I like big books and I cannot lie.

     Also medium size ones and small ones. And anything in between. I LIKE BOOKS OK. I get a lot of my books in digital form on my tablet these days, but I still get a little crazy in the bookstore every now and again. Nothing will ever beat the smell of nice paper, or the sound a book makes when you crack the spine open for the first time. Or just being able to take a book and go sit somewhere to read without worrying about your battery dying on you. So! Let's take a gander at the books I've picked up recently. You will notice a theme of "stories about women being awesome."

     I picked this one up a few weeks ago at Target (obviously). In all honesty it was half that I thought it sounded really cool (Edgar Allen Poe + love triangle + dark creepy shit), half that the cover just feels really nice. Like this book is a delight to hold. Whoever advised them to splurge on the high quality cover material: good call. 

     Ok, I know at first you might think this doesn't look that exciting, but just WAIT FOR THE BACK, that's where they get you. 

     A world of Yes. I can't wait to find out more about this badass lady hiding messages in her hair so that she can be my newest life idol (it's Marthe McKenna, in case you wanted to check her Wikipedia or something). 

     I mean, obviously. OBVIOUSLY I had to get this book. I just can't resist stories of women doing kickass shit. Like "Catalina de Erauso, an ex-nun who dueled, drank, and cross-dressed her way through Spain and North America." Sign me up for that please. 

     I've had my eye on this one for a while now. Zelda Fitzgerald was such an interesting person. She got painted as this crazy over-dramatic caricature a lot, and she definitely had some serious problems, but she was also really smart and creative (did you know parts of some of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books are lifted straight out of her personal diary?) and tough and full of personality. I like that this book aims to mix some of the most interesting parts of her actual life with the easy reading of a novel, so we'll see how well it does that. 

     If you're wondering how this fits into the theme of awesome women, you need to learn more about Vikings. I mean, we could probably all stand to learn more about Vikings, because they were SO FREAKING COOL, but to the point, Viking women were pretty cool. They had the right to own property, run farms, even divorce their husbands if they did messed up stuff like make them invite the dude who killed her brother over for dinner. Scholarly types can't agree on whether or not Shieldmaidens were a real thing (although the Valkyries seem to be based on the idea, soooo....), but they were definitely real enough in legend, and women were praised for being strong-willed and brave, and they kind of ran everything behind the scenes, convincing the men in their lives when they needed to sit the hell down and when they needed to buck up and go revenge-stab somebody. All in all, pretty cool. 

Friday Favorites: pink and cats and hobbits, oh my!

     Let me just say in advance: if you think this edition of my weekly favorites is too pink, just be glad I didn't buy the Hello Kitty clock that I saw on clearance at Target. Sadly, though my preferred aesthetic leans toward childlike whimsy, even I couldn't justify that one. But onwards, to the things that made me happy recently! 

PLANNING LIFE LIKE A GROWN-UP WHO HAS HER SHIT TOGETHER

     I got this most perfect little planner on earth so that I can try to better organize myself. I've got a lot more going on in this new year (more freelance jobs, more custom cakes to make), so I needed a way to make sure I wouldn't lose track of anything! This little guy is pretty much exactly what I wanted: it's pink and fun and different enough that it could belong to the girl who bakes your kid a birthday cake shaped like a pony, but still polished and professional-looking enough that it could belong to the girl who edits your research papers. It suits my multiple personalities! Yay! The inside even has polka dots sprinkled across the top of every page, so that kicks it up way into "did someone design this for me personally?!" territory. 

     STASHING THINGS INSIDE THIS FAT LITTLE CAT COOKIE JAR

     When I saw this at Target the first time, I told myself I was going to wait for it to go on sale, because I really have no need for a twenty dollar cookie jar shaped like a cat. But the next time I was there, I looked at it again and thought of how sad I'd be if it sold out before I got one, and I couldn't stand it. I just wanted it in my life, I don't know what else to tell you. So I had to buy it. I think I'm going to start writing down good things that happen to me and really nice compliments and stashing them on little cards in there so that at the end of this year I can look back and remember all the great stuff that's happened. Kind of cheesy, but sometimes I need a little help maintaining my optimism, and I think that will help. 

FINALLY READING THE HOBBIT SO I CAN BE INTO ALL THE NERDY THINGS IN THE WHOLE WORLD

     You may find it hard to believe, since I've already made clear that I like all the nerdy things, but I've never read the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I had always wanted to, but I had this notion that the books were all insurmountably long for some reason. But one day I saw a box set of the Hobbit and the trilogy, and it looked totally do-able. Just four nice little moderate-sized paperbacks. So I went for it! I started reading the Hobbit about a week ago, just a chapter here and there before bed, and now I'm halfway through it. I was surprised at what an easy read it is, actually! I'm looking forward to finishing it so that I can see the movies without guilt, since I always like to read the book before seeing the movie. 

HONORARY KIND-OF-CHEATING FAVORITE: SNUGGLEPUP MCGEE HERE

     It's kind of cheating because Sophie is a favorite all the time, not just this week, but Amanda wanted me to include this picture she took, so I told her I would. Sophie was feeling snuggle-deficient that day, so I told her she could come up on my bed for some cuddles just this one time (she's normally not allowed on my bed) and she was just pleased as punch. And let's face it, so was I, because she is a delight to snuggle with.