends by Courtney Robertson

Plot: "For the first time ever, a former Bachelor contestant takes us along on her journey to find love and reveals that “happily ever after” isn't always what it seems. Filled with all the juicy details Courtney fans and foes alike want to know, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends is a must-read for every member of Bachelor nation." -via Goodreads.

Favorite Quote: This isn't a quotable book. 

My Thoughts: The Bachelor is the show that I hate that I love. But alas, I do love it, making this book seem like Christmas morning. I've gotta hand it to her, homegirl basically just gave everyone the what-for by telling every secret, ever. Wonder what happens when the cameramen go home? She tells you. Wonder what happens after the show ends but before it airs? She tells you. It's a magic book full of secrets that left me feeling so sad for these people, but so happy that I got to know all these things. Very healthy, I know. 

Should You Read it?: If you are a fan of the show, then heck yes. If not, nope. 

Yes Please by Amy Poehler 

Plot: "In Amy Poehler’s highly anticipated first book, Yes Please, she offers up a big juicy stew of personal stories, funny bits on love and friendship and parenthood and real life advice (some useful, some not so much), like when to be funny and when to be serious. Powered by Amy’s charming and hilarious, biting yet wise voice, Yes Please is a book is full of words to live by." -via Goodreads

Favorite Quote: "If you can dance and be free and not embarrassed, you can rule the world.” 

My Thoughts: I laughed and cried and told my husband, "This is SO accurate!" So many times while reading this book. I also loved getting to hear about behind the scenes SNL action. The whole book just felt like catching up with an old friend over coffee. 

Should You Read it?: Definitely.

***

Reading these definitely made me feel like I was getting all the cool-kid gossip, but now I'm ready to curl up in my pajamas and devour some fiction. What did you read this month?

A Letter to English Majors.

When you're forced to empty out your bank account to order novels and poetry and books filled with scholars debating whether or not Shakespeare actually wrote anything, be happy with your budget diet of ramen noodles and taco bell for the rest of the month.  You will never again have an excuse to empty your bank account on books.

When you think that maybe you've chosen the wrong major because all the boys in your class wear pants tighter than yours and all the girls in your class have perfected the air of not caring and have twitter bios quoting an obscure author you've never heard of before this semester, don't.  They're pretending too.  And if you stop pretending, you'll learn some really beautiful things.

When you're tempted to give in and read the spark-notes version of everything so that you can sleep and actually have a life on the weekends, don't do it.  One day you will think of Coleridge and Byron and Kerouac as your best friends that you've never met, and any time with them you cheated yourself out of will be time you regret.

Pay close attention to the red marks on your papers.  Don't be too offended that you actually did not write the greatest paper in the world and you actually are not the voice of your generation like you maybe thought.  Because after this, you will have to pay hundreds of dollars to get someone to edit your writing with that much care and precision.

When you're on your fifth cup of coffee, trying to stay awake so you can finish reading only to wake up a few hours later to go discuss it, enjoy it.  Because one day you will stay up late reading only to have to wake up a few hours later and go to work, where no one cares to discuss what you read.

Try not to complain too much about how you've singlehandedly paid the light bill at Starbucks.  I promise, you will look back on that late-night-turned-early-morning studying and debating with classmates and realize it was some of the most meaningful conversation you've ever had. 

Enjoy the late nights, the burning eyes, the writers block, the thees and thous, the plays and poems and stories. 

Because one day, on a Tuesday, you will be getting ready to start your job that has nothing to do with writing or reading great authors, and you won't be able to think of anything that sounds better than spending the day reading books you don't understand.  And you will wonder...how has it been two entire years since you sat in a classroom, overwhelmed and undereducated and desperately trying to keep up? 

Enjoy the best of times and the worst of times, because secretly, they are all the best of times.

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