A Moveable Feast

I am reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway and I just love it.  I have a total fascination with the Lost Generation, the artists of all types who lived in Paris during the 1920's.  This book contains his memoirs of his life in Paris.  I absolutely love it.  It sort of reminds me of Jack Kerouac's On the Road in that the writing seems really simple and is just about things that he sees and people he interacts with and stuff he does and while that could get boring, it just doesn't.  It makes me wish that I was alive during the 1920's (fyi, my FAVORITE era) and could have been one of those people sitting in sidewalk cafe's with a glass of wine, writing away or finding inspiration for my next painting.

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."  

-Ernest Hemingway

the anne books

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Anne of Green Gables books (all eight of them), are my favorite books of all time. My parents gave me a boxed set of the books as a Christmas present when I was 9 years old. I still have this exact set, and I think I've read each book about 30 times over the years --- I just LOVE them. Anne is, in my opinion, one of the best characters in literature, and the Anne books instilled a life-long love of reading and imagination in me. Even as an adult, I love to occassionally pick up a well-worn copy of one of my favorite of the Anne books (usually, "Anne of the Island" or "Rilla of Ingleside" - about Anne's youngest daughter - but it sometimes varies depending on my stage in life), and curl up on the couch and immerse myself in the familiar stories. Tonight, it's snowy and cold --- a perfect night to curl up with "Anne's House of Dreams" (since my husband and I just bought our first home!), and to daydream about one day going to Prince Edward Island (where the story takes place), and visiting the Green Gables house.

My Anne books - I've had them for over 17 years!

My awesome husband gave me this first-edition of the second book, "Anne of Avonlea" for my 24th birthday.

A gift from an aunt --- this book is filled with recipes and craft ideas inspired by life in Victorian Canada.

Right now I'm reading a book called The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs.   I really love it.  I found it on Amazon.com but then purchased it at Target.  

                                                   

It's a great book about a single mother who owns a yarn shop in New York City and all the people who come into her life, by coming into her shop.  I am in the middle of it right now and am very into it.  

I definitely recommend it.  

I am having trouble finding books that I could recommend.  I love reading all different types of books but have to admit that I am partial to books about women overcoming obstacles, finding love, achieving their dreams and goals with some suspense and sadness thrown in.  So, as of now, I don't have anything to recommend.  But, I would love to read anything else that is recommended until I get into the swing of things and start actually finding some books!  I should probably search amazon.com or something.  

Good night! 

                                                 

my book list

I have a lot of books that I can't wait to get my hands on, once this semester is over. Here's my list, so far:

1. The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch
2. Everything Is Illuminated: A Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer
3. Fools Crow by James Welch
4. In the Woods by Tana French
5. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (*I've actually read this one and LOVED it)
6. Shadow of the Wind: A Novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
8. So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger
9. People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks
10. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
11. The Likeness: A Novel by Tana French (book #2 in a series - follows "In The Woods")
12. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Of course, there are about a zillion other books that I would love to read as well, but I think this is a pretty good starter list for my May - September reading.

about me

Hello! I'm Melissa and Gigie's older sister, Tammy (with a "y", not an "i" - if you know what I mean). I'm 26, I live in the the great state of Minnesota (it helps to keep a positive attitude about these things), am married to an awesome human being (I totally "heart" my husband), and I am a full-time undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota (I can prove this: I now wear slippers as shoes ---try it!). I love love love to read, rarely have to time to read anything other than school-rated books these days (which I do not always love, love, love to read), have previously worked as a Starbuck's barista (bad hours, good health insurance), an editorial intern at a local magazine (no pay, fun experience), and as a nanny for a few families in Ithaca, NY (so exhausting, yet super fun). I've lived in Mexico, Texas, California, New York (don't get too excited, it was Upstate), and Minnesota (which, I apparently like more than I anticipated, as we are getting ready to buy our first home --- !!!). I like making people laugh, I aspire to write on a regular basis, I love yoga, yet hardly ever do it, I am pretty consistently 10-30 minutes late for absolutely everything, I tend to over-commit to things (school, work, wine club, book club, personal life, social life, volunteering, 3-day/60-mile breast cancer walks, etc.), and often feel that there are just not enough days in a week, but I can't help myself, and rarely say no, because I very much enjoy being around people, and I hold on to this incredibly bull-headed notion that one day I will actually be able to "do it all." I am a big fan of my women friends and consider them an essential part of my life, I love my family intensely, I genuinely enjoy meeting new people - especially "kindred spirits" (Anne of Green Gables was my first best friend), and I am striving to make 2009 the year I embrace my many imperfections and learn to love myself, "just as I am" (a la Bridget Jones). I'm super excited that my creative and beautiful sister had the great idea to create this long-distance book club, and I fully admit that, aside from summer and winter vacation, a lot of the time I am not going to be able to finish the books we choose (see? I'm embracing my human flaws/limitations). I have a personal blog that you can peruse, here, and I'm also on Facebook, just like the rest of my incredibly over-exposed generation. Looking forward to getting to know you all through this blog. Cheers!

(view my profile)

    I just finished Pack up the Moon.  I LOVED it.  I laughed, cried, and just couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next.  I really felt as if I personally knew the characters.  I definitely recommend this book!  Thanks, Melissa for recommending it initially!

Love, Eugenia