Sing when you can, and forget the rest.

Strawberry Fields, Central Park, New York City.

We drift on a chartless, resistless sea. Let us sing when we can, and forget the rest..-HP Lovecraft

Summer pleasure reading wrap-up.

It’s hard to believe that my summer is almost over (though I still have about 2 weeks left). However, since I spent as much time as possible reading as many books as I could, I thought I’d do a summer/pleasure reading wrap-up for the months of May, June, and July. Also, since I love quotes, I thought I’d include quotes from the books that I could find quotes from on Goodreads. 🙂

May

1. The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons: “I believe that anything is possible if you have the combination of love for what you’re doing and the will to sit down and not get up until it’s done.”
2. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver: “In a world as wrong as this one, all we can do is make things as right as we can.”
3. Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten
4. Pigs In Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver: “No matter what kind of night you’re having, morning always wins.”
5. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks: “Stories are as unique as the people who tell them, and the best stories are in which the ending is a surprise.”
6. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver: “I thought I wouldn’t live through it. But you do. You learn to love the place somebody leaves behind for you.”
7. How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward: “When you are small, if you reach out, and nobody takes your hand, you stop reaching out, and reach inside, instead.”
8. Beyond The Waves by Miranda Marek
9. A Soft Place To Land by Susan Rebecca White
10. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

June

1. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson: “That is what literature offers—a language powerful enough to say how it is. It isn’t a hiding place. It is a finding place.”
2. Fifty Shades Of Grey by EL James: “Laters, baby.”
3. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: “Perhaps the unattached, the unwanted, the unloved, could grow to give love as lushly as anyone else.”
4. If You Want To Write by Brenda Ueland: “I found that many gifted people are so afraid of writing a poor story that they cannot summon the nerve to write a single sentence for months. The thing to say to such people is: “See how *bad* a story you can write. See how dull you can be. Go ahead. That would be fun and interesting. I will give you ten dollars if you can write something thoroughly dull from beginning to end!” And of course, no one can. ”
5. On Writing by Stephen King: “Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life.”
6. The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank: “Sometimes you’re loved because of your weaknesses. What you can’t do is sometimes more compelling than what you can.”
7. Fifty Shades Darker by EL James: “You’re the only person I’d fly three thousand miles to see.”

July

1. Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos: “But sometimes, a boat needs to rock; a boat needs to head straight for the heart of a storm and come out on the other side, weather beaten but with flags flying.”
2. Fifty Shades Freed by EL James: “I want your world to begin and end with me.”
3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger: “Listen, sometimes when you finally find out, you realize that you were much better off not knowing.”
4. Sam’s Letters To Jennifer by James Patterson: “What are we but our stories?”
5. The Map Of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
6. The Tenderness Of Wolves by Stef Penney: “It just goes to show you can’t leave anything behind. You bring it all with you, whether you want to or not.”
7. Harvesting The Heart by Jodi Picoult: “Perhaps he d always known that the truth of a person lies in the heart.”
8. Belong To Me by Marisa De Los Santos: “You know what he said? He said that being away from me is less like being away from a person than being away from other people is. I don’t know anyone else who would say something like that. And he was right. When we were apart, I missed him all the time, but he didn’t feel faraway. He felt closer than the kids at school.”…Certain people are like that, I guess. They’re together no matter where they are. They just belong to each other.”

Total: 25 books. Not too shabby, especially considering I was studying abroad for 5 weeks and going to my internship for 5 days a week. 🙂

What have you read this summer that you’ve really enjoyed?

When in Ireland, go to McDermott’s Pub in Doolin.

When my mom and I were traveling around Ireland before my study abroad program began in Galway, we stopped in Doolin because we heard that it had some great live music, and boy did we find it. There were only 3 pubs in Doolin, so we were able to go into all of them to see which had the best atmosphere and music. The winner was McDermott’s Pub, which was packed with people by the time my mom and I got there and had some great live music.

I particularly liked the music at McDermott’s because the musicians were younger. There were 2 guys and a girl, and the girl was definitely my favorite. We later learned that she was a well-known fiddle player and could play a huge variety of instruments. Her talent was pretty obvious, and it was great to hear her play. Sadly though, I don’t remember her name or I’d share it with all of you.

Anyway, if any of you ever get the chance to go to Ireland, make the trek to Doolin for McDermott’s Pub. You won’t regret it! 🙂

 

When in Ireland, seek out the live music.

Last night Alex (my roommate) and I went to Eyre Square in downtown Galway in search of live music. We took the bus, which I prefered since I’m trying to save my energy as much as I can. Anyway, the bus dropped us off at Eyre Square, and we went hunting for music. We saw this pub called Richardson’s and saw a sign that said “Live Music Tonight” and decided to take a look.

The pubs in Ireland can be pretty different from one another, but I like them. Richardson’s was pretty typical. Warm, inviting, plenty of places to sit. Though it wasn’t packed when Alex and I got there, there were still a good many people there enjoying the soccer game that was on tv. Though I didn’t drink last night, the bartenders were very nice and asked us if we wanted anything. Since the pub wasn’t packed, I think it gave the bartenders a chance to try to make sure everyone was happy and enjoying themselves.

The live music started at 9:30, once the soccer game was over. The band was made of up a fiddler player, the beautiful red-headed accordion player, and a guitar player. Alex and I were set for the night once we saw the beautiful red-headed Irish guy. The music was really wonderful too. Since the pub wasn’t packed with people, Alex and I enjoyed it more because rather than the musicians having to play over the noise, the music just played for itself. About halfway through the night, one of the band members (the guitar player) asked if there were any Americans in the house, and Alex and I said yes. His response: “There’s always one.” We laughed.

They then proceeded to play a Bob Dylan song as well as a Simon and Garfunkel song. Alex and I sang along to the songs we knew and cheered happily once the songs we over. Even though the music was amazing and neither of us wanted to leave, I knew that if we didn’t leave after a while we wouldn’t be up for our Lit class at 9 this morning.

We did end up making it to our class this morning, and both of us are still happily chattering about how much fun we had last night. Tonight we are planning to try to find the band we heard last night. I’m sure they’d enjoy having two American girls being their groupies, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Tuesday’s Travel Tunes: Flogging Molly!

Since I’m leaving for Ireland today, I figured that the only music that would fit for today would be the ever so wonderful Flogging Molly. Don’t you agree? Enjoy!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, especially since it will be coming to you all the way from Ireland! Woohoo! 🙂

 

Photo Friday: Adversity.

“What you have lost will not be returned to you; it will always be lost. You’re left with only your scars to mark the void. All you can choose to do is go on, or not. But if you go on, it’s knowing you carry your scars with you.” – Charles Frazier

Cowboys and Angels.

Since I didn’t post a song on Tuesday when I normally do my Tuesday’s Tunes post, I thought I’d post some music today. I’m a big fan of country music, and the song “Cowboys and Angels” by Dustin Lynch has been stuck in my head for the past few days, so I thought that I’d share it with all of you. Enjoy! 🙂

A Soft Place To Land by Susan Rebecca White.

Since I’ve been reading like crazy lately, I thought I’d post book reviews for the next few days. Two weeks ago I read  A Soft Place To Land by Susan Rebecca White, which was yet another book that I bought at my favorite used bookstore in Asheville, Mr. K’s. Here’s the synopsis of the book (according to Amazon.com):

For more than ten years, Naomi and Phil Harrison enjoyed a marriage of heady romance, tempered only by the needs of their children. But on a vacation alone, the couple perishes in a flight over the Grand Canyon. After the funeral, their daughters, Ruthie and Julia, are shocked by the provisions in their will.

Spanning nearly two decades, the sisters journeys take them from their familiar home in Atlanta to sophisticated bohemian San Francisco, a mountain town in Virginia, the campus of Berkeley, and lofts in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As they heal from loss, search for love, and begin careers, their sisterhood, once an oasis, becomes complicated by resentment, anger, and jealousy. It seems as though the echoes of their parents deaths will never stop reverberating until another shocking accident changes everything once again.

I read A Soft Place To Land soon after reading How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward, and even though they were two different books, I am now catching myself getting them confused since it’s been a few weeks since I read them. If asked to choose, I’d say that I enjoyed How To Be Lost more. However, they are 2 different books by 2 different authors, so there’s only a certain amount of comparison that can be done.

More than anything A Soft Place To Land is about sisters and the connection that the sisters have with each other before and after their parents deaths. This book was a quick read for me, which most of the time is a good thing. However, I think at this point I’ve read so many books in the last 2 weeks that the differing plot lines are beginning to mesh together. In my personal opinion though, How To Be Lost was a better read. Feel free to check out my review for How To Be Lost here: https://lifeintheblueridges.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/how-to-be-lost-by-amanda-eyre-ward/

Tuesday’s Tunes: Lily Kershaw, A Singer/Songwriter.

There are no words to describe the beauty of this song, so it’s all I’m posting today. Listen, listen again, and let the words fill your heart as I have done. Sometimes the heartbreaking, yet beautiful songs must simply be felt, fully and without hesitation.

Starting My Internship Tomorrow!

A few months ago I applied for a summer internship with Lark Books, a book publisher in Asheville. I learned about the internship through a job and internship fair held at UNCA, and I’m so glad I came across the Lark Books booth. I informed Lark Books at the fair that I was interested in the internship even though I knew I’d be in Ireland for 5 weeks of the summer, and they urged me to still apply.

I applied, went in for an interview, and last week I found out that I was selected for the internship. I’ll be working from tomorrow until the 15th, go to Ireland for 5 weeks, and then return to the internship to complete the 160 hour requirement. I’m so excited to have still been given this opportunity despite the fact that I’ll be in Ireland for 5 weeks. I can’t wait to learn more about the book publishing world (since I know close to nothing at this point).

Lark Books is a branch of Sterling Publishing, which is based in New York. According to sterlingpublishing.com:

Founded in 1949, Sterling Publishing is one of the world’s leading publishers of non-fiction books. We are unique in that we have the reach of the major publishers yet the passion & creativity of an independent press.

I’m really excited for this opportunity to learn all the facets of the book publishing world, plus having the chance to be back in the city that I love: Asheville, North Carolina. I have no doubt that I will learn a lot, while also having the opportunity to make connections in the publishing world that will help me in the future. Most of all, however, I’m just eager to get to know a new group of people and be introduced to an area of work that is of interest to me, especially since I love to write and hope to publish my memoir someday.