TTWIBRAT: 5 Favorite Reading Spots in Amsterdam

Happy Friday y'all! I'm writing a quick post from my hubby's laptop because we are in Milan this weekend celebrating his birthday, he is here for work-Milan Games Week-so the teenager and I came with him to celebrate! We've been having a great time and are about to race out to see The Last Supper and grab a traditionally late Italian dinner. 

Today, I am over at Savvy Working Gal blogging about my five favorite reading spots in Amsterdam! 

This post is a guest post as part of the Travel the World in Books Read-a-thon with Mom's Small Victories and several other great bloggers. I really love these read a thons and now that our fall break is over I can get started on mine!

I've included such places at the cafe at the Oude Kerk, which is where Rembrandt met his wife, it also has an enchanting garden, much like you'd find in one of my favorite books, The Forgotten Garden, which I have a review of scheduled up for next week. Another is 't Hooischip, which has some of the best Gluhwein you'll find in Amsterdam!

So, make sure you click on over to Savvy's blog and check out my 5 favorite reading spots in Amsterdam, they are all must visit places when you come to Amsterdam, or must visit if you currently live here!

Flawless by Jan Moran

This is a novel I had been wanting to read and was so lucky to win it back in the fall during the Travel the World in Books Read-a-Thon with Mom's Small Victories and others.

I wanted to read this one because it takes place in Los Angeles and Paris, two places I love. Like I told you all in my Totaled review I love reading books based on places I have been so I can imagine myself walking down the street or sitting in a cafe with the characters.

Visit Jan Moran Writes

Excerpt of Summary from Goodreads:

"There's always a hostile side to beauty." - Jan Moran

Verena Valent is at the helm of her family's legendary Swiss skincare company, which caters to a glamorous clientele in the heart of Beverly Hills. After her parents are killed in an automobile accident, she becomes the sole provider for her younger twin sisters and her grandmother. Instead of attending college with her friends as planned, she rises to the challenge to guide and expand her family's business. She is in the midst of a critical international expansion into Asia when her carefully organized life begins to unravel.

When the unthinkable occurs and Verena's world collapses, her friends rally around her, among them Scarlett Sandoval, a top intellectual property attorney; Dahlia DuBois, a perfumer from an esteemed line of French perfumers; and Fianna Fitzgerald, a fashion designer with her own trendy boutique.

Ultimately, Verena learns that truth, family, friendship, and love are the unshakable pillars of life. But will she get a second chance in business, or in love?

Aside from the setting, the other things that I loved about this book were the strong female leads. The main character, Verena was smart and talented yet still vulnerable. Her friends seemed to be the other side of her personality looking out for her best interest seeing what she could not. Together these women made one heck of a team. I also enjoyed the back story of the book; an heiress to a beauty fortune forged by her relatives from Switzerland. She took over to keep the family dream alive. It is so far from my reality that stories like this fascinate me, and are a nice escape when I want to relax.

All-in-all, this book was a really quick read and definitely worth the time. 

The Paris Wife by Paula McClain

I was looking through my book reviews and cannot believe I forgot to write a review about this one y'all! It was spectacular!

Goodreads

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. 

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for. 

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

This book was designed, I am sure, for me to like, here's why:

• Time: 1920s
• Place: Paris
• Genre: Fiction, specifically based somewhat on history
• Characters: American Expats

So, yeah, this book was made for me to love. I love Historical Fiction-type books, escpecially ones that take place in 1920s Paris. The characters I could completely relate to as they were American expats! 

The main characters are Earnest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Both come from well to do families in Midwest America. They meet, fall in love, and quickly move to Paris. They live out their life drinking, partying and even though they are constantly struggling for money have a housekeeper/nanny and travel a ton!

I love how the book takes you to Paris, Italy, Spain, and Austria. I love how all the characters are writers or artists I have hear of and are given a new life in this novel.

I did find some of the characters to be ridiculous and hope they were actually similar to how described in real life...as I would have loved to have known the Fitzgeralds regardless of their ridiculousness! (I've actually always felt that way after reading Gatsby in 9th Grade)

I feel like McClain did a great job of spinning a story based on some recorded history. I loved getting to know the characters as she portrayed them and found them very relatable, living the life I would have found exhilarating in 1920s Paris. 

Have you read the Paris Wife? If so, how did you like it? Do you have any 1920s novel recommendations for me?

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was a tough read for me, but we will get into that later. Here is the synopsis of the book from Goodreads:

"It's just a small story really, about, among other things, a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery.

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist: books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids - as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

The book starts off with a narrator I didn't realize it, but it is death itself narrating the book for you all along. I actually really enjoyed the point of view, I felt like I could really relate to some of the narration, especially about this topic since I am so sensitive to it. Death hates war, especially one like this and some of the different interjections you could just imagine that if death itself could speak, these are the the things it would want to say.

The protagonist, Liesel, is a little girl you come to love who winds up having a pretty decent life...but when bad things happen to her, they are really bad. 

I love that the family focused on in the book were good people who didn't necessarily want to make waves in the world, but they also did not want to participate in the bad that was happening in the world. 

I love how Liesel grows with her reading and her books and the role reading and the books play in her life.

This book was a seriously difficult read for me...anything dealing with WWII usually makes me quite ill. When I was in 9th grade I threw up during Schindler's List and actually had an excuse note to not watch it when we viewed it in history class. I am much too empathetic and it sickens me to think of what happened. I felt the same way when we went to the Anne Frank house, I was brought nearly to tears a few times just thinking how horrible it was to be stashed away like they were. So, reading and finishing this book was a personal achievement me.

I highly recommend it. The writing style is a bit disjointed the first couple of chapters, but stick with it...eventually it all comes together. When I got to the end I completely understood why the beginning felt so out of order. 

Have you read this book yet? Did you like it? Do you have any other WWII era books that would be a good read for me to pick up?

BTW, if you are on goodreads you can find me here...I love connecting with people on there! 

Travel the World in Books: Totaled by Stacy Grice

After reading a few heavier titles like Gargoyle and A Long Way Gone I was looking for something a little more "fun" to read, something with some actual physical romance in it, and a book that talked about sites and things I was familiar with. Totaled was the answer to that!

Totaled was written by someone I know, Stacy Grice. She is more a friend of a friend. Went to high school with my husband and college with my bff...so, of course I had to pick up this book!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Bree Murphy is stuck. Forced to grow up too fast after the tragic death of her mother, she has little time for any sort of life for herself. Now in her early twenties, she is coming to the realization that she deserves to put herself first.

Drew Dougherty is also stuck, in a state of merely existing. Memories and secrets of the day he lost both of his parents haunt him, forcing him to cope the only way he knows how...by fighting.

When these two worlds collide, hidden truths are revealed and relationships are put to the ultimate test. At a crossroad in their lives, they must decide if taking a risk is worth everything.

Or will their love be…

Totaled.

It takes place near my hometown in Fernandina Beach, FL. Which really is what drew me to the book, I love reading stories where the scenery is familiar and I can literally imagine myself driving or walking where they are, or even remembering things that happened to me when in that spot.

The story is well written, told from the point of view of the two main characters, Bree and Drew. I really enjoy these stories, because in a love story, or romance, especially I think seeing both sides is really important. It makes the story not seem so desperate as it does when it is told just from one side. There is a great balance of "action", fighting and romance, to keep you hooked and wanting to get to the end as quick as possible!

These two characters have  made their way into my heart and the end was a killer, I was not happy with her "cliffhanger"...she better get to writin' so I can know what happens!

Travel the World in Books: Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

If you recall I have been traveling the world in books! I just completed the read-a-thon for this (where I won two books, thank, Tanya!) and really enjoyed all the activities that went along. I decided for the read-a-thon I would read Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.

I honestly didn't read much of this during the read-a-thon...why? The begging is horrible! Not horrible as in I it doesn't draw me in, that is the worst part! Davidson is such an amazing writer and so detailed I wanted to read it, but it is so gruesome! 

It started off with the main character, who is down on life and suffers a horrible car crash, I believe somewhere in Minnesota...I placed it there due to another character going to school there, in this crash he is severely burned. This is told in awful detail, I almost couldn't make it through, but I did. It then goes on to discuss his time in the hospital where he then begins to talk in horrible detail about the suicide he is planning once his time is done in the hospital. Again this is such horrible detail that I was on page 99 and was about to return the book and stop reading because I just couldn't take it anymore when Marianne Engle walks into his life. Now I was hooked. Life was about to change for our sad, sad protagonist...and I wanted to see his heart come to life...at least I hoped that is what would happen.

Marianne is always referred to as Marianne Engle throughout the entire novel. I am not quite sure why, but the protagonist always uses her full name, never referring to her by only her first name, I think this keeps you from becoming fully attached to her.

He meets her as she is a mental patient in the hospital. She comes to him in a very matter of fact way and is very familiar with him and he is very confused. But, once she is released from the hospital 

she comes to him often telling stories from friends she had in ancient times to her life before him and with him in ancient Germany.

I picked this book because it said it took place in Iceland. Well, some of it does. It has several settings the story of the physical therapist first takes us to China and Australia, Marianne Engel's first story about Francisco and the love for his wife take place in Italy, then there are Vikings in Iceland, and of course their story in Germany, and finally parts of all the stories come together in Hell.

The way the story is woven is interesting. The author writes as though this is a first hand account, but it is fictional. I found that intriguing, I had never read anything written in this format.

Excerpt from Gargoyle, page 352

Read how the author describes the protagonist, you can really get a feel for how he may look, but it is written as though he is describing himself, interesting right?!

I highly recommend this book. Getting through the first 99 pages in integral to understanding the narrator and seeing why he can have faith in Marianne Engel when she comes to him. They are two people in need and they feed off of one another's faith in the other. 

Normally when I would finish a book such as this I would be horribly sad, but I felt okay when all was said and done. I was actually happy for the characters because I felt as though they would be alright in the end. 

Have you read this book? If not, do you think you want to add it to your to-read list?

Travel the World in Books Read-a-thon Wrap-Up

As many of you know I've been participating in a Travel the World in books reading challenge. Well, the last two weeks has been a read-a-thon. There have been author interviews, book reviews, mini-challenges, and chats! Sadly, since I am a solid 6-9 hours ahead of everyone I do not get to participate in the chats, but I could participate in everything else!

Book I Read

For the read-a-thon I was concentrating on reading one book: Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

It is a non-fiction piece that takes place in a few different areas, one most notably Iceland. I only have gotten through the first three chapters, not my normal speed but it is heavy. In the very beginning the main character is in an accident and he is burned very badly. The author describes this in full detail and burning is something I cannot handle, but it is integral to the book so I knew I had to read it, but I could only handle it in small doses. I am past that point, but as he talks about the doctors caring for him there is a little more that is hard to handle. He is now at the point where he is explaining in detail how he will commit suicide so once again, I am having to take it slow.  Davidson's writing is very good and I am hooked because I want to know what happens once this possibly schizophrenic woman comes in to his life and changes everything! So, I am hoping to get there sooner rather than later because so far the main setting is a hospital and well, I know what those look like....

Mini-Challenges

There were three mini-challenges during the read-a-thon.

The first was to create a map to record your "journey". I did mine quite a while ago on Pinterest.

Follow Kate Norris's board Around the World in Books on Pinterest.

(I swear there is a map there ;))

Second challenge was to make some book spine poetry!

Wonder

My First Month

The house of Velvet and Glass

Happier at Home

This was based on the fact that we are so new to Holland that you always wonder in that first month what things will be like, but now that we are settled in to our own home, we are so happy and really enjoying our time here. Making great use of all there is to do and see!

The final challenge was a scavenger hunt!

1. Your TBR of books from around the world.
2. A book cover with a flag, map or people dressed in their culture’s traditional clothes.-I didn't have one
3. Book cover from one of your favorite books from around the world.
4. Your favorite reading spot.-My couch ;)
5. Book cover of a nonfiction book from around the world you would like to read.
6. Book cover of a fiction book from around the world you would like to read.
7. Book cover with a foreign country name or city in the title.
8. Book cover with food from another country in the title or on the cover.
9. Book written by an author from another country than where you live.
10. Book set in a country you’d like to visit or have visited.

This was such a fun event to participate in! Thank you so much to Mom's Small Victories, I'm Lost in books, and Savvy Working Gal  for putting this together, thinking of challenges, and having some great giveaways for those who participated! I am so happy to continue this journey of reading and learning about new places.

What have you read lately, I'd love to hear about it in the comments...make my reading list grow! ;)

Happy Sunday y'all!

The Fault in Our Stars Tour of Amsterdam

As many of you know by now The Fault in Our Stars is an amazing book...and if you don't know you should download it and find out. I am a wimp when it comes to possibly sad books. If I am going to engross myself in something I want it to take me to a far away land that has nothing to do with reality. But, thanks to pop culture I just couldn't be left out. I read it, then that made the teenager read it...that and it is set in Amsterdam! Pretty awesome, huh?!

Well, I remember reading somewhere (I can't find the article sadly) that John Green actually got to spend a year in Amsterdam courtesy of a literary association here and thus the book developed. So, seizing the day, the teenager and I decided to do a tour of Amsterdam hitting all the places mentioned in the book that actually existed!

First up was Hotel De Filosoof. If you saw the movie you know this is not where this was filmed. I am sure it is because the place is ancient and I can imagine it would have been difficult to get camera equipment in there...but it is a super cute place to visit....

We didn't go all the way inside as that is a lot of typical Dutch stairs to climb and neither of us were feeling up to it...

But, as you can see from the inside I have no doubt the rooms inside are every bit as unique as described in the book.

The location is just outside the Vondelpark...a very famous park here in Amsterdam.

This park is so beautiful....

We were having such a great time exploring!

They hold a lot of weddings here apparently...this was from the previous weekend. Very colorful, right?! 

I loved this art installation about waste....

As you may or may not know, Oranjee does not actually exist so we decided to stop in a cafe for a typical Dutch lunch...

Remember when Augustus brings Hazel a terrible cheese sandwich when he tells her they are going to Amsterdam?

Well, the Dutch are really keen on sandwiches, but lucky for us they aren't terrible!

I love sandwiches so you can imagine my joy when I learned the Dutch are so keen on a good sandwich...I have them for most meals when we dine out.

After that we decided it was a good time to head over for the movie...this wasn't in the movie but there is a gorgeous theater here called the Tuschinksi...

It is a super unique place to catch a movie especially if you can get in the main theater...

Which sadly we did not...but, it was still a great time!

After the movie it was pretty late in the afternoon/early evening so we decided to head over to the Anne Frank Museum...

I didn't get any pictures of the inside because photos are prohibited. You can take an online tour here though...

The time we went was decent, but we still waited an hour and twenty minutes in line...I hear it can get longer though.

We really enjoyed the tour and were glad John Green gave us some inspiration for a day out in the city!!!

Goals, goals, goals!

As y'all know I am HUGE on goal setting. I think it is so important to help you focus 

This month is going to be a big month I think! I only have two and a half months to my birthday so I really need to make sure I stay on track so I can reach my health and fitness goals!

August in Review
I didn't do a goal post for August because I was taking a small summer hiatus since summer holiday here was only six weeks long. I did however stick to my workouts 100% and kept my diet really clean.

We started back to school without a hitch and we've been incredibly organized since the beginning which is a miracle! ha!

I did start the Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge. I love challenges like this because they make me think out of the box on books I've been wanting to read but just for some reason don't wind up picking up. If you haven't get make sure you read my reviews of In Too Deep and A Long Way Gone.

I do feel like August was super productive and I accomplished a lot.

September Goals

• Participate in the Travel the World in Books Read-a-Thon.
• Complete one full book, Gargoyle,
• Participate in as many mini-challenges as possible. Especially the book spine poem...I suck as a poet so would love to challenge myself a bit ;)
• Add my reads to my book map
• P.S. If you are on Goodreads and want to follow my progress in the challenge there feel free to do so!  
• Keep up my doubles of P90X2 and PiYo. 
• Meal plan and prep so eating healthy stays easy.
• Publish some posts I've been sitting on for a while.
• Make sure hubby and I have at least one date night a week. We haven't been awesome about our date nights since we moved to Europe so I want to make sure we get back to those!

I think this is going to be another solid productive month. What goals are you setting for the month ahead?

Around the World in Books: A Long Way Gone

Do y'all remember a while back when I posted about joining some other blogger's in an Around the World in Books Reading Challenge?  Well, today I am back to post about the first book I read for the challenge!

I'd been wanting to read this book for quite some time. Back when it came out I was insanely busy with life in general and it went by the wayside. However, when this challenge came up it was the first book that popped into my head. I think this happened for a couple of reasons:

1. I find memoirs to be very captivating
2. The story of a child soldier is one I feel needs to be told and understood so it can hopefully be prevented
3. The setting is unique: Sierra Leone 

However, once I began reading the book my heart went out to Ishmael. You see, Ishmael and I are the same age. Seriously, he was born just days after I was born.

So, this book completely put my childhood into perspective:

• When I was fretting over cowlick not cooperating on picture day in 7th and cut it off, he was running from insurgents.
• I was wielding a curling iron while he was wielding a gun.
• When I was out school shopping and then not wanting to wear certain clothes I'd bought because they weren't what everyone else was wearing, Ishmael was trying to keep the clothes on his back that he'd had for years clean.
• When I complained about going to school, all he wanted to do was go to school.
• When I refused to eat under-cooked steak as my mom "mooed" Ishmael was undergoing reintegration into civilian society.

These things really spoke to me. Do I feel guilty for them, no, and I shouldn't because we were born into two completely different situations. I will say though, this book has made me more grateful than ever for those opportunities I did have and regardless of how silly they seem now, I am happy I got to experience those situations.

A few things from the book that really spoke to me:

"That night for the first time in my life I realized that it is the physical presence of people and their spirits that gives a town life." Chapter 3, page 29

Yes, yes it is . When we were in Orlando back in 2004 or so when a hurricane basically hit the city head on which really shouldn't have happened and people were out of their homes for weeks and weeks we actually found it difficult to sleep at night knowing our neighbours weren't there...in fact, at one point we decided to head back to our parents house on the weekend because it was just too weird without people. So, I could only image crouch in a home where an entire village has fled because they are afraid of the people who may come to "recruit" them to their cause.

Page 54

I loved this page because these kids were finally seeing some normalcy in their lives. Even though they weren't with their families they were being treated like family and had even gotten to a point with others where they could joke around!

I also found it humorous here that even though he grew up with so much less than I did, compared to others in his country he was "soft" so to speak! He didn't have the skills needed to survive in a town other than the one he grew up in-attending school and having his needs attended to!

I think this is a fantastic book and recommend everyone read it! It is a short, quick read only being 200 some odd pages. I am even making my teenager read it. I think she will thoroughly enjoy it as she is the age of Ishmael in the books. 

The writing isn't totally fluid, but as a reader you can sort of see his thought process as he wrote. The other thing I didn't like was he didn't elaborate the ending and I had to search online to find out more about his adult life....wow, that sounded super creepy! ha!

So, on that note, I will leave you to go buy this book and enjoy it.