uyen's brain is not rotting

to my own dismay, at the beginning of the summer, an acquaintance from high school said to me, "i thought you were the reading type." and up until that point, i never desired to read, always just read for school. but i decided to give it a shot.

the woman warrior: a memoir of maxine hong-kingston growing up chinese american in the bay area. some of this stuff i could relate to culturally: having a mother who saw spirits, said the opposite to avoid being arrogant, etc. i enjoyed the sometimes fantastical ideas that were presented because i didn't know they were fantastical till the very end. however, i do appreciate having read it now than earlier.

the house on mango street: another cultural book, this time shining light on the mexican culture. this book was made up of a series of short vignettes. and although there were a few that stood out, the constant shifting of characters and situations was more distracting than powerful.

the time traveler's wife: my new favorite book! oh my, i am a complete sucker for a story of love. but this book also made that darned physics class worth it--i understood what the author was saying about not having the choice to change the past or present because (space)time is like a loaf of bread. right, jessica? and the story was completely heartrending. twice i cried for longer than 10 minutes for fictional characters. ::sigh::

the dive from clausen's pier: another fictional love story. reading this post- time traveler's wife did it some injustice. in the beginning, i didn't want to read it. it paled in comparison. however, it definately had its own personality and caught my attention: very rich in detail and a different sort of message about responsibility and figuring out your priorities.

hope you all are well. sorry, i haven't been able to convince myself to read harry potter yet. any of them. but maybe one day.

may your hearts be merry and your days fulfilling.

all my love, uyen