A Reading Rainbow

I read some pretty great books in 2012-2013.  But you don't have to take my word for it.

Titles and Authors:
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Drama of the Gifted Child by Alice Miller
The Emperor of All Maladies:  A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Hector Finds Time (Hector's Journeys) by Francois Lelord & Carol Gilogley
Help, Thanks, Wow:  The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
The King's Speech:  How One Man Saved the British Monarchy by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
Little Bee:  A Novel by Chris Cleave
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink & by Carol Brown January
Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Got Married by Gary Chapman
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
To Be Told by Dan Allender
Trauma and Grace by Serene Jones
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
Wild At Heart by John Eldredge
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by by L. Frank Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

This quick update of my Book Log wouldn't be compete without a few notes and helpful tips.

• The Hunger Games were captivating enough to listen to while jogging. Thanks, Ms. Collins!
• Little Bee stung.  They Things They Carried was haunting. The Reader was depressing. Sometimes the worst does happen.
• The audiobook version of The King's Speech was incredible. Being able to listen to actual recordings of the King was the icing on the cake. 
• I hope I never have to read Drama of the Gifted Child again. Once was enough.
• I don't recommend reading both The Emperor of All Maladies and The Fault in Our Stars right before your annual cancer check-up.  It gives you something to worry about.

♥, Molly

Memoirs of a Giesha

{7.2012}

Another hostel find.  Another quick read. 

It's an interesting (though fictional) glimpse into the life of a geisha working in Kyoto, Japan before and after World War II.  I'm sure it's full of stereotypes but I honestly don't know enough about Japanese culture to sort between the truths and the fallacies.  The main character does a beautiful job of narrating her life, but after awhile I wanted to smack her.  Her identity is wholly dependent on the love of a certain character.  The sappy ending was also a bit much.  When I think of it as "memoir" it bothers me.  When I think of it as fairytale, then it's much easier to like.

♥, Molly

It's Not About the Bike

{6.2012}

It's always interesting to exchange books at the hostel. On one hand, the selection can be less than ideal.  On the other, it nudges you towards books you might otherwise ignore.  I found this little book sandwiched between 15 books in German, the 3 Paul Coelho novels, and a token Stephen King title.  Although skeptical at first, I actually consider it a decent find.

Let me be clear:  Lance is defintely a better biker than writer.  (Then again, I've never read a sports memoir.  Maybe his isn't so bad?)  Even if  putting his experiences into words isn't his strength, choosing to write a good story with his life kind of speaks for itself.  He's had to overcome intense challenges, puts his whole heart into what he's doing, lives an extremely disciplined and dedicated life, and never ever gives up.  If you can read past his sexist comments and the way he doesn't always treat people very nicely, you start to cheer for him and you want to see the underdog win.

On a more personal note, the #1 reason I liked this book was because I was able to relate to his experience with cancer.  The unknowns, the hundreds of trips to the hospital, his frustration with being sick, the floundering during "survivorship," and the battle for his thoughts were all too familiar.  His long, painful, and extremely difficult road to recovery somehow makes my road seem easier.  His determination, his commitment, and his appreciation for life are clearly inspiring.  It's obvious why he became an American hero.

♥, Molly

P.S. I was disappointed to learn that after the publication of his book he seems to have lost focus.  He divorced his wife (whom he openly adores in his book), faced several messy doping allegations, and was associated with a few too many racing scandals.  Bummer.

On the Road

{5.2012}

According to audible.com, the average reader only gets through 5 books a year.  Thanks to On the Road I'm proudly wearing my "5 Book" badge.  Yay! 

However, don't mistake my cheering as praise for this book.  I know it's well loved, but I really didn't like it.  It was just too depressing.  The more I read, the more unhappy I felt--like I was absorbing the characters' dissatisfaction with life, their constant searching, their lack of fulfillment.  The selfishness of it all really got to me.  So many people hurting one another, leaving spouses and kids behind, lying, taking advantage, throwing away potential, etc. etc. etc.

At least I have to give this book props for being honest.  Life is hard.  Hurt people hurt people. Happiness is fleeting.  True, true, true.  BUT a downer isn't exactly what I'm looking for when I pick travel books.  If you do read it, prepare yourself--it's going to be bleak.

♥, Molly 

The Hobbit

{4.2012}

A good little adventure book.  It's much easier (and more enjoyable) to read than The Lord of the Rings.  Plus, did I hear they're making a movie?

♥, Molly

Chocolat

{3.2012}

Beautiful description.  Flat plot.  Magic realism.  Interesting characters.  Unanswered questions.

Not the greatest, but at least it's good enough to make me want to see the movie.

♥, Molly

Down Under

If it weren't for school holidays, I'm not sure I would ever finish a book.  When I try to read before bed, I usually seem to nod off after the first paragraph.  (And I'm not exaggerating--according to my fitbit, it usually only takes me 7 minutes from the time I lie down to the time I fall asleep!)  Thankfully, travel time usually means good reading time.  I was able to finish 6 books while I was in Vietnam.

{2.2012}

I started my trip with this book.  It's actually my first Bill Bryson book--but certainly not my last.  He has a funny, easy-to-read, informative style that makes you turn the pages faster than you think.  I've been wanting to go to Australia for a bit and this book only fueled the fire.  Aside from so many deadly creatures (on which this book places significant emphasis!) it sounds like an amazing country.  Yes, thanks to this book, Australia just got bumped up a few notches on my ASAP destination list.

♥, Molly

Love Wins

{1.2012}
velvet elvis changed my life.
sex god was . . . interesting.
love wins speaks right to me. 

i wish hell wasn't part of Christianity.  it's something i've struggled with for a long long time.  my way of dealing with it has been to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist.  this book, however, takes the issue straight on and dares to ask some really hard questions.   it's a bold little book that makes you think.

♥, molly

Redeeming Love

image from Simple Pleasures
{20.2011}

i made a pact in high school never to read a francine river's novel. 10 or so years and 3 insistent friends later, i guess i did. maybe the biggest thing i took away from this book was the theme from job 1:21--"the lord gave, and the lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the lord."

♥, Molly

bird by bird

image by good reads
{19.2011}

it's not very often i come across a book i look forward to re-reading right away. helpful, honest, funny, and so very good.
♥, Molly

The English Assassin

image from Daniel Silva Books
{18.2011}

my sister likes spy books part II.
the english assassin is #2 in an 11 book series. the author had an excellent way of describing characters and inserting interesting historical references and tidbits.

♥, Molly

Rules of Betrayal

image found here
{17.2011}

my sister likes spy stories. this one was horribly cliche (bitter afghani terrorist + rich arab fundamentalist unite to destroy new york) and the ending left me completely unsatisifed (emma ransom, you're annoying). however, i had a bit more grace for the sloppy resolution when i learned it's only part 3 of an ongoing series.

♥, Molly

Imperfect Birds

image from critrature
{16.2011}

My first novel by Anne Lamott was a bit disappointing. I liked certain passages, but overall didn't connect with the book. You never know, though--maybe in 25 years when I'm the mother of a challenging teenager I'll have to give it a second try.
♥, Molly

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

image from SBF
{15.2011}

yes, i do think this series is worth all* the hype.
♥, molly

*well, okay--maybe i take that back. definitely not quite this much. or this. or this. or this, either...

Prodigal God

image from Andrew Fuller Center
{14.2011}

Our Bible study group has been going through this book together. You may know the story of The Prodigal Son; we've looked at it more from the perspective of The Two Lost Sons and the Lavish Father.

♥, Molly

Have A Little Faith

image by Rate It For Me
{11.2011}

A thoughtful gift from a friend. A thoughtful read.
♥, Molly

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

image by Spill
{12.2011}

Once you start, you can't stop.
♥, Molly

Day 2--Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

30(ish) Days of Fun::Caitlin's Arrival to the First Day of School
inspired by Mighty Girl

image by OnlineMoviesHut // image by Movie Fanatic

Caitlin, Jenny (a friend & co-worker), and I finally finished watching the monumental Harry Potter saga today. It all started a few weeks ago during my 3rd chemo treatment. At that point I hadn't seen a single movie in the series and I'd only read books 1-5 way back during the summer of 2008.

While we were in the hospital, we sort of caught Potter-fever. It resulted in more than one late night movie marathon. I was also forced to spend hours on the couch resting and reading books 6 & 7. Such. a. shame. Our mania came to a peak this afternoon. After watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I at home we had just enough time to rush to the theater to see Part II. From there, Jenny left directly for her summer vacation in the States!

I was envisioning a photo of Caitlin and I standing in front of the movie poster for our 'day 2' pic, but that didn't work out so well when I left the camera at home. Instead I'll use a picture from our little Hogwarts themed brunch.

I put the menu together from memories of the Saturday breakfasts we used to have at Capernwray.

I think it came out basically the same--aside from the addition of homemade English muffins (recipe here) and butterbeer (recipe below).

Recipe for Butterbeer
original recipe here from HELLO, My Name is Heather; Serves 6

Ingredients for the butterbeer:
1 bottle beer or ginger ale
3 bottles cream soda
3 T butterscotch ice cream topping

Ingredients for the frothy sparkle:
corn syrup
fine and coarse sugar in gold and yellow colors; (or if you're in a pinch, plain white sugar mixed with few drops of yellow food coloring also works)

Directions:
1. Chill beverages and a glass pitcher
2. Dip the rim of each glass in corn syrup; then dip the rim into a plate of colored sugar
2. Squeeze butterscotch topping into a tall glass; add a little cream soda; mix until thoroughly combined
3. Pour all remaining soda into the glass pitcher
4. Add butterscotch mix to the pitcher; stir
5. Serve over ice immediately

I enjoyed both the books and the movies much more than I thought I would. The character growth, the clearly defined struggle, the challenge of real relationships, the examples of sacrifice, and the story of redemption--there's a whole lotta good stuff going on. I'm not saying they're my favorite books, but I would argue that Harry Potter has all of the elements of a great story.

I've never imagined myself admitting this, but now that I've finished, I do think the series actually is worth all of the hype.

And in the words of Ron and Hermione, "Always the tone of surprise." ;-)

♥, Molly

A Smiling Face is Half the Meal

Hannah, Jill, Shera
Sarah, Jen, Molly
Almost every Tuesday for the past two years, I've gathered with these lovely ladies to share a meal and to share what's happening in our day to day lives. It's become our "Hump Day" tradition and a very special part of my weekly routine.

When I was planning on moving to Saudia Arabia, Jill decided to create "Hump Day Recipes: A Collection of Tuesday Night Dinners" as a going away present.

Jill's Broccoli & Sun-dried Tomato Quinoa; Sarah's Canadian Apple Dip
(Ha ha! Little did they know they'd be stuck with me another year!)

Each person was requested to submit recipes and photographs in the following categories:



Sarah's Pesto Pasta (with Bacon); Jill's Pomegranate Spinach Salad; Sarah's Nutella Pastry Pockets
They were ever so sly about things and even managed to get a couple of my own recipes in the book without raising my suspicions.

Many, many thanks to you all. Special kudos to Jill (for typing, formatting, and submitting the book), to Sarah (for typing, formatting, and photos) and to Hannah & her aunt (for bringing the book from L.A. to Korea to Abu Dhabi!). It's a brilliant idea and something I'm looking forward to using. I love it!


photos by Sarah
And I love you all, too. ;-)


Hannah's Korean Tofu Tacos
I'm looking forward to seeing your smiling faces across from me at the dinner table in September!

♥,
Molly

Bossypants

Image from Babble
{10.2011}

Another whirlwind trip to the US prompted me to purchase this book. It was spendy, but the wit was worth every penny. Favorite sections include 'bravo, bravo, bravo', the bits about Saturday Night Live, and the 'MVP jokes' from 30 Rock. I also particularly enjoyed her description of getting a manicure. It made me laugh to the point that the people sitting next to me in the airport seemed a tad nervous.
-m.

Read reviews and order your own copy here.