I meant what I said, or so I thought...

So awhile back I promised a book review of sorts in exchange for some book suggestions. Lately, though, my words have not been coming out - orally or written - quite like they sound in my head. I say or write things and realize after the fact the meaning is not at all what I really meant. I usually don't realize this until I get the awkward blank stare or the confused reply in writing. I often start a conversation with my husband only to forget to finish the sentence or question. Words come out that in no way relate to the conversation. My phone calls seem to end a little abruptly and not at all smoothly.

Could it be I am forgetting English? Could it be that spending most of my time with a 2 year old that has an extremely limited vocabulary and one that is adorably wrong sometimes is catching up to me?? Last night while talking to my sister on the phone I was racking my brain for the words "window shopping". All I could think of was "eye shopping" which is a literal translation from Korean for "window shopping". Even now, I sit here thinking, "now what was the point I was trying to make??" and "I think I forgot how to use punctuation".

That said, I'll forge ahead with a mini book review. Feel free to laugh at my incoherent thoughts or correct my bad English out loud.

'History of Love' by Nicole Krauss: I really appreciated all the book suggestions and look forward to reading many of them! I picked this one first because, well, it happened to be actually in the library when I was physically there to find a book. If you want something a little off the wall, different, and is filled with themes about old age, young age, and life in general then read this book. I actually laughed out loud at some points. The story is about a man in the twilight of his years and his struggle to find daily meaning in life. But it's also about a young girl on a quest for answers in a book her mother translated called 'History of Love'. These two peoples lives eventually intertwine. I'm still not sure I picked up on the intricacies of the plot but again I currently have some sort of foggy brain so this is in no way the book's problem.

'The Hiding Place' by Corrie ten Boom: I read this one for my book club - a friend and I who have the same need for intellectual conversation among adults started one a few months back. Really one of the best books I've read. I absolutely love non-fiction. I love reading real stories of real people. Corrie and her family were watch makers from Holland who helped hide Jews during the rise of Hitler. The stories of faith and courage and love are inspiring. Friends of mine raved about the book and I thought that it couldn't be THAT good and inspiring. It really is - the parenting advice alone is worth the read. Also, if you read it and are curious about more of the life of Corrie and her family, she wrote another book titled 'In my Father's House'.

'The Wednesday Letters': This is a great premise for a book. A couple dies leaving behind countless letters written by the husband every Wednesday for their entire married life. The adult kids end up finding them and many a family secret is uncovered as well as family conflicts resolved. It was an easy read but I can't say I loved it. I think the character development was weak and in the end I didn't really care what happened. If you want to read it - I recommend getting the audio version. It's relatively entertaining to listen to while you do housework or something.

'The Count of Monte Cristo': Who doesn't love the Count??? We read this one for the book club and since I've already read the abridged version thanks to (someone help me, was it Gentry or one of the other good English teachers we had???) I decided to read the longer more detailed version. If you've seen the movie, trust me, you can still read the book and be surprised. The movie, though entertaining, was WAY off. (On a side note, don't expect the 'Scarlett Letter' book and movie to correspond either) I love the subtle and not so subtle detail that goes into the characters. When Dantes is in prison, I could picture everything and feel his suffering. The many themes could be talked about extensively. For example, is the sin of omission (in this book, Caderousse allowing Dantes to be taken to prison on false pretenses by doing and saying nothing of his innocence) greater than the sin of commission (in the book, those that purposely manufactured 'evidence' of Dantes guilt)? Anyway, great book.

This month I'll be reading 'Snowlfower and the Secret Fan' by Lisa See. It sounds fascinating so I'm excited to read it. And I accidently ordered 'Peony in Love: a Novel' by the same author so I'll let you know if that's any good as well, oops. Clearly, I'm having trouble with simple tasks such as ordering a book on Amazon as well.

If you have read any good books lately, please don't hesitate to share, I'm always up for recommendations! And please don't hesitate to ask for clarification of anything I say or write - it's entirely possible it sounded better in my head.