Hi, my name is Angela, and i'm an addict...

...a book addict! I can't help myself. I have books everywhere. Many I haven't yet read. But I still can't keep myself from going to book sales and racking up loads of books for $2/ea. If it's a disease, then I like this kind of being ill.

Here is what I scored at the New Hanover County Public Library Friends of the Library book sale this weekend.

excerpt from the 1000 Journals Project

maybe my most prized find...$2 each!

Alaska - Take One

Well, some of you may know, others may not, that I took a trip to Alaska recently. Actually, less recent then I'd like to admit. I've been back for 4 weeks. I'm shaking my finger at myself, you don't need to do it for me. I can't explain why I've waited 4 weeks to share this awesomeness with you. I can, but I'm just not going to. How's that for honesty?  Regardless, the wait is over. I now give you: Alaska: Take One!

All Aboard

That's NOT the cruise ship I was on, so credit to google image for the shot. Take a look at the bottom map. We traveled the Inside Passage. In the top map you can see the specific places that we cruised to. We left Seattle on a Tuesday afternoon. It was a beautiful, cloudless, warm day in Seattle, WA. I think most of the locals were freaked out. This particular southern beach bum was ecstatic. It was my kind of weather. We spent all day Wednesday at sea. That day consisted of lots of walking around the ship, getting acclimated, I got to meet all the awesome Noble County friends that accompanied my family on this trip. Honestly, a lot of alcohol was consumed...that's my best memory of the day this late in the game. I did include a picture at the end of this scroll of all the wine I smuggled on the ship. Each passenger is allowed ONE bottle of wine. I'm the only wine drinker out of the entire group so I had 7 bottles brought on board. All for me! I'm pretty sure that on Wednesday night I drank almost 2 bottles. Picture evidence would conclude that I carried the bottle around the ship with me versus going back and forth to the room for a refill. I was on vacation. Come on!

Seattle from the ship as we were leaving port. Gorgeous!

Check out the clear view of Mt. Rainer behind Seattle's port from the Puget Sound

Excited about setting sail

I make art with my smuggled wine

This shot was taken in one of the ships many bars, with my bottle of wine that I carried around that evening. 

Tracy Arm Fjord

Thursday the Carnival Miracle cruised through the Tracy Arm Fjord. Tracy Arm is a fjord in Alaska near Juneau. It is named after the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin Tracy. It is located off of Holkham Bay and adjacent to Stephens Passage within the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the United States Congress in 1980.

Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness contains 653,179 acres and consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over 30 miles long and one-fifth of their area is covered in ice. During the summer, the fjords have considerable floating ice ranging from hand-sized to pieces as large as a three-story building. 

The deep passageways and thin continental shelf leads to unique connections between offshore and inshore waters. The colder water temperature, nutrient rich upwelling, and strong currents allow for many species that live in deeper water to survive in the shallower waters 

Here are some photos of the beauty of this area. It was so impressive to be on such a large ship out in this narrow passage. The water is extremely deep though and offers easy cruising for ships through the area. 

kayaking

I have one word for you: majestic. 

Stay tuned for part deux: Skagway!

Links of the Week 9/13/13 with a Friday the 13th Special

I haven't done a "Links of the Week" post in a while. Between vacation and conferences I haven't been at a computer much. I've still been reading and saving links, just haven't been able to post them for you. So, without further delay, I bequeath to you some of my favorite stuff from around the web as of late. 

Because it's football season (arrrggghhhh) and because my Pirates are #2 on the list

Pretty cool Tumblr I ran across

I think I'll make this, white pizza dip, to get fat on during football tomorrow! 

Now that I'm salivating...I'll go ahead and share this recipe for Baked Asiago Green Bean Fries I want to try

Mazzy Star is going on tour. Of course, she's coming no where close enough for me to go. Anyone able to teleport me to one of these cities for cheap?

You may have watched this by now. In honor of my #1 beer choice and the pure awesomeness of this commercial. Here it is again. Well done, Guinness!

16 Totally Normal Phobias You Didn't Know Had Names

A Decade of Weather in 3 Minutes. This is pretty amazing, especially if you look out for the major storms that we've experienced over the years. 

True Crime stories if you're a junkie like me!

This is an article for many of my friends, whom like myself have student loan balances that weigh surpass our annual salary.

Are you left or right brain predominant?

These made me laugh

The Power of Doing Something Meaningless.

I'll be using this in defense of my poor decision making in the future!

And...here's another interesting article discussing money worries and decision making. 

I already loved The Science Guy, do you? 

"Welcome to the winter of our discontent" That's probably one of my favorite lines from one of my all time favorite movies. Reality Bites may be back as a comedy series. YES!!!!!! Big Gulps for all. :)

Thanks, Upworthy, for this little bit of amusing sarcasm

Here's your Friday the 13th extra special link. I've been saving this one for weeks to share:

50 OMG stories that will make your heart stop beating.

xoxo,
Angela

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Diaz

Synopsis: Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a New Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fukú — the ancient curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent victim - until the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.

With dazzling energy and insight, Junot Díaz immerses us in the uproarious lives of our hero Oscar, his runaway sister Lola, and their ferocious beauty-queen mother Belicia, and in the epic journey from Santo Domingo to Washington Heights to New Jersey's Bergenline and back again. Rendered with uncommon warmth and humor, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and the endless human capacity to persevere - and to risk it all - in the name of love.

My Review: I have wanted to read this book for years. Seriously, years. It just kept getting pushed back as new book club books came around and of course life. I have to say that, finally, a Pulitzer prize winner that I devoured and loved and would read again and recommend to everyone! Such smooth writing and witty humor. Despite the obvious culture differences, there were relateable references that made me smile. I've included my favorites below. I can't say enough positive things about this book. I will say that it's not a happy go lucky story. Don't try and make this a light read. That it is not. That being said, I read it on vacation. I loved it so much I almost completed the whole book in the span of one plane ride to the west coast. 

Here are some dog-eared honorable mentions: 

What grade A story doesn't make at least one Star Wars reference? "Perhaps if like me he'd been able to hide his otakuness maybe shit would have been easier for him, but he couldn't. Dude wore his neediness like a Jedi wore his light saber or a Lensman her lens. Couldn't have passed for normal if he'd wanted to."

And, a U2 reference! "...I would become a backup singer for U2, and both Bono and the drummer would fall in love with me, and Oscar could become the Dominican James Joyce."

The use of phrases like this: "Writing checks with his mouth that his ass could never hope to cover."

The rawness of Oscar's emotions: " I can't, he whimpered. My heart is overthrown."

This reference to a beloved author: "Oscar peeped the astrology books under the bed and a collection of Paulo Coelho novels. She followed his gaze and said with a smile, Paulo Coelho saved my life."

Wit like this: "But then I'd by lying. I know I've thrown a lot of fantasy and sci-fi in the mix but this is supposed to be a true account of the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Can't we believe that an Ybon can exist and that a brother like Oscar might be due a little luck after twenty-three years? This is your chance. If blue pill, continue. If red pill, return to the Matrix."

Recommendation: Go to your nearest library sale or used book store. Buy a copy of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Read it. Give it to someone else that has yet to read it. Enjoy the feeling of passing on a wonderful book. 

Find more on Goodreads.

p.s. here's a disclaimer for the future of my blog. I thought it would be super awesome to one day get paid to blog about books. I have come to the sad realization that it was only going to be a possibility if I dropped everything else in life to have the time, committed to reading a lot of books, and most importantly that I would have to read YA books and mostly romancey or futuristic stuff or omg vampires. So, from this point forward I'm not going to focus on writing professional reviews that will draw attention. I'm just going to write these for fun and so I can actually remember what I loved about a book when I read it. 

top ten books we'd love to see as a movie or tv show

top ten  books we'd love to see as a movie or tv show

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Each week they post a new Top Ten List topic. If you would like to participate just add your url to their widget and make sure you link back to their blog in your post. You can participate even without a blog. Just make a comment below with your top ten! 

The Shadow of the Wind - Obvious choice because it's a fantastic novel of mystery and it's centered around a book of secrets. It would be great as a movie or a tv series. 

A Visit From the Good Squad - I'd love to see these characters brought to life on the big screen. Between the  punk rock flash backs and the level of depth that Egan gives to her characters this would make a great movie. To be honest, I'd like to see any of her novels made into a movie. Her stories are exceptional.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette - I think this would make a great comedy of sorts. The awkwardness and humor surrounding the events and characters is better than any "Housewives" show on the air. 

Let's Pretend This Never Happened - I know this is a memoir, but to see a 30 minutes sitcom each week of a story from The Bloggess would be like Betty White meets Duck Dynasty and America's Funniest Videos all in one show!

Paint it Black - White Oleander did well on the big screen and Paint it Black is an equally dark and wicked portrait of youth gone bad. I think another Fitch novel would make a great movie.

She's Come Undone OR I Know This Much Is True - Either of these Wally Lamb novels I would race to see in theaters. Lamb's stories are so psychologically intense and thought provoking. His writing mesmerizes me. I feel deeply emotional for the characters and easily get lost in the story.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - It's a cheesy love story that makes me think of Practical Magic, one of my favorites. There is also a great historical undertone that would make a great backdrop for said love story.

Skeletons at the Feast - This Bohjalian novel would make a great period piece. I love all his books that I've read but I think this one would be interesting to watch and see the costumes and camera technology.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - A recent interview with the author suggests there will be no movie in the future. This is another love story that houses so much historical significance that I'd be very excited to see it turned into a film.

So, agree? Disagree? Tell me what you think and don't forget to visit The Broke and the Bookish and check out some other suggestions.

Weekend-er "Labor Day"

Labor, I did not, this weekend. Lounge, I did. After a two week vacation (vaca posts still in the works!) and the first 5 day work week since May, I desperately needed a few days of sleeping in and lounging around. I fooled myself into thinking a "to do" list would get me motivated on much needed catch-up stuff. Fooled is very appropriate for how I played that one out.

I started watching the show Orphan Black on BBCAmerica. It's pretty awesome.

My Pirates won their season and home opener on Saturday. I love college football season! Here's our 2013 video.

On top of being lazy, I didn't get any blog posts done last week. So, this week look for Top Ten Tuesday and Thursday Thirteen posts. I also have a couple more book reviews in the works. Most importantly, vacation pictures! I had almost 2000 pictures between us. I'm trying to be creative and put everything into a nice slide show so I don't have to explain everything to everyone. I'm just as impatient to share as most of my friends and coworkers are to hear about it.

Since I didn't get a post up for Links of the Week last week here is what I've been hoarding while I've been away from the computer. I hope that they're not too outdated at this point.

Pretty much the best customer support conversation ever! 

100 YEARS/STYLE/EAST LONDON (really cool video my friend Laura shared with me)

10 Reasons Jim Sturgess is Perfect !!!!

Can't wait for it to warm up to make this: Thai Coconut Corn and Mushroom Soup

This video had me doubled over laughing. I still don't know what Vine is tho. :)

Of course, I found this video before blurred lines became so obsessivley obnoxious. It's Star Wars though, so it's worth watching. 

Have a great week everyone I'm of to State Employees Anual Convention and to see my bestie from forever ago. 

xoxo

Angela

"Grace" by Elizabeth Nunez

Grace

by Elizabeth Nunez

Justin Peters is a Harvard-educated professor of British and classic literature who reads Shakespeare to his four-year-old daughter, Giselle. A native of Trinidad and the product of a strict, English-style education, Justin and his focus on the works of “Dead White Men” receive little professional respect at the public Brooklyn college where he teaches. But whatever troubles he might have at work are eclipsed when he realizes his wife, Sally, has begun to pull away from him, both physically and emotionally.

Harlem-born Sally Peters, a mother on the verge of turning forty, is a primary school teacher who believes that joy is a learned skill, and that it takes strength to be happy. After a life of tragic losses, Sally thought she had finally found that strength when she met Justin. 

But now, Sally wants something more. And Justin is angered by her uncertainty about their life and frightened by the thought that perhaps Sally never stopped loving the ex-boyfriend for whom she wrote fierce poems. Is he, Justin wonders, responsible for helping Sally find meaning in her life—a life that seems to him most fortunate? If Sally and Justin’s union is to survive, both must face the crippling echoes of their own pasts before those memories forever cloud and alter their future.

My Review: I have to admit that I finished the book several weeks ago before I went on a two week vacation. I should have made the time to write this before I left. This late in the game I don't really have any lasting impressions. Note to self: take notes as you read if you want to be a successful blogger! Self: thanks for the advice, consider it done! Overall, I found this a hard story to follow. I don't think that the character development was strong enough to pull me in. Not being in a relationship or having children made it that much more difficult to make a connection with the story. Justin seemed like an overbearing control freak. Just the reason I haven't been in a relationship in many years. Sally's character was so overshadowed that the author left me feeling like she was just a whiny brat who is too weak to define herself. 

I wish I had more to discuss. Grace just wasn't the love story for me even if Justin did share his library in the end. 

Recommendation: Although this wasn't a book that I got lost in I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's not for everyone. It's a different kind of love story. It's a story that I think you'll appreciate if you've been in a committed relationship and experienced emotional turmoil or ever felt like maybe you lost the real you somewhere along the way. Honestly, I have a hard time completely disliking any book, so there ya go. I also can't not finish a book, so there's another one. If I don't feel like I wasted my time then it was worth it. What have you got to lose? 

Find more on Goodreads