13 Books for 2013

I have a secret!  I am kind of a nerd.

(Maybe that’s not a secret!)

But I am not ashamed to say that “I LOVE TO READ!”  I may surround myself with hip and cool people like the Milly & Grace Girls, but I am a bookworm at heart and there is nothing like sitting down with a new book to read.

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My friends always call to ask for book recommendations, but since I have moved to Nantucket, I haven’t had as much time to read as I would like.  However, I still have a list of books a mile long I can’t wait to read this year!

So, I present to you “TUESDAY’S WITH TIM’S – 13 Books for 2013”

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Some of these were published earlier this year, some are coming soon, and one on the list I love to re-read every year.  Of the 13, I would like to highlight four I am especially excited to crack open.

1.  INFERNO by, Dan Brown

Most of us have heard of a book called The Da Vinci Code.  I remember reading this book in college, frantically searching the internet for a picture of The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa to see what Dan Brown was referring to.  Well, he is back with a new book all about Dante’s literary classic, Inferno.  I love Dan Brown novels because I always end up learning the most random facts and no one does suspense quite like him.  I am sure Inferno will be just as good as his previous books and that I will be on the edge of my seat, biting my nails as the pages fly by.

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2. AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by, Khaled Hosseini

Grab a box of kleenex because the author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns returns with a brand new book this year.  I have been hearing such great things about it and I can’t wait to read it.  I might save it when I need a good cry though, because Hosseini knows how to make you care about his characters and pull on your heart strings.

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3. ALLEGIANT by, Veronica Roth

Young adult fiction has produced some entertaining works over the last couple of years and one of these is The Divergent Trilogy, which is coming to an end with the final book in the series this October.  Similar to The Hunger Games with it’s theme, the series is about a dystopian society that is divided into five factions, each one meant to uphold a particular virtue of humanity…  I am on pins and needles waiting to see how it all ends!  Pick up the first in the series, Divergent and its sequel Insurgent and you will be in line at your nearest bookstore to get Allegiant as quick as you can!

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4. 11/22/63 by,  Stephen King

This book was released in 2011 and it has become one of my all time favorites for many reasons.  First, I LOVE STEPHEN KING!  In fifth grade, I was almost sent home from my parochial school for reading King’s 1000 page tome, IT. So, I have been a fan for years!!  Second, I was a history major in college and I have many historical events that interest me.  I will read anything about the Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and the JFK assassination.  This book is about going back in time to stop the JFK assassination, which leads me to the main reason I obsessively love this book.  My all time favorite plot in fictional novels revolves around time travel.  I love trying to wrap my mind around time travel and how it would all work!  So I have read this book three times already, plan to read it once every year, and strongly recommend it!  I know some people think Stephen King only writes horror, but this book isn’t scary.  It’s a great story, with great characters and a fantastic premise. So, if you haven’t read it yet, put it on your 2013 TO-READ list!

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What books are you excited to read this year?   Is anyone else excited about any of the books on this list?  Has anyone read any of them yet?  If you find yourself on Nantucket this summer, stop by my favorite island bookstore: Mitchell’s Book Corner to find these books and many others!

(Thank you to James Scheurell for taking the photos ;)

Thomas Jefferson said it best, “I cannot live without books!”

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See you next Tuesday!

Sunday Funday

Allie and I missed our Sunday Funday brunch excursions that we had together in California, so we decided to do something about that. And yesterday morning, before we opened up the store for the day, Allie and I got together for breakfast with Emily and our mom at one of our favorite spots on Nantucket – Black Eyed Susans! It was quite delicious.

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I, of course, ordered Eggs Benedict. Emily did too! And even Allie chose Eggs Benedict instead of pancakes (!!!) just like me. I couldn’t believe it.

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My mom ordered the Portuguese Scramble.

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And we just had to have something sweet so we split the French Toast between all four of us!

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Once we were stuffed, we waddled our way through town to Milly & Grace to open up the shop!

I think we should start a Sunday Funday breakfast before work tradition…what do you say Emmy and Allie and Mommy??

The Great Debate – Eyebrow Edition

TO DYE OR NOT TO DYE? THAT IS THE QUESTION!

My friend, Jasmine, had been spending the last few months trying to convince me that I should dye my eye brows darker.  Everywhere we went, every magazine she looked at, every time we watched TV… she pointed out ALL the blondes who have dark eyebrows.

Caroline said NO to the darker eyebrows idea.  She thinks hair should match the eyebrows.  Natural blondes should have blonde eyebrows.  And what Caroline says (usually) goes.   I value both of these girls’ opinions!  I was very torn about the situation.

Here are my girls Gwen and Jules… One has blonde eyebrows and one has darker blonde/brown eyebrows.

Gwyneth was the only celebrity we found that had blonde eyebrows!

They are both so beautiful!

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I was so nervous to try this out but I finally gave in and DYED my eyebrows!  Here I am before and after…

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I’m still not convinced one way or the other!

Does anyone have strong opinions (like my friend Jasmine) one way or the other?

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Do you dye your eyebrows?

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Have you ever tried any beauty treatments that you were nervous to try or went horribly wrong?

I would love to know!

All I know is I’m glad I didn’t end up looking like this…

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Photo Credit: Zimbio