december book club.

*over the break, I think I'll share some of my favorite reads with you...starting with TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA.

Luke bought it when he was bored at work one day (working within a block of a Barnes & Noble...lucky kid) & he let me read it after he was finished. Luke & I are both "lovers, not fighters" but this book made me want to be even better. Practicing Buddhism is fun for me because it's a huge stress reliever...& it's a way of life, not necessarily a religion. The book is peaceful & an easy read for the most part that teaches you about the basics of Buddhism. Here is my favorite excerpt of the whole thing:

Radiant Presence
However young,
The seeker who sets out upon the way
Shines bright over the world.

But day & night

The person who is awake
Shines in the radiance of the spirit.

Meditate.
Live purely.
Be quiet.
Do your work, with mastery.

Like the moon,

Come out from behind the clouds!
Shine.

Beautiful, right? What a great way to start off the Xmas Break. Next read: The Candy Shop War. I'll post about it when I'm finished! Happy holidays!

my favorite book.

"I regret nothing. No woman with any self-respect would have done less. The question of good and evil will always be one of philosophy's most intriguing problems, up there with the problem of existence itself. I'm not quarreling with your choice of issues, only with your intellectually diminished approach. If evil means to be self-motivated, to live on one's own terms, then every artist, every thinker, every original mind, is evil. Because we dare to look through our own eyes rather than mouth cliches lent us from the so-called Fathers. To dare to see is to steal fire from the Gods. This is mankind's destiny, the engine which fuels us as a race. "

-white oleander

day TEN!

so i'm almost finished with my 15 days of blogging assignment. this has been a lot of fun but i must admit i'm excited to go back to blogging about whatever i feel like blogging about. haha. today's theme is talk about your favorite book.
i have so many favorite books that it's hard to narrow it down to just one. however, one book that sticks out to me quite a bit is:

i read this book in high school and it has always stuck out to me. i reread it this past summer and found that, once again, it blew my mind and i could hardly put it down. it got made into a movie a few years ago that is also really good. i love this book because it is heartfelt, and brutally honest. it is written about a girl who's life is anything but easy. it really put my life into perspective. once the semester is over i will probably buy the book and read it once again.

"Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they'll make your soul impervious to the world's soft decay."

book club!

i just finished reading the help by kathryn stockett.

i thought it was very appropriate that i finished it today, martin luther king jr day. this whole book screams civil rights in the 60's and it had me absolutely HOOKED. so many people told me i would love this book and they were completely correct! the story is told from the perspectives of 3 different women who work together to write a book about maids working for white families. it is heartbreaking (i cried more than once), hilarious, witty, and entertaining all in one.

now that i'm finished i'm going to start a completely different book:

which apparently has been banned by several places...which makes me even more excited to read it to see what all the fuss is about.

happy reading!

books books books.

my favorite part of my semester off was finally being able to read for fun again. it's been years since i've had time to really read novels and nonfiction books just for the fun of it.

here are some of my favorites that i've read thus far:

i'm sure everyone has heard of this trilogy by now. it's sadly being called "the new twilight" which is completely untrue. the hunger games is a well written, intriguing, and political novel that i absolutely fell in love with. my brother referred it to me and i finished the trilogy in a little over a week. here is a good book review in case you want to check it out.

this is another trilogy i'm currently reading, and definitely obsessed with. [let me warn you if you decide to read these that they're a bit graphic.] it's about a mystery, the hunt for a serial killer, corrupt government, and a little bit of everything in between. i'm currently on the third book [the girl who kicked the hornet's nest] but so far my favorite has been the second book, [the girl who played with fire]. i like that one the best because it's a little less graphic than the first book, but still a very interesting and incredibly addicting read. and, i just found out they're movies too! i'm definitely going to watch them when i'm finished reading.

this is a nonfiction that a police officer who comes into my work regularly referred to me. i thought it was a kind of weird idea, but took his word for it and have begun reading. it's interesting, grotesque, and definitely different than any other book i've read. i highly recommend it.

if anyone has any book recommendations...definitely let me know. i'm sad i only have a month left before i'm back in school and reading textbooks instead of novels!