outlander

i just finished the first installment of the outlander series by diana gabaldon.

um.....

seriously.

i'm in love with a character in a book.

i'll only tell as much as what's on the back of the book, but basically, the story takes place in the 1940's after the war. claire beauchamp is finally being reunited with her husband, frank randall, after several years. they spent the war apart, she as a nurse and he as a soldier, and they've reunited in scotland on kind of a second honeymoon, if you will.

in their touristy journey through scotland, they come across a stonehenge type of structure. claire, some sort of budding botanist, later returns to the stonehenge structure to check out a plant she noticed and is sucked back in time 200 years. the story goes as you'd imagine if you'd been catapulted 200 years back in time - totally freaked out, she makes the best of it, and meets a man of interest.

this is so the readers digest, slash me trying not to give anything away version.

listen, as crazy unrealistic as this book sounds, you want to read it. promise.

the few readers who've also read this, will agree, i'm sure. enjoy!

my must reads

i get my must reads from friends who recommend, other bloggers who recommend, and sometimes based on the book cover, but not always. all too often terrible writers get great book cover artists and waste my time, but make my shelf look pretty. at least there's some kind of win.

(i'm also guilty of buying wine based on the label. i do that - a lot.)

behold! my book list until i finish all of them and come up with another one ::

first up - outlander by diana gabaldon. i think this is the first in a series, and we all know how much i love those! this has come highly recommended by two awesome friends of mine, so i'm pumped!


i'm kind of a sucker for memoirs. i am totally in love with augusten burroughs, alice sebold and jen lancaster (i'm sure there are others, but my brain is slow because it's friday), so i was excited to read on a friend's blog about driving with dead people. the title alone sucks me in, and i'm on the edge of my seat ready to read this junk.


there's been a lot of buzz about this book, and i'll admit i stopped for a second when i noticed the bright green book cover in target. it makes my list because of the buzz alone; although, i read a friend's tweet the other day that said it took her quite a few pages to get into it (i had the same experience with water for elephants, but would have been so upset had i given up on it). so, i'll give it my time.


i love jennifer weiner. i'm just like any girl - i love me some chick lit, but i tend to shy away from it because i'm kind of into learning junk when i read. i think it helps to expand my vocab and helps me be a better writer (i. am. five.). good in bed might be in my top five fave books of all time. certain girls? i cried. (also not a crier- i'm sure we'll get to that later). so, a new book popping up by jennifer weiner will have to go on my list (along with several others i've yet to read).


i was in target and saw this book on the shelf. this is one i picked up for its artwork and title, but the husband was over my shoulder making me pick a book to buy, so i didn't have time to read up on it enough to make an educated decision. i ended up reading a blurb on amazon, and apparently, this book is good. it's about someone tightrope walking between buildings in new york, and as the person is walking, he's taking notice of the people beneath him, and the book is made up of not only his story, but the stories of those people living life on the ground. i'm pretty sure i read that the author has since passed but is brilliant. good to know! i'll pick this one up somewhere down the line and let you know (if you've read this, please leave a review!).


after reading loving frank i'm kind of on a history kick. give me a book about times past. it's fun to be learning while doing something you love - i.e. i didn't so much enjoy school because class is so forced, don't you think? these two books are both a bit historic. i'm not so sure about last call. i need a story, and i didn't quite get from the blurb on amazon that this provided a storyline and plot. i don't want to just read information about the time, i need something to suck me in. devil in the white city is supposedly somewhat true - not totally sure about this - and rich with history. it's come highly recommended, so it made the list. it's about life in the early 1900's and serial killers - drama & mystery - fun times!


how many times have i been told to read i was told there'd be cake? countless. so, i'm going to read it. i'm actually tempted to read this after i finish miz lancaster's latest. i'm a cake person, like bad. i think i had three pieces at the last wedding i attended (good cake, ya'll!). i get stabby if there's not a lot of icing... i just feel like this book is right up my alley...


sloane's written another book, and i've made the commitment already because i just feel she and i are going to be great together...

finally - charlaine harris. i didn't discover her until after i'd seen the first season of trueblood. once i became hooked on it and discovered there were something like ten books about sookie stackhouse, i went straight to target to buy. not only are they dirty, sexy vampire reads, they are also tiny, like romance books, and only $5.99. hook it up!!! i've now read all of them, so i'm pretty abreast of what's going on with trueblood unless mr. ball throws in a little something extra, which he so likes to do. once this goes to the $5.99 paperback, my cheap ass will be reading it... i'm pretty sure i might have already forgotten what's happened in the first nine. either way, even if you're not a trueblood fan (i know no one who isn't, really), but you like sexy vampire books, this series would be one for you.

what do you think? if you've read some of these, please leave a review in the comments!

p.s. i'm on goodreads! be my friend and we can exchange book ideas all day! whoo-wee!
http://www.goodreads.com/ashkgillespie

because work can wait, right?

making lists makes me happy. random list posts also seem to generate comments, and i need those. i'm feeling all lonely and "new girly" out here in bloggy land.

• last night i was getting all caught up with perez, and i got to an article about that trainwreck of a teenager, taylor momsen. not only do i hate her stupid character on gossip girl, but i'm pretty sure she's totally hateable in person. where in the hell are her parents? do they not see any need to step in and at least attempt to get her on the right path? where is her mother or any sort of woman influence to say that her eye makeup is absolutely terrible and she completely misunderstood the whole "smokey eye" trend? more importantly, why is a 16 year old walking around in lingerie? i just don't understand. she is the reason why i'm scared of children - they may grow up and turn into her.
  

• i'm going to say it - brace yourself - i think lady gaga's taking it a little too far. i'm kind of over all her antics. i still love her music, and i'll still rock out at her concert (if i can get tickets) but...wow. i'm over it. i know it's hot in nyc and all, but the get up she wore to the yankees game was redic. not only that, but her behavior was a little out of control. while i understand she's pushing the social norm and trying to be all ed-gy, i still see no point in going to a public place, as a public figure and flipping the bird and screaming profanities. let's have some class, lady gg. i'm not a new yorker, so maybe i'm not understanding the hard-edge bitch you must have to be, but enough's enough. you've convinced me that you're a hard ass, and you will say, wear and do anything you want. again, i'm all about the concerts and the performances and pushing the envelope with all of that, but this looney public behavior has got. to. go.

• did anyone see the lead singer of train on last night's home run derby? first of all, i'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he had to be sick. he was straining like crazy to sing "hey soul sister" - i thought his head was going to explode. but seriously, in the words of the husband, he's 145 pounds soaking wet. cocaine much? anorexia? during the whole "drops of jupiter" era he was not sickly thin. he looked ridiculous last night. who knows what's going on with him, but he should really try to pull it together.

• work? what's that? i'm lacking the motivation to sell (which is 50% of my job, btw) in the worst way. today i promise to get on that.
  

• i'm reading jen lancaster's new book. anyone out there reading it too? what do you think? a few funnies, but things just haven't been right with the last two.
  

• i'm on a new diet. it's called quit eating so much, chunk. i'll let you know how it goes.

• have you guys heard soulja boi's new song, "pretty boi swag"? dis? right here? is. my. swag. it's all up in my head, and i walk around the office singing it daily.
  

• i have officially come down with tanorexia. i'll have you know the night of the wedding i blogged about earlier, i bronzed with self tanner, then bronzed with my sephora powder bronzer, then added more make up. i'm straight from jerseylicious. what the hell is my problem? seriously, if i wore more leopard print and a push up bra, i'd be a dead ringer.
  

• i purchased some laura mercier makeup on gilt, and i'm 100% obsessed, like bad. i've been using mac powder for years - like stuck in my ways, ya'll - and i might be dropping all of that for miz mercier. what is your favorite makeup? (i will probably do a follow up post on this as my makeup runs out - i'm thinking a change is a comin')

• finally, followers, i'm going to ask you to do me a favor, if you like my blog, will you link to me? i'm itching for some new followers, and could use some help! thanks!

Loving Frank (and this junk)

i just finished this book. holy crap, was it good. in my old age, i've become somewhat of a history freak. i love learning about all things past - especially if there's some drama and scandal involved. as it turns out, frank lloyd wright was a scandalous little man - also labeled a genius and progressive for the time. in the early 1900's he was emerging as an architect with an interesting vision. his muse was nature, and his creations were made up of clean lines and gorgeous details mimicking the simplistic beauty in nature. without giving away major details, he fell in love with one of his clients - a woman named mamah (may-muh) borthwick cheney. after several years of fighting the feeling, they eventually abandoned their families to be together. it's worth noting mamah was also considered ahead of her time. a college graduate and intellectual, she was your present day independent woman.

basically, this book tells the tale from mamah's perspective - later frank's. you can't help but root for them as they threw their lives as they knew it away to be together. i'm not a user of the term "soul mate," but after reading this, it's kind of one of those things - they were magnents to each other. the pull was something they felt they couldn't bear. it was worth destroying people they loved to be together. the book chronicles their affair - traveling the world together and later settling in frank's birthplace in a home he designed for them named taliesin. this name has some relation to the quote "the truth against the world" which was fitting for the time in their life as the scandalous nature of their relationship had nearly destroyed his career and her reputation.

do i think this affair is something to celebrate? no. but i did find the book very interesting and the research after even more fascinating. i can't really say more without giving away the ending of the book. if you prefer the cliff's notes, go to wikipedia and search frank lloyd wright. there, you will find the information all about his affair with mamah, and the ending is there as well.

because i am a dork, after reading the rest of the book, i went straight to the internet to get a visual of his work and taliesin. pictures are below ::

frank lloyd wright's home in chicago suburb :: oak park, illinois
this is the home he shared with his wife and children

another view of his home in oak park

the home edwin & mamah cheney commissioned frank to design
mamah and frank began their affair in this home - notice the two taller houses on each side - well, turns out, one of the neighbor's children totally watched them do it on the floor, and the upstairs windows were later boarded up because of it. rated r, ya'll.

taliesin somewhat present day :: spring green, wisconsin

from the hill

aerial view
for some reason, i pictured taliesin as a small cottage. none of these homes are small. they are freakin' awesome.

book review for loving frank? five stars. i absolutely loved every page of it. pick it up! let me know your thoughts!