Coconut Library

Sunday Salon :: My Reading Garden

 

 my cat waiting very "patiently" to go outside in the morning -- just moments before she was sitting on her haunches (bear style) pawing at the window

I finally have my own (very small) reading garden on the back patio of my townhouse. I live in the city, so I don't have any yard. None at all... not one blade of grass that is my very own. But I do have three patios, and in the three years I have lived here I have done nothing with them. They have been the last parts of the house to get put together. Namely because they're not incredibly private, so I don't spend a lot of time out there. However, the back patio off of my kitchen (pictured above) is possibly the most private so I decided to make it into a reading garden. I spent this week at Osh, talking with the people in the nursery, buying plants and figuring out how to get the trellises home (on which I am growing Jasmine to make a wall between me and my neighbors) in my little black Jetta (sticking out of both back seat windows, thank you very much). I bought the chairs at Rite Aid and had the little round stool already. So I got down and dirty and cleaned up the porch, planted the flowers, and added the chairs. Then I spent the next few mornings reading The Hunger Games out there while having breakfast. My cat (who is an indoor cat and goes out there with me on a leash -- not her favorite thing, but she's super fast and I don't need her jumping up a tree in the blink of an eye) now reminds me every morning, by meowing incessantly, that we need to go outside and eat water the flowers (she pays particular attention to the grass and I keep her away from the rest... and try to keep her away from the grass and direct her to her 'kitty grass' that I have near her food). 

I'm so glad I finally took the time to do this. I am really enjoying it! One of my favorite places to read is at my mom's house. She has a large courtyard that is to die for with an in ground garden that is incredible. We sit there often to read and talk and I love it:

    

     

 Recently, we got some chairs for another grassy area that we sit and read in, and it's heavenly in the afternoons with cool grass under our feet and the trees blocking the hot sun.

 

 

Someday, I will have a place of my own that is not attached to anyone else's home, that boasts grass and an in ground garden, and I will love it to bits and pieces. But for now, I will be satisfied with the new reading garden -- my little corner of the city. 

Sunday Salon :: Help Me Choose What to Read Next!

Happy Sunday to you all, and happy father's day to the dad's out there! I've had a lovely weekend; movie with friends Friday night, and a beautiful bridal shower most of the day yesterday along with a bit of shopping and hanging out with my brother last night. Today I'm trying to stay off the computer (as much as possible!) which is difficult to do right now as I have lots of "work" stuff to do. But I have decided that today is not going to be about work. When I am done with this, I am off the computer for the day. Well, pretty much off the computer for the day. :) 

There are a few movies I want to see; Cyrus, Stonewall Uprising, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So hopefully one will be in the cards for today. I also have some reading that I need to get done. I am in the middle of a review book that hasn't picked up for me yet (though I hear there's a twist at the end that's worth my while). To be honest, after The Shadow of the Wind and now this current book, I want something totally brainless. Or rather, something that I can just want to plop down in the grass with a snack and a drink and spend a day totally getting sucked into. I am craving one of those books that make you forget to answer the phone and race to and from the bathroom to get back to (when you finally can't hold it anymore and have to literally peel yourself away from the book to even get to the bathroom). I am desperate for a book that I don't have to "keep reading because it gets better." I'm sick of those. There are plenty of those kinds of books. And I happen to read quite a lot of them. 

I went to the library and have a few that I'm hoping will satisfy this itch for a really good book. Here's what I came home with:

        

... and then here are a few that I already own that I have heard are finger-lickin' good:

          

Honestly, people -- I don't need it to be a brain child (obviously, look at some of the titles above), but I do ABSOLUTELY NEED it to be a bona-fide page turner. Pretty much from beginning to end. That or I'm going to be forced to watch a lot of TV and movies instead (which I do anyway, but this would be epic). I know, I know it's dreadful. You might be asking yourself why I need such a find, well... it's summer, it's relaxation time, I need to be lured away from working on my projects all the time, I need to be entertained! 

So can you help a sister out? Help me pick what to read. Preferably out of the books above (because I already have them in arm's reach), but if there is something that's not on that list but absolutely should be -- shout it out. 

Sunday Salon :: Bloggiesta Finish Line

 

  

I spent most of my weekend working on my blog. Not just the appearance, but so many things that go into a blog. I participated in the Bloggiesta hosted by Natasha at Maw Books (which you know if you've been reading my blog this weekend). I'm glad that I did this Bloggiesta now that I have been blogging for a year because it gave me the ability to really understand some of the mini-challenges in a way that I wouldn't have been able to when I first started. 

I am tired. I've spent about 20 hours working on blog stuff this weekend. But I'm the better for it. I've "met" a myriad of other book bloggers and jumped into the pool of the book blogging community head first! It's been wonderful. 

I'm still working my way through The Shadow of the Wind for June Book Club selection. I'd like to finish it soon because there are so many books I want to read. My update post will be here on Tuesday, but I have to say that this book is hit or miss for me. Some chapters fly by and some completely lose my attention. 

So, I'm going to sign off now. Go get some groceries and maybe make a dent in Shadow before I turn on Gilmore Girls (one of my go-to veg out series, along with The West Wing) and get some more knitting done. I'm almost done with my blanket! If I could figure out a way to knit and read, that would be fantastic. Someone needs to invent a reading stand that will hover over my big reading chair and still give me enough room to move my needles. If you invent that, please let me know. I'll be on the list to buy it! I think I probably sound like an 80 year-old grandma right now, but oh well... I loves me some knitting and reading. 

Stay tuned this week for some of the new things I am implementing. You will start to see more new post series here that hopefully you will like. I'm excited about them! 

Happy Sunday night, enjoy the last hours of your weekend!

Sunday Salon {The Wordy Shipmates :: review}

 

(pictured: audio CD version)

The Wordy Shipmates

By Sarah Vowell

paperback, 256 pages. Riverhead. $10.88

published 2008

 

For those of us who love U.S. History, this is like getting extra cupcakes at a birthday party. If Sarah Vowell had been your teacher in school, she would have been the cool one. The one whose class you couldn't wait to get to because she was smart (and by smart I mean seriously intelligent) and funny and dorky/hip and you actually remembered what she was teaching because it didn't feel like history. 

In The Wordy Shipmates, Vowell takes us through the colonization of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (which, in case you aren't familiar, is basically the beginning of the United States of America). By the end of the book the reader feels like John Winthrop, Roger Williams, and Anne Hutchinson are as familiar as people who live down the street. She mixes current day musings with links to our past and often shines a humorous light on some of the antiquated trends in our current society by explicitly revealing where they came from. 

Note to reader, you must be interested in this topic already, or else, I fear you will not enjoy it as much as I did; laughing out loud to myself in the car and rolling up my windows at stoplights so people didn't think I was jarringly quirky (do you realize how weird our history sounds when it's blaring out one's windows?). While I would give this book four stars if every reader were interested in what I am, I have to take into account that this book is not only in a particular genre, but also of a certain political view, which is not even close to being neutral. That said, I can think of several of my right leaning friends who, even if they loved history, would not love Sarah Vowell. But for the rest of us, she is a sweet treat and I can't wait to read more of her work!

*** Per recommendation of the friend who introduced me to Vowell, I listened to this book instead of reading it (it is read by the author) and I can't emphasize enough how much that added to the experience. Vowell's unique voice and inflection are priceless. 

Rating: Three Stars

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Sunday Salon {The Map of True Places :: review}

 

The Map of True Places

By Brunonia Barry

407 pages. William Morrow. $25.99

published May 1, 2010

Fans of Brunonia Barry will enjoy her second novel, The Map of True Places. Set in Massachusetts and continuing with the theme of motherless daughters with tragic yet magical and mysterious pasts that play heavily into who they are as adults, Barry's protagonists in both of her books have more in common than the fact that they call everyone in their families by their first names instead of the usual familiar monikers. An enchanting tale though not written in the tightest prose; with an irksome habit of repeating the same information in the span of a couple of paragraphs (among others throughout the book, the line: "The dory was later discovered on the  Miseries, oarlocks worn down to bare bone" was repeated almost verbatim from three paragraphs before), and spots at the beginning where the reader is left so in the dark about what is going on that it's tempting to skip paragraphs. While sometimes dumbing down the reader with unnecessary plot or character reminders, the author contrasts that by giving those who know their history (i.e. The Troubles in Northern Ireland, Hawthorne history, etc.) subtle lines and interwoven plot details that perhaps allow them to enjoy the book that much more than their counterparts. Though nothing is lost if one does not catch these historical nuances because, as always, Barry manages to use the more pivotal details teach us all some nuggets about the past that are both interesting and intelligent. Among other things, Barry has an uncanny ability to write stories that balance on the threshold of reality and fantasy, while mixing together a delightful amount of history and profound musings that keep the reader wanting more. 

When we meet Zee Finch she is working as a psychotherapist in a prominent office in Boston. Lilly Braedon enters her life and won't let go, not even after she has committed suicide on a day that changes Zee's life forever. Lilly is a catalyst for many turning points throughout this novel, and she perhaps sums up the theme of this work in a statement on page 49, "We think we're free... but we're not. We're the product of every association we've ever made, and sometimes of ones we inherited from people we never even knew." Barry continues to prove this statement in her work as Zee returns to Salem, her home town, after Lilly's funeral to care for her ailing father. It is here that the story really begins to take flight as Zee is confronted with her ghosts and battles them. Characters from The Lace Reader (Barry's debut novel) reprise their roles as Barry fleshes out the story by building the plot and working the town into the tale in the way that is becoming her trademark. Another signature Barry move, interweaving a story within the story, creates more tension and mystery. In this novel, the inner story is as much of a treat as the main plot. It is also a delicious means of foreshadowing towards the end, answering questions that linger throughout the novel. Love, acceptance, tragedy, and renewal all abound in this story that will keep you turning pages until the very end. 

Rating: Three and a Half Stars

 

Sunday Salon :: your inner dork's guide to gambling

 

 

I did something very unusual this weekend. I went on a trip and only took one book with me. Not a big deal to most of you, I'm sure. However, I'm not sure I have ever done this. Ever. But I figured that I would only be gone for about 48 hours and there wouldn't be much time for reading so I would be safe. To save you the suspense, I was. I made it through both flights and a delay on my way up to San Francisco without finishing the book, thank goodness. On the way home I started to get worried though. As I whizzed through the pages I noticed the chunk in my right hand getting smaller and smaller and started to wonder what I would do with myself if I finished before we landed! Thank goodness I didn't or I might have had to do the unthinkable and start talking to a stranger on the plane just to pass the time. 

So, for a small time today I felt a bit like someone who gambles might. Like I was living on the edge. Devil-may-care, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants.  Only, in my case it was a book and not money. And the only thing that would happen is that I would be very bored and end up over preparing with books the next time I went on a trip and not loosing hundreds of dollars to a slimy casino. Different strokes for different folks... Some people need the roll of the dice, a drink in their hand, hundreds (or thousands on the table), and an audience surrounding the table to get their adrenaline pumping. And others of us need a book that is quickly being finished and no way to get to another one (insert the mandatory thank-goodness-for-e-readers here) to feel the same thing.  I'm just wild I tell you... wild. 

Hope you had some good excitement this Sunday as well. 

xo,
The Coconut Librarian

Sunday Salon -- Happy Mother's Day!

image source

 

Who got you into reading? My mom was the one who initiated my passion. I can't remember a time we didn't read together while growing up. And books were the one thing that my mom always said we could have as many as we wanted of. Some of my earliest memories are of going to the library in Glencoe, Illinois (where I was born) and checking out books (and watching Curious George, they had a little screening room for little people). And I remember when I was first able to sign my name... it was on the back of my first library card when we moved to Colorado. My mom spent as much time searching through bookshelves as I do now, and I imagine that is part of the reason why I love it as much as I do. Books and reading were always a part of our family, and I hope when I have kids the love of reading will be passed on to them too. As I got older my teachers, undoubtedly, added to this passion but it is my mom who always kept it alive and still does. When I have a question I can't answer or a subject I'm interested in she always says, "maybe there's a good book you can find on that."

So here's to my mom and all of the other mom's who gave the passion of reading to their children. What an extraordinary gift and contribution to our lives. 

Happy Mother's Day!

xo, 
The Coconut Librarian

Sunday Salon

 

 

I hope you're Sunday is going well! I've managed to get myself locked out of my house today, meet some new neighbors in the search for a telephone, and am now back inside and a bit tired from all the excitement. It's a good day to just curl up with the NEW BOOK I am reading! I finished Size 14 is Not Fat Either, which I absolutely think would make an adorable TV show {and have passed that idea along, by the way}, so get reading and tell me what you think. Honestly, if you like mysteries, but don't want to be afraid to turn out the light -- these chick-lit books are for you. But I'm ahead of myself, that review will be posted this week.

Right now I'm working on Needles and Pearls, which I'm SO excited about because I am in love with these characters and have been waiting for this sequel to come to me from the publisher. {I know, I've already said this, but just want to say it again because it's true.}

So, I'm going to go take a nap/reading session on my reading chair under my favorite soft blanket and rest up before a night out to dinner with friends. 

What are you up to this lovely Sunday afternoon?

Sunday Salon -- Size 12 is Not Fat

 

I was at the book store, the other day, buying a gift for a friend when I came across Meg Cabot's book, Size 12 is Not Fat. Did I need this book? No. Did I want to take that title to the cash register for the clerk to see? No. {Keep in mind that I'm the girl who has a hard time even buying tampons. At 30 years-old}. Did I need a break from the very entertaining, but incredibly long The Crimson Petal and the White? Yes.

{I am really liking Crimson, by the way, but honestly-- it would be a miracle for a book that is almost a thousand pages to hold my attention {non-stop} the entire way through. So, I've read a few books while reading Crimson, and now I've decided to read a few books instead of reading Crimson... then I'll be ready to head back into it full force.} 

Okay, back to my story. So I was perusing the aisles at the book store when the title {Size 12, in case you forgot} caught my eye. I tried to put it back, but just couldn't. I really wanted something pretty brainless to veg out to. It's been awhile since I've read one of those easy, lose yourself in them, better-than-fries-and-with-a-milkshake books. Well, maybe not better than, but just as good as. So, I walked confidently up to the cash register {really, who cares what that I'm buying a book that's title is embarrassing, right? I'm 30 years old.. time to grow up}, placed the gift books on the counter as well as Size 12, and told the man behind the counter that I would indeed need gift receipts for all the books please. OK, so I'll never buy embarrassing books without either ordering them from Amazon or buying them "for a friend" and getting a gift receipt. Kuddos to you brave souls who can. 

So, I opened Size 12 yesterday and have not stopped reading since - unless I need to be doing something else. Like going to the bathroom, for example. Which I've taken to holding for as long as I can so I don't have to put the book down. Or even leaving the house for plans I have, and {seriously} considering whether I should bring the book along just in case I have a chance to read a few pages {I was heading out for a party, by the way... no instances of book reading would have been appropriate - even for me}.

What is the premise of this book? Good question. Heather Wells, residence hall assistant director, gets involved in solving the mystery of the murders of two freshman girls in the residence hall she works at in New York City. While I am THE world's most ridiculous scaredy-cat, this book has not frightened me in the least. Which is weird, because the murders are kind of creepy... but the author writes in such a light, funny way that it doesn't bother me at all. And, in fact, I am really into the mystery. Which, with only about 50 pages {ok maybe a little  more than 50 pages} left, I think I have it figured out... but I'm not positive. Which is funny because I'm usually the person who reads the book {or watches the movie} and has it figured out about half way in. Not to say that this book is going to win any crazy awards for writing and mystery plot, but it should. It should win the So-Damn-Entertaining-That-I-Hold-My-Pee-Because-I-Don't-Want-to-Stop-Reading Award. And that's an award an author can be proud of. So, it's a treat to read something fun like this that has me wondering if I should go buy the sequel before I'm finished with the first so I don't get have an {in my head, of course, not out loud} tantrum that I can't finish the series until the book store opens. Unless, of course, it is on my Kindle {note to self: check on that immediately after finishing this post}.

To end, this heroine is a likeable, not entirely ridiculous character, which is something I look for in chick-lit because I'm over the protagonists who make me want to slap them silly. The plot moves along at a brisk pace and the reader is not bogged down with heady or boring back story. It is the perfect book for a long plane ride or a day at the beach {or a night when the only break you'll have to take is to get up to go to the bathroom, assuming you'll allow yourself ;)}. 
Four Coconuts *** I changed this from 5 to 4 after reading the ending {a bit cheesy} but still kept my attention to the last page!

xo,
The Coconut Librarian

P.S. I've included this book in my shop, in the right hand column of this page, for those of you who prefer to order your embarrassing titles from Amazon. :)

P.P.S. Need I remind you that this is chick-lit, not Hemingway? I've seen some reviews of this book that are pretty intense, which makes me wonder if people were confused, or somehow missed the title, when buying the book. This is definitely a gold star, unputdownable chick-lit novel... enjoy accordingly. {And remember it has been rated accordingly, as well -- against other books in its own genre}.

Sunday Salon

I'm just skirting in here at the end of Sunday, and I'll tell you why. I've been without power (including Internet) since 7:00 am. 

I woke up this morning thinking I had perhaps stepped into the book I just started reading, . I've only just begun to read this book, but the premise is that the author (a grad student at MIT) and his wife, decided to live with a conservative Amish group in Ohio for 18 months to do a study on how much technology helps us and how much it hinders us. I am fascinated by this (as I am by the Amish) but was very assured, today, that I in fact would probably suck at being Amish. At dinner tonight I kept asking my dinner partner, "what are we going to do tonight?" We were thinking it would probably be a night of reading by candlelight assuming we could get enough candles together to make some decent light for our eyes. When we got home and saw that the lights had come back on earlier than expected (the power  company was estimating midnight), I all but danced around the house. And now here I am with all the lights on, the TV going, and writing on my computer. I don't usually consider myself a technology addict, but tonight I am overdosing on account of being deprived. And even if I don't mind going a day or two without TV, I am not cut out for no lights. How am I to read??? I did remember that I have a book light that was given to me at a author's reading almost a year ago, and was going to tear into that if the lights didn't come on. 

What made you pick up that crazy book? You might ask. Well, I recently read a book called , which I thought was going to be about crafting, but ended up being about Urban Homesteading (something I've since learned has a much larger following than I would have ever imagined). I'll review that soon. 

As for tonight... I'm off to watch a movie on TV, read US Weekly, and look at two new books I have. One was a gift, (I will tell you all about it in another post... I want to live in these houses!!!), and one I bought now that I'm learning to sew,  , I can't wait to make some of these projects! 

What did you read this weekend?