Progress!

In just one weeks time, I have made a ton of progress in my reading. 

If two books counts as "a ton of progress" that is. 

My second Junot Diaz book Drown was just as lovely as This Is How You Lose Her. Lovely might not be the right word for it, but I loved reading his books. Both of the ones I've read have a memoir style to them which I love. I love reading something that makes me feel as if I'm getting to know the author, instead of just the characters. (Don't mistake me, I love fiction and I love that it shows me what the author thinks is important in life. It's just two different ways of looking at things, I guess.)
Anyway, pick up something by Junot Diaz. You won't be sorry.

The second book I finished was Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. No matter how hard I try (granted, it's not very hard I don't actually try) I just can't seem to keep away from young adult literature. I finished this book in a single night, ya'll. Basically one sitting. I don't think I've done that since The Fault in Our Stars (coming to a theatre near you June 6th!). And don't be fooled, it's a teen romance guys. The ending is going to hurt. Knowing it's going to hurt is half the point of the story, isn't it? Even if we know something won't last, sometimes it is worth trying anyway. 
(And yes, I cried. The tears were unexpected. Rowell doesn't mess around with how painful real life can be, and I'm not even talking about how intensely first loves can break our hearts. Be warned.)

Since finishing E&P, I have gone on to read Fangirl & Attachments with the same fervor. (Anyone with a fangirl obsession, obviously Fangirl is the book for you. Share with fellow fangirls. Are you an avid emailer? Read & share Attachments with that friend you are always emailing about EVERYTHING. You both will feel a deep connection with this book.)  Eleanor and Park & Fangirl have younger protagonists; Eleanor & Park are meant to be sixteen and Cath is a freshman in college. Attachments & Landline are "adult books," and by that I mean Lincoln is mid to late 20s, not sure what he wants from life (What? I do NOT connect to him on a personal level. Sheesh….) and Landline is about  Georgia, wife & mother, whose marriage is on the rocks. I love seeing the progression of characters, from young and in love to slightly adult and still looking for love. I think there is something unique about the way Rowell is able to capture those feelings of longing for life to be more than what it might currently look like to the reader. Dead-end job, lame-o boyfriend, bad family life, best friend struggles--she kind of covers everything without coming across as lame.
A friend has promised to let me borrow her advanced copy of Landline when she is done with it and I can hardly contain my joy. 

BONUS VIDEO:

This is from Yulin Juang's youtube channel. She directed a series of "I Didn't Write This" clips from poems and parts from her favorite books. I LOVE this little scene from Fangirl and would pay BIG MONEY to see her do the WHOLE THING with these beautiful actors in it. LOVE. My gift to you :) 

And as a PS to all my nerd readers, I finished Star Wars this week  sometime in March, too. All of them. The original trilogy. And yes, I liked them. Return of the Jedi has to be my favorite. Any movie that actually makes me laugh is a win in my book. I think I was most surprised that not ALL of the special effects were horrible. With all the advances and computer stuff that is in all the things these days, I was pleasantly surprised when I caught myself thinking, "Is that really good environment matching/shadowing or is that really a built thing in that forest chasing those adorable Ewoks?" So yes. I'm a fan. And a little sad it took me this long to watch. There is a good chance they will make their way into my DVD collection.