house favorites // books worth reading

a handy-dandy guide to the books you should seriously be reading right now.

01. let's explore diabetes with owls, by david sedaris 

“Neighbors would pass, and when they honked I'd remember that I was in my Speedo. Then I'd wrap my towel like a skirt around my waist and remind my sisters that this was not girlish but Egyptian, thank you very much.” 

let me start by saying that the first time i saw this book at barnes & noble it was $27 (!!!!). who in the world would pay $27 for a book? i thought (outraged). i promptly stormed out of the store and tried to slam the door behind me (except i couldn't, because it was one of those revolving, slam-proof doors) i love david sedaris, after all (but not for $27, sorry dude). fortunately, i found it for $5.99 on my kindle and all was right in the world. if you've never read a book by david sedaris, this is a great place to start. here you will find a collection of short and hilarious stories. *i don't recommend reading this book in quiet places like libraries or nursing homes, because i guarantee that you will burst into fits of laughter without any warning.

02. bossypants, by tina fey

“I should have known he and I weren't going to make it when for my seventeenth birthday he gave me a box of microwave popcorn and a used battery tester. You know, to test batteries before I put them in my Walkman. Like you give someone when you're in love.” 

if you ask me, any book written by tina fey is worth reading. you really don't need me to tell you that, do you? (i hope not!) there are very few books in the world i would enjoy reading more than once, but bossypants is definitely in that select, VIB (very important book) category. another laugh-out-loud-er. i read the majority of this book in airports and on the plane during my recent ventures. i'm sure i warranted plenty of sideways glances and can you believe this weirdo? gestures from people around me, as i had no shame in giggling to myself (like a maniac) while reading. enjoy.

03. is everyone hanging out without me? by mindy kaling

“You should know I disagree with a lot of traditional advice. For instance, they say the best revenge is living well. I say it’s acid in the face—who will love them now?” 

okay, apparently i've been in need of a good laugh lately because this book is also hilarious. (are you bored yet?) after i finished bossypants, my kindle recommended that i read this book. so really, i had no say in the matter. before reading it, i didn't know a lot about mindy kaling besides the fact that she was on the office and has an incredibly high-pitched voice. but like a good reader, i do what my kindle tells me to do. if book #1 and #2 had a lovechild, this book would be it (hence why it is listed as #3). a fabulous collection of hi-lar-ious short stories, this book will make you want to eat cookies, hang out with your parents, and be her best friend.

04. where'd you go, bernadette? by maria simple

i just started reading this book so i can't really give you any solid feedback yet. but seriously, am i the only one who has been seeing ads for this book everywhere? it's the front-runner in all the bookstore window displays, pasted to the walls of the subway, and even riding on those giant ads on the sides of buses! call me a sucker, but i've always been the type of book-buyer who shamelessly buys books based on their covers (which has proven to be both good and bad). since nothing gets me as excited as an advertisement-on-wheels, i finally bought bernadette to see what all the hype was about. i''ll keep you posted. 

confessions of a book lover

books are one of the very few things that I don't mind spending money on (along with chocolate cake, the very occasional Anthropologie throw pillow, and lavender hand soap). when it comes to money, I am all about saving it - you know, for a "rainy day". as they say. I think. I don't even like to keep cash in my wallet. instead, I cram it all into a tiny jar and put it in a cupboard that's just high enough out of my reach that I really have to be committed before getting it down. (J thinks this is a terrible plan, by the way. "it's just sitting there! don't you want to collect interest?" hehe)

anyways.
books I can buy without any guilt and today was a bookstore kind of day. every year I forget that June in Oregon still means rain. every year I'm surprised. you guys! can you believe this rain??! it's June, for crying out loud! June! so in the spirit of this rainy summer day, I spent my afternoon perusing one of my favorite bookstores. I'm all about Barnes & Noble and Powell's, but there's something to be said about a  local family-owned bookstore. this place is the epitome of organized chaos. down every aisle the floors are lined with rows and rows of (neatly) stacked books that come all the way up to your knees. your knees! it's a sea of books! there's no way of knowing if they have the book you want. I don't think they even have a computer in there. you just have to search (and search and search and search). this is certainly not the place to go if you're in a hurry.

luckily for me, I had all the time in the world.

my goal this summer is to finally spend some time reading books for fun, and not just for school. I went in today hoping to find david sedaris' latest book, let's explore diabetes with owls. I keep hearing about it and figured it was worth checking out. amazingly, I was able to find it without having to climb too many mountains of books, but then - blasphemy! turns out it was $27 and we all know that wasn't about to happen. (clearly, Amazon is the way to go)

so, there I was, an hour later with 12 books in my basket. oops.

after a long debate, I finally left with 2 zadie smith books - white teeth and on beauty. (have you ever read these?) as you can see, I found two copies of on beauty - a white and a pink version. this put me in a bit of a predicament because, shamefully, I have always judged a book by its cover (sorry books!). I finally decided on the white version because it felt a little more worn in and the font was nicer. do I sound crazy yet?

I'll let you know how they go.

(p.s. those two books only cost me $11, so take that, david sedaris!)

What's on your summer reading list? Any books that you'd recommend for me?