Monthly Archives: August 2016

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August 26, 2016

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Food Friday

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Fire-Roasted Corn and Jalapeño Salsa

Hello again!

It’s Friday morning, and we’ve made it to recipe #3 this week. If you’re just tuning in, feel free to click over to the other recipes so far:

I want to make a quick side Continue reading →

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August 10, 2016

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Novel Monday

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5 Favorite Books of 2016 (So Far)

Hello again!

Book time guys! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted about what I’ve been reading, so I figured I’d do a quick round-up of my favorite books (so far) that I’ve read this year.

I’ll do this in book publish date order, since not all of these are new books.

Ready Player One: A Novel by Ernest Cline

Considering I’ve been hearing about this book for a few years now, I’m probably one of the last people to get to it. Every now and then it popped up in a book post or Facebook blast, but it just didn’t look like a book for me. But earlier this year, I spotted it on an end cap at Target and I just grabbed it. I still can’t explain that purchase, but I don’t regret it.

In the dystopian world of 2044, Wade Watts is only happy as many people are, plugged into the virtual reality of OASIS. But Wade isn’t just there for fun. He’s there to wade through a tangle of 80’s references to solve the creator of OASIS’s greatest puzzle, and snag the prize of wealth and power he can barely imagine.

An interesting and fun premise, a good overall read, and some serious nerd love.

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Me Before You: A Novel  by Jojo Moyes

I think I first heard about this book last year, but I didn’t really pay it any attention until I started seeing previews for the movie. I love Emilia Clarke and Sam Clafin, so I decided to give the book a go, to prepare myself for the movie.

Lou Clark, newly jobless, takes a companion position for a man who is wheelchair-bound. She isn’t expecting her charge to be the young once-active-and-vibrant-now-bitter-and-unhappy Will Traynor.

I knew what was coming guys, I really did. I knew the end was going to upset me, and I read it anyway. I read it anyway, and I have to say it was worth it. It was heart-breaking, but it was also sweet and poignant and really made me think about the value of  the autonomy of an individual.

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The Ghost Bride: A Novel by Yangsze Choo

Amazon Recommends occasionally come up with gold. I loved this book. Li Lan is being pressured into becoming a ghost bride – a woman married to a deceased man so he will have company in the afterlife – but her own desires and some creepy haunting from her would-be husband make her hesitant. When she ends up stuck in the shadow world of the afterlife, she has to uncover the truth about her would-be husbands death before she is trapped there forever.

The story, setting, and lore sucked me in from page one, and I didn’t want to put it down. It crosses so many genres from young adult to paranormal, from historical to fantasy. I loved this book so much that I recently foisted it onto a friend so I could talk to someone about it.

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When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithi, a 36-year-old, was just about to complete his neurosurgery residency when he was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. The book chronicles his time from being a rising surgeon, to a patient struggling for his life, to his far too soon death.

The story itself is understandably sad, and I’m not surprised or embarrassed to say I cried a few times while reading this memoir. I was surprised at how beautiful the writing was. It’s almost lyrical, and is itself reason enough to read the book.

 

Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah’s Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen

This is a collection of Sarah’s Scribbles comics, and it may be my favorite book ever. I got this one on release day (Thank you Amazon, that is one sweet pre-order feature), and I told the hubs to go play a video game or something, I didn’t want to be bothered. I read the whole book, then went back and read it again. The hubs kept asking me why I was laugh-crying. The comics are so relatable to my introverted-book-and-internet-loving-don’t-want-to-adult-just-be-me-lady-self.

I considered bookmarking my favorite comics, but then I realized bookmarking almost the entire book wouldn’t help anyone.

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So, that’s all I have for you guys today. I hope you’ll check out some of the books above if you haven’t already.

Don’t forget to follow me using the links in the sidebar if you haven’t already, and while you’re over there, check me out on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Got any book suggestions for me?

Great!

Leave them in the comments below, I’m always on the lookout for new reads.

See you later this week with a sweet breakfast treat!

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