Reading Nooks and Book Reviews

I'm curled up in bed on this lazy Saturday afternoon, reading and revising and staring off into space. As much as I love my bed (any bed, really!) and my warm comforter, I'd love to carve out a little reading nook to call my own. Like these!

Or this lovely outside nook:

Maybe one day I'll win the lottery and move into a seaside cottage with lots of land with old fruit trees (and a mini horse! and a koala!) and I'll make myself a cool reading nook.

'Cause that can totally happen. 

On a book-related note, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of what I've been reading the past month. Between long plane rides and rainy Seattle afternoons, I've been able to consume quite a few novels and science-y books. A few them include: 

CINDER by Marissa Meyer

While Justin and I were in Washington state, I was lucky enough to attend Marissa Meyer's book launch in Tacoma. (Justin was very kind to tag along. And he waited in the 90-minute line with me! A true husband.) Marissa is simply lovely and I proceeded to gobble her debut novel the next day, in about five hours.

My favorite part? The world-building. I have never encountered a setting like this before, a futuristic Beijing populated with robots and palaces, with cybernetic girls and imperial princes.  I simply loved getting lost in Cinder's world. 

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukheejee

Sometimes I get in a mood where I only want to read science books. Which is a litte perplexing since I despised my chemistry and physics classes in high school. (I don't care about velocity! Or the structure of atoms!) The weird ironies of life, huh? 

The Emperor of All Maladies caught my eye because it received all sorts of praise from book reviewers. It also won the Pulitzer. In essence, it is a "biography" of cancer: how mankind has dealt with this awful disease, how we've defined it, and how we've battled to cure it. Admittedly, the book got pretty darn technical in some chapters but I just skipped those parts because this book really is good. 

It amazed me  to learn how cancer has been treated in the past. Gruesome, really. In the 1800s, doctors used to "cure" breast cancer by chopping off a woman's breast along with the muscles that extended to the collarbone, effectively causing the woman to droop over for the rest of her life. But, despite the gruesome details, this book truly honors the hundreds of doctors who devoted their lives to curing cancer and the thousands of patients who volunteered for these radical---and sometimes deadly---new treatments. A must-read. (But, yeah, skip those dry chapters.)

Starters by Lissa Price

I was lucky enough to snag an e-galley of this much-buzzed novel, which debuts in March 2012. (Thanks, NetGalley!) The premise itself is ready for a big Hollywood movie: 

In a world ravaged by war and genocide, becoming someone else is now possible. Sixteen-year-old Callie discovers the Body Bank where teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again.

In a single word, this book is fast-paced. Holy mother! I couldn't stop flipping the pages on this one. The plot had me guessing at every chapter. The good guys? Not always so good. The bad guys? Not necessarily all bad. And there were some really fantastic twists at the end of the book, one of which made me go Whoa, I never saw that coming. 

Okay then, back to work! I need to finish my latest revision on my YA alternate history so I can send it to another round of beta readers. Then, onto Agent Jim! But what have you been reading lately? Any good recommendations? 

Sunday Six

One

After five weeks in Seattle, Justin and I finally arrived in DC yesterday morning. It's so good to be home. It's so very nice to sleep in our own bed, to curl up on our couch, to be surrounded by my much-missed books. 

But it's also bittersweet. Only five weeks ago, we were packing our bags, getting ready for our trip to the Keys, chatting about the beach and the sun. And now, well, everything has changed. Everything feels a bit strange. A bit off. I wish we didn't have to adjust to this new sense of normal but it's something we have to do. 

Two

On a lighter note, I'm so grateful that I could spend time with my niece, Rowan. She's three right now and being three comes with so much wonderful-ness: the little girl giggles, the pouty stubborn lips, and especially the sheer joy over the small things. Like stickers. Or candy. Or snow. Good Lord, she'd open her eyes so wide whenever she talked about snow! It was like twenty-dollar bills were falling from the sky.

Gosh, I want to be three again! 

Three

Once Rowan discovered that I had a camera on my laptop, all was lost. She especially liked making funny faces. A few of our masterpieces:

Four
On another lighter note, Justin got me a Kindle Fire as a belated Christmas present! Aside from a few kinks, I'm loving it so far, which surprises me because I was very much anti-ereader for years. (Paper books forever!) So I suppose I have ventured to the dark side... (Full review to come.)

Five
So. Some bad news. Justin is leaving for Afghanistan again, this time for six months. *Insert super sad face* But some good news? We'll get to do some traveling for his R&Rs! Right now, I'm a little enamored with Croatia, mostly because I want to visit this place:

Courtesy of Jack Brauer

Six
Well, I feel completely out of the loop in terms of blogging! What's going on with you guys? What's new? What are your reading? How's life?

Happy 2012?

Justin keeps telling me that I should post something new on my blog but I've been hemming and hawing. Truth be told, I'm not sure what to post about. More stories of Aimee? Or my little niece Rowan? Or, perhaps, delve back into the reading and writing realm?

I don't know. I guess that's why I've been avoiding my little blog for the past week. I'm not quite sure what to say, what's right to say.

But, lately, I have been thinking a lot about 2012 and what I'd like to hope for and strive for this year. I noticed that a few of my friends have chosen specific words as their New Year's goals, which I think is a fantastic idea. Of course, when it came to choosing my own word, it took me a really long time since I'm the most indecisive person in the word but I've finally settled on one.

Peace.

Peaceful emotionally. Peaceful mentally. Peaceful professionally.

2011 wasn't a very peaceful year for me and Justin. It was a year bookended by tragedy--in January we attended his father's funeral and in December we attended his sister's. And in between, there were two trips to Afghanistan for him and some major writing woes for me.

That isn't to say we were miserable, of course! Because we've laughed and we've traveled and we've loved spending time together, whether it's on the couch or at the movies or gawking at giant sea turtles in Oahu.

But...it was a trying year. And it was made even more trying because I didn't let myself feel peace. Whenever I got angry with my writing, I let those feelings stew. Whenever I got frustrated with my mom, I let that eat away at me. When I felt disappointment, I let it takeover. Overall, I'm a rather happy and positive and upbeat person but 2011 tested that.

So, yes. Peace. I need that this year. Very much so. This will be tough for me since I'm the kind of person who's ruled by her emotions. (Did any of you ever take the color personality test? Yep, I'm a blue through and through.) But I really need a sense of peace to anchor me this year, so I can get through the hard times and keep a level-head during the good ones. Whatever comes my way in 2012, I hope I can face it with grace, with humility, and with peace.

Here's to a wonderful new year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Sometimes, Life Isn't Very Fair

Sometimes, life isn't very fair.

I feel that sentiment now, in my bones, in my heart. I feel it every day, every hour even. I feel it every time I look at my niece, Rowan.

Today, I watched after Rowan while her father, Pat, was at work. We had a tea party with grandma and with Uncle Justin, and then we settled down for some cartoons. (Dora, her favorite.) At one point, Rowie climbed over to me, curling her little body next to mine, and she stared at me with her great blue eyes.

She said, "I love you, Caroline!"

And I melted. And I hugged her close. And I thought...

Life isn't fair. Aimee should be here. She should watch her little girl grow. She should wake up next to her husband. She should be here, instead of there. Here, with us. Here, with Rowan.

Can I tell you guys a little story about Aimee? I'm babbling now but it's a nice story and it shows what a kind and loving and generous person she was.

When Justin and I started talking about marriage, I told him I didn't need a fancy engagement ring. He was a soldier in the Army; I was a lowly curatorial assistant. I rationalized that it would be more practical to spend that money on furniture or bills or simply save it. Justin asked me if I was sure. I told him I was sure.

But...I'm a bit of a girly girl and engagement rings are rather pretty and it would have been nice if... Well, my practical side won out anyway.

When Justin told Aimee about our plans though, she told him she had an idea. Aimee had a diamond ring, one that meant a great deal to her. And she offered to give the diamond to her brother so, in turn, he could give it to me.

I had only met Aimee once at that point. Yet, here she was, offering up such a lovely gift. I was incredibly touched but, as I got to know Aimee more, I came to see that this was how she always was. Ready to give. Ready to smile. Ready to love.

I've worn my engagement ring every day for the past five years. It's pretty, it's lovely, just as Aimee was. And, now, every time I look at it, I think of her too.

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Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful and supportive comments, emails, and texts. I can't tell you  how grateful I am for your friendship and outreach. I know I haven't been able to respond to everyone individually (I'm workin' on it!) but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your support. It means the world to me. It really, really does.