Faith, Hope, and Love

May is National Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, so I choose to read books that featured Asian characters and/or dealt with mental illnesses in some way. There were a few books that didn't fit into this reading theme (I'm not great at sticking to strict reading plans, plus when a library hold comes in, you gotta read what you gotta read before due dates and stuff), but here's what my reading looked like in May! 1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.  This was a quick, short read. And the ending ultimately threw me. It's about a rich family who spends every summer on their private island. Until one summer, something happens. The second half of the book follows the main character trying to heal from the trauma of whatever happened, as well as try to figure out what  happened.  She's an unreliable narrator, and so the ending definitely was unexpected and the twist kind of crushed me.  2. Afterward  by ...

Very delayed on this post, I know! But here's what I've read for the last three months + how I'm doing on the MMD Reading Challenge! Books Read February 2018: Because February is Black History Month, my goal was to read only black authors. This was a really enjoyable month, and I finally got to read books that have been on my TBR list for years (like Alice Walker's The Color Purple ). One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia The Color Purple by Alice Walker All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison How to Fix a Broken Record by Amena Brown P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia American Street by Ibi Zoboi Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia If I had to pick a favorite... do I have to? They were all so good! For so many different reasons! If I had to pick a least favorite... maybe American Street, but mostly becau...

Towards the end of my summer, I had the chance to visit Portland, Oregon. I started the journey in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Took the train to Chicago. And then went from Chicago to Portland over 46 hours.  But that is the story for another blog, another day. I loved Portland, and my friend Dam and I did pretty much everything we could squeeze in within the four days we had: The Zoo, The Rose Garden, The Japanese Garden, The Pink Trolley, Powell's City of Books, Saturday Market, Multnomah Falls...  Dam and I in front of the Multnomah Falls But there was one thing on my list that I didn't get to: The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden  + taking a walking tour around her neighborhood. I even bought a book to help make the experience complete!  I was only going to get the Ramona book, but I believe very book needs a friend. And it was ANNE... how could I resist? I almost stole the book versus paying for it, since it says it technically isn't il...

Lately, I've been reading books for their lack of depth. Generally it's been all fluff and silliness, because it's what I have time for. If you know me well, you know that I tend to really get into books when I read. Once I threw my copy of John Grisham's "The Firm" across the room out of nervousness. And if the book is good enough, I can stay up until all hours of the night until I'm done with it. Well, with student teaching, work, and just life in general, it's been easier to indulge in stuff like chick-lit and Christian romances. I've had no time to have my emotions stirred too deeply while reading. Not that the books I've read haven't been good. I've enjoyed all of them, and would recommend most of them. But this morning, since school was still cancelled because of all the ice and snow, I sat down to read one of the Texas Bluebonnet Award books. The kids had to vote on their favorite last week, and a few of the books' descri...

From Shakespeare we get some of the most famous quotes and sayings. From fairy tales we get some of the most famous stories and plots. Both offer a wealth of inspiration for writers, including Sarah Strohmeyer , author of "Sweet Love," "The Cinderella Pact," and "The Sleeping Beauty Proposal." In "Sweet Love," Julie Mueller, a divorced single mother of a teen who lives above her parents in a two-family home. She's a workaholic and seeks career advancement to make amends for everything else she finds lacking in her life. When Julie's mother signs her up for dessert classes, she's sure there's a catch. And there is: one of her classmates is none other than Julie's childhood (and although she refuses to admit it, adulthood) crush, Michael. Strohmeyer begins the novel with Shakespeare's Sonnet 56, which begins, "Sweet love, renew thy force...," and "Sweet Love" is truly a novel about renewed love. Readers...

We've all heard tales of people claiming to have new talents, new tastes, new skills, and new memories after receiving a transplant. Almost as if by giving a piece of yourself to another, they really do gain a part of ... you. But what if this exchange could take place with something as simple as a blood transfusion? I donate blood today, and tomorrow some person in dire need receives it and poof! Suddenly they have vivid memories of me and my life. Sounds crazy, right? When I first picked up Cecelia Ahern 's "Thanks for the Memories," that's exactly what I thought. But the idea intrigued me--to be connected to someone through blood. And as I've read all of her books and loved them all, I'd grown accustomed to being led through a story where extraordinary things happen to ordinary people living ordinary lives. It's probably what's best about Ahern's writing, especially in this book. Here lies a story of a thirty-something-year-old Irish w...