10 Books I'd Buy Right This Second If You Gave Me A Fully-Loaded Gift Card

After a couple weeks of in-depth Top Ten Tuesday topics, this week's is a fun and delightful fantasy: what would I pick out if someone gave me a gift card and said I had to buy 10 books with it? How about someone just gives me a real-life gift card loaded up with infinity dollars and we'll find out?! My birthday's coming up in, oh, you know, (mumblemumble)months... nothing wrong with an early present!

1. Pride and Prejudice, 1895 peacock edition

I decided to finally read "Pride and Prejudice" this summer -- I love all things "P&P"- and Austen-related, but I've never actually read the book -- and I decided I wanted to buy it (a rarity for me since I'm a library gal), with the aim of finding a beautiful used copy -- or just a beautiful copy in general. There are a zillion different cover options, but so far I haven't found The One; most of the prettiest covers are in paperback and I was really hoping for a hardback, especially if I'm buying it new. So let's just end the search right now and buy me this 1895 peacock edition.

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition

 While we're shopping for pricey books, I'll go ahead and take a first-edition "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

3. Illustrated Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

On to more realistic purchases, I'll pre-order a copy of the new illustrated "HP," which comes out in October. Hell, let's make it two copies. Then I can tear out and frame some of the best pictures! I love the one on the cover; the Burrow looks so cozy!

4. Morning Star

I need another copy of "Morning Star" by Pierce Brown, the finale to the ah-maze-ing Red Rising trilogy, because the movers ruined mine with their idiotically poor packing and I hadn't even read it yet! GRRRR! Some people have no respect for books.

5. Sleeping Giants

I have been trying to get my hands on a library copy this super-hyped sci-fi book since it came out in April, which was terrible timing because of our move. I had it on hold at my parents' library in Colorado but it didn't come in while I was staying with them, and I never seem to move up in the queue for it here at the Hawaii library (even though there are only 4 people on the list, including me!).

6. Adulthood is a Myth

I think this book sounds hilarious and right up my alley; at 30, I still don't feel like I have the "adulting" thing down! But, sadly, the Hawaii library doesn't have it. :( Here's the blurb:

Are you a special snowflake? Do you enjoy networking to advance your career? Is adulthood an exciting new challenge for which you feel fully prepared? Ugh. Please go away.
This book is for the rest of us. These comic document the wasting of entire beautiful weekends on the internet, the unbearable agony of holding hands on the street with a gorgeous guy, dreaming all day of getting home and back into pajamas, and wondering when, exactly, this adulthood thing begins. In other words, the horrors and awkwardnesses of young modern life.

7. All the Light We Cannot See
This book. I know I'm going to love it, but somehow I never actually get around to reading it, despite planning to multiple times. I got a brand-new copy from the library when it was released almost two years ago now, but I had to take it back before I could get to it. And it has been in the back of my mind ever since, whispering, "Read me, read me!"

8. A Song of Ice and Fire box set

I would really like to read these books! But I always say I'm going to do it and then I never do, so I think I need a little nudge. I recently happened upon a TTT post from December 2013 (that's 2 1/2 years ago!) about the books I wanted Santa to bring me, and this box set was on the list! (Damn you, Santa, why didn't you read my blog post?! I know... I mean... I think I was a good girl that year!) So maybe if they were sitting right there on my bookshelf, just begging to be read, I would finally dive in? Plus, they seem like something I'd like to own instead of just checking out from the library. I love the show, and I'm expecting to love the books even more!

9-10. Free-for-all!

I just couldn't pick any more! There are 365 books on my to-read list (and 361 books on my maybe-to-read list) and it's just too hard to narrow down, so if this were a real-life scenario I'd probably buy as many bargain/sale/clearance books on my to-read list as I could with whatever gift card money was left over!

Monday Musings

Highlight of the week: It was a bit of a strange week for us with Jarrod working super-late several nights, so on Saturday we went to our favorite beach for an afternoon of boogie boarding and lounging in the sun! We've been in Hawaii for two months now but it was our first real toes-in-the-sand, swimsuit-wearing beach day and it was so nice! (Since this is our second time being stationed here, we haven't been in a major hurry to do any touristy things, but I have most definitely been craving some time at the beach!)

Reading: I finished and loved "Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent, a dismal but fascinating tale set in 1829 Iceland (review), and then started an advance copy of "The Hike" by Drew Magary, which comes out tomorrow. Unfortunately, I just could not get into the very odd story; almost halfway through I felt like the "plot" was utterly pointless and its only redeeming quality was a sarcastic talking crab, so I put it down with the intention of picking it up again later. I won it in a Goodreads giveaway, so I feel like I should try to finish it, and I'm hoping the everything will come together at some point.

Right now I'm reading "The Moor," the fourth book in Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, which features a semi-retired Sherlock living quietly in the English countryside who still busts out his sleuthing skills on occasion with his young and delightful protege, Mary. This one is set in Dartmoor, where "The Hound of the Baskervilles" took place, and it's so wonderfully atmospheric! I think a historical mystery was just what I was in the mood for and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'd really like to get mostly caught up on the series this year (there are 14 books out) but, let's be honest, that's probably not going to happen. Next up will by an advance copy of "Cooking for Picasso," which comes out August 9. It's a dual narrative set in the French Riviera in 1936 and in present day. Picasso is one of my favorite artists and I'm excited to read it!

Knitting: I finished my Cap Sleeve Lattice Top this week! I'm hoping to have Jarrod take some pictures of me wearing it soon.

Buying: "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," duh!

Watching: I watched the first five episodes of the Lifetime sow "UnReal" and it is absolutely addicting. I don't think I ever would've watched this show -- which is a fictional behind-the-scenes look at the drama of filming a "Bachelor"-esque reality TV show -- but I've seen it recommended enough times that I finally decided to give it a try. With Jarrod working so late this week, I ended up watching all five episodes in two days! It's definitely a guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean I'm not anxiously awaiting the arrival of disc 2 from Netflix! (Oh, and bonus! The "suitor" is season 1 is Cormac McLaggen from the Harry Potter movies, all grown up!)

Celebrating: I read on Deborah Harkness's Facebook page that she's working on a new book, a spin-off of the All Souls trilogy -- one of my favorites! It's due out next year and I'm so excited! (Here's my review of "A Discovery of Witches" if you want to see why I love the books so much!)

Looking forward to: Jarrod working more normal hours for the next month, the coconut cookies I'm planning to bake this afternoon and the start of the Olympics!

I'm linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2015 Travel Recap: Colorado Part 2: Rocky Mountain National Park

Aloha and welcome to part six of my 2015 travel recap! It was a fabulous year of travel for us and I'm excited to share it all with you -- even if we are now rapidly approaching a year overdue!

You can see the previous posts here: Hawaii, Gettysburg, New York City, Tennessee/North Carolina, and Colorado Part 1.


Last September Jarrod and I traveled to my home state of Colorado for a beautiful autumn visit -- the first time I had been back in the fall since 2009! We had a wonderful time with my family and took every opportunity we could to get outdoors. We took an overnight getaway to Rocky Mountain National Park and were lucky to see the aspens already beginning to change in the higher mountain climate. We also did two lovely hikes and saw tons of elk!


The timing of our trip was ridiculously fitting. Jarrod and I met in college, and the first weekend of October 2005 we took a weekend getaway to Rocky Mountain National Park to celebrate our 1-year dating anniversary. Almost exactly 10 years later, we headed back -- and we even did the same waterfall hike, Alberta Falls, that we did that very first time. It was even more beautiful than I remembered, and Jarrod brought his new fold-up fishing pole and was thrilled to catch a rare brook trout above the waterfall.


The second day of our trip was a full one! In the morning we did a gorgeous though somewhat strenuous (at least when you're not acclimated to above-sea-level air!) hike to Nymph Lake, Dream Lake and Emerald Lake. Then we took the easy path around Bear Lake, which is right next to the trailhead for the three lakes.


The lakes: (top right) Bear Lake; (middle left) Nymph Lake; (middle right) Dream Lake; (bottom right) Emerald Lake.


After lunch we did one of our favorite RMNP activities: the drive up Old Fall River Road (a one-way 11-mile gravel road that quickly takes you up and away from traffic and tourists) to the Alpine Visitor Center and back down Trail Ridge Road. We saw two black bears cross the road right in front of us toward the start of Old Fall River Road, but we weren't fast enough to get a photo. That's the first time I've seen a black bear in person in Colorado -- all my previous sightings have been in Tennessee!

I absolutely LOVE the landscape surrounding Old Fall River Road and Trail Ridge Road. The end of the road is above the treeline and the alpine meadows are stunning. It's also cold -- there are patches of snow up there all year round, and the roads are closed during winter.

I'm a little bit obsessed with yellow-bellied marmots -- I think these groundhog cousins are just the cutest things -- and one was waiting for us at the visitor center. After I told him I'd make him famous on my blog, he was more than happy to pose for some photos before scampering off.

I Judge Books By Their Covers: "Burial Rites"

 I'm Lindsay, I'm a bookaholic, and I absolutely judge books by their covers. 

Today we're comparing covers for "Burial Rites," a beautiful novel I recently devoured and awarded 5 stars (review). It's about a woman facing the possibility of execution after being accused of a terrible crime, and the author vividly depicts the harsh and weather-worn Iceland of 200 years ago. Which cover do you prefer?

U.S. hardcover // U.S. paperback

 U.K. hardcover // U.K. paperback

I think the U.S. hardcover -- the book I read -- is actually my least favorite of these four options. I love the large calligraphic text, but the image of a woman in profile clutching a shawl doesn't do a lot for me. Likewise, I'm not a fan of the bright blue cover on the U.K. paperback.

I like the U.K. hardcover, with it's simple lines and just a pop of color in the raven feather. It conveys the starkness of the setting, 19th century northern Iceland. But if it were side by side with the U.S. paperback, I think that's the one I would be more likely to grab. Overall, it's more pleasing to my eye, and it also makes clear that it's a historical fiction novel, whereas the U.K. hardcover could easily be anything from gothic to crime thriller. I love the rugged, beautiful scenery in the background and I'm intrigued by the rather foreboding image of three ravens circling overhead. The colors are subtle but eye-catching. I appreciate how the artwork manages to convey so much -- a historical setting, cold weather, a dismal atmosphere, a female main character -- without feeling overwhelming.

My winner: U.S. paperback

Book Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

"Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent
First published in 2013
319 pages
My rating: 5 out of 5
Image from Goodreads

The Short Of It:
Haunting, beautiful and devastating. I loved this novel set in early-1800s Iceland about the fate of an accused murderess.

The Long Of It:
"Burial Rites" has a lot going for it, but my favorite aspect of the novel was the stark, rugged, hardscrabble setting of rural Iceland in 1829. It's cold, it's dark, it's brutal and I would absolutely not want to live there (despite the glaciers and the Northern lights), but I was more than happy to travel there through Hannah Kent's masterful writing.

The atmosphere is made all the more grim by our protagonist, a beautiful, mysterious and fiery woman named Agnes Magnusdottir, an accused murderess awaiting execution for a brutal crime that she may or may not have committed. As the story unfolds, we learn that her past has been maligned by the worst of luck and the hardest of circumstances, from her very first days on earth to the stabbing and fire at the farm where she was employed, for which she stood trial.

With her execution looming -- though the date is uncertain -- Agnes is moved from the atrocious conditions of the Stora-Borg prison to live out her remaining days with a district officer and his family on their country farm. As she regains a sense of normalcy in day-to-day tasks like churning butter, knitting and helping with the harvest, Agnes slowly reveals her story to the reverend who has been assigned to bring her soul up to snuff before the ax hits her neck.

I enjoyed "Burial Rites" for so many reasons: a unique inspired-by-true-events plot; stunningly beautiful writing; a vividly depicted setting; a glimpse into Icelandic culture, history and language; and a flawed but mesmerizing main character whom I grew quite attached to. The book also features two things I love: a map and a pronunciation guide for the unfamiliar Icelandic letters.

This is not a cheerful story, but there are cozy moments and kind moments and redeeming moments mixed in to this bleak and moving tale, and I know it's one I won't soon forget. I highly recommend "Burial Rites" for the lovely, rich, simile-filled writing alone. With passages like, "Up in the highlands blizzards howl like the widows of fishermen and the wind blisters the skin off your face. Winter comes like a punch in the dark. The uninhabited places are as cruel as any executioner," everything else is a bonus!

*Another bonus: Agnes and I share a birthday (almost 200 years apart, but the same day!)

10 Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do

Oh, books, I do so love you. And one of the reasons I love you is all the crazy and/or enriching things you inspire me to do! The week's Top Ten Tuesday topic (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is about just that.

1. Travel.

One of the best things about reading is getting to travel the world vicariously through our protagonists, and I have added so many places to my bucket list because of books: Antarctica, Santorini, the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, Bali, the list goes on and on.

After reading "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson, a non-fiction book about a serial killer striking Chicago at the same time the 1893 World's Fair took over the city, I dragged my husband to the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, so we could see the gardens at designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (he also designed the landscaping in Central Park), and I would love to visit The Rookery in Chicago, designed by the architects from the book, Burnham and Root.

And when we were stationed in Hawaii last time around, I read the novel "Molokai" by Alan Brennert, and my husband and I actually flew to the island of Molokai and did a mule ride tour down the cliffs to Kalaupapa, the real-life leper exile colony from the book.

A couple photos from our mule ride to Kalaupapa. I won't lie, there were a few white-knuckle moments when I was gripping the saddle horn for dear life!

2. Eat.

Chocolat chaud, clotted cream, a full English breakfast, butterbeer and so very much more. Books have inspired me to try or made me hope to one day sample so many different foods. After reading Julia Child's autobiography "My Life in France," I was inspired to bake her Queen of Sheba cake for my birthday that year. (Her book also inspired me to finally buy a mortar and pestle.)

Holy shit, I can't believe this was almost 5 years ago!?

3. Become fluent in another language.

I've always loved languages, and I did really well in my high school French and college German classes, though I've forgotten a lot over the years. There are many reasons I'd love to become fluent in another language, and the reading-inspired reasons are three-fold:

1. I just really, really love words. And the root of so many of our words and phrases is in Latin. Plus, I'd love to know the exact meaning of all those Latin phrases I come across reading!

2. Every time I read a book set in another country (especially one I'd love to visit) I think about how nice it would be to actually be able to converse with the locals in their language when I travel there.

3. When I read books that have been translated from their original language, I always wonder what nuances and subtleties got lost in the switch to English that would make for such a richer reading experience in the author's native language.

4. Buy Carlton Ware egg cups.

Several years ago (maybe way back in college?) I read the Jennifer Crusie novel "Fast Women," and the main character collects Carlton Ware egg cups. As is typical when I encounter something unfamiliar in a book, I just had to Google them -- and they turned out to be so delightfully quirky and kitschy that I decided I just had to have one, or many. For months I cruised Ebay in search of the perfect one to buy but I never took the plunge.

(source)

5. Have a natural burial.

Caitlin Doughty's fascinating memoir of working at a crematory, "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory," really got me thinking about what I'd want to happen to my body when I die -- something I hadn't given all that much consideration. Caitlin's book answers all your morbid-curiosity questions about the funeral industry, but it also asks why we feel all those practices are so necessary now when they weren't 100 years ago; how has our society become so distanced from death? I really didn't know what went into preparing a body for a traditional funeral and quite honestly, I was horrified. I don't want to be pumped full of chemicals or have my mouth wired shut to keep from offending anyone with my dead tongue. I'm not religious, and I like the idea of giving back to nature -- a part of this world that has given me so much joy. I'd prefer a natural burial, maybe in one of those new pods that uses your remains to nurture a tree, or just directly into the earth. And it's thanks to "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" that I started thinking about these (rather important) issues in the first place.

6. Have an apiary.

Thanks to the semi-retired Sherlock Holmes in Laurie R. King's mystery series (plus getting the best honey I've ever had at a small apiary in Tennessee and following a knitter/farmer on Instagram who keeps bees), I have decided I would love to take up beekeeping one day!

7. Train guide dogs.

I've read two wonderful memoirs about the life-changing marvels that are guide dogs, "Until Tuesday" by Luis Carlos Montalvan, about a dog saving a former Army captain from debilitating PTSD, and "Thunder Dog" by Michael Hingson, about a seeing-eye dog who helped his owner escape the World Trade Center on 9/11. My husband I adore dogs and are constantly commenting about what remarkable creatures they are, and training guide dogs seems like such a fabulous way to make a difference in the world -- while getting our canine fix.

8. Download a dictionary app for my phone.
I'm obsessed with looking up everything I see or read that I don't know. What kind of flower is that? Where have I seen that actor before? What the heck is furikake? And I loooove words, so reading inspired me to download a dictionary app on my phone so I always have the ability to look up new-to-me words I encounter reading. Most recently I looked up polymath: someone who knows a lot about many different things.

9. Watch '80s movies.
"Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline is a delightfully immersive dive into '80s pop culture seen through the lens of a dystopian future. Since I was born in the mid-'80s, I missed out on a lot of movies made during that decade, and after reading "RPO" I added some of the movies from the book to my to-watch list. So far, I've only seen "Ladyhawke," which was, admittedly, kinda weird.

10. Be more conscious about my social media postings, check my privacy settings and make stronger passwords.
One of the most memorable books I've read this year is "You" by Caroline Kepnes, about America's favorite sociopath stalker/bookstore employee, Joe Goldberg. And the ease with which Joe does his spying -- by reading text messages on a copied phone and tracking social media posts -- is downright terrifying.

Monday Musings

Highlights of the week: The two non-fiction books I ordered from Book Depository arrived. I'm just in love with both of those covers! And, as we know, book mail is the best mail! ;)

On Thursday I headed over to the beach on base with my chair and my book for an hour or so. Between the planes taking off and the playing kids, it was too noisy to get much reading done, but it was nice just to stick my toes in the sand. We've been in Hawaii for two months now and I've spent so much time inside (between staying in base lodging and then moving into our house with no stuff for two weeks, and then unpacking) that I feel like I could be anywhere! (Granted, since this is our second time around living here, we've already done all the touristy stuff so there's no rush to get to a luau or check out every beach. We already have our favorites. But still -- I need some sunshine and crashing waves in my life!)

Reading: I finished "The Fireman" by Joe Hill (loved it -- review) and read the memoir "When Breath Become Air" by Paul Kalanithi, a young neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer (also an amazing read -- review).

Then I started "Burial Rites" by Hannah Kent, which is on track to be my third 5-star read in a row! It's set in early-1800s Iceland and our main character is Agnes Magnusdottir, an accused murderess sentenced to death. But did she do it? The writing is stunning and the setting is vivid and I'm so glad I finally picked this title up after it languished on my TBR list for years. Plus it's kinda fun to read something that takes place in a polar opposite setting from perpetual-summer Hawaii.

Knitting: I'm almost done with my Cap Sleeve Lattice Top! Last night I finished the last couple rows of the bottom ribbing, and now it's time to finally learn mattress stitch so I can seam up the sides. I'm really pleased with the way it came out -- it looks like it'll be something stylish enough that I'll actually wear it. So this week I'll sew up the sides and block it and then... I'll hopefully have a handmade sweater fit for Hawaii!

Watching: We watched the season finale of this season's "Game of Thrones" on Saturday night and ooooh, what a revelation! I think it was something that readers of the books may already have known, but it was sure fascinating to me! We also watched the dramedy "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" starring Tina Fey, about war reporting in Afghanistan, based on the memoir by Kim Baker ("The Taliban Shuffle"). I haven't read the book, but I thought the movie was just-ok.

Listening to: "Fast Car" by Jonas Blue and Dakota.

Buying: The entire downstairs of our new house is faux tile (aka linoleum) and the hard surface has been killing my feet, not to mention it's the world's biggest pain in the ass to mop. This weekend we finally decided on and brought home a rug for the living room. It's actually a bound 12x15-foot berber carpet remnant from a flooring store. It's perfect and it was a great deal, and I wish we would've come up with this idea sooner rather than spending weeks and weeks scouring stores and the internet looking for the right area rug.

Eating: Chocolate chip banana bread, as seen in the above photo. Yum!

Dropping: For the first time I can ever remember, I dropped an egg on the floor! It happened during the making of the aforementioned banana bread, which, for being a simple thing I've made a million times, was unusually fraught with problems!

Enjoying: A thunderstorm! I wrote last Monday that I was craving a thunderstorm, something Hawaii rarely gets. Apparently Mother Nature reads my blog, because last night Tropical Storm Darby actually brought us some good hard rain and a bit of thunder and lightning!

Looking forward to: Getting our patio set up this week! Now that our sod is looking great and the raised garden bed is built (though not yet filled) we can finally get to work cleaning up and arranging the patio. We bought a fun outdoor rug and some patio lights, and I've been fantasizing about a fountain. I'm so excited to sit out there and read! (Though first we need to deal with the ants and mosquitoes...)


I'm linking up with Kathryn at Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?