Why a Single Girl Read a Book on Marriage

Seeing how one of my favorite places on Earth is a library/bookstore and that I'm a self-professed word-nerd/book worm, it's amazing that I only finished my first book of 2010 this past week.  Blasphemy!

Even more amazing, is that when I was at the library a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Elizabeth Gilbert's newest book Committed, just sitting on the shelf waiting to be picked up and devoured.  It's no secret that I have a literary girl-crush on Gilbert after reading her Eat, Pray, Love memoir and boasting it as the best book I read last year.  I was expecting to have to patiently put this follow-up book on my hold list, and was delighted to have it available to be checked out.

Much like her previous novel, Gilbert's writing style eases the reader into a friendly conversation; an invitation to an intimate journey, which ultimately challenges the reader to explore his or her own personal beliefs.  However, with Committed the romanticism is replaced with curiosity and a holistic exploration into the institution of matrimony.

Once again, Gilbert captures my attention from the very first page and holds it steadfastly until the very end.  Despite being nowhere near the same stage in my life, her words reverberate through me and really strike a chord, further proving her writing genius.

Here are a few of my favorite passages that I jotted down while reading, followed by my reaction:

"I'd learned enough from life's experiences to understand that destiny's interventions can sometimes be read as invitations for us to address and even surmount our biggest fears."

•  This passage identifies Gilbert's sentence to wed, when her Brazilian boyfriend was detained at the American border.  I have always been an advocate that everything happens for a reason, but I have never taken it a step further to examine my reactions to each event. I am realizing that my biggest fear is failure, and by leaving California, I was running away from the possibility of failure- but in fact I fulfilled that fear.  In facing this truth, I am uncovering that California is indeed where I want to live, where I want to thrive, and for once, I want to face my fear and overcome it.

"...so we live in danger of becoming paralyzed by indecision, terrified that every choice might be the wrong choice."

• The last few months for me have been decision by indecision, if that makes any sense whatsoever.  The thought of making the wrong choice, leads me to not make a choice at all, which is in fact, making a choice. Not deciding to decide. Whoa, psychobabble much? I have been known to make irrational, impulsive decisions, by default I always seem to follow my heart.  Moving to California, following my heart, great emotional decision, bad financial decision.  Moving home to Ohio, again following my heart, bad emotional decision, bad financial decision. Ok, so I'm not good at decision-making. But I am learning from my mistakes, and since I'm on the verge of moving back to California, I am making rational preparations, so this time it is a great emotional and financial decision.

"If we are at all self aware, we work hard to keep these more dicey aspects of our natures under control, but they don't go away."

•  Holy self-awareness, batman. I'm pretty sure that's been the overriding theme of this blog for quite awhile.  I'm sure it's hasn't been the most pleasant reading material, but let me assure you that I am coming out of this process renewed and an overall more positive person.  This passage reminds me that all these negative qualities I have unearthed in myself can't and shouldn't be ignored because in doing so, they will resurface.  But I can exercise control over them, and lead a more fulfilled emotional life.  Amen, sister.

Best of 2009- Book

Book. What book – fiction or non – touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?

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"People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you're fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly." Elizabeth Gilbert

This was a year where I was reunited with the public library, rediscovered my passion for reading and writing, and even fell victim to the Twilight series. But without a doubt, the best book I read in 2009 was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Gilbert's memoir spent over a year at the top spot on the NY Times Bestseller's List, and with good reason. She chronicles her year-long journey of self-discovery and healing that took her from Italy to Indonesia to Bali, where she learned to love herself again, and most importantly, to love again.

Although I am at an entirely differently place in my life, Gilbert's words spoke volumes and my copy of her book is dog-eared and underlined all over. It is truly a book that I will continue to read over and over, and without doubt gain something new from each experience. While my eleven months in California pale in comparison to her more worldly travels, I whole-heartedly agree that depression can be fought without anti-depressants, that a little vulnerability and writing can go a long way.

Since finishing her book last spring, I have been itching to travel abroad and continue my journey in learning more about the world, and most importantly, more about myself. By appearances it may seem that I have taken a backwards step by abandoning California, but it is all a part of a bigger vision I have that sees me purchasing a one-way ticket to Europe and seeing where life takes me- whether it's a trip of a few weeks or several months, is yet to be seen. But I do know that it is imminent, and hopefully, life-altering.

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is set to hit the big screen in 2011, with Julia Roberts at the helm, and her follow up book Committed is due for a January 2010 publication. In the meantime, I've been admiring Jamie Varon's journey on A Life in Translation.

Thoughts from the Doorstep

"I never thought much about South Haven until I moved to Chicago... South Haven was just Town, as in 'let's go to Town and get an ice cream.' Town was groceries and hardware and Mackenzie's Bakery and the sheet music and records at the Music Emporium...We used to stand in front of Appleyard's Photography Studio making up stories about the brides and toddlers and families smiling their hideous smiles in the window. We didn't think the library was funny-looking in its faux Greek splendor, nor did we find the cuisine limited and bland, or the movies at the Michigan Theater relentlessly American and mindless. These were opinions I came to later, after I became a denizen of a City, an expatriate anxious to distance herself from the bumpkin ways of her youth. I am suddenly consumed by nostalgia for the little girl who was me, who loved the fields...who spent winter days home sick from school reading Nancy Drew and sucking menthol cough drops..."
Audrey Niffenegger/The Time Traveler's Wife

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Yes, I'm just now getting around to reading this book (public libraries are a god send, unless the book you want just got made into a movie and you're number 400 in the hold queue- true story).

I also got locked out of my apartment tonight, and this just so happened to be the passage I read while waiting for someone to come home. It really struck a chord with me, and I paused to think about my current situation... if you have had any sort of conversation with me over the past two weeks, you know that I've been considering moving home.

But tonight I realized that moving home is not what I want. I love the small town I grew up in, with its red brick roads and its one stop-light main street. I love that any given day of the week you can get stuck behind a hay-wagon on your way in to the grocery store. And probably once you get there, you run into about five others that you know.

Rock meet hard place. Because I love that just two blocks away from my apartment rest a brazilian, mediterranean, italian, mexican, tapa, and italian restaurant. I love that the city skyscrapers climb the sky and litter them with urban stars. I love that any given day of the week you can cross paths with celebrities and its no big deal.

Sometimes the nostalgia gets overwhelming and I grow homesick. Sometimes the City is overwhelming with its gridlock traffic and superficiality and I get frustrated. And then I find the balance that the small town is the reason I am the person I am today, and the City is teaching me how to become the person I was meant to be.

I Can't Believe I'm Writing This

I have a confession... I finally gave in. To the Twilight hysteria. I couldn't take it anymore. One, I sort of loved the soundtrack to the movie. Which then turned in to me watching the movie. And I'm a sucker for angsty love stories, especially when there is an air of intrigue and mystery.

As in, does she become a vampire?



Seriously. This is important information. And no one would tell me. "Read the books," they would say. And I would huff and puff and in my literary snobbery proudly proclaim that I'm "too good for young adult novels."

But after months of no answers, and then seeing the New Moon trailer... wait, he is a WEREWOLF? I couldn't take it anymore. I needed answers, and apparently the only way I was going to get them would be by reading the saga.

And now, here I am, blogging about a fictional teenage love story that I so adamantly refused to read. And it's taken over my life, where I haven't even blogged in weeks (and there's so much to blog about)!

The worst part is that these books are terribly written... seriously, I just finished New Moon and there were so many grammatical errors it was annoying (editors, anyone). And don't get me started on the whole Volturri scene, what a waste of a climactic storyline (at least it looks like the movie director took some artistic discretion and gave it some action).

Nonetheless I am obsessed. I had a dream about vampires last night, what is wrong with me? And I had to go buy the third book because I'm too far back in the "hold list" at the library.

I. Just. Need. To. Know. How. It. Ends.

Until then, my life belongs to this saga. My blog will go unwritten. I have two books to go.

Oh, and Harry Potter for the win. :)

The Last Block in Harlem

Below you will find my review for the novel The Last Block in Harlem, which I had previously posted on another blog. I wanted to repost here because the book is gaining steam and attention in its hometown of New York City. Author and publisher Christopher Herz has taken to the streets and is personally selling copies of the book. There is a great article about his efforts, which can be read here. I always find it inspiring to hear when people have left behind conventional success to follow their dreams.
"Inside Central Park there are people dying, men dropping down on one knee to propose, young couples enjoying the simplicity of a passionate kiss, old couples trying to find new paths to walk, single women glancing over the tops of the books they're reading to see if anyone is worth escaping fiction for, joggers trying to tone their bodies enough to look good in a suit come Monday..."

Such is the image of New York City that Christopher Herz vividly paints in his novel The Last Block in Harlem. It is a landscape that I fell in love with four years ago during my first visit to the city, and so eagerly found myself lost within with each turn of the page. From mid-day to midnight subway rides to the everday bustle of a Harlem neighborhood, Herz authentically captures what I can only imagine life in the 'Big Apple' is like, so much so that I felt as if I was reading the book on a stoop of a brownstone rather than on the sandy beaches of the west coast.

The Last Block in Harlem introduces us to a young, male protagonist, whose name is never revealed, at least not that I can remember-- but who I assume has a similar background as the author. Having physically relocated from California, but unable to escape his past misgivings, our protagonist sets out to escape reality by changing the tangible-- the trash that has cluttered his neighborhood.
An act of philanthropy, that begins with a broom and a dust pan, quickly escalates to a neighborhood movement against gentrification. Along the way, Herz introduces us to a handful of characters on the streets of Harlem- from the elderly neighbor Sukal who has an affinity for cats, to the young man known as The Boxer who had fallen from glory only to be resurrected by the movement. These vignettes into the background of each individual infuse life, shape and depth into the plot and novel beyond the narrative voice.
As a twentysomething who is undeniably in the midst of my quarter-life crisis, I found it easy to relate to the protagonist as he struggles to find harmony in his life- whether in overcoming his past, questioning his career, or finding a worthwhile cause to contribute to-- each issue is one which I have faced myself in the past six months. Additionally, as I consider approaching a career in advertising, this novel provided great insight into the corporate structure of the industry, regardless of whether its fictitious in nature or not.
What I found most intriguing was the parallel between the deception of the advertising world and the events that unfold in Harlem. Herz writes, "I didn't mind being tricked because it gave me a comfortable reality." Though it describes his initial attraction to advertising, it is also fittingly foreshadows the rest of the novel.
Herz's writing style and format is very simple and clear cut, which most likely stems from his background as a copywriter, making The Last Block in Harlem a quick read. Nonetheless, it is definitely worthwhile to spend an afternoon and get lost in Harlem with all its unique characters.
For more information, or to purchase your own copy of the novel, please visit www.canalpublishing.com