Fall Reading List

Over the summer I talked about my reading list, consisting of some of the books I wanted to finally crack open and a few favorites that I recommend! Now that school has started up, I'll have a little less time to read, but I wanted to still put together a new list for a new season! So, here's a few of the things I'll be reading on the train on the way to my internship and a few I'd love to re-read!

Fall Reading List

• Inferno, by Dan Brown: I love Dan Brown books because I am a massive history nerd (half the books I read this summer were non-fiction and the other half were historical fiction....). My dream job is to be Professor Robert Langdon, but since I really don't see teaching at Harvard in my future, I can live vicariously through Brown's novels. His latest is set in Florence and it hits the ground running (literally) right from the start. 
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson: I love these books, but I will admit that they start a little slow (keep reading! is what I tell skeptics), which is why I am still finishing the final book in the trilogy. This might also be due to my bad habit of reading multiple books at once...oops.
• And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini: My brother was assigned The Kite Runner for his senior English class (#jealous), and I will certainly be stealing it from him come Thanksgiving break. After reading A Thousand Splendid Suns (and crying on the plane to New Orleans while reading it), I can't wait to finish out Hosseini's works. Besides, even Malala thinks his books should be required reading! 
• The Netherlands: Yes, this is a guide book, but I am in the midst of over-preparing and over-researching in anticipation of my semester abroad! Recommendations are welcome!

A Few Favorites

• Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden: Ok, I know this was on my summer reading list, but now that I finished it I can finally rave about it! I watched the film version with my mom in the spring and couldn't wait to get my hands on the book. Fast forward to August where I devoured this book in 2 sittings. It is that good. The vivid description of pre and post-war Kyoto through the eyes of the geisha who entertained during that time is breathtaking. 
• The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham: Again, a book that I was inspired to read after seeing the movie. This is in the same vein as Atonement of Memoirs; historical, romantic, sad, and well-written. Maugham is a classic, and it's a super quick read. 

I'd love to know what everyone else is reading, and what is on your must-read list! 

Junior Year

Last night I sat across from my little, watching her unpack her room and realized, "Tomorrow is the first day of my junior year. Of college." I can't believe how fast time flies by, and it's so weird to see groups of freshman wandering around campus and think that that was me 2 years ago.

While today is the first day, my one class is already cancelled and my internship doesn't even start until next week (eeek!!). So, I finally have a little time to blog (and something to blog about). It feels like just yesterday I pulled in to New York with my car full of dorm supplies, ready to tackle my freshman year. Now that I have moved into my room, ready to tackle my junior year, I still have some of the same excitement that I felt during Welcome Week.

Every semester brings a new chance, new changes, and new friends. It's so much fun to see everyone from last year, and still be making new friends 2 years into my college career. I have met some amazing people here (as I talk about all the time) and I'm still meeting amazing people. I have so many opportunities here that I wouldn't have had at another school- being so close to New York City, getting amazing internships (more on that later), being a part of some incredible organizations, and becoming close with all the amazing people I've met since I arrived at orientation.

Sometimes I think about what it would be like if I had attended a different school, or even picked a different major, but then I think about all the things that never would have happened. I never would have been able to intern in NYC, I never would have danced on Broadway, I never would have gone to Korea, I never would have joined Zeta Phi Eta, and I would have totally different friends that I maybe wouldn't have loved as much as my friends at Hofstra (let's be real I could never love anyone more than my crazy friends here).

Talk about a throwback: Kristen, one of my best friends now, started out as my roommate at freshman orientation! This is the first picture of us (with many more to follow) after we got stuck in a torrential downpour during a walk allllll the way across campus. It's been over 2 years since orientation and I still love seeing this girl!

For all the freshman starting college- DO NOT FREAK OUT. You will love it, even if you're homesick or stressed or overwhelmed or just plain confused. You will meet amazing people and make amazing memories.

I'm still freaking out a little that so many of my friends are graduating, and I only have one semester left with them since I will be in Amsterdam next spring. This is going to be a wild, busy, exciting, and totally fun semester, and I cannot wait to get started.