Book Review: The Namesake

"Remember that you and I made this journey together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.” - The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

I finished my first book of 2014...and I did it before January was even complete! I'm feeling pretty good about myself, I'm not gonna lie.

This was a great book to start out with. Not because it was uplifting. It's not the type of novel that motivates you to meet your goals for the year or makes you want to go out and adopt eight little puppies. But it did give me a new perspective on growing up and family dynamics. And new perspective is something I am interested in pursuing this year.

In an effort to be a more positive me in 2014, I am trying to take moments to better understand where other people are coming from. I've found that if I look for ways to look at life from the worldviews of others, it plays a big role in my being calmer, less critical and more positive. So a novel about Indian immigrants finding their way in America, raising children who they hope will both be better for being Americans while also expecting them to hold onto the Indian traditions they have little love for, is a perspective I find fascinating. I walked away from the novel with a new compassion for the struggles first generation children have.

You can read my complete book review on my Goodreads page. 

GoodReads Reviews: My 2013 Read List

As much as I feel like a well-read individual, I know I don't give it the time and devotion to support such a perception. I do give it as much time and devotion as I am able to at this time in my life. From 10:30pm - 11:00pm is when I currently have a quiet room to devote to whatever story I have at hand. But if Eli refused to nap that day, if work was particularly draining or if I decided to devote 9:00pm - 10:30pm to wine drinking, then even those 30 minutes are forsaken for a good nights sleep.

A review of my 2013 reading list on GoodReads tells the story pretty well.

I read some incredible books last year. By incredible, I mean that I took something away from the story. They were books that stayed with me a few days after they were completed. Nearly all of them were books lent to me by friends or my in-laws. And they were good. 

But they total in number a whopping 5. Yep five novels in 365 days. Hardly the record of a well-read individual.

Now, this number does not include the obsessive number of re-reads I had of the Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay this year in anticipation of the Catching Fire release. For the record, those numbers were HG (1), Catching Fire (2) Mockingjay (2). And to defend myself, I can read those in 2 nights when insomnia kicks in.

Anyway, these books deserve mentioning only because I highly recommend them and would love to discuss them with any friend who may choose to give them a read as well. I've linked the below to my GoodRead reviews in case you are curious.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman 
Origin: Lent to me by my mother-in-law

 An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin 
 Origin: I read the Shopgirl and wanted to read Mr. Martin's other novels. 









  
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 
Origin: Lent to me by Miss Jenny Criglar

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje 
Origin: Purchased at the GFU bookstore in 1997(?) for my Modern Novel class.

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey
Origin: Lena Dunham recommended this book via her Twitter feed. Now, I don't really give two-hoots about Miss Dunham (no offense Lena) but I am impressed by young women who are able to pack their lives with everything they ever wanted to do (Mindy Kaling is my other idol). 

Eli In His Johnny Jump Up

Eli Jabbering with his cups