Trifecta

I have read three leisure books in the past week and I am pretty excited about it.

First, I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This memoir was a New York Times Bestseller and tells the story of the Jeannette's life with her siblings and vagabond parents. It was simultaneously inspirationally moving and strangely horrifying. Though it is Jeannette's truth, at times it reads like fiction which helped this reader to feel just far enough removed, at times, to be able to look at things objectively and gain some understanding of people one might not be able to feel for otherwise. Achingly beautiful and stunningly real.

Second, I read The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond. I picked this up at Habitat Books in Sausalito because I wanted something that took place in San Francisco and was written by a San Francisco author. The owner, Sharon, was incredibly helpful, friendly and even sent me home with a list of a few other good San Francisco area writers. I was not disappointed by this work of fiction narrated by a soon-to-be step-mom who loses her step-daughter-to-be one foggy morning on Ocean Beach. You are with Abby every step of the way just hoping and praying that she is able to find Emma and put the life she was about to have back together. A truly excellent and haunting book.

Finally, after two fairly heavy reads, I picked up 3 Willows: the sisterhood grows, a YA novel by Ann Brashares who also wrote The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Last Summer (of You and Me). As a fan of The Sisterhood series, I wasn't sure I would enjoy this "sisterhood part deux", but I was pleasantly surprise. Brashares tackles serious issues facing teen girls today and she handles them in a delicate way. Parents separating. Not getting exactly what you want. Making the most of all opportunities. Starting to date. Eating disorders. Loneliness. Cliques. Changing friendships. Alcoholism. Death of a sibling. All of these subjects and more are addressed. I think it would be an excellent book for mothers to read and discuss with their daughters in order to open a dialogue about these sometimes touchy subjects.

The Trifecta. My To-Be-Read shelve will be empty sooner rather than later.

Have you read any good books lately? I'd love suggestions!

A Book and A Movie

Yesterday I read a dreamy book. This morning I watched a dreamy movie. What better way to wake up from this dreaminess but to keep it alive by sharing it with all of you and interspersing my stories with dreamy photos I have taken.



The book I read in one sitting is The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Anne Brashares who also wrote the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The story is about two 20-something sisters and Paul who they have grown-up with during summers on Fire Island, New York.



It is about the family we are born into and the family we create. It is about love of all kinds. It is about growing up and all the fears that accompany it. It is about living your dreams. It is about tragedies and the many ways to cope with and overcome them. It is about choosing how to live your life and letting go all at once. In short, it is dreamy. To be part of the worlds of Alice, Riley, and Paul for a short time was magical for me. A big thank you to K1 Teacher for loaning it to me.



The movie I watched is Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom & Kirsten Dunst and directed by Cameron Crowe of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "Jerry Maguire", "Almost Famous", and "Vanilla Sky" fame. It is about expecting the unexpected, love of all kinds, throwing caution to the wind, a father and son, accepting and embracing family and all the craziness that comes along with family, a journey personal and otherwise, letting go, accepting and loving yourself flaws and failures and all, finding yourself in someone else and seeing yourself and your possibilities through someone else, the idea that your life can change in an instant and learning how to manage that... Ok, I am being far too listy today, but YOU JUST HAVE TO SEE IT! Even more amazing, the cinematography and the gorgeous images of the great United States of America.
A glimpse of that gorgeousness from the Elizabethtown Official Website...



Dreamy, isn't it?

A Book and A Movie reminded me that without rain there would be no rainbows...



and without dreaming there would be no dreams come true <3