BUSY BUSY BUSY
That's today's theme. My birthday is rapidly approaching and as I get another step closer to thirty, I've been busily planning a little cyber-sioree for all my friends. Something extra special is in the works and I simply can't wait to reveal! And somehow, amidst the pre-party frenzy, I've managed to consume an insane amount of reading. I haven't been reading as much the past couple of years as I would like, so it seems I've been making up for it double-time the last few months.
And I can highly recommend each and every one of these books. They're all fabulous and definitely worth reading. Eat Pray Love, Emotional Intelligence, and Social Intelligence will all change your life, sister. Period. (thanks, Kim, for the "intelligence"! ;) Water for Elephants is beautiful, intriguing and unique. All about the early days of the traveling circus and the infrastructure of the workers and performers. Gritty and passionate. Nefertiti is written in a more simplistic style than I usually like, but I loved all the ancient historical details in it. I'm also a sucker for ancient historical fiction. Atonement is heartbreaking and heartfelt. I did think that the "insights" of the pre-teen were a bit too mature for her age, but hey...she's supposed to be precocious, so what do I know? Maybe she was just way smarter and more insightful than I was at 13. ;) Marie Antoinette: The Journey is utterly amazing. If you dig history, that is. And I dig it. I dig it lots. A Respectable Trade is great insight into the slave trade in England shortly before it was abolished. It's a love story, but the political upheaval and tension are the better part of the story, in my opinion. It's got me all excited to visit the port cities of England, too! Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories on par with the likes of Guy de Maupassant. Very dark, very sad, but oh so true. It's not an uplifting book, it's more of a peek into inner workings of human nature and social interaction and how brutal and fleeting we can be in our thoughts and actions. No pulled punches, know what I mean? Good stuff. A Thousand Splendid Suns is just plain gorgeous reading and it's one that every woman should read at least once in her life. I even liked it better than The Kite Runner.
Many of these have been on my amazon wishlist for a looong time and I am just now getting to them and I'm so glad I'm back to reading. It really fills me up, know what I mean? Ok, I didn't mean to turn this post into a review session! :) But hey, that's all I've got for today so I had to make the most of it. I hope your Thursday is super fab! Ciao, all!
