Between the Pages

by Sandra Cisneros PLOT SUMMARY Esperanza, the protagonist, is about twelve years old at the novel’s opening. She lives in a small Chicago community where most inhabitants are of Latin descent. Her house is situated on Mango Street; however, Esperanza would hardly call her abode a house. While the house is much better than her previous place, the dwelling is a small flat with crumbling brick and mismatched materials. In this small apartment, Esperanza has no space specifically dedicated to her. Cisneros’s dreamt-up neighborhood creates the perfect, cramped lifestyle in which Esperanza is forced to turn to her neighbors for experiences, new thoughts, and inputs: good and bad. Esperanza quickly makes friends with Rachel and Lucy who enter puberty right along-side her during this year in Esperanza’s life. The group of friends, plus Esperanza’s tag-along kid sister, Nenny, explore the neighborhood and have many adventures including wearing high-heels around town, buying a bike...

Over the holiday season, I gifted my family and friends with books, as I believe there is no greater gift than one of lessons, characters, and eloquent words. In return, I was also given books as gifts. Please note, these books are specified to my friends’ tastes as well as my own. However, I believe that these are overall good books and could inspire gifts for your family as well. First, the books I gave. Pride and Prejudice By Jane Austen Austen’s Bennet-Darcy romance was perfect to captivate a family member of mine currently going through chemotherapy. Accompanied by a journal and some pens, the best of Austen’s work made the perfect gift to read and think of during treatment. The Log Cabin: An Illustrated History By Andrew Belonsky Populated with an abundance of pictures of cabins ranging from sweetly simple to intricately designed, Belonsky’s book is the perfect gift for someone who loves the history of the frontiersman and what they crafted with th...

      Southern Living's  The South's Best Bookstores highlights five bookstores in the southeastern United States that the publication deems noteworthy based on a wide range of traits. While the article does not go into much detail nor has a central theme besides telling readers of good bookshops, the bookstores look credible after further research. While I have only been to one of the stores (Sundog Books in Seaside, which I love), I did research on the others and found four more bookshops to put on my bucket-list.        THE ALABAMA BOOKSMITH      While not very old, The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham has a long history of literary predecessors. Even so, The Alabama Booksmith holds its own among its successful precursors considering it opened its doors in 1999. The shop makes it its mission to sell all signed copies.  "Every book in the store is now signed!" - The Alabama Booksmith, About Our Store.  Additiona...

What does the ideal library entail? What does the perfect place to read look like and, more importantly, feel like?       While the ideal place for reading, discovering favorite pieces of literature and history, or working is a personal preference, Google: Arts and Culture has compiled a list of 10 Incredible Libraries Around the World . While their choices are based upon architecture, interior design, and magnitude, the library's collection of books, photos, and historical artifacts are also taken into account.       These libraries are special to individual people as well as to the masses of tourists that sweep in and out of the doors every year. The George Peabody Library in Baltimore's neo-greco atrium is a beautiful spot where weddings occur. The Stuttgart City Library's "Library for Insomniacs" is a small collection of the library's books that is open 24-hours while the roof panels cast a soft blue glow down onto sacred, literary s...

Love & Gelato Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is a sweet take on summer love, family’s true meaning, and being out of one’s comfort zone.  Summary: Since her mother died of cancer, Carolina (that’s pronounced Caroleena) finds herself wishing for everything ordinary; however, her mother’s dying wish is that she gets to know her father...in Tuscany. All Lina wants to be is back home in Seattle with her best friend Addie.  When Lina arrives at the cemetery where her father, Howard, lives, she receives her mother’s journal she kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly, Lina is discovering her mother’s past one difficult day at a time. With the help of charming, half Italian Ren, Lina uncovers her mother’s past step by step. Carolina discovers an identity altering secret kept from her for far too long.  Tourists come to Italy for gorgeous landscapes, stracciatella , and infamous sunshine, but lucky people find delicious gelato and love. Author Praise/C...