Vicarious Readings of Summer

When I was little, I would spend my summers huddled away in the back room of my house organizing every book and magazine I could get my little hands on into a neat and tidy library in our book shelf. I knew every book we had and should anyone wish to borrow a book from the shelf I made sure it went back into my tidy little order. How controlling I was. Nowadays, my summer book fetish has dwindled down over the years to a list of books and magazines I desired to get my hands on, in hopes of sitting somewhere huddled in the sun - pretending I could tan - and reading vicariously about the lives of such interesting characters.

I must tell you, I am a slow reader. Normally these lists - while intended to occupy just my summer break - end up being hoarded to next years list alongside a fresh batch of new books. This year's list has been gathered from all aspects of my life ranging from; recommendations from literature teachers, to books I picked up for the sake of buying a book for such a cheap price. Some of them even surprise myself, but I find the most interesting thing to read is a situation completely foreign to me, an experience I have never known. The only way I find to do that is to pick the books airing away from Jodi Picoult and Jane Austen, and towards the fiction writing of twisted minds. So without further delay, I give you my Vicarious Readings of Summer 2011...

♥ Pretties - Scott Westerfield

♥ The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

♥ Perfume - Patrick Suskind

♥ The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson

♥ Far To Go - Alison Pick

♥ Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult

Stay Peachy.

Smith Journal: Man's Answer to Frankie.

I pride myself in being an avid reader of Frankie Magazine. What's not to love? Endless stories about real people with uniquely inspiring lives, creatively designed trinkets discovered from the depths of the world wide web, and most importantly a perspective of the world from every quirky angle. Proud to be different. So how excited was I to find out frankie press were releasing an equally as quirksome journal designed to share the uniquely intriguing elements of our world in one simple magazine? So excited that I ordered the first issue of Smith Journal asap...

Admittedly, this magazine is targeted for men, but I was intrigued and finally impressed with the not-too-shabby first edition of the magazine. It is everything I love in a good magazine. A little taste of word-play always goes down smooth with me and my favorite article by far has to be Jo Walkers 'chew the fat', a guide to everyday's nautical slang and the history of it all. Call me a nerd, but this is exactly the quirky types of conversation I love to add randomly to everyday life. Ever know why they're called hookers? Want to know what the hell chock-a-block really means? I'm assuming we all know what they mean, but try explaining it to someone who's lived in a cave the past century.

Smith has impressed me, but can they keep it up? I think they've got a good shot. I dare any man to pick up this journal and put it down without a hint of inspiration or wisdom attained, even for a moment. I dare them to pick it up and acknowledge the immense amount of substance behind each and every story. We all know you men have just been jealous of our ability as women to pick up a Frankie magazine and read it till days end. And I know you knowledgeable, insightful men out there are just a little bit pleased and delighted at this new bi-annual read.

Let it charm you, it won't disappoint.

http://www.smithjournal.com.au/

Stay Peachy.