Books? They still make those?

I celebrated my 24th birthday back in September in Xi'an after only being here a week. It was AWESOME. The food, friends, gifts, and party were amazing... so different than any other birthday I've had. Shout out to all of those who made it special (what? 6 months later is a bit late for a shout out?). Anyway, I was lucky enough to have seen my Dad in Hong Kong for a couple of days before Xi'an. And not to play favorites, but he gave me the most useful present I could have EVER received. I had no idea at the time that it would save my avid-reader-soul. So what was it????

A Kindle.... (insert God-like 'ahhhh' noise here)

Me and my Kindle hanging out.

Obviously, here in China English bookstores are few and far between. Specifically, I haven't seen one. And I'm a pretty big reader. I always have and always will be. I'm a big fan of getting books as presents and absolutely love getting sucked into other worlds. I've hit my 40th book in 6 months mark so I'm going to start doing sporadic and spontaneous (get excited) BOOK REVIEWS! Although this might not be the direction to head in to up my followers / views (Note::: If you are reading this and are not a follower, please locate the button on the lower left hand side and click. It's easy for you and makes me feel important.) but what the heck... maybe I'll start a book club like Opera someday and be more famous than I already am (see blogpost below).

Let's all start with a list of the books shall we? Then we can get into the nitty-gritty of tearing them apart. Okay don't get bored and minimize me, this might be semi-interesting! Also, as you will notice, my favorite author is Jodi Picoult. Her books are definitely my weak spot (romance, unethical subjects, and court cases - come on!). So although I am rereading all of them, I'll pick one that's my favorite. The ones in RED are the best... aka go out and buy them as soon as you're done reading my blog, commenting on it, and requesting to follow me (I'll most likely accept you as a follower - seriously, you have nothing to lose!).

What I'm Reading Right... NOW - Mike McIntyre : The Kindness of Strangers
Jodi Picoult : Perfect Match

Guy Delise : SHENZEN A Travelogue from China
Jodi Picoult : Change of Heart
Chimamada Ngozi Adichie : Half of a Yellow Sun
Yangzom Breauen : Across Many Mountains
Roald Dahl : The Best of Roald Dahl
Jodi Picoult : Keeping Faith
William Landay : Defending Jacob
Hunter S. Thompson : The Rum Diary
Hunter S. Thompson : Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Jodi Picoult : Lone Wolf
Jasper Becker : Dragon Rising: An Inside Look at China Today
Jodi Picoult : Second Glance

Mark Haddon : The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

Chimamada Ngozi Adichie : The Thing Around Your Neck
Ian Brown : The Boy In The Moon
Jodi Picoult : Nineteen Minutes
Lucky McKee and Jack Ketchum : The Woman

Alice Walker : The Color Purple
Chelsea Handler : Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
Chelsea's Family : Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me
Tina Fey : Bossypants
Jodi Picoult : My Sister's Keeper
Glenn Beck and Nicole Baart : Snow Angel
Jodi Picoult : Sing You Home
Jodi Picoult : Plain Truth
Jodi Picoult : Salem Falls
Jodi Picoult : Mercy
Jeffrey Eugenides : The Marriage Plot
Vanessa Steel : Punished
Sarah Burleton : Why Me?
Paula McLain : The Paris Wife
Jodi Picoult : The Pact (P.S.)
Judy Blume : Summer Sisters
Jaycee Dugard : A Stolen Life
Emily Griffin : Something Borrowed
Emily Griffin : Something Blue
Kathryn Stockett : The Help
Erin Morgenstern : The Night Circus

Hope this list gets you started for all those in-between moments, long rides, or rainy nights! I'll work on some write-ups for the best ones in that lot! If YOU have any interesting, different, amazing, or favorite books send them my way!!! I'm constantly looking for new authors and subjects to read/learn about!

xoxo

Em

I'm FAMOUS!

So. I was already exactly 4 minutes late for class and scrambling to collect my props ::: flashcards, board markers, erasers, wigs (pink & green), a hand crafted tea pot, and of course - myself. Out of the corner of my eye I catch our boss, Hansen, snapping photos of Adam up against an unforgiving off-white background. I want in on whatever is going on. After settling me against the same harsh wall I get exactly one picture taken and was sent on my way... "Hansen! Is it at least an okay shot?" I yell over my shoulder. "Maybe, not so good." Was his reply.

Fast forward two days and I'm given a four page pamphlet with my face on the back, told it was mass produced with at least 10,000 copies, and distributed all over the city of Xi'an. Oh, and the line in the middle of the page guarantees that us teachers have 10 years of experience. Pshh, so according to the Chinese I am either a 14 year old protege or I age REALLY well. Either way, I'm super pumped about my 15 minutes of fame! Ch-ch-check it out!

Happy March!

... yesterday was February 29th, 2012 aka leap year!!! also known in the UK as 'Women's Proposal Day'. hmmm... better tell the States about that one!!!