Book Club: Love Letters to the Dead

Image: here

The first book of break is read! This is a momentous occasion...I can tell you're enthusiastic too. About a month ago I saw Emma Watson on Twitter talking about this book that was coming out by Ava Dellaira, "Love Letters to the Dead." It sounded interesting so I promptly went on Amazon to pre-order the e-book. I started reading it after I finished unpacking here at home. I loved this book!

It is pretty different. It is written entirely in letter form. The reader is able to follow the story pretty easily through what the main character, Laurel, writes in the letters. Throughout the story, Laurel writes to a variety of deceased famous people and draws comparisons from there lives and what is going on in her own. Over the past year, Laurel and her family have been trying to cope with the passing of her older sister, May. Through these letters, Laurel in a way seeks advice and makes slow improvements that also lead to her finding a way to accept her sisters death. The letters start as a school assignment to write one letter to any one deceased person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain, her sister's favorite. From there she writes several others to Amy Winehouse, Judy Garland, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix and a few others.

I found the book to be beautiful. There were a few parts that were pretty heavy, but these occur more towards the end. The end is definitely where I started crying! I definitely recommend this book to everyone. I got through it pretty quickly, which is something that I like in a summer read.

<3 Ashley

Have you read "Love Letters to the Dead?" What did you think? Do you think you will read it if you haven't?

Book Club: The Nanny Diaries

Image: here 

Being on Spring Break really meant for me that I could sit around all day and do all of the leisure reading that I wanted to do. That's why your getting another book club post so close to the last one. "The Nanny Diaries" by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus is not as recently released as the other books that I have been reading and writing about, but it has been on my list for quite some time. I actually was not aware of this book until I had seen the movie--starring Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. I absolutely loved the movie which I saw in theaters when it came out in like..2007 (the book came out in 2002!)

I realized almost immediately that the book and movie were similar but by no means as close as some movies are to their literary inspirations. The story follows Nanny who is a senior in college and makes her money from nannying gigs around NYC. The focus here is on one family on the Upper East Side, the Xes who pretty much neglect their child. Nanny goes from being a part-time nanny to practically a full time caregiver and assistant to Mrs. X. She also plays witness to the drama and dysfunction of this family and marriage all while developing a relationship with a guy in the building "Harvard Hottie" <---Chris Evans in the movie...I swoon every time. ;)

I did like the movie better but at the same time I did very much enjoy the book! There is a sequel that I MAY get around to reading; not sure if that will be anytime soon. Anyway, I would recommend this book. I got through it rather quickly and found it quite entertaining.

<3 Ashley

Have you read "The Nanny Diaries"? Have you seen the movie? What are your thoughts?

Book Club: The Fault In Our Stars

Image: here

So I finally did it! For the past year or so friends and other people around me have encouraged me to pick up "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green and give it a read. I am so glad that I did; I found that it really lived up to the hype. That's just my personal opinion though.

The story follows two cancer patients, Hazel and Augustus, as they meet and develop a beautiful relationship. I really don't want to spoil too much for those who have not read it yet! There was quite a bit of humor in the novel, which was very nice considering that the characters were dealing with something serious; it was refreshing to get some jokes from those characters in particular because they're also teenagers.

I went very quickly through this book. It was an easy book to follow and I honestly did not want to put it down. I grew very attached to these characters and their personalities which may have made the last few chapters even worse for me--I cried like a baby! If you do pick up this book, prepare for the feels! I highly recommend this book! Also, I believe their making/have made a film adaptation of the book. Not sure if I'm going to be able to sit through that with dry eyes...I couldn't even deal with the end of "The Last Song" in theaters!

<3 Ashley

Have you/will you read "The Fault In Our Stars?" Thoughts?

Book Club: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Image: here

If I haven't said so already I will now; college is not the place to read for fun. I honestly have no time during my day anymore to just sit down, put my feet up and read for a good stretch. Lately I have been waking up earlier to give myself a less rushed morning routine. I now wake up an hour earlier than I did before to have some water before I drink my coffee (a tip I picked up from my last book club read!) and in that hour I also catch up on some reading. This past weekend I was able to finish the latest, "Where'd You Go Bernadette?" by Maria Semple.

The book takes place in Seattle for the most part. A good bulk of the content is not so much narrative as is typical but is meant to be a compilation of important documents like e-mails, letters and reports to give the reader a little insight to a variety of characters and what they are thinking about Bernadette before and after she goes missing.

All the documents are compiled by Bernadette's daughter, Bee who is concerned with finding her mother while it seems like everyone else around her does not seem to be putting up much of an effort. Overall, I loved this book! I had heard A LOT about it; it seemed to be really popular around the holidays if I remember correctly. I admit the references to Seattle were kind of lost on me since I'm not familiar with it but that is in no mean detrimental to what I thought of the book. I definitely recommend it!

<3 Ashley

Have you read "Where'd You Go Bernadette?" What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you think you will?

Book Club: French Women Don't Get Fat

Image: here

When I sold my algebra textbook on Amazon I got about $30 in site credit. Naturally, I blew that away in 10 minutes with five books that have been sitting on my wishlist forever. Needless to say, I have a much more full looking Kindle now.

The first book that I decided to dive into was "French Women Don't Get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano. The book basically details the differences between the French and American diets and explains where the fault in the American diet is: portions. There is indeed such a thing as too much of a good thing. Guiliano provides tips she learned growing up and during her own weight struggles after studying abroad in America. I found the information interesting and helpful and certainly attainable. These really aren't drastic changes, one just needs to be willing to make changes and trade up to quality. I definitely recommend giving this book a read! Maybe like me, you will be inspired to make even a small change to how you look at food and how you shop for it!

<3 Ashley

Have you/will you read "French Women Don't Get Fat"? What do you think of it?

Book Club: The Receptionist

Image: here

Happy Monday!

Before I really get into this post, can I just comment on how fast this semester has flown by?! In just 2 weeks I will be heading back home for Thanksgiving and then 2 weeks later I will be taking finals. This is nuts! I really need this break too. I need to go back to my own people and sleep in my own bed (quoting one of the guys on my floor)

Anyway, after I finished reading two novels for my cultural anthropology class I was able to get back into recreational reading. I went back and took a look at this book list on laurenconrad.com and got The Receptionist by Janet Groth out of the library on my Kindle. I had thought that the book would be more of a narrative story, rather it is about the author's time spent at The New Yorker through the '60s. Actually, it seemed to me it was more about the romantic relationships that the author developed during her time as a receptionist at the magazine. While the book is a little heavy on the relationships, I did appreciate the author's explanation of the lessons learned from each. I did really like the ending (not trying to get smart!) it was, in my opinion, the best written and most poignant part of the novel.

Overall, I think I would recommend this book. At least you won't be going into it thinking it's something else when it's really a collection of stories outlining the relationships she had during her time at The New Yorker.

<3 Ashley

Are you going to try reading The Receptionist? Have you read it already; what did you think?

Book Club: Beautiful Ruins

photo above contains small excerpt from 'Someday, Someday Maybe' by Lauren Graham. Check out my post on that one here.

A few weeks ago, I was going through the vast space that is the internet and rediscovered Lauren Conrad’s Summer Reading post. I scrolled through all of the book options, adding each one to my Amazon wishlist. One that I was able to get on my Kindle through the library was Jess Walter's “Beautiful Ruins.” Boy did I love this book!

Image: here

Overall, it is a love story that takes place on an Italian coastal port. The characters are a mix of fictional and real (actor Richard Burton has a substantial role and Liz Taylor is mentioned over and over.) The story is set in the 1960s during the time that the film Cleopatra--starring both Burton and Taylor--is in production in Rome. Another actress from the film, Dee Moray, is sent away to a village on the coast while she is recovering from an illness (this is a huge conflict itself in the book, but I won’t ruin it for you!) There she spends a few days in the Hotel Adequate View owned by a young man named Pasquale who cannot help but fall for her beauty. Her stay, however, doesn’t last very long due to some very Hollywood scandals.

In this novel, the time period and setting are constantly changing from chapter to chapter--most take place in Italy in 1962 and present day Los Angeles where Pasquale has traveled all these years later to find Dee Moray. This changing is not a bad thing, I found. I think it allowed the author to really cover all her bases with character backstories and allow the audience to really learn about what all these characters have had to go through over time and what makes them the way they are. I thought that despite all the time travel, the book still maintained fluidity and made perfect sense to me. I would definitely recommend “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter.

<3 Ashley

Will you read “Beautiful Ruins?” What books are on your reading list?