A New Beginning

“We walked at night towards a cafe blooming with Japanese lanterns and I followed your white shoes gleaming like radium in the damp darkness. Rising off the water, lights flickered an invitation far enough away to be interpreted as we liked; to shimmer glamorously behind the silhouette of retrospective good times when we still believed in summer hotels and the philosophies of popular songs.” 

-Zelda Fitzgerald

Hello all!

It's been such an incredibly long while since I've written anything on here- I've been mostly focused on my Tumblr and Pinterest page lately!

Wishing everyone a fantastic 2013- there's just so much things to look forward to- whether be travelling to a new place for the first time, visiting an familiar place that brings back wonderful memories, challenging yourself to be more bolder, to face your fears- everything is anew and that means the opportunity to do what you must and know that you can.

Happy 121st birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien. Your books have been my steadfast companion these past 14 years. Your contribution to the world of literature is priceless. Thank you.

I am very happy to announce that I have reached my 50 Book Pledge in 2012!! With the dawn of the new year, I am thrilled to take part of this exciting event once more.

Here is my list of books I have read in 2012:

1. A Complicated Kindness -Miriam Toews

2. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

3. The Virgin Cure- Ami McKay (A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

4. Birdsong- Sebastian Faulks

5. The Plague- Albert Camus

6. Tinkers- Paul Harding

7. Tales of the Night- Peter Høeg

8. The Reinvention of Love- Helen Humphreys ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

9. Moonwalking With Einstein- Joshua Foer

10. Arctic Chill- Arnaldur Indridason

11. Behind the Beautiful Forevers- Katherine Boo ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

12. The Distant Hours- Kate Morton

13. The Mistress of Nothing- Kate Pullinger (A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

14. The Little Stranger- Sarah Waters

15. The World We Found- Thrity Umrigar

16. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter- Seth Graham-Smith

17. A Short History of Nearly Everything- Bill Bryson

18. Rack, Ruin, and Murder- Ann Granger

19. The Lord of the Rings- J.R.R. Tolkien (Re-read)

20. The Two Towers- J.R.R. Tolkien (Re-read)

21. The Return of the Kings- J.R.R. Tolkien (Re-read)

22. One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

23. The Museum of Innocence- Orhan Pamuk

24. Imagine- Jonah Lehrer

25. The Language of Flowers- Vanessa Diffenbaugh ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

26. A Venetian Affair- Andrea de Robilant

27. Prague Fatale- Philip Kerr

28. The Unburied- Charles Palliser

29. I've Got Your Number- Sophie Kinsella

30. The Sense of an Ending- Julian Barnes

31. Paris Was Ours- Penelope Rowland

32. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson

33. The Song of Achilles- Madeline Miller ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

34. Above All Things- Tanis Rideout ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

35. Shadow of Night- Deborah Harkness

36. Charlotte Street- Danny Wallance

37. The Wave- Susan Casey

38. The Light Between Oceans- M.L. Stedman (A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

39. Peace- Richard Bausch

40. The Emperor of Paris- C.S. Richardson

41. Sputnik Sweetheart- Haruki Murakami

42. The Immoralist- Andre Gire

43. The Bedlam Detective- Stephen Gallagher

44. Sweet Tooth- Ian McEwan ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

45. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore- Robin Sloane (A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

46. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared- Jonas Jonasson

47. Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm- Philip Pullman

48. The Glass Palace-Amitav Ghosh

49. The Snow Child -Eowyn Ivey  ( A Matchbook Book Club Pick)

50. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time- Mark Haddon

So if you're stuck wondering what book you should read next, feel free to take a look at this list.

The first book that I will be reading this year will be:

Summary: Tudor England. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is charged with securing his divorce. Into this atmosphere of distrust comes Thomas Cromwell - a man as ruthlessly ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

Happy reading!