What I'm Reading Wednesday

Seriously, I can't get enough of the Olympics. I actively avoid twitter and any newsworthy website during the day so the primetime events aren't spoiled for me. Every night at 7, I turn on the tube and make sure my night revolves around Olympic events. 

I'm now completely involved in the Fab 5's everyday lives. Their instagram pictures and twitter feeds are so heartfelt and full of joy. I just can't help but get sappy when I read them. I'm not even a Corn Flakes fan, but I'm on my way to the store to pick up one of these little numbers. I kind of need the Olympics to end so I can have a life back - emphasis on the kind of. 

In my ACTUAL life, not the life I've revolved around London 2012, I met with my book club tonight. It was a great evening at Panera after a wedding packed weekend and a short but certainly sweet visit to STL to visit my bf. 

We finished the Kite Runner and had much to talk about. It's an incredible story full of heartbreak, friendship, loss, shame, and so on. Sometimes, it seems like the more challenging the story the is... the easier it is to talk about. I received several comments about The Kite Runner that many have read it as well. 

Since school is starting this month (captain obvious), we decided to keep it light and go for humor. A few months ago I pinned "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson. We decided to give it a whirl this month. 

Turns out Jenny Lawson has a pretty hilarious blog of her own. You can follow her life and her rants over at her blog The Bloggess.

I read one page and was already laughing out loud. I think this will be the perfect companion book for the month of August! What books are on your shelf this month?

What I'm Reading Wednesday

Have you ever listened to an audio book? During my student teaching year, I began listening to audio books during my commute to school everyday. I listened to several James Patterson thrillers. Sometimes, I would camp out in my car in the morning because I couldn't turn the car off!! My trips to and from school would fly by because I became so involved in my books. 

My latest audio book was "Bossypants" by the one and only Tina Fey. The great part about this audio book is that it was read by Tina Fey. I was literally laughing out loud while I was driving. It only took me 2 trips to finish it! (I travel a lot!) It was a great investment. 

This month, my book club selected The Kite Runner. I'm about 70 pages in right now and it's pretty good so far. I am having trouble keeping all of the characters straight. I'll figure it out!

What books are you reading/listening to this week?

What I'm Reading Wednesday

For once, I managed to finish our book club pick before the month ended. Which means I have more time to read another book!

Right now I'm double dipping in the paperbacks and audio books. I'm reading (and captivated by) "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls. In my car, I have been listening to Andy Cohen's hilarious book "Most Talkative". Both are extremely wonderful in their own right. I recommend both!

What books are you enjoying this week?

What I'm Reading

It's 11:00 AM and I've only been awake for roughly 45 minutes. I honestly think it takes me the whole month of June to catch up on sleep from the entire school year. OR! I am just really lazy. I'll keep telling myself that I'm "tired".  I'll just keep sleeping until someone stops me.

Anywho - my book club picked a new summer read last week. After finishing "Heaven is Here" (amazing!) we are going to read, "Little Bee". We weren't really sure what the book was about going into it because this is the book's description:

WE DON'T WANT TO TELL YOU TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK.

It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.

The story starts there, but the book doesn't.

And it's what happens afterward that is most important.

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

I'm also reading a few teachery-books. It's more fun reading teachery-books on my own agenda and schedule. You know, my schedule is quite hectic this summer. Ha!

What books are you reading this summer? I love a good book recommendation. 

What I'm Reading

Thanks to Amy at Juice Boxes & Crayolas, I was inspired to post about my current reading selection.

Book Club is prepping to meet next week and I'm so excited to discuss the book we picked. I am positive that a box of Kleenexes will need to be on hand.  It's a book that will truly tug on your heartstrings, your emotions, and make you ask yourself so many questions.

Have you heard of Nie Nie? We're reading her new book, "Heaven is Here". It tells the story of her near fatal airplane crash where 80% of her body was burnt. Honestly, I've never cried while reading a book before. This book got me.

I highly suggest you pick up a copy on Amazon right now!

What are you reading for the summer?

Book Club!

One of my favorite nights every month is Book Club. This month we've selected, "Defending Jacob" by William Landay.

We just picked the book, and I'm already 100 pages in. After HIMYM tonight, I'm headed to bed early with my book. (cough nerd alert! cough)

What books are you reading this month? Do share! I love hearing about new reads.

A Spectacular Wednesday

Guess what? It's almost Friday. Just wanted to throw that in there in case you forgot.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with my book club to discuss "Killing Lincoln". I usually don't read many historical books, but I highly recommend picking up this thriller! It tells the fascinating story of President Lincoln's assassination in the spring of 1864. The book definitely keeps you on your toes and begs for you to turn each page. 

Anytime I'm involved of a gathering of some kind, I always bring a dish to share. I can't help it! It gives me an excuse to test out recipes and cook a little. Usually, it's a dish I've never tried before others get to be my test-subjects. Thanks to Pinterest (as always), I found an appetizer that is a definite crowd pleaser. I brought the leftovers to school today and this was the end result:

I had to stop myself from licking the bowl clean. Needless to say, I believe I've found one dish to contribute to a superbowl par-tay. 

Pizza Dip from Closet Cooking

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, grated
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded/grated
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 2 ounces pepperoni, sliced
• 2 tablespoons green pepper, sliced
• 2 tablespoons black olives, sliced

Directions

1. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream mayonnaise, mozzarella and parmigiano reggiano and spread it across the bottom of a pie plate.
   
   Click here to read the rest of Kevin's recipe from Closet Cooking. 

After snacking and chatting about Lincoln, we decided on our Jan-Feb book pick. We decided on Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Have you ever read it? I'm really looking forward to it! I wish the Amazon storks would drop it off sooner than Monday. 

Before I scoot to my laundry... I have a fun announcement to make! A friend and I have decided to participate in the Lake of the Ozarks Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics! If you want more information on how YOU can help out, leave me a comment!

Happy Thursday!