Choosing the Perfect Travel Read

A friend of mine recently asked me to help her select books to take with her on her on an upcoming trip she is taking to Bali for a month. I am flattered that she wants me to help her choose the perfect books to bring with her. As a traveller, she won't be able to pack too  many (books are heavy!) so the selections have to be on point. Immediately, her trip reminded me of the wildly popular Eat, Pray, Love which is all about finding oneself through travel. Our Twitter friend Trip Fiction @tripfiction replied to our Twitter query saying "we love to read books set in the location we are visiting :)" which makes me wonder if she should bring along Eat, Pray, Love. Personally, I found “love”(the Bali section) to be the weakest part of the book. Much like Elizabeth Gilbert (but much more emotionally stable), I am envious of my friend’s ability to leave her life behind and commit to self-discovery and travel for an extended period of time. As a literature lover, I truly believe that the books she brings with her will greatly enhance her experience and feel responsible for selecting a great roster for her!

What makes a great travel read?

When I travelled to Cuba over Christmas, I brought a light read and a classic. The “light” read I selected was actually quite lengthy and wasn’t as easy to get through as I originally expected. (You may remember my review of To Whisper Her Name.) There is a reason that beach reads are so popular; they're amazingly accessible to a wide audience of readers and it’s surprisingly satisfying to fly through a page turner! Especially for people who don’t read on a regular basis. Another close friend of mine only reads these types of books  - she coined the genre Grandma Lit - because she likes the predictable and reassuring nature of the love stories and happy endings. As an English major I am bored by them easily but still appreciate their importance and value. After finishing my “light read” I was happy to dive in to my special edition of Pride and Prejudice that I had received for Christmas. This combination worked really well for me and thus I am going to recommend bringing a combination of genres along particularly for a longer trip. My friend has indicated that she’s been reading a lot of classics and historical non-fiction lately and doesn’t want either for her trip. Therefore, classic literature is cut from the list for her however I will include it my recommendation for others who are looking for a well-balanced travel reading list. 

A Classic

If you’re a literature lover, a trip is the perfect time to delve into an old favourite or discover a text you haven’t read yet. As an Austen lover, I recommend Mansfield Park for those who have read a lot of classics and want to expand their repertoire. If you don’t read a lot of classics I would recommend Jane Eyre for your trip because it’s not as dense as some other choices but still gives you a taste of that wonderful female Gothic Victorian literature. 

Source: Google Images

 An Autobiography

For my friend’s trip I have recommended Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. My friend and I are both die-hard fans of The Office. I gained a deep respect and appreciation for Kaling’s writing talent and creativity when I read Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me. I really enjoy reading recently published and relevant autobios. This book is great for any female twenty somethings out there especially those who have the burning desire to write. 

Source: Shelf Life

A Beach Read
I’m sure many bibliophiles are scoffing and if you find yourself doing so please move on to the next paragraph. However, if you’re a book lover and a beach go-er, I highly recommend throwing a Nicholas Sparks or Jodi Picault into your bag. It’s fun and refreshing to finish a book in a day and interesting to see how these books unfold. Sure, you might get sick of the metaphors and character’s exclamations but you flew threw it in a couple hours so who cares? I like having a light read in between heavier ones. If you simply can't stand these books try reading The Rosie Project which I consider both literary and easy to read (read my review of The Rosie Project here).

Source: Favim

A Freshly Published Novel

There’s nothing better than being on the up-and-up when it comes to newly published literature. Read something on the New and Hot shelf at your local book shop. Or, indulge yourself in a book that may not be brand new you keep hearing about but haven't had the chance to read .. until now. For example, for me that choice would include The Body Book by Cameron Diaz, The Fault in our Stars by John Green or The Orenda by Joesph Boyden.

An Anthology of Short Stories

Short stories are an under appreciated art form. I recently re-discovered the joy of reading short stories and think that they make the perfect literary companion during a busy time in your travels. You can read the entire story in one sitting (or two) and don't have to worry about keeping track of a longer more complex novel but still gain that literary merit of a good book. My personal recommendation is anything by Alice Munro, I cannot wait to get my hands on Dear Life.

Source: NPR

A Book Set in your Destination

Thanks to Trip Fiction (@tripfiction) for this awesome idea! As I've already said, for my friend there is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I haven't read anything else set in Bali however widely recommend on the internet was Inspector Singh Investigates a Bali Conspiracy Most Foul by Shamini Flint and Love and Death in Bali by Vicki Baum. Check out Trip Fiction on Twitter for more ideas!

No matter what she brings, I know she will have a fabulous  time in Bali! What a perfect end to the relentlessly dreary winter we've had!

Source:Excellent Bali Tour

Source: The Perfect Girls Trip

Source: Bali Bike Trips

How do you select your travel reads? What would you recommend? Tweet us @jemcolborne with your thoughts and ideas! We love to hear from you.

Hopping on the HIMYM bandwagon

So the internet exploded earlier this week with people bashing and defending the How I Met Your Mother series finale. You can read just a few of the responses here, here and here. And if you haven't seen it yet (seriously, do you live under a rock?) SPOILERS AHEAD.
It took me days to gather my thoughts and to see if anyone else would share the same opinion as me, but so far, I come across two camps: a few scattered people who enjoyed the ending and defend it well, and a lot of upset folks who dismiss it and illustrate some OK points-- but mostly they're just disappointed emotionally, which doesn't seem like a valid argument to me.
I'd like to tackle the HIMYM ending from a different perspective.

1. It's OK that the mother died and that the story wasn't really about her: This is true to HIMYM form. A lot of Ted's mini lessons to his kids over the seasons were that the conclusion drawn at the end of the story was not the expected outcome. How many times was he looking for X but really wanted Y, etc etc. HIMYM is full of "things aren't always what they seem" morals. So it's perfectly true to form that the entire series "mislead" viewers and that the real purpose of the story, the hidden meaning that Ted only discovers later, wasn't 100% meeting The Mother.
2. That doesn't mean he had to go back to Robin: If there's one big thing HIMYM teaches, it's that timing is everything. Ted and Robin never got the timing right and the show strove to demonstrate that even if things are just a wee but off in your relationship, you probably aren't meant to be. It was subtle and full of character development, but not concluding with Ted and Robin back together could have been the most profound thing the writers ever did. This isn't the cheesy Friends ending where Rachel gets off the plane. We expected more from HIMYM. I would have preferred not to have a pretty bow tied on a too-happy ending. We didn't need things "wrapped up" and it would have shown more character development for Ted to be OK without romantic love in his life at the time of the finale.

3. Downright gross and inappropriate: Was anybody else CREEPED THE FUCK OUT by the way Robin wanted Ted on his wedding day and on subsequent occasions when Tracey was present? That's just sour grapes. And it's kind of a terrible friendship when instead of being happy for someone you've conveniently fallen back in love with them just because you're not OK being alone. That showed an ugly side of Robin I didn't want to see. Let's just say that on my wedding day, I really DON'T want one of my best friends to be secretly in love with me -- because it's not real love anyway. True love isn't some misplaced longing and yearning: it's sitting at a hospital bed at 3 a.m. and changing someone's colonoscopy bag. I'm a staunch believer that thinking you're in love with someone, when that love is unrequited no less, isn't real love. It's wrong. People were right when they asked if Robin and/or Ted murdered Tracey.
And seriously, side note: who would ever spark up a romantic relationship with your friend's ex-wife? Not cool.
4. The hypocrisy: Ted and Robin back together prove that a lot of Ted's exes were right: Robin was a "threat" and they had legitimate reasons for dumping Ted because of her. Ladies, the moral of this story is, if you boyfriend still hangs out with his ex, run. Run far away. Tracey should've bolted.
5. What the story was really about: It's totally fine that Tracey dies-- illustrating that life isn't always neat, tidy, or perfect. Fine. But first, the writers could've executed it (pun) better. As has been said, to Ted and the kids, Tracey has been dead six years. To us, six seconds. That's sloppy writing. But I do love the concept that Ted's daughter brings up "The story isn't really about how you met Mom. What's it's really about is..." NOT ROBIN. What was this story about? IT WAS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP. Plain and simple it was about the ups and downs of friendship as the foundation of you LIFE, as the rock that strengthens you when romantic love fails you. Over and over through nine seasons of failed dates and relationships, Ted's life was made wonderful by his FRIENDS. The story wasn't about JUST Robin. It was about all of them, together. It was about platonic love.

6. The ending I would have written: I would have written something similar; it seems legit that with careers and babies and divorce, friends grow apart. Fine. You know what I would've written? Ted's daughter identifies that the point of the story was the power of friendship and encourages Ted to call up his old gang. Maybe together with Lily, Marshall and Barney, they all go to Robin's apartment and they all collectively persuade her back into the group with a blue french horn. No romance necessary for Ted and Robin. Just friendship. Because friendship is enough. Wouldn't it have been a grand surprise ending that not everyone ends up with a soul-mate? Not everyone needs to be in a relationship? Love doesn't conquer all and at 50 years old, they're OK with that? That would have been a classier ending than the one we were served. But just about anything would have been.

**Also, was anybody else bothered by this? Robin is supposedly a world-travelling journalist and her careerism breaks up her relationship with Barney, and yet she somehow has SEVERAL DOGS??? You can't have dogs and travel the world, you terrible pet owner, Robin. And if the dogs were a "subtle way of showing that she's slowed down and isn't travelling anymore"... then why would she end up with Ted over Barney? The only flaw we ever saw in her and Barney's relationship was her careerism, because Barney vowed always to tell her the truth (the other potential flaw thus eliminated). If the show wants us to suspend disbelief and treat these characters and well-rounded, fully fleshed-out humans, then NO, Barney and Ted aren't INTERCHANGEABLE.

Let us know your thoughts. Am I right? Wrong? Super totally wrong? Could you have written a better ending? Don't forget to Tweet, 'Gram, Tumblr and Pin us!
Gotta book it
xoxo
JEM

As a New Grad am I Simply an Expendable Commodity ?

As new grads we have been very vocal on WTD about our struggle to find meaningful employment in the current market. As you are aware WTD is voiced by three female twenty-something English Masters. One of us is headed back into the Academic Arena in the fall for her PhD, one of us is working full time as an administrative assistant doing freelance work nights and weekends and one of us is fully devoting her time to content writing and freelance work. It hasn’t been a cake walk for any of us and none of us are completely happy or satisfied with our current position (only temporarily for one of us - so happy and excited for our future professor!) being out of school and looking for work has been hard, trying, testing and intimidating for all of us.

Source: We Heart It

Working as a freelancer and trying to carve out a space in the bustling metropolis that is the internet has been extremely difficult for us. Especially after studying English. Who knew I'd be more valuable with a one year marketing college degree than I am with an M.A. after my signature? I’ve been paid dirt for my writing and slighted more than once by big businesses and generally feel like what I have to offer is pretty worthless. Want to discuss theory, anyone? I have some really interesting thoughts on the New Historians! I’d also love nothing more than to write a really engaging piece of SEO content on Austen! Ha-ha, yeah, right. Instead, I’m learning about strategic development and human resources terminology. I'm realizing that I need to understand how the internet works and what makes content go viral.  I'm writing about industries and sectors I'd never even imagined knowing about. But I research these topics, learn and become an expert on them because that is the content the client wants and needs and my job is to deliver.

Most recently, I got slighted by a small company that I started talking to through the recommendation of close family friend. Based on our first conversation the work was mine if I wanted it. It was outside of my field but directly related to writing and we both felt confident that I could do it (and do it well, in my opinion). The following week the CEO of the small business decided it would be best if I sat in on a meeting to observe some of the language and terminology and to get comfortable with their business. I thought this was totally understandable and reasonable and (even better) she would pay me for the training. Following the meeting she decided I better do a “trial run” just to confirm that we would both be happy with the work I produce. Following the trial run I heard nothing from her for a week.  I finally followed up and we’ve been playing telephone tag for a couple days since.

Yesterday, I saw a job posting for the position online. 

I saw the posting and I immediately felt affronted with feelings of hurt, betrayal and embarrassment. I asked myself: why am I an expendable commodity as a new grad? Why did our verbal agreement that I was going to do the work mean nothing? This employer has met me, knows a friend of my family and knows that she had given me the work (I was supposed to start today) yet still doesn’t have the common courtesy to let me know hey, this isn’t going to work, i'm going to find someone else with more experience.

I took time away from my other more lucrative employment to immerse myself in the training for this upcoming gig. The work paid less but I was excited to work with this woman and learn from her. I felt like she would be an amazing future reference.  I will literally do anything to gain experience and add to my resume and portfolio. Even if it means taking half of my regular wage, working irregular hours and giving up my benefits.  I want to write professionally and there is very little I wouldn’t do for my future career. What a double-edged sword this dedication to writing has become! I realized that my obsession and drive is exactly why I am an expendable commodity in the market as a new grad. I, we, will do anything for very little with the glimmering hope of a career that somewhat relates to what we studied in Unversity.

I am exceptionally open to criticism. I would say that an academic’s ability to accept criticism (not unwarranted criticism of course but that from a figure like a professor or employer) is one of the most valuable assets I gained from my degrees and something that I think other non-academics lack in their training. If you don’t like how I’m writing for you I can easily transform what I’ve prepared into something entirely different that suits your needs. Why can I do that? Because I know how to write. I know how to manipulate the English language into something that suits any company’s needs. I know how to argue form a standpoint I don’t believe in. I know how to not only read something but how to interpret and engage with that material. I am a critical thinking ninja.  I can understand information that is outside of my “comfort zone” and make it into something meaningful because if I can understand Chaucer I can understand anything.

So why can’t I do this work? What went so wrong in my trial run that I couldn’t change or improve on? Preferably, this employer would give me a chance to learn and grow and prove myself. I am highly adaptable and enthusiastic beyond measure about my work. I would never submit anything I wasn't proud to call my own.

And if it really wasn’t going to work why couldn’t she have at least told me so?

I won’t get discouraged though. I will move on to the next and continue on my job search because I want to write and that is all I want to do. It won’t be easy to establish a career and I know no one is going to hand it to me. I’ll just have to keep trying and keep going until I can finally prove that I am a valuable commodity.

Source: We Heart It

DIY Inspiration: Recycled Book & Print Projets

Help us decide what to do with books we are looking to upcycle! We will post a DIY depending on what DIY you want to see on the blog! 

 

As literature-loving, generally bookish folk we frown upon ruining a perfectly good book. We hoard books in our home libraries like the Kardashian sisters hoard Louboutins. It’s  a wonderful obsession to have (both books and shoes, really). When we did our book clutch tutorial we saved the inside pages of the books we re-purposed and popped them on our bookshelves for later enjoyment. We put pretty paper over the books we re-purposed then but you may not even have to go to that extreme! Luckily for us, exposed spines are super chic right now à la Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware:

Books with Exposed Spines For Sale on Etsy

Do you remember the Lauren Conrad/Lemony Snicket fiasco? She “re-purposed” his books into a storage container which she coined the “Bookshelf Box” and he was not pleased. Snicket, in typical Snicket fashion, commented: "it has always been my belief that people who spend too much time with my work end up as lost souls, drained of reason, who lead lives of raving emptiness and occasional lunatic violence. What a relief it is to see this documented" (Oh No They Didnt). The video tutorial was deleted by Conrad without comment. It's unfortunate because Conrad is actually a literature lover herself who runs an online book club, has written her own fiction and posts other fun bookshelf DIYs like this one: "Operation Organize: Get Colour Coded".

Photo from Gawker

Mandatory Book Loving Disclaimer: I would never destroy a book that could still be read. Books are my most cherished possessions. I respect the written word and I respect the process that goes into writing a book. Destroying any book is not something to take lightly. However, if a book is falling apart, un-readable or headed for the trash I think it then becomes okay to use the pages for DIY purposes. Instead of being thrown out, shredded or recycled the book continues to live on and remind us of it's former glory. Here at WTD were recently given a set of books that were destined for the recycling bin. The subject matter is now obsolete and they can’t really be donated anywhere because of it. In this case, we feel that it’s okay to re-use the books for a DIY project. 

 

What books should you use for your upcoming DIY project? Text books are a great example; in any field where information is constantly changing and quickly becomes outdated a 500 page textbook (that cost you hundreds at the campus bookstore) quickly become worthless and inaccurate and therefore no longer valid. One of my friends once moved into a house at University that had a closet FULL of outdated text books from previous tenants that the used book store had no interest in purchasing. The cycle is shamefully wasteful and creates a heck of a lot of book garbage. So why not re-purpose them into something for the home? As literature lovers what is better than being surrounded by books? Another great source of print for DIYs is magazines and newspapers which are truly only meant to be read once and get recycled every day. The pages can LOOK like book pages without forcing you to ruin a book.

Here are JEM's favourite book DIYS from Pinterest. Help us decide which one to try by telling us your favourite in the comments below!

Mason Jar 

JEM's Pinterest

 The mason jar heart book candle has been floating around Pinterest since I first started pinning. The project does raise some questions though: how to get the page to reach around the jar horizontally...how not to light the page on fire... details I'm sure we could figure out if you chose this DIY as "THE ONE".

The Book Monograph

JEM's Pinterest

So this DIY makes it pretty obvious that you destoyed a book but it also looks pretty awesome! You might spend a lot of time with your scissors on this DIY project... that's a lot of pages to cut through!

The Book Planter

 

Source: http://petiteplanet.blogspot.ca/2011/02/book-planters.html

JEM's Pinterest

I like books & I like plants so why not combine the two? The logistics of this one seem like they could get tricky... questions arise like how to conquer drainage and avoid mustiness? If you check out the second picture on our Pinterest (click-through link) there is a HGTV how-to which we would consult.

The Other Book Planter

JEM's Pinterest

This one is my favourite so far. I love the different coloured pages. You could recycle a book AND an ugly plastic planter... upcyling rocks!

The Book Headboard

JEM'S Pinterrst

DIY headboards are all the rage on Pinterest right now and I especially like this bookish one. If you can't sleep the book is already open for you ;)

Painted Books

JEM's Pinterest

Who knew painted books could be so chic? I love that they preserve the book but hide ugly or tattered covers.

Framed Books

JEM's Pinterest

 If you're like us you're proud of your books! Why not show them off in style? Create a book gallery wall OR simply incorporate a few of your favourite titles into your already existing picture gallery.

So what do you think? What DIY would you like us to do? Comment or tweet us @jemcolborne.