The Associate - Book Review

Ever since I decided to go to law school I've been told by people about great movies, TV shows and books having to do with the law or law school. For some reason, I never wanted to watch or read any of them. Maybe it was because I was afraid if I did they would freak me out and make me nervous about not being able to do it, or be afraid that I won't like being a lawyer and that I made the wrong choice.

Well, after not watching or reading anything law-related, I finally sat down with my mom and watched Legally Blonde for the first time since I applied to law school. Then, I read this book:

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And I enjoyed it!!! Although it definitely made me not want to work at a big law firm... not that I did before. I don't often read these types of "thriller" novels, that's more my mom's thing (she's a big James Bond fan). But I had heard a lot about this particular book and thought I might as well give it a try.

The story follows Kyle McAvoy, the editor of the Yale Law Review. For anyone who doesn't know, that's a big deal. Like a really big deal. Clearly he's a smart kid. However, Kyle is blackmailed by some mysterious men with a video from his college days and a possible rape accusation. 

They force Kyle to take a job at a big firm in New York City to help them with their "plans", rather than the D.C. job he really wanted, where he would be able to use his law degree to make a difference in the lives of those who could not normally afford the representation. 

Throughout the story, Kyle is forced to consider his ethics and what is most important to him. He feels very alone, not wanting to tell anyone about what is happening and keeping it all to himself. He slowly opens up to people though, enlisting help to deal with the situation and fight back against his black-mailers. 

It turned out to be quite a page-turner! Although it took me a while to get through since I could only read a bit before bed each night, I really enjoyed the novel. It was definitely exciting enough to keep my attention, and it took an interesting look at people and why they do things. It makes you realize that sometimes you have to be selfish and think of yourself, and sometimes you need to reach out to others for help. We can't all do it alone! 

I definitely recommend The Associate if you're looking for a bit of a thriller involving the legal world, but don't worry, it's still interesting and very clear even if you know nothing about the law.

This morning I decided to make myself a delicious pumpkin spice latte, recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie. I've been making a ton of her recipes because I usually have all the ingredients, and most of the time they are simple and serve one person! It's really perfect for me.

I wanted my "latte", however to be more coffee and less milk, so I adjusted her recipe. I only used about a fourth cup milk and cut out a tablespoon of pumpkin. It turned out perfectly, especially once I microwave all the ingredients before the coffee, they were perfectly blended for me to just stick the cup under my Keurig and voilia! 

Perfect start to a Saturday morning! I hope you all are enjoying the weekend! I'm off to the farmers market with my cousin, Allie, this morning and hoping to enjoy the Kansas City Chiefs game tomorrow afternoon!

Anyone have big plans for the weekend? Any new books that you're reading? I just started the Hunger Games for my book club! 

Gods in Alabama

Hey readers! First of all, I wanted to point out to all of you that I've added a couple new tabs to my blog in the past few days: Recipes and Reviews.

Recipes, although pretty simple right now since I'm working on my chef skills, has a collection of recipes that I've shown you all on my blog. I do not include the recipes that I use directly from someone else's blog, because they aren't mine! If I adapt a recipe I'll give credit to where I found it. 

The second tab is reviews: of just about anything! Right now I have restaurants and eateries that I have visited in both Chicago and Kansas City while writing this blog. I decided to only include those, since those are the ones I have pictures and fresh experiences of! Hopefully I'll be able to add some more Chicago ones soon!

Reviews also includes book reviews - I have a lot more coming and I take suggestions for books to read! Although I have limited free reading time! Over this summer I read a ton of books for pleasure because I had forgotten how much I love to read! Law school can do that to you. 

I'm also planning on including reviews of products that I've used in my posts, but that will probably come this weekend! Speaking of reviews, here's another of a great, fun read! 

While flying back to Kansas City, I finished the book Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson. I found this book, and a few others, by searching on amazon.com for book lists for women in their 20s. I wrote down a few titles that looked interesting, and this one caught my eye. The story is about a young woman named Arlene Fleet who left her small hometown in Alabama after High School without looking back. Although this may sound like a typical girl running away from small town life, Arlene wasn’t running from the town, she was running because she promised God that if he kept her secret she would never go back.

However, just as the story begins her life in Alabama shows up in Chicago, causing her to return to Alabama for her relationship with her boyfriend, but more for herself. She realizes that she can’t run from her past anymore and heads back in an attempt to settle many unresolved problems and face the secret from her past.

Gods in Alabama was a great quick read and definitely kept me interested the entire time. The author reveals the story in a way that keeps you guessing. I kept thinking that I had figured out what happened, but then she reveals a new twist in the story that I hadn’t anticipated. I hate it when I figure out a book before I even get started, so stories like these are great for me.

I also loved many of the characters in the book. For one thing, Arlene believes that she and her aunt, who practically raised her, are very different people. In reality, however, they are both stubborn women who like to be in control and protect their loved ones with great ferocity. Personally, I felt like I identified best with Arlene’s cousin, Clarice. Not because she was the gorgeous cousin who got all the attention (haha, definitely not) but because she was “glossy” on the outside, trying to make sure she came across as strong and always happy. Perhaps she also took up the theory of acting the way you want to feel. She worked very hard throughout the story to perk up their moods and not let things get to her. Something I’m working on!

If you’re looking for an interesting and somewhat quick read to mix it up, I’d highly recommend Gods in Alabama. I certainly enjoyed the story, which was very different from other books I’ve been reading.

Other book reviews:

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

One Amazing Thing: Book Review

Day three of law school! For lunch today I packed the same salad from Monday. I know, I'm creative. Gotta use up what I've got! But don't worry, I'm already putting together my grocery list and am way to excited about going. 

Salad: chopped romaine, cucumber, mushrooms, shredded carrots, and 1/2 cup kidney beans. Dressing: lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and black pepper.

Later in the afternoon, I was getting pretty hungry so I grabbed a quick snack before my Environmental law class. Some fruit from the cafeteria and a cafe misto with non-fat milk from Starbucks. Please note the new compostable containers from the cafeteria, good job Environmental Law Society!

My last class is from 6-7:25, which means I don't get home until well after 8. After realizing this (this afternoon...) I decided to head back to Starbucks for one of their smoothies (that has protein powder in it!) and ate it with one of my Mojo bars at the beginning of class.

Delicious!

So this summer I tried to read as many books as I could that have NOTHING to do with law school. A book that I read while in Kansas City was One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni.

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I actually came across the book in a used bookstore and thought it sounded interesting, so I picked it up! I ended up really enjoying this book. The book revolves around nine people who are trapped in an Indian consulate in an American city after an earthquake. The nine people are all of various ages and ethnicities and out of the nine there are three pairs of people who know one another; the other 3 were at the consulate alone. To help distract themselves from the panic of being trapped in a room with no way out, they each tell a story from their life.

One aspect of the book that I enjoyed most was that the point of view would switch from chapter to chapter. It stayed mostly with the girl who started the book, but I enjoyed getting into the other characters’ minds and understanding both their background better, as well as their perspective on the other eight people they were trapped with. Also, the stories they each told were very interesting because they all came from different backgrounds, grew up in different countries, and were in very different places in their lives.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting read. It was very well written and easy to get through. A great book to pick up for a relaxing afternoon, but it’s hard to put down! The unknown of the earthquake kept the book a little more thrilling, keeping me reading to find out more! 

Have you ever found a great book by just wandering through a bookstore and picking it up?

Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

After my workout with my trainer, I hurried home, showered and threw together this super quick salad since I wanted to make it downtown and back without hitting rush hour. The salad was spinach with half a can of salmon and a sprinkle of feta cheese. For dressing I mixed together balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, a teeny bit of dijon mustard and splash of lemon juice. I little bitter... but it worked.

I was still hungry after the salad so I grabbed a Pink Lady Apple as I ran out the door! I love this type of apple, especially when I used it in my apple pie oatmeal this past weekend!

I had to go downtown to go to my law school's campus and turn in some paperwork for our On Campus Interview process. I also wanted to return one of those books I ordered. I didn't realize that I'd ordered the loose leaf version (which you can put into a binder) rather than the normal book.

By the time I got home 3 hours later... I was STARVING! My recipe for dinner is what I like to call: Use Everything In Your Fridge! I made another delicious zucchini spaghetti dish, tonight with about a cup of steamed broccoli, green onions, a handful of Kale, 1/2 cup of chickpeas, 1/4 cup of low fat trader joe's marinara sauce, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. It was exactly what I needed! So good!

After my run this morning and working out with my trainer, I felt like I needed to throw in some protein, so I snagged a couple pieces of Turkey Jerky from Trader Joes! I love this stuff because it's low in calories and not too much sodium! Perfect if you feel like a salty snack.

For dessert, I had banana ice cream again (aka 1 frozen banana whipped in a food processor). This time, I made it in the morning and put it in my freezer all day. It definitely had a more ice-cream consistency to it!

So I just recently finished reading a book called The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. I had seen the cover all over the place, but I hadn't heard anyone say much about it until I went to Michigan with a friend and I saw that her sister was reading it. I decided to give it a go, and I'm certainly glad I did!

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The Art of Racing in the Rain is a novel about a man (Denny), his wife, their daughter, and their dog (Enzo). Denny is a race car driver living in Seattle waiting for his big break. He and Enzo share a love for racing, which is a career Enzo hopes he can pursue once he has passed on and been reincarnated as a human.

What struck me first about this book is that it's told from a dog's point of view! I had recently read Room by Emma Donoghue, which is told from a 5 year old boy's perspective, so when I realized that Enzo was about to tell the story I became much more interested! I loved when he talked about how smart he is and how he just wished he could communicate with everyone, or at least have abosable thumbs!

The great part about having Enzo tell the story is that what would just be a normal story of someone's life becomes much more insightful. Enzo is able to see (and smell) things that the people in the story cannot. He also misses out on a lot of happenings since he's stuck at home quite often, so discovering what is occurring in the lives of the other characters becomes more like a puzzle.

The book was also full of twists and turns. This story wasn't boy meets girl, they fall in love, have a baby and live happily ever after. Every time you think you know what is going to happen, you get hit with a whole new problem. I like that Stein does this because that's how real life happens: just when you think you've gotten yourself under control, you get knocked off your feet again. Not only is it a story about life, but it's a story about the bond between a man and his dog; Stein makes it clear that this family needed Enzo for support through all of their difficult times. The Art of Racing in the Rain is great for any dog or animal lover, or someone looking to view a story from a new perspective.

I lent this book to my brother and sister-in-law, who just recently got a golden retriever puppy, and immediately my sister-in-law e-mailed me saying that this book makes her wonder what Molly is thinking!

Book Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

So today I FINALLY finished reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Although it's a best seller and recently was made into a film, I'd never heard of the novel until my book club decided to read it. Although I was out of town for the meeting where they discussed this book, I decided to read it anyway since many of the women had recommended the novel.

I say finally because this book took me much longer to read than I had anticipated. It's under 300 pages so I figured I would fly through it like some of the other books I'd read this summer, but no such luck. Lisa See's writing is very descriptive and required me to read more slowly to fully understand what she was saying and what was happening. The phrases she uses are different from most american writers, so it took a lot more concentration to understand.

What I enjoyed most about this book was learning about a completely different culture, and not only that but learning about that culture from the point of view of a woman. It is well known that women are not as valuable in China, especially girls, and therefore it was interesting to learn what it was like to grow up as a woman in China.

The story takes place in a remote village in 19th century China and describes two young girls who become friends for life through a matchmaker. The book chronicles their lives from around the age of 5 until their deaths, describing all the rituals they go through to become the perfect wives.

The relationship between the two women changes throughout the story (as any friendship should) but their dedication to their laotong match with one another is a lesson that we can all learn from; that they must love each other no matter what their circumstances. The main character, from whose point of view the story is told, learns some important lessons about what it means to be a true friend.

Although not a thriller, this book was insightful and beautifully written, teaching the reader lessons not only about Chinese culture but about female friendship and learning to accept people as they are and love them anyway.

I finished the book while riding the bus back from lunch with my cousin! Since I enjoyed Hannah's Bretzel so much I suggest that we eat there, and it was just around the corner from her office! My cousin ordered Hannah's Club, which I got last time, and I ordered the half salad sandwich combo again, but this time with the Organic Roasted Tofu sandwich, which had vine tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts, romaine hearts, red onion, avocado and roasted pepper coulis on organic bretzel baguette. I asked for it on the whole grain baguette because I wanted to taste that type of bread, but I must say I preferred the bretzel bread.

While at lunch, my cousin and I talked a lot about how she's had difficulty living a healthy lifestyle since she works full time and has three boys at home. Although she loves spinning, she hasn't been going since she spends the time she has in the evening with her sons. Although I could tell her that the way I lost weight was calorie counting and working out, this method is more difficult for her because of her time constraints. It's hard to sit down to a nice dinner when you're also trying to spend time with your kids before they go to bed!

While we were talking, my cousin came up with the great idea that I should look at smaller things that people do that may be unhealthy, and come up with ways to turn those things around. If people make these changes little by little, it will help in developing a more healthy lifestyle!

Hopefully in my next post I'll be able to tackle the issue of diet soda, so put down that diet coke (ahem, Michele...) and grab a water bottle (reusable, of course) and you will soon learn why!