Quotation Wednesday {35th Ed.}

This quote is from a great book! Have you read the Perks of Being a Wallflower? If not, go do it, now! I love this quote though. I think it is hard sometimes to hold 2 seemingly contradictory emotions or ideas. It is entirely possible to love and hate, to dream with fear, to be happy and sad, all at the same time. The trick is to learn how to accept that and live within the contradiction.

Happy Monday {44th ed.}

Happy Monday Everyone! Here is what is making me smile...

These prints

I just found this shop on the suggested shops page on Etsy and everything is just so stinkin' cute!

what an adorable little owl family!

I love how she is hugging it :)

This....whatever it is!

I don't even know what this is really, but I want to spend all day on it reading and stargazing.

This jacket
I don't really know why I love it and I don't think I would like it on myself, but for some reason...?

via here

This dog

Yup, just makes me smile! :)

What else? The beautiful weather here in MN, the fact that our new duplex neighbor is awesome!!, and the fact that I have read on the porch every day since moving here...every single day!! What is making you smile this week?

Random Simple Pleasures {10th ed.}

Simple Pleasure #10 ~ Reading in the park
Sunshine, grass, and a good book...does it get any better?!

ps: this book is amazing!! 

Until all the books are read...

I adore this commercial!

Water for Elephants

*I do not recommend reading this book or seeing the movie, but if you plan to, 

be warned that this definitely includes spoilers!*

My short review: I want the last 331 pages of my life back and I want to go protest at a circus!
My longer (slightly rant-ish) review....
I started this book about a year ago and couldn't get into it so I put it down. I questioned even picking it up then because I have many moral issues with circuses and I see now that I should have stuck with both of those gut feelings; something was telling me to not read it and I should have listened! But alas, Im a sucker for reading a book before seeing the movie and the previews make this movie look so appealing!

Although there are many reasons why I did not like this book, the one that is making my blood boil and driving this review is that it is  chock full of tolerated animal abuse!! Yes, in the end they "save" the animals by stealing the ones they wanted, but that was the last 30 pages. Plus, why did it take the animal's revolting for the humans to grow some balls?! And then the "balls" that they grew were in the form of releasing a heard of animals to trample each other and the crowd in a fury of fear....aka: further animal abuse!! The part that bothered me the most about this is that the author wrote it in a way that leads us to believe that we are supposed to feel sorry for these people. As if they are in so much agony about the abuse that it is painful for them to watch or hear it. What?! No, if you are in agony about an animal you profess to love being repeatedly stabbed and beaten you get off of your ass and you do something about it!! I disliked every single character in this book for their complacency and selfishness (aside from one man named Greg who came to Rosie's rescue twice and was allotted about 10 sentences of total book space, thanks Sara).

Aside from that I was not a fan of the writing. I felt like the characters themselves were not put together well and their actions sporadically fulfilled whatever she thought the plot needed at that point. There were so many inconsistencies and anti-climatic fizzles that I was frustrated throughout the whole book. Oh, and the random graphic sex scenes that felt like they were implanted form a trashy romance novel, what was that about? Finally, I have a big problem with authors who do not do their research, and she did not do her research here. Or rather, she did research into the areas that she wanted to and decided to just "make up" the rest. I know it is a novel, but come on, all she would have to do is google "horses" to find more accurate information. Also, the DB (I forget his name already and I finished the book 10 minutes ago, that's how invested I was) absolutely did not have paranoid schizophrenia. Come on Sara Gruen, you don't get to just throw that diagnosis out there when you are painting the picture of a villain. Again, do your research!!

Anyways, I did not like this book. After doing a quick Google search though, I realize that I am definitely in the minority here. So do share, if you liked it, please tell me why? Has anyone seen the movie? Please tell me it is better? I will definitely not be seeing it...

Book questions!

My blog friend Lisa does a "Ten on Tuesday" post that I love reading every week. This week is a book theme again, so I'm taking the bait.....

1. When someone asks you for a book recommendation, what is your go-to book?
This is a hard one to answer because it depends on the person and it changes with whatever book Im most excited about at the time! In general though, I have recommended these books more often than any others; The Perks of Being a Wallflower (to all the emotional introverts out there!), A Million Little Pieces (yes, even though it was all a lie..gasp!), and Eat Pray Love (to all the women who are afraid to be alone). I did just read Room though and loved it, I am recommending it to everyone!

2. Do you buy your books, or are you a library patron?
I would say I am mainly a library type of person, mainly though because the King County Library System absolutely rocks!! I buy them though when I am like 1,000th in line and I don't want to wait, or it's one that I know I want on my bookshelf. When I do buy them though it is almost always from Half Price Books, which is one of my favorite places in the world to be! :)

3. E-readers, yay or nay?
Nope, they are just not for me. I was ambiguous about them for a long time, my mom finally bought me one (probably so I would quit fretting over it!) and I just couldn't get comfortable with it. I like the idea of a book collection always right at hand, but I just get so much joy out of the aspects of real books; the look of them on my bookshelf, the excitement of a good used book store, and most importantly...the smell, I just couldn't give up the smell! 

4. What was your favorite book as a child?
Well, I read the Babysitter's Little Sister series religiously, so I would have to say that. My dad and I would have monthly dates to B.Dalton to get a new one and I think its that aspect as much as the books themselves that made the series so memorable to me. 

5. If you could be any character in a book, who would you be?
Oh wow.....this is a tough one! Im going to show the polar sides of my personality here and give 2 answers, either Ruth from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe...

...or Lisbeth from the Millennium series! 

6. What book would you love to see turned into a movie?
I just read A Dog's Purpose and think it would make a really cute movie :)

7. What is your all-time favorite book?
I always have a tough time with this question! I think I would have to say Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg though. Its just a really good entertaining book about love, without judgement on the details of the type of love. Plus the movie version didn't butcher it, and its rare that I love the movie almost as much as the book!

8. How many books do you read at once?
2, sometimes 3, but one is always an audiobook in my car. 

9. What is your favorite book genre?
I really like books about animals, does that count as a genre..?

10. Which Harry Potter book is the best? Or haven’t you read them at all?
As a bibliomaniac, I am ashamed to say that I have not read the Harry Potter series yet! *hangs head in shame* The first one has been on my TBR shelf forever, I always stopped myself because I know I will probably want to read the entire series in 1 sitting!

Yay!

This week's Postsecret had a book theme! How exciting!! :)
These 2 were my favorite...

Im totally going to start doing this!! 

A rare case of a movie that beats out the book!!

via here

Have you seen it? What do you think......?

Quotation Wednesday {4th ed.}

I love this one because I totally resonate with it, I feel naked without a book in my purse! Im also reading this book for the first time, and I love finding (and underlining!) good quotes in books. 

"She loved to walk down the street with a book under her arm. It had the same significance for her as an elegant cane...It differentiated her from others." -Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being)

Titillating...(hehe)

Lynn and I went to a burlesque show last night (which was awesome by the way!) and were introduced to the concept of naked girls reading! Have you guys heard about this? Apparently it is exactly what the name implies, naked girls doing book readings! Im intrigued...

Quotation Wednesday {1st Ed.}

Well, here it goes! My first Wednesday quote...

"For where can one find more noble distraction, more entertaining company, more delightful enchantment than in literature?" -Bradbury (The Elegance of the Hedgehog)

I need a new bookshelf...

...maybe my New Years resolution should have been to start reading some of the books on my TBR list (aka: that overflowing top shelf!) rather than continue to buy more. That would mean no more trips to my beloved Half Price Books though....so no, new bookshelf it is!!

Happy Monday {14th ed.} aka: Dear Santa...

In holiday essence, Im combining my Happy Monday this week with a Santa list! Remember when writing to Santa was filled with optimism and excitement? Well Im bringing it back! Here's to hoping that Santa is a blogger!! :)


My longest running Etsy wishlist item! 
I am ridiculously in love with this print! Its not just because its a purple picture of a girl with an owl on her shoulder (as if that isn't enough!), I just love this woman's entire collection...

These sleeve/shrug things

I love these! Yet another etsy find. How amazingly fun and quirky are they?! Obviously I don't follow Vogue fashion rules... 

On a side note: I wouldn't mind if Santa brought me her abs either...

Large-scale bookshelves

I love my bookshelves and my living space is usually determined by where the books will be best suited. :) I can not wait to own a house and have something spectacular like this! Who needs artwork, when books are so much more beautiful?!

Someday, I will have bookshelves tall enough so that I have to use a library ladder!....ahh, dreams :)

(ps: the "santa list" part of this one is that I always want more books!)

Mini Coop

I want one of these so much!! I can not wait until I make money and can trade in my poor overworked Saturn for a snazzy little mini coop!

Trapeze/Aerial rope classes!

I have been wanting to sign up for classes at SANCA for a long time now! How much fun would this be?! Plus, Im sure its a wonderful workout...hmm, that sounds like justification huh?!

Ok, thats it for my Happy Monday/"pretty please, Santa!" list this week! What is making you happy this week and is there anything fun on your Santa list?

Happy Monday {6th ed.}

Im actually very very happy that it is Monday this week! Last week was horrible and needs to be laid to rest, its a new day.....

Boots with colored tights
I just love this look! I finally found some boots too (thanks mom!) so as soon as I find some fun tights, I will be set!!

Reading that is truly just for fun :)

I started the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series... 

yup, its meant for 9-12 years olds! I likely won't read them all, but its so refreshing to just read without really thinking! There is also just something great about adolescent books, they have a specific smell I think. It is the best of all the book smells and it completely takes me back to my childhood.....ahh, memories!

Pumpkins!!

I know I have gushed already about my love of fall, so I will spare you and just include a cute picture :)

Yam fries at the Bohemian

I am truly sorry to all of you non-Seattleites because I am going to introduce you to something that you will want to hop on a plane for!! (but to all you Seattleites, I would love to go with you!) The Bohemian is a wonderfully quirky little restaurant that I absolutely love! They have these yam fries that are served with 3 different sauces, one is a lavender honey, the combination is honestly a little slice of heaven!! Its was a rough week last week too so guess what? I went and ordered these twice! (ha! take that, crappy week!)

Thats all for me this week, Im determined to make it a better one! What makes you happy lately?!

Happy Monday {3rd ed.}

Happy Monday everyone!! Here's what makes me happy right now :)

The 2 blue pits that I am petsitting right now
C and G (have to protect their identity!) How freaking cute are they? They are such sweethearts and have the most personality, I just love them!

Boots!!

I really need a pair! I always see some that I love on someone, but just cant seem to find the right ones...

Also though, I think its a necessity for keeping pant legs dry here in Seattle winters. (thats what I tell myself at least!)

Audiobooks

I know I have mentioned my love for audiobooks before, but I really don't even know how I ever drove before I discovered them! I actually enjoy, and even look forward to driving now :) I also don't feel guilty about reading "guilty pleasure" types of books when I listen to them instead. Plus, the library has tons to choose from, its free entertainment!

Im currently listening to this one

and I recently finished this one

Both of them had me driving around the block or sitting in my car wanting to hear more!

Handmade soaps and shampoo bars

I have been ordering our soaps lately from Dress Green on Etsy. We get hand soap, shower soap, shampoo bars, and even shaving bars. I love them all! They smell awesome, they have less waste and much less packaging than store bought, plus they support an independent seller rather than a big corporation. Oh, and they are fun to get in the mail because the whole package smells yummy! :)

All right, thats it for this Monday. What makes you happy right now?!

Celebrate the freedom to read!

So, banned books week is almost over, what have you done to celebrate?! I know that not everyone celebrates holidays that are instituted by the American Library Association, but I believe that everyone should. Its ridiculous that in our "advanced" society (note the sarcasm) we are still banning, or worse, burning (gasp!) books! Its literary abuse in my mind!

So, Im giving you an easy way to send the week out with a bit of fanfare :) Just tell me what banned book you have rebelliously read!! Here is a list of some of the common ones, and examples of the illogical and absurd reasons why they have been banned!

The Color Purple by Alice Walker ~ It has been banned because of "sexual and social explicitness" and because it is "smut." Wow...

Animal Farm by George Orwell ~ because of "indecent images" and because "Orwell was a communist."

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut ~ because it "contains foul language and promotes deviant behavior" (side note: I bought a copy of Cats Cradle from a little used bookstore in a small town and when the owner scanned it he said, "Oh! I didn't know we had this stuff in here" with a scowl on his face! You own a bookstore buddy, respect them! I mean yeesh! they can hear you...)


Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh ~ because it should be prohibited to use public funds to purchase material that promotes homosexuality and novels with gay protagonists suggest that homosexuality is natural and they should be taken from the shelves and destroyed (Im paraphrasing). I don't even know what to say about that one...

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ~ What?! Apparently it is "disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level."

In 1978 the American Heritage Dictionary was even challenged! Apparently it contained "39 objectionable words." Are you freaking kidding me?!

This is only a teeny tiny portion, there are lists here, here, here and here that contain many more. So, please share the banned books that you have loved and join me in my quest for literary freedom by pledging to read one soon!!

Book Crossing

Ok, so I know I have a few fellow bibliomaniacs out there in blog land! Has anyone heard about book crossing?! You can print or order these cute labels, then you stick them in a book and "set it free!" You can give them to a stranger or leave them in a fun place. Then you watch the progress online. How fun is that?! Plus a great way to save some trees and make someone's day. (I would be ecstatic if I found a free book!!) Who wants to sign up?! (ps: its free!) 

Proud to be an introvert!!

Yes, I am an introvert! People are often surprised to hear this, which in turn surprises me because I feel like I embody introversion pretty damn well! I have realized though that this stems more from a difference in understanding the nature of introversion, than in a misunderstanding of who I am or who I present to the world.

So, what does an introvert do when she wants to understand a concept better? Thats right, she reads a book on it!! I had a basic understanding of myself as an introvert, but true to my introverted form, wanted to grasp the whole picture. (Introverts like to know a lot about fewer topics, while extroverts generally want to know less detail about a broader range of topics) The best book that I found was called The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Olsen Laney PsyD (side note; yay for PsyDs!!!) She is a doctoral level clinical psychologist, so she knows her stuff! (yeah, tooting my own horn here!) But, she writes in a way that is very easy to understand.

Here are some general concepts from the book that I found to be most beneficial in understanding myself and how I function as an introvert. (as you may have noticed, things directly from the book are green) The first major thing is that we are often misunderstood as being socially awkward or shy and introversion is often equated with social anxiety. This is not true, introverts actually do enjoy social interactions, just usually on a different level than extroverts.

1) One concept that I have heard before, but that I find the most useful is to think of it in terms of where you "recharge." Think of an introvert as a rechargeable battery and an extrovert as a solar panel. Introverts can function in social settings perfectly fine, as long as they have the ability to recharge at their home base. This means that we need the time to regroup and consolidate internally in a quiet and safe place where we can be alone (aka: home, bedroom, or some other private place). Extroverts on the other hand, recharge through social interactions, they soak it up like a solar panel!

When I finally grasped this concept, it was like a profound light bulb went off for me! I am able to have fun when out with people, but I have always had this urge that I call my "homing beacon!" Unconsciously, I get to a point where I need to recharge and leave the event so that I can go to my home base. I love that an understanding of this has brought it to the conscious level. Now that I know this and am able to take care of my recharging, I can function better in social settings. This used to cause me problems because I would not listen to my "homing beacon" and then my anxiety would come out in self-destructive ways (drinking too much, becoming irritated with friends, etc). I believe that it is when, as introverts, we do not allow ourselves this space to recharge (or as I call it, feeding our introversion) that is when we get labeled as having social anxiety and/or come across problems.

Another aspect of this point is that we place a lot of value on our home base because it is essential to our recharging and introversion feeding! This is why we generally don't like surprise or extended intrusions to our space. In other words, we are happy to have visitors as long as it is not for a month at a time and we have enough time prior to prepare ourselves.

2) We need time to process information before responding. So, its likely that we will never make good comedians because we are the people who think of a witty retort a few hours later! This is something that I have always been frustrated with in regards to arguments, either in relationships or when debating something that I feel strongly about. (Introverts often have very strong feelings about topics that they have a vested interest in, or are morally attached to) I have learned to compensate by writing my feelings down (often in bullet point, because Im a dork like that!) so that I can organize them before getting caught up in an emotional conversation.

3) We can take offense when we are interrupted. As you may have noticed, we don't talk a lot and are generally the listeners. This particular aspect of introversion is much to the dismay of my partner. Most people in our society are used to being talked over and talking over others. We have a very vocal society that is run by extroverts and this is one area where us introverts do not fit in well. Putting all the prior points together; we generally only open up fully to those who we trust into our emotional home base, we likely have strong feelings about the things we are willing to talk a lot about, and we take the time to process our thoughts before vocalizing them. So...maybe that helps to shed light on why we take it personally when someone interrupts us when we finally talk!

4) We don't function well under a lot of stimulation. My best example of this point; Costco!! I hate the damn place, but my extroverted girlfriend loves it! There is a Jungian concept that describes the differences in stimulation in great detail, but even with a full graduate level class I still do not fully understand it all. So, here is my watered down version. Introverts have a very rich internal world and are overstimulated by an abundance of external stimuli. Extroverts are fueled more by external stimuli than by their internal world, so they thrive on stimuli in the external world (remember the solar panel that I mentioned earlier). This is why I am overwhelmed by all the lights, noise, and crap in Costco. In fact, I usually stay at the cart and read a book (my on-the-go version of my home base) while Rachel goes out into the scary Costco world.

There is sooo much more that I could share because I am fascinated by this concept and how us introverts function in such an extroverted world! But, I will restrain myself :) The most important take home point for any introvert out there is to feed your introversion! Basically just remember that you need to recharge. Listen to your rich internal world (yeah, Im proud of that internal world thing!) and notice when it is telling you that you need some alone time. Figure out what works for you to recharge. For me, its reading a book, spending time in my office focusing on school work, or taking a walk. Then, when you feel like you are overwhelmed by all the stimuli that is in this extroverted world, take time to recharge. And finally, be proud of your introversion! I personally think that we have many advantages over extroverts (I mean come on, we have a "rich internal world!!") and we only need to understand ourselves better to be able to function effectively in this crazy extroverted world!

I highly recommend to anyone who thinks that they are an introvert, or anyone who is dating or close friends with an introvert, to read this book. Also, the most recent edition of Psychology Today has an article that summarized most of the information pretty well.

What do you think? Are you extroverted or introverted? Does it work for you? Did this introverted girl ramble on too much about her rich internal world?!

My idea of a perfect home base to recharge!

"Books in a series give me reason to continue living..."

Ok, so that was a quote from a book that was a little disturbing and quite depressing. I am still undecided on how I feel about it, but I like the quote! (Like Being Killed by Ellen Miller, in case you were wondering)

As I have mentioned before, Im finishing up the Millennium trilogy and I love them. As I shamefully admitted a few months ago, I read the Twilight series and got completely sucked in (pun intended!) to that series as well. When I was younger I really loved the Babysitters Little Sister (a very long series!) books and the Saddle Club books! My dad got me the best christmas gift ever one year and gave me 12 gift certificates to B Dalton (local book store, do they still exist?!) and each was dated with a month of the next year. So we got a date together to go book shopping once a month....Awesome!!! Anyways, I always got one of each and it was like visiting a good friend every time I opened the next book. (For the record, yes I was the dorky book kid, and yes, Im quite proud of that!)


I love books in a series! You know that feeling when you are finishing a good book and you don't want to put it down, but you also don't want it to be over?! Well, whoever decided on series of books must have been struggling with that dilemma. And what a great solution!

So...what is your favorite book series?! Im almost done with Lisbeth and Im really gonna miss her! So any suggestions?

They never get it quite right...

You know when you read a good book, one where the author gives you amazing character development and you have a rich, familiar, detailed picture of each person in your head? You can go through the whole book along with this person who you can practically see! Then the movie comes along and...wait, that isn't who I saw! You know that feeling? I hate it!

Im finishing up the Millenium trilogy (aka: "the girl who...." books!) and have not yet watched the movies because I really didn't want to ruin the pictures of these characters that I have been so attached to throughout their stories. Well, I just saw the covers to the Swedish version of the movie and the discussions over who will play the lead characters in the American version and well, they just didn't get it right! :(

So, I am proposing the people who I would cast. That is if I had the means to create a movie based on the characters that have developed in my head! Here it goes;

Lisbeth: Kristen Stewart ~ I've put a lot of thought into this one, I started with Shane from the L word but that didn't feel quite right, then Dakota Fanning who I thought could transform to play her perfect. But when I was looking for a pic of Dakota that would fit what I had in mind, this one popped up! This is the exact picture I have of Lisbeth, strong and independent but also awkward and shy. Perfect! How did I not think of you Kristen?! (this also reinforces my mysterious crush on Lisbeth! ;) ~ )

Mikael: Bruce Willis ~ He was hard for me, my picture doesn't really fit anyone. Basically though, I see him as tough and somewhat rugged, but also charming in his own quirky way and definitely very compassionate, but maybe with a struggle to show it. Sounds like Bruce to me :)

Erika Berger: Sharon Stone ~ Strong, self confident, outgoing, independent, beautiful, and with a big personality. She has gotta be Sharon!

Zala: Jason Alexander ~ I don't really know why because I like the guy (Jason, not Zala!), its just that his physical characteristics are exactly how I pictured him! I think his ego is way too big for his stout little body (again, Zala, not Jason).

Niedermann: There is just nobody who I can think of that would fit the oaf of a man in my head!! Sort of like a cross between Vin Diesel and Owen Wilson.....

What do you guys think? Do any of these people fit your picture? Who is your Lisbeth?!
This is what I love about books, the reader is free to impart their own images and views. So we can all be reading the same words, but have completely independent images running through the text!