As per usual, here is a video hi-lighting a lot of our photography from our trip to Nepal, plus some Blair-Witch styled video footage, all rolled into one delightful video, complete with Nepalese soundtrack.

Enjoy!

I started reading at the age of 3.  Remarkably early, so they say.  To be honest, I think that a lot of kids (if not most) have the ability to read quite early; it just takes time and effort.

All the time and effort put into me was in part due to the fact that my grandparents took care of me and spent hours upon hours reading to and with me.  I’m not saying I could read full novels by the age of 3, but basic sentences in picture books?  Sure thing.

I think that the love of reading was instilled into me early on, and it’s stuck with me throughout my life.  I’ve gone through phases of reading different genres (hello John Grisham during high school!), and reading more or less at different times.  But ultimately the love of books is still alive and well within me!

I haven’t given too many reading updates in a while.  Which is funny, because this past year has probably been the year that I’ve read the most books, since grade 5 when we got special prizes for reading.  Previously I’ve tried to set yearly reading goals and have failed miserably.  But this year I just made a giant list of books I’d be interested in reading one day, and it seems that I’m plowing my way through them…

So I thought I’d share 5 books that I’ve read lately that I loved.  No big summaries or in-depth reviews, just a sharing of what’s on my so-called “book shelf.”

I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish

• If you have strong opinions on the fight between Israel and Palestine, then you’ll appreciate this Palestinian doctor who blurs all boundaries and pulls you right into the heart of his family.   His entire life’s aim has been to share love and peace with the entire world; including Israelis.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting On Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband “Master” by Rachel Held Evans

• If you think that fundamentalist Christians who follow the Bible to a T are a little off-their-rockers, then you’ll enjoy this book!  Evans takes a look at what it’s like to be a woman according the Bible; for good and for bad.  It’s honest, totally humorous, and I read it in 24 hours.

Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

• As a Canadian who traveled into this area of Northern Ontario, I can see the landscape vividly in my mind.  It’s the type of novel that flashes backwards and forwards into a young girl’s life that was radically changed by a string of events that left her family’s future completely different than she ever imagined was possible.  The writing style is incredible, and right up until the last page I was challenged with my own outlook on life events and how we let them impact our lives.

Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour

• Abeldnour is a Beiruti who left during one of the many uprisings, lived most of her life in the USA and then decided to move back to her original home of Lebanon for a year to see what it would be like again.  She documents it month-by-month in a candid and light-hearted way, “chatting” through culture, politics, life and food.  And of course, she includes delicious recipes for all the amazing Lebanese cuisine that she makes and tries while living there.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

• This novel is a fun series of letters to and from a London girl and a rag-tag literary group from the island of Guernsey.  It’s set just after WWII when the Germans have left the area and everyone is trying to get back to the way life was.  It’s a glimpse into history, an unlikely love story, and the intertwining of people’s lives.

What have you been reading lately?

I promise that this is the last time I’ll subject you to an update about our trip.  This time, it’s in the form of a video.  Enjoy!

As per our latest tradition, I thought I’d subject you all to yet another video!!  This time it’s a montage of video and photo footage from our Christmas holiday with Peter’s parents in Belgium.

Stay tuned for a video of our cruise through The Emirates and Oman as well!

Christmas 2012 in Belgium from Alison Lublink on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago I finished reading “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte.

To be honest, I kind of felt like I’d never finish. I started reading it two weeks before Eid (which was the week we took our trip to Jordan), and you see, we ended up moving, then going on vacation, and then we got back and it was into school and settling into our new neighbourhood…and basically I was totally lazy and didn’t read as much as I wanted to.

Plus, I found that as much as I wanted to get into reading it, sometimes it was just a little “too much” for me sometimes. But I’ve still got to admit that I really liked it. It made me think, it made me happy and frustrated, and I feel a great sense of satisfaction having completed it. It was one of those books that I wanted to read because I’d known a lot about it, but had never read it.

There’s a sense of struggle in the main character (Jane – or “Janet”, as my kindle liked to make the error…) about who she was, is, and wants to become.  It’s interesting to discover how she overcomes certain life obstacles. There are mixed reviews on the way the story ends.  Some people think Jane sells herself short, others think she’s finally figured out what’s important to her… I don’t know where I stand with it, honestly. It made me both content and annoyed at the end. Ask me again in a few months when I’ve had more time to consider it…

Have you read “Jane Eyre”? Did you like it? Thoughts on the ending?

I’m now reading “I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity” by Izzeldin Abuelaish.  I’ll keep you posted on it when I’m done, but let me just say that I am LOVING it so far.  So moving, so profound, so educational.

What have you read lately?  Any good suggestions?

Okay, so I told you I was done with posts on Jordan.  Technically, I am…except for this one final post.  And this one is even more awesome because it’s a video!  And who doesn’t love a video?!

Also, the blog title might be a tad dramatic. Maybe. It’s a possibility…

If you can spare 3 minutes of your life, humour me and watch this little video that features photo and video footage from our trip just about a month ago.

This is an upbeat, popular tune by Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen for you on this fine Sunday.