Twenty under Forty: #7

New Yorker

Left to Right/Top to Bottom:

1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2. Chris Adrian 3. Daniel Alarcón 4. David Bezmozgis 5. Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

6. Joshua Ferris 7. Jonathan Safran Foer 8. Nell Freudenberger 9. Rivka Galchen 10. Nicole Krauss

11. Yiyun Li 12. Dinaw Mengestu 13. Philipp Meyer 14. C.E. Morgon 15. Téa Obreht

16. ZZ Packer 17. Karen Russell 18. Salvatore Scibona 19. Gary Shteyngart 20. Wells Tower

I love finding different ways of exploring my love of reading.  I found this list of young writers from the New Yorker and have decided it will be a fun project to read something by all of them.  I started with #7: Jonathan Safran Foer.  I have had a copy of Everything is Illuminated on my bookshelf for a few years now but hadn't read it yet because I had seen the movie first (which I LOVED), and therefore wanted to wait a significant amount of time before reading it, so it would have it's own impact on me.  Generally I try to read the book first, but that doesn't always happen.

As for Everything is Illuminated, I finished it last night...and I double LOVED it!  Oh, it made me laugh and it made me cry, sometimes both within only a few pages of each other.  When a young American Jew travels to Ukraine to find out who saved his Grandfather from the Nazi's, there is a story of immense sadness and tragedy mixed with the beauty of what it means to be alive and aware, to live and to love, or at least try to love. 

Ten off the top

"Unclose your mind. You are not a prisoner. You are a bird in flight, searching the skies for dreams."                  ~Haruki Murakami {from Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World}

Thoughts like that are why Haruki Murakami has held place in my heart as numero uno ever since I first peeled back the pages of the above book over 10 years ago...

As summer surges on, and with a Holiday weekend approaching I find myself thinking about books, books, books!  I have a few in mind to read this summer which I'll share in another post, but first I wanted to share some of my all time favorite reads.  These books are in no particular order other than Murakami's novel, which is what I'd take with me if I were stranded on a desert island and allowed only one book. 

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World ~ Haruki Murakami

One Hundred Years of Solitude ~ Gabriel García Márquez

Stone from the River ~ Ursula Hegi

Geek Love ~ Katherine Dunn

Tipping the Velvet ~ Sarah Waters

Of Human Bondage ~ W. Somerset Maugham

The Grapes of Wrath ~ John Steinbeck

The Alchemist ~ Paulo Coelho

The Fountainhead ~ Ayn Rand

In the Time of the Butterflies ~ Julia Alverez

What about you?  What books do you recommend off the cuff?  I love hearing about the books that inspire others.

Let's Grow!

I made my first trip to a local bookstore in our area.  I actually went there to order the next book for the The Slow Readers Book Club, which will be Alice I Have Been, by Melanie Benjamin.  When I walked in I quickly browsed the table upfront to see if anything caught my eye.  The Urban Homestead, by Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen did just that!

Having recently bought our first home, I am really excited to get a big garden going.  At our last place my husband was much more attentive to the garden, I'd help out when asked but I never really took ownership in it.  This time around I really look forward to being involved all along the way.  We have both agreed that the east side of our house will be a perfect area to create a lush garden.  Its a large space, gets plenty of sun, and that leaves the backyard for entertaining and as wrestling grounds for our dogs. 

My husband likes to joke about how starting a compost bin for our backyard has been a project I have put off for 3 years, but I'm going to make it a reality this year! The book is full of great ideas for composting, mulching and trying to let nature do as it was intended (no pesticides and letting the birds, bees and bugs help out).

The Urban Homestead is about becoming more self-sufficient by using the land you have (whether you rent or own, live in an apartment or even squat) to grow as much of your own food as possible while leaving a smaller impact on the environment.  I want to be more connected with what we eat and I'd like to cut out large supermarket chains as best we can.  Between growing our own veggies and fruit, and taking advantage of the local Farmer's Market I think we can do that quite easily. 

Stairway to anywhere

I love this stairway!  I'd have to start using the library a bit less and perusing the used books stores a bit more if I were ever to attempt something like this, but if I did I swear I'd clear a small space, grab a few throw pillows and nap on these stairs! 

There was a period of time as a child where I had to wear an eye patch (due to a mole behind my eyeball...weird huh!?).  I remember taking my favorite blanket and napping on the stairs, pretending it was my bunk on a pirate ship.  That memory came flying back when I first saw these photos over at post grad hair cut.  They are the creation of Levitate Architecture out of London. 

My kind of book club

Such is happenstance.  I woke up Wednesday morning (day 6 of my 365 days photo challenge) and snapped the above shot.  I have always loved to read, it used to drive my sister crazy when we shared a room growing up and I refused to turn my light out so I could continue to read my Piers Anthony novels.  Though I've since moved on from the world of Xanth I continue to read regularly. 

So...I was delighted when later that day I found this post about the Slow Readers Book Club.  A book club I can join and not be rushed to finish the book!  It's also a sweet little coincidence that the first book is Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls who also wrote the Glass Castle a book my sister gave me as a gift (she loves to read now too).  For more information and how to join just click here or here.

Happy Reading!
♥Mo

G is for:

      

Goodness Gracious!! With Christmas right around the corner I am thinking about my wish list as well as great ideas for friends and family.  This is definitely going to be towards the top.  The drawings are so inspirational, and what an awesome cover to boot!

{Found via Double Takes}