Merry Wanderer of the Night:
traveling

Deanna Fei's A Thread of Sky is the story of three generations of Chinese women going on a trip to China. For some it means returning home, for others it means learning about a history they've never experienced. Each woman has her own struggle, her own secret. These secrets keep them from understanding and knowing each other. Throughout the novel there is the question from the grandmother, "What kind of woman will you be?"-- but then there is the answering question, "Does planning what kind of woman I will be trap me?" This is truly the most underrated book I've read this year.

Fei has that slow writing style I've become such a fan of lately. It's not so much the story that kept me going, although the story has plenty of twists and turns, but the beautiful prose. Each chapter focuses on one woman and Fei's writing style has tiny changes to suit each woman's personality. For the bulimic Sophie the writing is a little quicker, more urgent. For Irene, the mother who planned it all after her husband died, the writing is desperate. For the grandmother the writing is somewhat stern as she looks at these women and wants to tell them exactly how to live their lives.

A Thread of Sky questions what Feminism means today from the perspective of an old Chinese immigrant, a former Feminist revolutionary, a middle-aged Chinese American, and a teenager. What is clear is that the answer is something different for each woman, and the answer is also a struggle. Does Feminism really mean having it all? Or does it mean choices? Or does it mean going against the grain? Maybe it means all three things.

This is just great fiction writing. I was truly impressed by the skill Fei exhibited in manipulating her writing style to fit the time, place, and person. It was one of the books where I occasionally had to set it down and just say out loud, "This book is so good."

I read this book as part of TLC Book Tours. Be sure to check out the other reviews posted about it.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is a book I never wanted to admit I'd never read. I felt like it was something everyone read when they were much younger than me, thirteen or fourteen I figured. It's been on my TBR for a long time even though I've never owned a copy. Even though I'd never read the book, Anne Frank Huis was one of my must sees while in Amsterdam. Just because I didn't read the book didn't mean I didn't know the story. Unlike my experience with Dachau and The Book Thief, I was immediately overcome with emotion upon entering Anne Frank Huis. It's a totally different experience, and for me, a much more powerful one.

Anne Frank Huis does not have any furniture, but the walls are done like they were when the Franks hid there. In the center of the rooms are glass cases with artifacts from their time. What really got to me though, were the pictures of Anne Frank at the very beginning of the museum. She looks so happy.

Throughout the house there are quotes from her diary printed on the walls. It was as if she was telling her story to you, which I guess she was. The experience was also powerful for me because I had so many things in common with her. A love of reading and writing, nature, bicycles, and as a teenager I fought with my mother constantly and was extremely close with my father. When reading her diary I found it difficult to read the parts about her mother because I knew she would never get to experience the close relationship with her mother that I've had with mine.

I can't really review her diary, that seems unfair. It is slow in spots but overall a worthwhile read.

"The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature's beauty and simplicity.

As long as this exists, and that should be for ever, I know that there will be solace for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances. I firmly believe that nature can bring comfort to all who suffer."

I purchased my copy of the diary at Anne Frank Huis and also purchased The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

as a companion. It is an absolutely wonderful companion because it tells the before and after of the story and gives insight into what other characters' experiences were like.

The artwork is more traditional than I thought it would be, but there are some seriously disturbing images of Anne and her sister after they were found and sent to a concentration camp. I think I got a little more emotional looking at those images than I did reading her diary. The experiences are extremely different. While reading the diary I thought about how normal Anne's thoughts were for a girl her age: boy, friends, ambitions. That was what made it difficult, she represents the every girl, which makes you realize something like this could have happened to you. Reading the graphic biography gave me a lot more insight and history into her family, the experience of being in hiding, and what happened to the family after.

If you've never read The Diary of a Young Girl, I would highly recommend it and I would recommend reading the graphic biography after. It seemed to be a more fulfilling experience. If you've read the diary, you might want to try the graphic biography-- it might answer some of your unanswered questions.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Hello blogging world! I am officially back in my own house in Iowa City. I'm still not freshened up from my trip, there is laundry and unpacking to do, but I couldn't wait another day to write a blog post. I had every intention of posting more while I was absent, but if I'm being totally honest I loved the break from blogging. I think I really needed it. And now I'm back to bombard with you with pictures from my trip. Jason and I hit up four countries and five cities in seventeen days. It was crazy.

We landed in Amsterdam first, and that was the only place I blogged from. It was also my favorite place we visited. I loved biking around the city and how Amsterdam is a city yet really feels more like a small town.

Favorite Amsterdam moment: Absolutely everything was closed on New Year's Day, so we ended up renting bikes and just riding around all day. It was frustrating at the time because none of our plans worked out, but now that I know we got to do everything we wanted (pretty much) I look back on that day with a great fondness.

From Amsterdam we took a short day trip to Brussels where there is a comic strip museum. Count me excited! Brussels also has a ton of amazing food and was probably the best food we had over the course of our trip.

Favorite Brussels moment: My mouth is still watering over the mulled wine and scalloped potatoes with ham and cheese. What a delicious snack. The comic strip museum was a lot of fun as well, although their gift shop was a huge letdown. Their English selection was one shelf. So yeah, the food wins.

Our next stop was Berlin, which is must say is one of the strangest cities I have ever visited. There is so much street art and punk culture there, which I really loved, but I found that the people were very abrupt. Not rude, just a little harsh. The way Berlin exists today is also about as old as I am, which was weird. You can really see the history of WWII and Communism there, which only makes the city feel harsher.

Favorite Berlin moment: I really loved this particular section of the Berlin Wall, but it's not my favorite moment. I'd have to say the best thing we did in Berlin was visit this bar called Kaufbar. You could buy the vintage furniture in there and they played awesome music. It was a very relaxing environment and felt more like a normal coffeeshop in the United States than a bar.

We took a day trip to Prague from Berlin. All we really had time for was a tour of the city and then some time at bars that evening. This is where we met one thousand Australians because they are all on summer holiday right now. I've met one Australian my whole life and I go to Europe and meet all of them. Crazy.

Favorite Prague moment: We stayed a night in Prague and after having a crazy day where we tried to see everything it was really nice to wake up the next morning and just wander around. Prague is a really beautiful place and the train ride there was even more beautiful.

Our final stop was Munich. We were getting fairly tired at this point but we still did quite a bit. We visited Hofbrauhaus, Dachau, Neuschwanstein, and did some shopping. They love their beer in Munich, so it was a pretty fun place to turn 21 for an American.

Favorite Munich moment: Even though it's not in Munich, the best day we had was my birthday (at least I think it was the best day). I was super hungover but visiting Neuschwanstein was so much fun. Pictures really don't do justice to the beauty of the snow covered forest on the walk up to the castle. It was a fairy tale birthday.

So that's my trip in a tiny nutshell. I had an amazing time and got just the break I needed. Jason and I are already talking about where we want to visit next!

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

I'm currently sitting at the library in Amsterdam, which is beautiful and amazing. It's white with hardwood floors and very streamlined and techno. I could defnitely get lost here for awhile. We stopped here because we found out today that they have free Internet for anyone. Jason and I both agree that this is Amsterdam's best kept secret. If you're ever here and need to use Internet it's one of the easiest places to get some-- and you don't have to buy anything. Fantastic.

Today we went on a bike tour with this place called Mike's Bike Tours. It was a great way to see the city and get some ideas for places we want to go. Since so many people ride bikes here it was obviously nice to see the city in the way a local would, except with a tour guide pointing things out along the way. Jason and I enjoyed it since we ride bikes at home quite frequently, although the style of bike we rode here is very different from what we are used to. The bike tour took up most of the day and when we got home we had leftover Indian food from last night, which was delicious.

Tomorrow we are going to try and take a day trip to Zandvoort because that is where my family is from. I'm not entirely sure what we are going to do there, probablys just see what happens. There is a sort of nature resevoir there we might try to visit. We'll still have two days left in Amsterdam after that and we only have one day of definite plans. We will try to visit Anne Frank house, go to this bar with a windmill, and a market in the area our tour guide recommended. Some of these things a little far away from where we are staying so we're considering renting bikes for at least one day yet. It's a great time to try and cycle right now because there are fewer tourists and fewer locals cycling than there are during the summer, so it's relatively safe if you're used to cycling in congested areas, which we are.

As far as reading, I fnished a whole book on the plane ride over here. It was actually a short story collection I got at the Twin Cities book festival called If You Lived Here You'd Already Be Home, which was really fantastic and quick read.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

I had a lot of good intentions about posting a review today and doing lots of blogging stuff. But... I'm leaving in three hours and I have a feeling that over the next couple of weeks this blog is going to turn into more of a travel blog. I'm just too excited about this trip to even consider writing about books right now. Maybe once I'm out there I will be in the mood since I'll probably be doing a lot of reading on planes and trains, but right now my brain is either moving at super speed or way to slow to think. It's kind of hard to tell which.

I've been to Europe before, but this is going to be an entirely different experience. No parents, no chaperones, no hard set plans. Just a backpack-- that's all. I've wanted to go backpacking ever since I was a twelve-years-old. Right now I'm somewhere between "What the hell were you thinking, Ash!?!" and "Holy shit I can't wait to go." I haven't been this simultaneously nervous and excited about something since I started college. And maybe part of me thought I wouldn't do this in college, this whole trip actually stemmed out of me wanting to study abroad, but I opted to go backpacking instead. It would be great to leave for another country for all of next semester, which was my original plan, but this seems like a better fit for me, for some reason.

Maybe this trip is what I need after two semesters that just felt completely down and out. I think I need to remember that there is more to life than school or grades. I need to be challenged by something other than staying awake in class. I need to be put out of my comfort zone in a way that doesn't involve writing a paper. And I can't think of a better time to do it or a better person to do it with. Someday I'll be able to tell my kids I celebrated the New Year in Amsterdam and spent my 21st birthday in Munich. Whenever they think their mom is totally lame I'll throw that in their face. And next semester when I'm feeling sad about school and whathaveyou, I can look back on this trip and hopefully there will be some sort of life lesson there.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Last weekend I was so busy with the Iowa City Book Festival I didn't get the chance to post a Sunday Salon. This weekend has been equally busy but I've managed to find a little more time. I've been in Madison, Wisconsin with my boyfriend this weekend. It's a cool city and I'm thinking about going to library school here in a couple of years so I wanted to check out the area to see if I might like living here. I think it's safe to say that I would really enjoy living in Madison. My boyfriend and I are all about biking, walking, canoeing, and "green" living I suppose you would say. It seems like Madison does really cater towards that. Plus it's only five hours away from my hometown and three hours away from where I go to school now.

The main street downtown is State Street. Yesterday we went to some places my old roommate (who is from Wisconsin) suggested like Dobra Tea and Maharani Indian Restaurant. The Indian food was superb and I have to agree with her now. The Indian food in Iowa City just does not measure up. Of course no vacation would be complete with a stop at a bookstore. There were four bookstores I saw on State Street but we only went to two and I think the first one was the best.

Bookworks and Avol's Bookstore are actually two bookstores I guess, connected by an open door. I really only checked out the Avol's said because by the time I was done in there I had already found plenty. I got Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris because I just finished Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby and he really enjoyed it, although judging by the writing the person who originally owned this book did he didn't have as high of an opinion. I also got Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, and a children's book called Mathilda and the Orange Balloon by Randall de Seve and illustrated by Jen Corace. It's very cute.

To finish off the day we went to watch the sunset over the lake. It was so pretty and relaxing. I don't remember the last time I sat to watch a sunset.

So the Got Books Event is over now, but contest is still open until midnight tonight. If you haven't checked out my giveaway yet please do so. I'm giving away two books, one to each winner. The first book is Notes From No Man's Land by Eula Biss and the second is The Moon, Come to Earth by Philip Graham. If you're interested in winning either book please enter!

I know I usually post Sunday Salons much earlier than this, but I put off today's post for a special reason. If you've been following my Sunday Salon posts for the past few weeks then you know I just got back from a trip to New York City. I wanted to let you all know about my trip to this fabulous city, but I couldn't very well do that without pictures, could I? Which is why I had to wait until I got back to Iowa City to post this.

The two main pilgrimages I made during my trip to NYC were the Strand Bookstore and the New York Public Library. Strand was the first place I went and I managed to spend less than $100 there which was actually pretty amazing. I just kept reminding myself that I had many more places to go to. In case you don't know, Strand Books is famous for its 18 miles of books. That thought scare my parents, but it's actually just a three floor bookstore. Don't get me wrong, it's big, but I mean, it's not that big. I got some amazing deals on books while I was there though. I highly recommend stopping at the Strand if you're ever in NYC.

I was also pretty jazzed to get this awesome bag while I was there. I think I'm going to use it for my used bookstore shopping from now on.

From left to right we've got the heroic Dante, Emily Bronte, Herman Mellville, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Homer, and Oscar Wilde. Oh yeah... and I might have gotten something for someone else too. But you'll have to keep reading to find out about that.

The New York Public Library was fabulous and beautiful, although it was quite strange to have my bag searched before entering a library.

I got an awesome children's book at the library amongst a few other things. I actually bought three children's books while I was in New York so you can look forward to those during some upcoming Children's Book Thursdays! And now about that hint I had earlier... I got a Strand bag for one reader. It looks like this:

It doesn't matter to me if you have been to Strand or not, you can fool people if you please! The bag is brown with a green logo, I know it's kind of hard to tell in the picture. All you have to do to win the bag is leave a comment, but if you don't want to win the bag and do leave a comment please let me know. I also ask that everyone who enters the contest is a follower of English Major's Junk Food. You can become a follower by clicking Follow in the upper right hand column of this page. Oh yeah, this is open internationally.

In case you missed some of posts this week here is a quick list: Emma Volume 3, Author Interview with Alexandra Bracken, The Creation of Eve (my favorite book so far in 2010!), and Deep Bookish Questions.