DIY Pug Bookmark

I have been crazy busy lately!  Between trying to get ready for the LoLa Art Crawl and the school year starting back up again, I'm feeling really overwhelmed.  Fortunately, my students are awesome, and when I'm working on my crafting I get to stare at puppy faces all day :)

Here's a step by step on how I make the pugs:

It's a little hard to tell in the pictures the amount of detail on the nose- it's my favorite part though.  I roll the clay out thin with pointed ends, then curve it inward at both ends to make the nose.  Then I add a bunch of tiny little dots to add the puppy dog nose texture.  I think they're really cute!

Summer Reading List

Ahhh, summer vacation is here at last!  I cannot believe that my first year as a teacher has come to a close.  It seems like an eternity has passed since the first day, but it simultaneously feels like it went by in the blink of an eye.  I'll miss my kiddos, but I'm definitely planning to soak up every moment possible of this summer!

Like so many things (dishes, laundry, shaving....), my leisure reading became basically non-existent during the school year.  The first year is rough, trying to plan and grade, and stay on top of things!  So, I'm excited to to finally have some time to read for pleasure this summer.  My reading list is... well, it's extensive.  I'm hoping to get through them all, but here they in no particular order:

Anne of Green Gables: This beautiful edition was gifted to me by an old friend from college who long ago fell in love with Anne.  I am just starting this book for the first time.  So far?  Enchanted! 

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning: This text is written by a war correspondent.  It is based on his experiences reporting on war, but offers insights as to why societies are drawn to war as well. 

Luncheon of the Boating Party: Author Susan Vreeland creates the story to go along with the same-titled Renoir painting.  It sounds like a fun concept, and I'm excited to read it. 

Invisible Man: A classic I'm embarrassed not to have read yet, I'll definitely be checking this off my list this summer. 

No god but God: Many of my students are Muslim, but I know so very very little about the religion.  This is a book that I hope will be a good introduction to understanding Islam. 

Portrait in Sepia: I started this near the end of the year, but didn't get far before finals pulled me into the dark hole of paper grading.  I loved Paula, and I'm looking forward to reading something else by Allende.  She's the sort of author who makes me forget I'm reading. 

The Language of Flowers: This is about a young woman who grew up orphaned and who uses flowers as a means of connecting with others.  I don't know much about it, but it's been sitting on my shelf for a while... looking at me. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain: As a dog owner, I anticipate crying like a baby. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog: About a young girl living in a Parisian luxury apartment, the concierge, and a wealthy man who befriends them. 

The Memory Keeper's Daughter: In 1964, a doctor's wife has twins at home.  The doctor realizes immediately that his daughter has Down's Syndrome and instructs his nurse to bring her to an institution.  She takes the baby instead and raises her as her own. 

The Goldfinch: I'm the last one to the party here.  I know. 

Teach like a Champion: And just because it's summer doesn't mean I won't be attending trainings and reading at least one teacher education book.  This was given to the staff in our building, and while I have read parts of it, I'll be reading it in full this summer.

Alright, so what am I in for, friends?  Have any of you read these?  I'd love to hear what you thought!

September Book Club

Last month, I read Bless Me Ultima, and it was a wonderful story.  I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who speaks or reads some Spanish.  It was a great glimpse into another culture.  Something always gets me when a story is told from the perspective of a child!

I'm so excited to read the book I've picked for this month: Black Boy, by Richard Wright.  It is the story of Wright's life, and I'm sure it will be haunting and a wonderful read.

What are you reading this month?

August Book Club

No joke, when I went to write the title for this post, I started to type "July" instead of "August."  How has the summer gone by so quickly?!?  Before I know it, I will be in my new classroom and we will be moved into our new house.  So many changes are coming up!

Last month, I read Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir, by Jenny Lawson.  It was hilarious.  I highly recommend it to people who appreciate a little dark humor...

This month, I'm working on reading or rereading all of the books that are on the 10th and 11th grade reading lists.  One of these is Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya.  I'm really looking forward to this - have any of you read it?

What are you reading this month?

July Book Club

Holy moly!  It's July!

I took a small detour away from nonfiction in my last several book picks, but I'm back to fulfilling my new year's resolution of reading more nonfiction.  This month, I am reading Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir), by Jenny Lawson.  I've heard great things about it, and it promises to be a hysterical and light-hearted read: perfect for summer!  And isn't the cover art adorable and hilarious?

What are you reading this month?

June Book Club

I literally CAN NOT believe it is June already.  Is anyone else having a hard time with this?

Last month, I focused on young adult literature, and I cannot recommend The Book Thief highly enough.  It was so good, so heartbreakingly beautiful, and just a wonderful little read.  Go and read it!

Now that I'm almost done with my student teaching, though, I wanted to pick something that is well within my comfort area.  And so, I chose some Jane Austen Northanger Abbey, a little satirical poke at gothic literature.  I'm excited :)  What are you reading?

May Book Club: Young Adult Lit.

Last month, I picked The Poisonwood Bible to read.  It was interesting and enjoyable- I really liked the shifting narrative perspectives throughout.  It was a great story with complicated and flawed characters.  I highly recommend it!

Until very recently, I avoided young adult literature... even as a young adult :)  But, we've picked up some books to do literature circles at my student teaching, and I figured I would read everything we got for the students to read.  So far, the list has included Veronica Roth's Divergent, John Green's Looking for Alaska, and Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue.

Since young adult lit. is a much quicker read than my usual picks, I'm going to share four picks with you for this month: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie.  I've got to say, I'm excited to read them all!

What are you reading this month?

April Book Club

So, I've been pretty diligent in my New Year's resolution to read more non-fiction (including Jackie After O, Mirroring People, and the most recent: Scandalous Women which I highly recommend).

But, this month I've decided to read a book I've been meaning to read for a very, very long time: The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.  This is one of those books that I feel like everyone I know has read and raved about, so I figured it was time for me to read it myself.

I'm excited because the story has shifting narrative perspectives, which I've really enjoyed in other pieces.  Have you read The Poisonwood Bible?

Be sure to enter for a chance to win one of two DIY kits in my birthday giveaway!

March Book Club

It's my birthday month, guys!  I'm turning thirty... Wow.  And since I'm celebrating my birthday this month, I thought reading about women who turned some heads would be a good way to go :)

So, I've chosen Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women, by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon.  It features women including Cleopatra, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Gertrude Bell; and promises to be a fun read!

What are you reading this month?

February Book Club

Last month, I read Jackie After O.  It was very interesting to learn a lot of new things that I never knew about the Kennedys.

Also, this year I am trying to read an average of 1 book a week!  So, along with Jackie After O, I also read Park Lane by Frances Osborne, The Marriage Plot by Jeffery Eugenides, Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and reread Romeo and Juliet.  I really recommend The Marriage Plot- probably my favorite of the bunch!

This month, because it's near Valentine's Day and I want to keep reading more nonfiction, I chose Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni.  It's written by a neuroscientist who researched how the brain functions, specifically the mirror neurons that allow us to understand others.  It's very far out of my usual reads, so I'm really looking forward to reading this!

January Book Club

Last month, my pick for book club was Love in the Time of Cholera.  I enjoyed it, but I think I was too slow and sporadic a reader for it to have full impact.  I'll have to read it again sometime later to really get the full depth of the work, I think...

One of my new year's resolutions is to read more nonfiction.  So, I'm starting 2014 off with a nonfiction pick: Jackie After O.  It is a biography by Tina Cassidy that focuses on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' life after the death of her second husband.  I'm very excited to read it!

What are you reading this month?

December Book Club

Last month's book club pick was Tigers in Red Weather, and it was so good!  It is set a little after WWII, and is about two cousins and their families.  It turns Hitchcockian part way through and is a pretty creepy read.  But I really enjoyed it :)

This month, I'm reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  This has been on my to-read list for quite some time, and I'm so excited to be getting to it!

What are you reading this month?

November Book Club

Hi everybody!  Last month, I was reading Lolita, which I had an awfully hard time getting into.  I think that Nabakov has an excellently crafted narrative voice in Humbert Humbert, but I really had to push myself to finish it.

So, this month I wanted to try something a little more modern.  I've picked Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann.  It takes place in the wake of World War II and is about two cousins and their families.  The plot promises secrets to be revealed and the elegance of Fitzgerald, so I'm excited to get started!

What are you reading this month?

October Book Club

Last month, I read The Queen's Lover, about the affair between Marie Antoinette and Count Axel von Fresen.  I wasn't a huge fan.  It was super interesting to learn more about the time period and the events surrounding Marie Antoinette's execution, but the narration was just not there for me.

This month, I'm going to be reading Lolita, by Vladimir Nabakov.  I've always wanted to read this book and have never gotten around to it, so now is the time!

What are you reading this month?

September Book Club

Can you believe it's already September?!?!  I can't wrap my mind around it!

Last month, I read The Almond Tree.  It was okay.  It was a very sad story and I cried a lot, but the writing was just alright.  There were a lot of parts that seemed forced or contrived...

This month, I'm changing things up a bit.  Since I've started a new program at school (I'll be licensed to teach English!), I've decided to go with something a little lighter in feeling: The Queen's Lover, by Francine Du Plessix Gray.  It is a historical novel about a love affair between Marie Antoinette and Count Axel von Fresen.  I'm hoping for a little bit of escape from my educational theory readings :)

What are you reading this month?

August Book Club

Last month, I read Brideshead Revisted.  It was a good book... but I didn't love it.  I think I'm kind of tired of the war story/someone leaves their spouse for someone else story line...

Up this month is The Almond Tree, by Michelle Cohen Corasanti.  This book was one that I won in a Goodreads giveaway!  If you haven't heard of Goodreads, I seriously recommend you check them out (and look me up so we can see what books we like!).  You put in a list of books you have read, books you want to read, books you are currently reading, and you can even make your own "shelves" for books.  You can connect with friends and read reviews, and Goodreads gives really great recommendations.  They have recommendations based on what you have already read, but they also will give you recommendations based on genre or even the list of books you want to read!  It's great.

Am I crazy, or does the guy on the right look like Ryan Gosling?

What are you reading this month?

July Book Club!

Hi guys!  First things first, check out my new layout!  It's nothing fancy, but I wanted something a little more streamlined and a little less cluttered.  Eventually I may invest in some custom design work, but for now...  Also, Google Reader has officially ended!  You can continue to follow me on Blog Lovin', or I've also recently created a Facebook page for Holly Goes Lightly!  Like me on Facebook, and you'll stay up to date on all my posts.  As an incentive, I'm going to host a giveaway once my Facebook page reaches 100 likes!

Alright, onto the book talk...

Last month, I read Middlesex, and if you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it!  The narrative voice is so unique and completely developed.  The story is incredible, and at turns funny and heartbreaking.

This month, I'll be reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.  The story is set in World War II, an era that I find makes for a fascinating backdrop for a story.  I know that this has been turned into a movie, but I'm going to hold off seeing it until I've read the book.  Have any of you read it or seen the movie?  What did you think?

What are you reading this month?

June Book Club

For the month of May, I read Hiding in the Open, which was a fascinating read!  While the writing was occasionally less than impressive, the story of how she survived the Holocaust was just so unbelievable that I couldn't put it down!

My book club group met up to see The Great Gatsby instead of our usual wine and snack-fest :)  It was a beautiful movie to watch, and even though I had a few qualms with the way the book was brought to film, it was overall a really fun experience :)  Have any of you seen it?  What did you think?

This month, I will be reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.  There are many books that, as someone with a background in literature, I shake my head in wonder at how I have missed reading them.  This is one of those books.  Can't wait to read it!  What are you reading this month?

May Book Club

We had our monthly book club meeting last week, and it was so nice to catch up!  For the month of May, we're going to go see The Great Gatsby.  I'm so excited to see this newest take on one of my favorite books!

For myself, I'm going to be reading Hiding in the Open, by Sabina Zimering.  It's a memoir by a Holocaust survivor who now lives here in the Twin Cities.  A while back, I was substitute teaching at a school where they honored her as a woman of substance.  She said a few words that day, and seemed like an inspiring person!  I can't wait to read what promises to be a moving and amazing story.

What are you reading this month?

April Book Club

Hello and happy April!!  It seems that our in-person book club is evolving into a monthly wine and snacks club :)  Regardless of the future impetus of our monthly meetings, I'm going to continue sharing my monthly reads with you, my online book club! :)

This month, we're (I'm?) reading A Mercy, by Toni Morrison.  I love her writing, and I'm so excited to read another work she's written.  I've got a library copy on loan for myself, but it will need a renewal or two- I'm so busy lately studying for the MTLE (I take it Friday, yikes!)...  But some pleasure reading is always relaxing :)

What are you reading this month?

Also, don't forget to enter my birthday giveaway!  There's only a few days left :)