For those of you who did not catch the movie reference in the title...shame on you, what a classic...
anyway...so speaking of the title...I have a few things that I want some suggestions on...
First...Matt and I are going on a five-day trip to New York in three weeks! I am so excited. This will be our first time away from Jack for more than a night, so that will be hard, but it will be so nice to be together in the greatest city ever. We would love some fun suggestions for our trip. Obviously we know all of the typical tourist attractions, but if you have any unique suggestions, great places to eat, etc...bring them on!
Second...I am working on a summer reading list. One thing I know I want to do this summer is to re-read some of the books that have meant alot to me over the years. That could probably take me all summer, because there are so many books that have meant so much to me at earlier stages of life and I want to read them again to see how they speak to me now. I love that about a book...how it is has a life of its own...how it can touch you in such different ways with the very same words depending upon your circumstances while reading it. Some of my all-time favorites...The Giving Tree, Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, Number the Stars, Little Women, The Secret Garden, A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hiding Place, Redeeming Love, Mrs. Dalloway, The Grapes of Wrath, Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, God is no Fool, The Joy Luck Club, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Poisonwood Bible...well, really almost anything by Barbara Kingsolver, Madeleine L'Engle, Elizabeth Berg, Patricia Polacco, Henri Nouwen, Anne Lammot...oh the list could go on and on...
So...here are a few I have on the list for new reading so far...please feel free to leave commentary on any of the ones listed if you have read them...and definitely feel free to add on some new suggestions!
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Kate...I bought this book when you were reading it in college, and I still haven't gotten to it...I am determined that I am going to read it this summer!)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Night by Elie Wiesel (I can't believe I still haven't read this one...I've wanted to for years...this is the year, folks)
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Real Sex and Mudhouse Sabbath, both by Lauren Winner
The Rock that is Higher by Madeleine L'Engle
Operating Instructions by Anne Lammot
Theater and Incarnation by Max Harris
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
There are actually several that I would like to read by Anne Lammot, Eugene Peterson and Walter Bruggemann, and I am always looking for new great children's books to add to my collection...any suggestions?
Finally...we have moved into a little rent house like I mentioned in the last post...it is so nice to have more space, hardwood floors and a big back yard for Jack to run wild in...and he does! Like I also mentioned in the previous post...I am wanting to take up gardening. I have kind of been talking about it jokingly, but really it is a hobby that I have always wanted to pick up. However, I literally know nothing on the topic...so any tips, suggestions for beginners...would be much appreciated...if you're even still reading, that is!
7 comments:
I love NYC!!!
Some of my favorites:
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge (you can ride the subway down and walk across)
A coney at Nathan's on Coney Island (you can ride the subway there and back)
The Staten Island ferry (you can get there by subway, too)--it's free and you get gorgeous views of the skyline in Manhattan--and the Statue of Liberty
Watch live TV just by walking around Times Square and Rockefeller Plaza
Knowing what I do about you--I expect you to see as many Broadway shows as you can--they are my favorites! We use the ticket lottery at some shows--and have seen a couple shows that way. Then, I am sure you know about TKTS.
We are very cheap (hopefully, you will be on expenses??)--so we eat at little local places-we even get bagels and coffee from the corner vendors (about $2.50 for breakfast for 2 that way).
I probably mentioned I love NYC and now I am ready to go back myself! We find new things to do every time.
I can't garden at all--so I can't help you there. PH tries and he says the soil and the intense summer heat around here doesn't help him too much--but we do get some good veggies.
My 2 favorite books so far this year are:
Redeeming Love (that's already on you list--but I think you will love it!)
Velvet Elvis (Rob Bell) it's very short--and I really enjoyed it.
You have a bunch of books on your list I have not read--please give reviews of what you read--so I can know what to put on my list. I am always looking for recommendations.
I'm kind of on a reading kick myself...shocker, I'm sure. I have been buying too many books lately and they are filling up my shelves! I am addicted to the clearance aisles at Half Price Books.
One of my favorite books of the past few years was The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I absolutely zoomed through it because I was loving it so much...I read it on the plane to and from Los Angeles and spent the last 50 pages or so bawling unashamedly as we touched down at DFW Airport.
I am really enjoying the Jasper Fforde Thursday Next series. The first book is called The Eyre Affair, and the next two are The Well of Lost Plots and Lost in a Good Book. I think if you like Jane Eyre, you will especially like the first book. It's about someone going into the novel and kidnapping Jane Eyre. Sounds like a preposterous plot, I know, but it's really fun. I am starting the second book this week. :)
Congrats on getting the new rent house! I love my little apartment's hardwood floors so much, but I wish I had a backyard. Shawn and I are hoping to find a great place with a deck or a porch that we can sit on drink wine, and cover with potted herbs and flowers.
mmmm....books....
I've had some time to read while in Croatia. I reread Little Women and read Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights for the first time. I have Heart of Darkness sitting on my shelf, waiting for me. I just finished reading Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende and it was so so good! I'm currently reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. My sister loves it. I'll let you know...
If I could add anything to your list (you may have read some of these already), I think I would add Daughter of Fortune, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, and Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. They're all great books. Pillars of the Earth is historical fiction that is as exciting as a Dan Brown novel, but covers more time and has more characters. So good!
I could keep writing about books forever. I'm glad you'll have a chance to read this summer! i hope you enjoy your house. If you hear of anything similar in Dallas, let me know! We would much prefer a house to an apartment!!
Oooh, about NY: when Mark and I went two summers ago, we got reduced-priced tickets 8th row center to see Caroline or Change. It was fantastic! We got the tickets through theatermania.com. I get daily emails from them with discounted tickets. Some really good deals!
I have nothing to say about gardening.
Hope you're doing well! Talk to you soon!
Joci
Well, I'm going to NYC in less than 2 weeks! In fact one week from Thursday to be exact!!!
We only have a few set things on our agenda so far. We are going to see 'Drowsy Chaperone.' Luke Longacre, the guy we are staying with, lives up there and was actually in The Producers, which landed him a role in the Movie...just a small one. He suggested Drowsy Chaperone. And, then we are going to see the Julia Roberts play, "Three Days of Rain." The ratings are horrible, but who wouldnt' wnat to see Julia in person! DUH!!!!! :)
As far as restaurants, the last time we went, we went to this dessert place right across from Bloomingdale's. IT's pretty famous and now I can't remember what it's called! I'll figure it out and get back to you. They film a bunch of movies there......
I love the shopping in SoHo and Chinatown...
There is a need for Central Park..it's going to be beautiful at this time of the year!
I'm so glad you and Matt are taking a trip to NY! Summer and Chad just got back from there.
You have quite a good list of books already. Several of them I haven't read, but would like to. I just finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and really enjoyed it! Now I'm reading Pigs in Heaven by Kingsolver. I loved Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer, so I'm hoping to enjoy this one just as much. I'm ready to get the summer started!!
When are you coming? We should do dinner, coffee, or some quality time while you're here. If you want to see me show, let me know. I can make tickets half price WITHOUT having to stand in line at TKTS! :)
i live in keller too, weird. i recommend "the unbearable lightness of being" by milan kundera. i haven't gardened much, but if i was going to i'd try xeriscape (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/xeriscape/xeriscape.html). if you usually use the keller library, you should check out the grapevine library. they've got tons more stuff, travel on nyc, books, and gardening.
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