Reading Update

My gosh, I haven't posted on this blog for so long! I do have a good reason, though, and that is that my husband and I have been moving to our new home in Virginia. It's a beautiful little three-bedroom house tucked inside a picket fence. I can't wait to start gardening. I don't have a green thumb like my mother, but I can pretty much grow simple flowers without a problem =D I haven't been writing much, but I've been reading a ton! My latest is this little gem by Sarah J. Maas:

I'm about six or seven chapters in, and it's pretty decent. I still think it's kind of absurd that they would throw a dangerous criminal assassin into a beautiful bedroom of her own, right in the same castle with the royal family. I mean, isn't she a bad-ass chick who nearly escaped the horrible mines while she was in shackles and under heavy guard? What will stop her from getting the hell out when there's nothing but breakable glass castle around her? Hot men, apparently. I'll update when finished. It's nice to see a high fantasy book in the YA section! Hope y'all have been well... if anyone is still reading this! =O

I'm sorry, I just have to share.

Books I've Read Recently

Here is a list of the books I have read recently:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Recently went to see the musical version of Les Miserables for the first time. It was AMAZING. One of the most inspiring things I have had the pleasure to see! I have a lot of respect for people who can adapt and write such a successful stage version of such an immense novel. So much depth to include, and conflict, and characterization. Javert is fascinating!

Next to read on my list:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Middlemarch by George Eliot

We'll see how they turn out! I'm pretty excited. I flew back to Boston for a conference, so there should be quite a bit of downtime between symposiums and seminars for me to catch up on a little bit of reading.

Welcome!

It was after a GREAT deal of consideration that I decided to start this blog.

I'm more of a reader. I always have been. I'm good at stringing together a sentence, but I would much rather read the prose of others. I was introduced to the blogging world by a good friend of mine, and so here I am! I'm looking forward to meeting new people to share writing ideas and great books with.

My husband and I have been living in Washington, D.C., for about three years now, but we are so busy that we have very little time to socialize. I'm hoping to make some new literary-minded friends down here by starting a book club, so please - if you come across my little corner of the web and feel like sharing a good read or two, feel free!

Recently, I read Water For Elephants, The Namesake, The Help, and The Night Circus (very eclectic mix, but I loved all of them). I'm telling you, I probably have the least discerning taste of anyone I know when it comes to books. If there are words, I will read them and most likely enjoy them. One stipulation: I'm not a huge fan of stories about death and dying (The Lovely Bones, the Pact, basically anything by Jodi Picoult depresses me).

Anyway, thank you for checking out my blog! I'm hoping that this experience will not only expose me to wonderful new books, but also help me improve my writing a bit :)

Have a great week!

Melissa