Now that it’s summertime, I find I have much more time to dedicate to my crafty pursuits. I’ve dusted off my trusted sewing machine and once again busted out my knitting needles. I love that I have the time to be creative – instead of slaving over a biology project whose destiny is the recycling dumpster, I can spend my days creating beautiful crafts. If you’re a veteran crafter or just diving into the wonderful world of DIY, everyone can enjoy these books and the projects they offer! I’ve taken these 4 for a road test and rest assured, they are all you need for a summer full of creating!

1. Stitch n Bitch, by Debbie Stoller

I consider myself a pretty crafty lady, so when the whole knitting craze hit a couple years ago (remember – Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Hudson started and it just took off?), I had to get in on it too! I tried watching videos online and I bought several knitting magazines, but I just couldn’t master the whole casting-on thing. I was down in the dumps about my inability to master this new craft, when along came a little gem called “Stitch n Bitch.” Now, I figured that any knitting book that had the word “bitch” in the title had to be good (and sassy!), so I picked myself up a copy. And guess what? The genius that is Debbie Stoller finally taught me to cast-on! Debbie is so down to earth and makes knitting so fun and hip! This book is great for beginners, but also has pattens that keep seasoned knitters intrigued and on their toes. Read More »

I feel like I’ve been reading really long, heavy books lately and I was ready for a change. It’s not that they’re not good (on the contrary, they’ve been great!), it’s just that they really weigh down my beach bag and I needed a book that didn’t leave deep, red grooves in my shoulder. I searched my local library (yes, I still use the public library and I LOVE IT. Who doesn’t love FREE STUFF?) high and low for a short, YA read. And I found a fantastic one!

“Love is the Higher Law” is by David Levithan, one of my favorite young adult authors (cha-ching!) and takes its name from U2 lyrics I’ve always loved (double cha-ching!). David is a lifelong New Yorker, who was obviously deeply affected by the tragic events of 9/11. He decided to write this book both as a way to get out his emotions over that traumatic day, and also because he doesn’t think there are enough books about it. Not that he thinks people should abuse a tragedy for the sake of literature, of course, but because he wanted to make sure that day was preserved so in the future, children who were babies in 2001 can read a primary account of what happened.

The novel focuses on three main characters – Claire, Jasper and Peter – and switches between their points of view. They are all loosely intertwined, but become much closer after 9/11. The book goes through how each of the three experience the day and then also how it changes them after. Claire is in her high school class when the planes hit and runs to her little brother’s elementary school. Afterward, she can’t return home for a week and finds herself wandering the streets of New York late at night, looking for reasons and hope. Jasper slept through the whole thing. His parents were in Korea and so he is forced to deal with everything alone. Peter was in line to buy the new Bob Dylan album. All of them experience 9/11 in ways only a New Yorker can: Two pillars that figuratively held up their hometown have been destroyed and they question everything they knew and completely reassess. Read More »

LOVE HER.

I’ve been a fan of Ann Brashares for a decade. “The Sisterhood” series is one of my favorites and practically defines my young adolescence. So, when the opportunity to interview Ann Brashares and review her new book “My Name is Memory” came up, I jumped at the chance! I’m still in shock that I had an actual conversation with one of my favorite authors.

Below, find the interview with one of the neatest women I have ever met and then the review of My Name is Memory. Read More »

I’m a sucker for a great non-fiction book and biographies are no exception! I find biographies so powerful; fiction can be wild and created, but imagined. Part of the appeal of biographies is that all the wildness is REAL and TRUE.

And by far one of the craziest biographies I’ve ever read has to be Jeannette Walls’ “The Glass Castle.” From the outside, adult Jeannette appears relatively normal. She is a successful, beautiful journalist living the life. But for years Jeannette harbored the secrets of her absolutely unconventional, tough upbringing and finally shares them with the world in “The Glass Castle.” Now, some of you may think that you had strange upbringings. Maybe your family moved a lot or your parents were a little bit different, but trust me, you have nothing on the Walls family.

Jeannette appropriately begins her memoir with her first memory. She is three years old and cooking hot dogs on the stove. Yes, you read that right, three years old, practically a baby, and cooking! Jeannette, being an innocent child, doesn’t realize all the safety precautions involved in cooking on a stove and her dress manages to catch fire. She screams for her mother, who comes and puts out the flames with an army surplus blanket and them gets a ride with their neighbor to the hospital. There, Jeannette is treated for massive burns and even has to undergo a skin graft.

WTF, right? What person in their right mind lets a three year old cook!? But, of course, it gets worse. After spending several weeks in the hospital, and still with much time left in her recovery, Jeannette’s father arrives and announces that he is busting her out. He disconnects her IV, picks her up in his arms, runs out of the hospital with little Jeannette and hops into the family’s getaway car. Read More »

After 8 months of reading textbooks with a highlighter, when it comes time for summer I want something light. Something fun. Something that I can devour quickly on the beach or when lying in bed on a rainy day. And Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me totally delivered. Well, almost delivered. The book never did make it to the beach or to a rainy day because I read the whole thing the night I bought it.

Escapades is the story of Leilana Zane, a twenty-something girl trying to make it in L.A. After three years of waiting tables while she attempts to make her mark as a screenwriter in Hollywood, her father falls ill and she’s forced to return home. Leilana thinks it’s just a short trip to be with her dad in the hospital, but that changes when her family guilt-trips her into changing her life plan and joining the family law firm. She’s torn between chasing her dreams, accepting reality and appeasing her parents, all while dealing with some ex boyfriend issues that inevitably come up when she’s back in her small town.

So what is it about this book that kept me up all night (thus forcing me to chug 3 venti iced lattes just to make it through work the next day)? Well for one, unlike most chick lit heroines, Leilana is totally relatable. She’s not your average main character working some dream job and dating some dream men. She’s a normal girl dealing with normal (read: immature, annoying, impossible to understand) boys that any college girl can totally relate to. She’s also a major klutz who gets herself into some pretty cringe-worthy situations that make you laugh out loud as you’re reading. Plus, Leilana’s situation is similar to what many of us are dealing with right now: figuring out our futures. Do we keep going after a nearly impossible dream or do we take the safe route? Read More »

It’s no secret: I’m a fan of Markus Zusak. Ever since I read and reviewed “I Am the Messenger” back in January, I’ve been itching to dig into “The Book Thief.” As an aside, that 5 month lag shows you just how huge my book collection is. But, anyways, I have heard wonderful things about this one from all my fellow bookstore employees (especially Taka!) and trust me, this review will not be an exception.

“The Book Thief” is set in World War II era Germany and is narrated by Death. Yes, you read that right – Death. Definitely one of the most interesting narrators anyone could choose. Throughout the novel, I often forgot about the narrator and was really wrapped up in the story when Death would put his little spin on things, often reminding me when the character I was reading about would perish. It totally changed my perspective on the story and really made me grateful for the time I have, as cheesy as that sounds.

The story itself revolves around Liesel Meminger, a German girl who we first meet when she is 9. She is being sent to live in Molching, with her brother, when he dies suddenly on the train. This is the first time that Death meets Liesel, but certainly not the last and also ironically marks the first time that Liesel steals a book. Liesel moves in with her foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann and slowly adjusts to life in Molching. She continues to steal books, eventually earning herself the nickname “The Book Thief” from her friend, Rudy Steiner. She also makes friend with Max, a Jew who goes into hiding at the Hubermann’s and the shut-in wife of the mayor, all while bonding over books. Read More »

I’m going to say that my Saturday Read for this week has to be one of the most interesting and unique to date. Okay, okay – anything to do with “Twilight” totally screams boy-crazy tweens.  I’ll admit, I’ve read all four of the books. And perhaps I enjoyed them. They are good if you consider what you’re reading and expect entertainment and not a literary masterpiece. But I do agree, they can be a bit juvenile. However, “Twilight & History” is a totally new take on this series that has captivated the entire world and puts a somewhat “intelligent” spin on the books.

Basically, “Twilight & History” delves DEEP into all the history behind the books, featuring short essays by different historians. I’m a history buff and former history major and even I learned a lot from this one. One essay explains why Bella thinks Edward acts so old-fashioned, with a whole comparison to Jane Austen! Another shows how the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob mimics struggles the real Quileute nation had in obtaining their treaty (I don’t think Stephanie Meyer did this on purpose, but it totally fits).

It’s a complete brain-overload of information and nerds (like myself) will just lap this stuff up. Seriously, after reading this book, I think universities should start offering a Twilight history course; the information and potential are absolutely there and enrollment would be through the roof! Read More »

“Stolen” was definitely one of the most unique books I have ever read. When I read the synopsis, I knew I would like it: A girl is kidnapped and brought to the Australian outback and struggles with her feelings about her captor. I mean, I’m a nerdy psychology major and this one has STOCKHOLM SYNDROME written all over it. And it’s YA! Okay, I know it may seem like I just totally gave the plot away, but trust me, “Stolen” is so deep and cannot be summed up in a few sentences.

“Stolen” is written as a letter from Gemma to her captor, Ty. From the beginning, this approach put me at ease because it meant that Gemma eventually escaped captivity and was reunited with her family. I’m a sucker for happy endings and would rather not even read a book if the main character is going to die, especially after being kidnapped. Kidnapping is really one of my biggest fears (yes, I watch too many horror stories on the news) and a story about it makes me really uncomfortable, so I’m actually proud of myself for following through with this one, and happy that I did, too!

Gemma is a 16-year-old British girl on vacation with her parents when she meets Ty in the airport coffee shop. He seems very sweet, despite the fact that he is older and Gemma finds him strangely familiar and “safe.” She is flattered when he offers to pay for her coffee, but he also drugs it and sweeps her off to the Australian outback. Gemma awakens in a strange bed and an even stranger setting: desert and little vegetation for as far as she can see. It’s impossible to escape – she would die before she reached civilization. She has been stolen from her parents, from her life in London and brought to live with Ty. And then he tells her that she will be staying “forever.” Read More »

If you read my Saturday posts, you know that I love me some non-fiction, specifically from the science section. Yes, it sounds super nerdy, but let me tell you, the science section houses some of the most interesting and relevant books in all the bookstore. Another one to add to that list is “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot.

If you’ve never heard of Henrietta Lacks, you’re not alone. However, some of you may have heard of HeLa cells. HeLa cells are used in scientific research and have been part of almost every medical breakthrough since the ’50s. And they’re immortal. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

So what is the connection between Henrietta – a poor, black woman from Baltimore – and the trillions of HeLa cells in the world? You won’t believe it, but every single one of those trillions of cells are HERS. Even the name HeLa comes from her name: HEnrietta LAcks. And even more miraculous is the fact that you’re probably more familiar with Henrietta than you think. Odds are, one of the vaccines you’ve received in your life was created from her cells or maybe even contained her cells. Mind-blowing.

In 1951, Henrietta visited John Hopkins complaining of a “knot” in her stomach. She was eventually diagnosed with cervical cancer and treated in the fashion of the day: tubes of radium were sewn onto and in her. However, before beginning the treatment, a doctor took a sample of her tumor and shipped it off to George Gey. Gey had been trying to create immortal cells for years. Up until this point, cells died within a few days in a culture and scientific progress was at somewhat of a standstill. But when Gey cultured Henrietta’s cells, he noticed that the cells weren’t dying – in fact, they were multiplying. The culture grew so quickly that he had to move it to another jar! Gey was fascinated by this immortal cell line. He sent samples to any scientist who asked and eventually HeLa cells were turned into a BILLION-dollar industry. Read More »

I am a HUGE fan of John Green! I’ve previously reviewed two of his books (Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska), so when I saw that he would be writing with another YA heavy-hitter, David Levithan, I knew I had to get my hands on it. After begging publishers for an advanced reader of “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” (unsuccessfully, might I add), I surrendered and bought myself a brand new hardcover the very day it was released.

“Will Grayson, Will Grayson” tells the story of two teenage boys living in the Chicago area, both named Will Grayson. Other than their name, they have little in common, but a chance meeting one night sets into motion a series of events that changes both of their lives. The first Will Grayson that we meet is a smart, normal teenager. His best friend is a massive, gay football player ironically named Tiny, who has decided to write a musical chronicling his life being gay. Will isn’t too thrilled about this musical, especially about the character who is supposed to represent him, Gil Wrayson.

The other Will Grayson is a bit sadder; he’s living with his single mother, is on anti-depressants and is all together quite lost. All of his happiness comes from an online boyfriend, Isaac, so one night when Isaac suggests that they meet, Will Grayson is thrilled. On the same night, Tiny, the first Will Grayson and their other friend, Jane, decide to go to Chicago for a concert. However, neither of the Will Grayson’s nights go according to plan and they end up meeting.

And that’s all I’ll tell you. Read More »