Top 10: Ways I kill time online

Everyone has different ways to kill time on the internet and this week I figured I would share mine.

http://www.pinterest.com/

1: Pinterest: Specifically the Home Decor, Women's Fashion and Everything sections
I enjoy browsing through the photos and getting ideas for new outfits I can put together, new home decor ideas as well as seeing the occasional Harry Potter or Hunger Games Meme - definitely an easy way to kill a couple of hours

www.facebook.com

2. Facebook
Need I say more?  It's a great way to stay in touch with not only your friends but also to see what those people in High School that you don't talk are doing with their lives.  As my newsfeed fills with a lot more wedding and baby pictures it is starting to slightly freak me out.

http://www.younghouselove.com/

http://www.caphillstyle.com/

3. Blogs, the 2 I check the most often: Capitol Hill Style and Young House Love
The First one is about fashion for the professional woman and the latter is about a young couple who renovates their old house.  Both blogs are witty and informative and I check them first things every morning.  Capitol Hill Style posts three times per day (usually unless she has Law School Finals) and Young House love recently switched to once per day, so if anyone has any good blogs I should check out - please let me know!

https://read.amazon.com/

4. Kindle Cloud Reader
A great way to read online if you want to be slightly less conspicuous then reading a book at your desk.  Also through Amamzon and Amazon prime you can get a lot of books for free or fairly cheap so it's a nice way to stay on top of all those great books!

news.google.com/

5. Google News
A must to keep on top of current events throughout the world and at home.  I like that I can get google alerts sent to my inbox as well as adjust the different levels of news so I can really tailor exactly what I want

https://www.pottermore.com/en-us/

6. Pottermore
My latest addiction, so much so, that I'm all the way through the first 4 books (which are the only ones available at this time)  It's a great way to explore the world that J.K. Rowling created filled with new history and facts about different characters or objects - for example she talks about wand woods and the different characteristics each one has!  Talk about a woman who had all the details figured out!  Sometimes it get s bit boring "collecting" everything but luckily if you can't find it everyone in the comments is incredibly helpful!

http://www.wikipedia.org/

7. Wikipedia - Article of the Day
I'm not that great at trivia but I feel like reading the "Article of the Day"is a good way to start learning about random people/places/things and it's generally interesting to see if I can find a connection to something I am more familiar with in my day-to-day life.

http://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/

8. Podcasts - NPR "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me"
I listen to a few different podcasts, although this one is my favorite.  It's NPR's news quiz and presents the week's current events in a fun and informative way!

http://www.zillow.com/

9. Zwillow
In my next life, or for my mid-life crisis, I would love to buy and fix up old homes.  Because of this it is always fun to look at the real estate market in my neighborhood - which is SUPER expensive! And then to also look at the housing markets in different places where I think it would be fun to live.

https://www.usajobs.gov/

10. USAJobs
Even though I love my office and my job it's always good to look around to see what opportunities are out there and to think about what else I would like to do.  If nothing else there's also a bit of confidence to be found in the "Man, I'm glad I don't have that job"

Book Talk: Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife

 

"'But don't you think' I persist 'that it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just ok for your whole life?'"

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, is another book that I grabbed at a Goodwill in particular because I was curious since I had seen previews for the movie.  Admittedly it does sound like an interesting plot: a man travels back in time and visits a little girl who eventually becomes his wife. However it's incredibly more complex than that, because even though Claire has spent her childhood being visited by Henry, said time traveler, when she meets adult Henry, Henry hasn't actually met her yet... so it's this really weird  circular theme.  The author eases concern by starting each section/chapter telling you the year and how old Claire and Henry are (which I found to be immensely helpful)

I also enjoyed that I got to read the story from each of their perspectives, because while Claire starts out as the romantic Henry is decidedly realistic and you realize that because of his condition he has to be.  He can't control when he time travels or where he time travels and he always shows up stark naked at a new location (talk about a problem when you live in Chicago and it gets realllllly cold).  The most heartbreaking part of this story was when they kept trying to have a child and they kept having miscarriages, it was the hardest part to read.  And I kept thinking that they were going to find a cure to allow Henry to stay in the present.  But what I ended up liking the most about this story was the non fairy tale but still very happy ending.

I would highly recommend this book as a entertaining read, perfect for a summer beach weekend or when you're traveling somewhere.  It's easy enough to read with enough substance and intrigue to keep you fully engrossed throughout the story.  

"Time is priceless, but it's free - you can't own it, but you can use it.  You can spend it.  But you can't keep it.  Once you've lost it you can never get it back."

Book Talk: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Book Talk, is a new series of posts where I talk about the latest book I've read - so there will be spoilers!

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank, is a collection of short stories that maps the progress of Jane Rosenal's life as she sets off from child to adulthood, generally focusing on her romantic relationships along the way.  I first picked up this book at Goodwill because I thought it looked interesting and I could afford to spend $1 on a book.  Then it sat on my bookcase....

One night I was having difficulty sleeping, so I picked it up and started blazing through it.  The short story style makes it easy to blaze through although I have to admit sometimes I had difficulties figuring out if the short story wasn't specifically from Jane's perspective then who the character was, and how it connected to Jane - for example one short story was about the people who lived below her aunt's apartment.

Jane starts a relationship with a much older man who is not only a fabulous figure int he publishing world but also an alcoholic, and she's happy with him.  He teaches her about publishing, how to stick up for herself as well as being in a relationship.  She initially is happy but eventually she realizes that he can't give her everything she wants and while they do a whole "on again - off again" dance she eventually meets someone closer to her age.  This is where she realizes, like a lot of women, she has absolutely no clue what she's doing.  My favorite part of the book was at the end where she was trying to follow this ridiculous rules and guidelines she read about in the book "How to Meet and Marry Mr. Right."  And while the guidelines are things women have heard before "don't act too interested," or "don't say love first" she eventually realizes that she's acting like she's in high school and the poor guy has no idea what to do with her.  Things go so much better once she ditches Bonnie and Faith (the fictitious narrators of "Meet and Marry Mr. Right"

It's a very funny, quick read about one girl's journey thorugh love and instead of being like every other story the short story style brings a different perspective to it, as does her relationships with an oder man to then follow a "guide" in order to find a guy closer to her age.  She's ultimately trying to discover how to be herself in a relationship and that's something everyone can relate to.

I'll leave you with one quote from the book:
"There is no stopping now.  Both of us are hunters and prey, fishers and fish.  We are the surf 'n' turf special with fries and slaw.  We are just two mayflies mating on a summer night"

Anyone need to borrow a fun and quick read?