Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

*Full Disclosure (it's a hell of a thing...sorry):  I wrote this post in mid-August, trying to be proactive...so I didn't actually just finish reading it...and the books have arrived* I just finished reading a book. I know what you’re thinking. You’re a reading teacher who is going to library school. Don’t you do this all the time? Yes, yes I do. But THIS BOOK, readers! This. Book. First off, let me say that I bought this book like 5+ years ago. I have a problem, you see, and if it were neater, I would show you a picture of my bookshelf to illustrate just how big of a problem this is. But it is not neat, and therefore you shall not see it. Glad that’s out of the way. I bought this book all those years ago because the description on the back reminded me of a BBC America original show that I loved called Copper, which was about an Irish policeman in New York just at the end of the Civil War. It was gritty and raw without being too bloody, and I fell in l...

I haven’t listened to the radio in months. Like literally, it’s been Christmastime at least since my car radio was tuned to a radio station and played music. I need to call Sirius and try to cancel again, just to see what kind of deal they’ll give me. But I do have a reason for not listening to the radio. I’ve been “reading” while driving. The safe way, via audio books, obviously. I only physically read when I’m the passenger, I promise. I have blogged about this before , but I just finished a book a little over a week ago that I had been listening to for a very long time. Whether you are an audiobook listener, Kindle reader, or prefer to take your literature in its purest form, I thought I would pass along a recommendation. If you like historical fiction, romance, or biographies, then I really think you might enjoy America’s First Daughter by Laura Kamoie and Stephanie Dray. image via amazon.com This novel features the main character of Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Rando...

The title might  be just a tiny misleading. This "new favorite thing" of mine is not actually new...as a matter of fact, it's very not  new. I'm pretty sure they have existed for most of my life, though I don't think before I was born. I'm talking about audiobooks.  Now, if you clicked on this because I posted something on Facebook like "here's the book you should read next," then just hold on and be patient as I rhapsodize about audiobooks. I promise, there is some actually decent content...this time. I know that audiobooks have been around forever. My mom used to check out the ones that came on cassette tapes from the library and listen to them on her way to work. We have some at school that are on CD, and Audible has been around for quite a few years. I know people who listen to audiobooks religiously. I am very well aware that they are not actually new...but they are new to me!  About a month ago, Audible had a free month tri...

I know April is officially over {and has been for awhile now}, but I have three final books to review for AUSTEN-INSPIRED APRIL! Not all of these books were on my original list, but because I finished the list I made, I decided to do a few more books. So there! The first book is actually just a short story, and it was on my original list. LADY SUSAN  by Jane Austen {yes, that one}. So Lady Susan  isn't so much "Austen-inspired" as "Austen-written." In the book, there are three stories by Jane Austen--two of which are unfinished, as she passed away before she could complete them. But Lady Susan  is complete and is, in fact, hilarious.  The story is told through letters between Lady Susan and the various people in her life, including her best friend {whose husband doesn't approve of Lady Susan}, her sister-in-law, her sister-in-law's brother and mother, and her lover {who happens to be a married man}. Lady Susan is an unashamed flirt who is bo...

Random musing for you:  has anyone else ever had that moment where you're laying in bed and are just a little  cold {like not cold enough for a blanket} and so you just throw a pillow over top your legs and contort your body to make it work? Anyone? Just curious if anybody else's day started off like mine...moving on! I have already shared two books with you off my AUSTEN-INSPIRED APRIL   list, and now I have two more for you. And get excited, people, because I undershot how many books I'd be able to read in a month, so I've added two more books to the original list ! I can see your eager faces through my computer screen {really, I can't. It would be creepy if I could.} First up, we have THE SECRET DIARY OF LIZZIE BENNET  by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick. This book is actually based on a web series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries . You can find all the episodes on Youtube. It's pretty amazing, actually. Very short episodes {there are 160 total episode...

I'll be honest. I had a completely  different plan in mind for today's post. I have yet to post about our excursions into London from last June, which is probably going to take two or three {or more!} posts...but I need to pull out my journal in order to remember when we went where and all that jazz. And my journal is in a tote up in our barn and I don't feel like climbing up there tonight, so instead, you get something entirely different. I've finished the first two books on my AUSTEN INSPIRED APRIL reading list, and so now it's time for me to review them! First up, we have AUSTENLAND   by Shannon Hale. Now, "Austenland" is not a magical theme park that has Austen-related things {seriously, wouldn't that be amazing?}. In this case, "Austenland" refers to Pembrook Park. Which is kind of like a Jane Austen theme park. But not really. Okay, this is getting confusing. I'll start over. Austenland  centers around Jane...

So you know how there are just soooo many books out there? And there is just not enough time in a day {or week or month or year} to read them all? Anybody else have this problem? That's what I thought. Part of the problem, I know, is me. I'm just interested in such a variety of things! I have a craving to read all the classics--Dickens, Tolstoy, Stevenson, Kipling. I have a desire to read all the new books topping the fiction {and nonfiction} charts.  And I have lists.  Lists upon lists upon lists.  Some are lists of my own making, like the two page {small pages, like a notepad} list of nonfiction books and biographies recounting the Revolutionary War and our Founding Fathers, not to mention my equally-impressive Civil War, World War II, and women's history lists. Then there are the Pinterest lists that I can't help pinning. "30 Books Every Woman Should Read Before 30" "Missing Downton Abbey ? These books will put you in the moo...

There are a lot of "ifs" that begin this blog post: If you have previously read my blog, you know I love all things Jane Austen. If you have visited a bookstore in the last few years, you may know there was a book written called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. If you have a television, you may have seen any number of trailers for the movie that was released just yesterday bearing the same name. If you have ever wondered my feelings on zombies, you will now finally be satisfied. To be honest, the whole supernatural scene that's been very popular lately, with vampires and zombies and such, has never really been all that exciting to me {not to be confused with the Supernatural  scene, which follows the delicious, plaid-wearing Winchester brothers and their battle with the supernatural forces and creatures that exist in our world and beyond...that kind of supernatural I like}. But zombies have never really interested me. I've always kind of toyed around wi...

It's January 7th. One week into our new year. How are you doing with your resolutions? C'mon, you can be honest. This is a safe space. They say it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so we're a third of the way there! This year, I decided not to make any official resolutions. I didn't make a list saying that I wanted to work out three times a week, write 1000 words a day (which is not really as much as it seems...actually, it's about the length of your average blog post, or a page and a half on a Google Doc). I've done that a lot of years, and that just never works for me. As you might have read (or might not have read) in my first post of the year, I wrote about living intentionally. That is my resolution, essentially, for the year. And one of my Christmas gifts is helping me to do that. Friends, family, if you are on Pinterest, I highly recommend that you make a board for yourself of gift ideas. It's an easy way to bring things to people's a...

So...it's been awhile. To my dear readers, whoever you may be, I am sorry (I feel like I apologize for this a lot...I promise I'll get better!) For those of you who are new to my fantastic little blog world (my words...no one else has ever called it that to my knowledge), welcome! I'm here to provide a service to you today. I'm solving a problem you may or may not have known you even had! Summer is approaching (not nearly fast enough for my fellow teachers and me), and once all that free time hits, I know one of my first orders of business is my reading list. This is especially important this summer, as I will be doing quite a bit of travelling and always need something to read in the car/plane/train/whatever random transportation I'm using at the moment. For those of you who aren't teachers and are just looking for a great beach read (jealous = me) or pool read (still jealous = me) or backyard-whilst-trying-to-get-some-sort-of-tan read (definitely me), then h...

I haven't been very good about posting in this Reading List column. Granted, I haven't been very good about reading, either. I'm currently reading two books and have another waiting for me at the library, but for the past few weeks, I have just been so tired at the end of the day that I can't even focus my eyes on a page without starting to drift to sleep. Which means if I, Kaitlin Fink, can't read, then I must be the epitome of exhausted. But I have managed to make it through the next three books on the list, and so I shall give a short review of them now. 4. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank This is not about hunting or fishing, nor is it a guide. In fact, it isn't even a very good book. It's all about this character, Jamie (at least I think that was her name), and her experiences with relationships throughout her life. From her brother's first serious girlfriend to her own affair with a man some thirty years her...