Hiya!

Wow, it's really been a while since I've blogged on AFF. It's been a while since I've written anything for that matter. Whoops, sorry I've been away for a long time. I've been mostly busy working this summer; I have a really weird shift working the cash register at Home Depot, a job that my dad helped me get. But I also have a second job working as an assistant at a bank, and I get paid below minimum wage because I'm actually assisting my aunt and she can't afford me. It's so illegal, lol, but it pays. Anyways, that's why I haven't been on here lately, and why I haven't been abl to write. However, some people have been asking me to do these book recommendations again. I haven't recommended books in a while. So here are a couple of titles I can recommed. I haven't necessary read all of them, again because I don't have a lot of time. But I've heard about them through reputation and because I have a deep respect for the authors. Anyways, here they are:

1. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert: I picked up the book without reading the synopsis because it was by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, which was a great book and an equally great movie. But it's about a spinster woman named Alma who's very intelligent, but when problems arise in her life, she has to find out who she really is and what she stands for. Very much like Eat Pray Love in theme, but a refreshing change from non-fiction to fiction.
2. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama: I actually love Asian literature because it's so rare. This one is a story that follows the lives of two brothers with very different ambitions as well as the lives of the women who love them. Plus, Gail Tsukiyama yo.
3. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: Not sure if I have recommended this already or not. But anyway, it's a dual storyline. One is about a young girl in Japan who is getting ready to end her life, but decided that before she does so, she wants to write down the story of her grandmother, a Buddhist nun. The other is about the woman who discovers the story stuffed in a Hello Kitty lunchbag. Very funny and poignant, and I read it for a book club earlier this year.
4. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obrecht: I haven't actuall read this book, but my friend Dina read it once and then came to me singing its praises, so it's definitely gotta be great, and it's on my reading list as well!
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Again, I think I have already recommended this in another post, but if I haven't yet gotten you to read it, then perhaps I should recommend it some more. It's a WWII novel about a young girl named Liesl who discovers her love for books and words and uses this newfound passion to strengthen herself and her loved ones during times of great strife. Narrated by Death. Read it. Now.
6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel: Youve probably heard of the movie, but the book is so much better. Yann Martel's rich storytelling creates a parable about the human condition and the role of religion by telling the incredible story of a boy who survives a shipwreck and stranding while accompanied by an adult Bengal tiger. Beautiful story, but you really have to pay attention or else you'll miss the beauty of it. Keep an open mind.