Four Books

I'm not sure how the weather can change so drastically in just a few hours, but here we are with some beautiful weather on this Friday the 13th. It's certainly hot outside, but that made my dip in the pool so much more enjoyable.

It's no secret that I headed to Gregory after work today, and I enjoyed a swim that felt much more powerful than it did the other day. I think when the sun is shining like it was, it makes my stokes feel a little easier. There is probably absolutely no correlation between the two, but hey, just thought I would try.

Anyway, the rest of my afternoon was fairly uneventful after my sweaty walk back to my car, and I just did some laundry and took a nap. An exciting Friday, right?

Dinner

My evening was much more exciting than my afternoon when Hanna came over to my house and we had a trouble twin dinner at the new-ish Whole Foods at The Domain. I was the one who introduced Hanna to the beauty that is Whole Foods, so it is only natural that it is a place that we frequent together. There is so much to choose from at Whole Foods, but nothing beats the countless options available at the salad bar.

I built my own salad, purchased a $.79 50.7-oz water bottle (duh), and ate every last bite. It had been far too long since I had been to Whole Foods, so this trouble twin date was definitely needed.

I even caved and bought one of the mini-flower arrangements. They were just so pretty that I couldn't resist!

After Whole Foods, we made a run over to Target in the Arboretum so that I could get a couple of groceries to last me these next couple of days until I go home, as well as a few craft supplies so that I can work on a couple of things for my classroom. I'm working 10 hours this weekend, so I might as well attempt to be productive with my time!

Four Books

And onto day seven of the Ten Day You Challenge. Because I shared some of my favorite books within my Nine Loves post, I'll list four books that I want to read. There are many, many books that I want to read, so this is a very condensed list, but hopefully these will make it onto my summer reading list this summer! 

*The descriptions of these books are all courtesy of Goodreads. 

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

(Source)

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be... Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure... but as my own being."Wuthering Heights is the only novel of Emily Bronte, who died a year after its publication, at the age of thirty. A brooding Yorkshire tale of a love that is stronger than death, it is also a fierce vision of metaphysical passion, in which heaven and hell, nature and society, are powerfully juxtaposed. Unique, mystical, with a timeless appeal, it has become a classic of English literature.

(Source)

Signs of Life - Natalie Taylor

Twenty-four-year-old Natalie Taylor was leading a charmed life. At the age of twenty four, she had a fulfilling job as a high school English teacher, a wonderful husband, a new house and a baby on the way.  Then, while visiting her sister, she gets the news that Josh has died in a freak accident.  Four months before the birth of her son, Natalie is leveled by loss. What follows is an incredibly powerful emotional journey, as Natalie calls upon resources she didn’t even know she had in order to re-imagine and re-build a life for her and her son. In vivid and immediate detail, Natalie documents her life from the day of Josh’s death through the birth their son, Kai, as she struggles in her role as a new mother where everyone is watching her for signs of impending collapse.  With honesty, raw pain, and most surprising, a wicked sense of humor, Natalie recounts the agonies and unexpected joys of her new life.  There is the frustration of holidays, navigating the relationship with her in-laws, the comfort she finds and unlikely friendship she forges in support groups and the utterly breathtaking, but often overwhelming new motherhood.   When she returns to the classroom, she finds that little is more healing than the honesty and egocentricity of teenagers.

(Source)

Rebecca - Daphne de Maurier

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

(Source)

Hopefully you'll see mention of these books on the blog in the very near future. I hope your Friday has been wonderful!