Monday Morning Grind

Good morning! It's a pleasant morning over here; the sun is shining and the birds are chirping. That is becoming way too stereotypical-sounding for me. Anyway! I've been brainstorming on what I want my Monday posts to focus on, and instead of going with the same theme every week (like Makeup Monday or something cliché like that) I came up with this post's title...Monday Morning Grind. I like the sound of it; it sounds very journal-isty. You may have noticed I'm a fan of making up words as I go. It's a problem. 

So basically, Monday Morning Grind will be whatever kind of post I've formulated in my head laying awake the night before. I have a habit of waking up in the middle of the night and then remaining wide awake for anywhere from half an hour to two hours. Again, another problem. Insomnia runs in the family- perhaps it's a sign of genius. 

 As may be obvious, this morning's post is centered on the books I am currently reading. Okay, if we're being completely honest, I haven't started The Longest Ride or Sweet Salt Air yet, but I tend to read multiple books at once, so I wouldn't surprise myself if I start one or both today. I am about halfway through The Fault In Our Stars. I want to finish it before I see the movie, although that is easier said than done because I really really really  want to see it. I feel like the time spent finishing the book however, is also time to prepare my emotions which can be likened to the Matterhorn in Disneyland (up and down and all over the place) I boarded the TFIOS bandwagon last week and I'll never go back. While a bit slow at first, John Green is a literary genius and deserves a pat on the back (or a few hundred) If you haven't read or even heard of this book... who are you?! I highly recommend it and would love to hear your thoughts.

 I am a huge fan of the Nicholas Sparks books and films, so when I spotted this book at Costco on Saturday, I skimmed the back and threw it in the cart. I've never heard of this book, so I can't provide a detailed review, but an excerpt from the back reads: "Epic Sparks... showcases the author's most accomplished work to date... There are moments of perfection." I'll keep you updated! 

To be honest, the cover of Sweet Salt Air caught my attention before I even began reading the summary, but when I did I swear my eyes grew about three sizes their normal diameter. It's a book about two best friends; a food blogger and a travel writer. (Um, can we say YES, PERFECT) This book was obviously written for me. It's a New York Times bestseller and Boston Magazine writes "If the title doesn't put you in a summer mood, the setting will." I have a feeling I will be mentioning this beauty many times in the weeks to come. Also, I thought I'd mention...I'm not an advocate of ebook reading, because I like to feel the book and hear the paper turning and books just have that smell...you know what I'm talking about. The only reason I downloaded TFIOS on Kindle is because I couldn't wait any longer for a trip to the bookstore and I didn't really want to count on someone giving me the book as a gift because people don't tend to be very reliable (I'm totally kidding, I really just wanted to read the book ASAP) 

On that note, ebook reading is easy for on the go, and as I mentioned I tend to wake up in the middle of the night and until I move, I still share a room, so the backlight of my phone definitely comes in handy for late-night reading. Another point I have to make (I know this post is starting to bore you, my apologies) is that buying books at Costco is the way to go! I got both of my paperbacks for $8.99 which I think is a great deal, and they have a lot of the trending books, which is nice if you're like me and know you want to read something but you have no idea what. So yeah, go to Costco. 

My last little tidbit is about this wonderful little book. I bought it at Francesca's which I mentioned in my Friday post, and it was a pretty good price for a bulky hard-back, about $17.00. I first saw this journal in a Meghan Rosette video on YouTube (she's one of my favorite Tubers; I'm formulating a blog post about my favorites, but that's for another day) Moral of the story- I saw the journal, immediately wanted it but had no idea where I could find it. I walked into Francesca's on Saturday, spotted it on a corner bottom shelf, freaked out a little bit and bought the darn thing. It's a five-year journal, and I think it's pretty self-explanatory based on the above images. Totally me, so I'm obviously totally in love.

That's it for today's Monday Morning Grind. I hope I didn't ramble too much. My blogging juices really flow in the early morning. Have a beautiful day and please leave comments below if you want more information about these books. I'd love to hear your thoughts. You can also reach me at any of my social media platforms on the right. 

All the best, 

♥ Greta Elise