End of 2014 Reading List

I have been slacking on my reading this year. I recently got the app, My Book Tracker, to obviously, keep track of the books I'm reading and it's kind of depressing me with the low amount of books I've gone through in 2014. So I'm making this list to keep myself on track, let you guys know what my reading plans are, and hopefully we can discuss some of these if any of you have read them! I'm pretty excited for this list and am going to do my best to stick to it.

The first two are from the library, which is why I'm reading them first. And most of the descriptions below are from Amazon. 

The Opposite of Loneliness - Marina Keegan

An affecting and hope-filled posthumous collection of essays and stories from the talented young Yale graduate whose title essay captured the world’s attention in 2012 and turned her into an icon for her generation. 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.

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness - Brianna Karp

Brianna Karp entered the workforce at age ten, supporting her mother and sister throughout her teen years in Southern California. Although her young life was scarred by violence and abuse, Karp stayed focused on her dream of a steady job and a home of her own. By age twenty-two her dream became reality. Karp loved her job as an executive assistant and signed the lease on a tiny cottage near the beach. And then the Great Recession hit. Karp, like millions of others, lost her job. In the six months between the day she was laid off and the day she was forced out onto the street, Karp scrambled for temp work and filed hundreds of job applications, only to find all doors closed. When she inherited a thirty-foot travel trailer after her father's suicide, Karp parked it in a Walmart parking lot and began to blog about her search for work and a way back.

Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer

With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past.

A Prayer Journal - Flannery O'Connor

A copy of the prayer journal written by one of my favorite authors!? Hello. I'm all about writing down prayers and have a prayer journal of my own, but as I skimmed the pages of Flannery's I realized that she is a true writer. Wow. I cannot wait to read through this because of her elegant writing.

Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston

“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith

Say You're One of Them - Uwem Akpan

Each story in this jubilantly acclaimed collection pays testament to the wisdom and resilience of children, even in the face of the most agonizing circumstances. 

By Nightfall -  Michael Cunningham

I bought this while I was in grad school, so I'm long overdo for reading it. This poetic and compelling masterpiece is a heartbreaking look at a marriage and the way we now live. Full of shocks and aftershocks, By Nightfall is a novel about the uses and meaning of beauty, and the place of love in our lives.

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

I got this for Christmas last year, so I figured that a year on my shelf is too long for this story. I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

Have you read any of these books? What's on your end of the year reading list?

Choosing A Great Read

If you follow me on Twitter, than you know there's been a lot of book talk lately. I've always been a big fan of the written word and actual books are still my favorite...although my iPad library has a nice collection too. And as a self-proclaimed writer, with book ideas of my own floating around my brain and Word docs on my computer, books are important to me. So I thought I'd share with you all how I decide on which books to read, since I think it's a bit unique or weird, however you want to look at it!

1. If it's recommended, consider the source and then more than likely read it right away.
A lot of my friends are big readers too, and I always like to know what great books they've recently finished and I take these recommendations very seriously. People don't usually recommend books that don't make you feel something or that just flat out suck. I've got a great group of friends, and none of them are anything like the next one, so this always makes for an interesting selection of books. From new age stuff to deep theology, and the current best seller to some trashy romance novel, my friends have read them all. And it's always nice to read something from a new or interesting perspective. Although I admit that I'm behind on this list of recommendations.

2. Judge the cover.
Yep. You read that right. I judge the cover of books. I'm part graphic designer, how could I not? If I don't like the design or if I think I could have made it better in an easy way, I don't read it. Or I look to see if there are other cover designs for it...thank you Amazon! Also, if a book was made into a movie and the actors are on the cover, that is not the one I pick. I like the original art better, although I did make an exception for my copy of The Help. And if it's an old book without the cover sleeve...even better! Nothing to judge if it's not there!

3. Feel it up. 
This kind of goes along with the design in general but if I book is awkward to hold or just doesn't feel right, I'll look for it in a different form. I prefer books in soft covers simply because they are easier to hold and seem more comfortable. Packaging is important, people!

4. Read the first paragraph.
If you're not drawn in after that first paragraph, you're not going to want to continue reading the whole book. Authors kill themselves over that first paragraph, it's obviously one of the most important pieces.

5. Read the last sentence.
I'm serious. It gives you just enough of a juicy stopping point that you wonder what happened to lead up to that moment and it's just as important as that first paragraph...if not more. And if you end up getting the book, you'll more than likely forget what it said by the time you finish reading the book anyway. Since it's so short it's not like you are ruining the ending for yourself.

6. Turn to a page and read a random paragraph.
I stole this one from one of my favorite professors at Seton Hill who has actually recommended books to me that are now some of my favorites. He always picked page 58 (if I'm remembering correctly) but I've decided to pick the page with my age. So until July, every author better hope that their 24th page is a knockout. And again, it's not like you're giving anything away, reading a couple sentences from a random page isn't going to tell you everything about the characters or give up a major plot twist and you will more than likely forget what you've read once you get into it. But if you're hooked because of those few sentences, you'll more than likely be hooked through the whole book.

It's not science, but it helps. Especially if you're choosing between two random books you found at the library that you've never heard of - like me earlier this week, when all the books recommended to me were checked out at the library. How do you decide on what to read?

Book reviews previously posted:

Still Alice | The Help | The Family Fang | Heaven Is For Real | Incendiary

The Age of Miracles | Gone Girl | Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Office Girl | Trains and Lovers | I was told there'd be cake

Books of the Summer

So this summer, I was able to get back into my "reading groove" - living back home with such a great library has done wonders for me. This summer I read A LOT. But these ones were my favorites and I hope that you guys will think about checking them out!

Incendiary by Chris Cleave - If I had to pick a favorite author, Chris Cleave would certainly make the short list. I love his ability to tie multiple story lines together and explain in depth what characters are feeling, without going overboard and Incendiary is no different. A story about a family of three, living a working-class life in London and how the mother/wife character is able to go on after losing her young son and husband by the hands of notorious criminals in an event that shakes London to the core. This summer I also so the movie based on this book and I must say, it sucked...just read the book.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - When I first picked up this book I was very skeptical about whether or not I'd like it because it seemed very "end of the world" and "unreal" to me, which I'm usually not a fan of. However, although it does have speculative fiction, it's a beautiful coming of age novel that is written beautifully and has a believable story line. This novel is from the point of view of Julia, a middle-schooler growing up in an average American suburban lifestyle, whose world is totally altered when it has become obvious that the Earth's rotation is slowing. This book is stunning.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Alright, this was THEE book of the summer. Gone Girl is fantastic. I was hooked to every word and was in love with it from beginning to the very last word. This book is about a marriage gone horribly wrong between Nick and Amy Dunne, and all it comes unraveling on the fifth wedding anniversary. The characters are rich and the plot is thick and surprising. You just must read this one for yourself.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - This one is also a must read. Especially if you're a total nerd. There is an odd subculture revealed to Clay when his life of a web-designer ends and he begins to work the overnight shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. Mr. Penumbra is an interesting character who Clay cannot get enough of and soon he his immersed in a secret code-breaking club run through the way-back shelves of the bookstore. Along with this club, Clay finds true friendship and love and something much larger than his humdrum life that he'll never forget. Also, the hardback book cover glows in the dark, so there's that.

Office Girl by Joe Meno - Since this book is so different then any others I've read and there is no better way to explain it, this is what the back of the book actually says: No one dies in Office Girl. Nobody talks about the international political situation. There is no mention of any economic collapse. Nothing takes place during a World War. Instead, this novel is about young people doing interesting things in the final moments of the last century. Odile is a lovely twenty-three-year-old art-school dropout, a minor vandal, and a hopeless dreamer. Jack is a twenty-five-year-old shirker who's most happy capturing the endless noises of the city on his out-of-date tape recorder. Together they decide to start their own art movement in defiance of a contemporary culture made dull by both the tedious and the obvious. Set in February 1999—just before the end of one world and the beginning of another—Office Girl is the story of two people caught between the uncertainty of their futures and the all-too-brief moments of modern life. ...andddd pretty much, read it. It's certainly interesting and unlike anything I'm sure you've read.


Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith - If you're a hopeless romantic, you need to read Trains and Lovers. This novel is about four travelers heading from Edinburgh to London who all meet on the train and have beautiful love stories that tie them all to the locations of where they are coming from to where they are going. This book is just lovely. It's something you can finish in a few day and if you're a sappy girl like me, then you'll be smiling and possibly crying the whole time. It's a great book about how wonderful love can really be. 

I was told there'd be cake by Sloane Crosley - This book of personal essay's had me laughing the entire way through. Sloane's writing really is profoundly genuine and honest and I loved every minute of this book. These essay's are of Sloane's twenty-something lifestyle while living and working in the big city. I loved it all. She is the more "family friendly" version of Chelsea Handler's book(s) of essays and just as witty. After so many novels over this summer, it was good to end the summer with a hilarious book of essays by an extremely relatable woman. 

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Since watching The Mysteries of Pittsburgh for the first time, I cannot get it out of my mind. I rented it from the Point Park library about a week ago after not even knowing that it, or the book that it was based off of it, even existed. And to be honest, thank God I did.

Mysteries of Pittsburgh movie cover. Photo credit.

The book, which was written by Michael Chabon, is about Art Bechstein, who just graduated from college with a business degree and wants to spend one last summer, doing nothing of real importance in Pittsburgh. Art, who is played by Jon Foster, has a mob father, Nick Nolte, who already has a job lined up for him after the summer, but Art is not looking forward to wasting away in an office, though he does not have any concrete plans for more exciting things to do during his summer in the steel city. Within the first few days of summer he meets a beautiful woman, Jane Bellweather, played by Sienna Miller, and her boyfriend, Cleveland, played by Peter Sarsgaard and everything changes for him.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh tells of the adventures of Art, Jane and Cleveland throughout the city, and the love triangle that forms between them, the story alone makes this movie worth watching, but the poetic writing, narration and beautiful shots of Pittsburgh make it worth remembering. The scenes of Pittsburgh are gorgeous and to most people, some may be unknown little gems of the city. While anyone can recognize the Le'Mont, some of the bridges, smoke stacks and a beautiful scene at the Point; there are also some small shots of alleys and neighborhoods that some people might not recognize right away. This movie brings the everyday of Pittsburgh to life.

Jon Foster as Art Bechstein in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Photo credit.

This movie also brings the ordinary bits of life into a whole new meaning and gives this city a new light. It is also accompanied by a fabulous soundtrack and the actors bring a depth to the plot that could have easily been overlooked otherwise. The actors are so good that they speak loudly even in the movies' moments of silence. Honestly, the movie is so, so good. If you haven't seen it, you must. Although I cannot comment on the book, if it is anything close to the movie, it is probably a must read.

However, the main thing that stuck out to me more than anything was how Art felt about Pittsburgh. Although he grew up near the city, went to school here and ultimately spent that "last" summer here, he looked at Pittsburgh as at least half of Pittsburgher's do...as a place to be stuck in. Whether you've realized it or not, you're either someone who loves this city, or you're not. For me, if it's not so obvious already, I love it, but I know I am surrounded by people who don't. For Art, and many others, leaving Pittsburgh brings them a new sense of life. While for me, being in Pittsburgh has brought me to life in a new way.

I have always dreamed of living right here, in the heart of the city and finally I am living that dream. But I know it's not for everyone. So, what does Pittsburgh mean to you?