book six. (2015)

Reading: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

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Book six?! Whatttttt?! I cannot believe I've made it to June! *Patting myself on the back* What an accomplishment! Haha.

Anyway, this book was recommended by my sister Pamela years and years ago. I just never got around to reading it because I apparently was so busy with school. Haha. So, when it came time to choosing a new book for the next month, I decided to look through this bin I have under my bed with a bunch of books I've tucked away for times like this. This book was right on top of the pile and I just gave it a go. 

It's such a great story about love and food. It's about a girl named Tita who falls in love with a guy named Pedro, but they can't be together because of her mother and the family tradition of the youngest daughter not marrying anyone and taking care of her mother until the day she dies. So, each chapter, the narrator starts off telling the story of Tita's life with a recipe and then goes into the different situations and emotions she goes through, which is expressed through her cooking. This I felt was very similar to the movie Simply Irrisistible with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sean Patrick Flanery about a chef who one day, with the help of a magaical crab, cooks up delicious dishes only to have her customers feel the emotions she had while she was preparing it. I think Esquivel did a very creative job telling the story in this way and I felt she was trying to get the point across that she believes love conquers all and that sometimes you have to go through tough times to get where you want to go, or change situations for others, and just be happy.

I do recommend this book, but be warned that it may be a little raunchy for some people. Haha. After I finished the book, I put on Netflix and found the movie in Spanish and I really appreciated how well the movie stuck to the book. It's so disappointing when certain parts are missing or they change the plot completely, but like I said, it was pretty similar. Go read it or watch it! I think you'll enjoy it!

book five. (2015)

Reading: Fit Girl's Guide (No idea who the author is haha).

Screenshot taken from my IPad - love that it matches my blog layout! Haha.

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And I thought I was pretty bad for not finishing up my book in March....

I DIDN'T EVEN READ ANYTHING FOR APRIL!!!

No, it's not an April Fool's joke or anything. I'm terrible. Absolutely terrible. I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Well, enough of that negativity... I am happy to say that I finished a book for the month of May! Yayyy!! If you have Instagram, I'm pretty sure you've seen before and after pictures of girls that are promoting this thing called The Fit Girl Challenge. It's pretty much this 28 day challenge to help people start eating clean, exercise, and lose some weight. It tells you all about it in this e-book that they sell here. My sister Pamela was impressed with the results they posted and was motivated to try it. Naturally, she sent my other sister and me a copy of the book.

I finished reading it just yesterday (right on time!) and I have to say it's pretty informative. I actually really liked it. They made it so easy to follow and pretty enjoyable to read. It gives you tips on how to motivate yourself and each other (if you're doing the challenge with friends or sisters....ahem, I know you both are reading this...let's do ittttttt!), workout plans that you can do at home (gym free....woot!), and weekly meal plans with a complete grocery list and recipes (with substitutes). It's pretty awesome. I was so ready to start the challenge today, but I didn't have a chance to get groceries and meal prep. Plus it's my mom's birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!! LOVE YOUUU!) so it was all about food and cake! Haha.

Anyway, I really recommend this book to everyone who wants to try the challenge out! Make sure to comment below and let me know if you want to try it with me. Maybe I'll post about my journey and we can encourage one another. If you remember, losing and maintaining a certain weight is on my #30before30 list so I'm pretty serious about trying this out!

book three. (2015)

Reading: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

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I don't know what it is about the month of March, but I noticed that just like last year, I didn't finish my book three. I'm thinking it's the weather. It's not quite Spring-like weather yet. It's still chilly and the sun hasn't come out full force, which is probably why I'm not as motivated to read. Haha. Also, the book I picked doesn't have a plot. It's more like a guide on how to organize and get rid of unnecessary items in your household. The author does throw in little stories about her own personal life and some stories about some of her clients as examples. They're pretty interesting and funny cause I can relate to them, but I just can't seem to power through the book even though I'm half way done with it. Very disappointed with myself once again. Let's hope book four will be much better!

 

book two. (2015)

Reading: Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella 

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Book two, check!

During this past holiday season, I was looking around to see what books I could put on my wish list and saw that another book was released under the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. I really liked the series (definitely more than the movie -- which was enjoyable, but I felt it could have been better) and instead of putting it on my list, I decided to save it as one of my books of the month.  

In this book, Becky is back in the US and has temporarily moved to LA with her husband Luke and daughter Minnie. To occupy het time during her stay, she decides she wants to become a fashion stylist to the stars (hence the title haha). She then finds herself in all kinds of trouble as usual. Her journey is interesting and a bit funny at times. It makes you wonder if it's that easy to become known in Hollywood these days and if some celebrities really do behave the way Kinsella portrays them in the book. The ending was a bit disappointing/frustrating cause it really left you hanging for the next book (you'll understand what I mean if you read the book -- gotta love cliff hangers haha) that hopefully will come out in the near future.

This was another easy book to read through, which was perfect for this short month of February. It was pretty entertaining and one of those books you can either read before bed or read to kill some time. Like I mentioned, I love the series, but I just don't know how much more Becky can continue on. I just hope the ideas don't get so far fetched that I lose interest in Becky. Haha. I guess we'll find out in the next book.

book one. (2015)

Reading: Seriously, I'm kidding by Ellen Degeneres

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Yes, I'm going to add this to my New Year's Resolutions once again. I really enjoy reading and last year, I also kind of enjoyed that thrill of trying to finish a book by the end of each month. I just wish I was able to complete the task of reading a book every month for the year. But hey, I'm happy I was at least able to read a decent amount of books last year.

For this month's book, I decided to read the book I got for Christmas from my cousin Aimee, which is Ellen's book, "Seriously, I'm Kidding." It was a great book to start the year off with. It was definitely a super easy read and had lots of funny moments...I mean why would it not have any funny parts? It's written by Ellen Degeneres herself and she's absolutely hilarious. I did think it was going to be a book about her life, just like Mindy Kaling's book, but I should have known that it wouldn't be since this is her third book (maybe I should have started with her first book...).  It was more like random thoughts of hers and funny little jokes and stories. It took me about two days to read the whole thing and it kept me pretty entertained. So, if you're looking for a book to bring on vacation or just need to do some light reading, this is one I would suggest you read.

 Now, on to the next one.... :)

PS.
Happy Birthday Justin Timberlake! <3  Hahaha!

book five.

Wow. It's been awhile. But guess what I did though? 

I finished another book! Yay!!! 

I read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling.  I have to say, she is one of my favorite people right now. I've always loved her and her character on The Office and when I found out she has her own show called The Mindy Project, I knew I had to start watching it. I'm so glad I did cause it is one of the funniest shows I've seen in a while. It's definitely on my favorite television shows list now. I think the great thing about her show is that I can totally relate to her character in more ways than one. Haha. I have even started to quote some of the lines from the show! I haven't quoted any shows like that since Friends and if you know me, I love me some Friends and will quote it any chance I get. Then I found out she has an autobiography out and of course, I bought it.

It pretty much talks about her life and some of the experiences she's gone through to get where she is now. She also adds some pictures of her past and present throughout the book, which, in my opinion, adds more humor to the book. She's just so great to me. I love her way of thinking and the way she explains things and situations. I don't know how she does it, but she has a knack for making everything hilarious. I really wish we were friends in real life. She totally would make life more entertaining. Haha. I do recommend this book, especially if you want something quick and easy to read. Makes a great beach book too. You'll find yourself laughing the whole way through. 

book four.

FAIL. Well, sort of.

So, last month I said that I'd finish Pride & Prejudice and also read another for book four. Well, I must admit I failed once again with book three. I don't know what it is about that book, but I could not get myself to finish it. I don't know if it's because I know how it ends already or because it's just way too long for me, but I tried and decided to just be lazy.

As the end of the month neared, on the 26th to be exact, I again had that sudden realization that I should follow through on my resolutions. Just because I failed the previous month, doesn't mean I shouldn't let it affect how I will be the rest of the year. I decided to pick up yet another book that I had laying around and told myself to just power through it. That book was And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. It was highly recommended by my sister, Pamela, so I knew it was going to be good. She has pretty good taste when it comes to books. :)

Boy, was I right! This was my first mystery novel and I really enjoyed it. I was afraid it was going to be scary for me and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, but it actually wasn't that bad. It's such a crazy story! I don't want to give too much away, but here's a quick synopsis....

Ten people are summoned to an island for different reasons. Then each of them are murdered one by one in the exact same way as the characters of a nursery rhyme. 

C-R-A-Z-Y!

Not only are the murders crazy, but the revelation of the murderer and that person's story will blow your mind. It makes you think (and scared of) how smart some people really are and the things they can get away with. 

Well, I also recommend this book, especially if you love yourself a good mystery. Once you start reading, you won't want to put it down. That's what happened to me. Haha.

book two.

Sorry for my absence again, but guess who finished book two?! I did!

I'm not gonna lie, but I got into a weird funk last month and did not feel like doing anything at all. I did, however, start to knit a couple of cowls for some friends, which I still need to finish. I don't know what it was about last month, but I was so not motivated to do anything! Maybe it was the snow!

Anyway, the last week of the month, I finally realized that I don't want to be that d-bag that writes down all these resolutions at the beginning of the year and fail miserably by the next month. So, I grabbed the first book that I found in my bedroom and read it from beginning to end. This book was Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this book. I borrowed this book a while back from my best friend and never got around to reading it til now. I don't know what took me so long, but I really wish I read it sooner. It teaches you that many people today do not appreciate life and the simple things it has to offer. People today have become so materialistic and money hungry that it became so easy to take things for granted. This story has definitely opened up my mind and help me appreciate everything and everyone around me more than I already have, which I honestly did not think was possible. The book was an easy read and didn't take long to finish. Be warned though, it will bring you to tears. I feel like I was crying throughout the whole thing. I had to stop a couple of times to wipe some tears away cause the words were starting to get blurry. Haha. It's such a beautiful story and I highly recommend it. I can honestly say that this book helped me get out of my weird funk this month and I'm so thankful for it. I'm again motivated, especially to read more books and follow through with my resolutions. Now, your turn to read it! Go!