So here’s my list of favorite reads from the last year. These aren’t necessarily the the most high brow literature books, since sometimes my tastes run everywhere from Sci-Fi to contemporary to trashy vampire Young Adult fare. But just the books I enjoyed reading the most.

Cleopatra – A Life
by Stacy Schiff
Brilliant historical account of one of history’s most intelligent, resourceful, and ruthless leaders. And a story that has never really been properly told. As a feminist, this book was a joy to read.
Quote:

“Cleopatra stood at one of the most dangerous intersections in history; that of women and power. Clever women, Euripides had warned hundreds of years earlier, were dangerous.”

Born to Run : A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall
This book as the potential to be life changing and I think it should be recommended reading for EVERYONE, even if you utterly hate running. Trust me, it’s good.
Quote:

“You ran to eat and to avoid being eaten; you ran to find a mate and impress her, and with her you ran off to start a new life together. You had to love running, or you wouldn’t live to love anything else…We were born to run; we were born because we run.”

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
by Helen Simonson
Utterly charming. I could not stop grinning over every dry English quip, each clever turn of words and phrases.
Quote:

“You are a wise man, Major, and I will consider your advice with great care–and humility.” He finished his tea and rose from the table to go to his room. “But I must ask you, do you really understand what it means to be in love with an unsuitable woman?”
“My dear boy,” said the Major. “Is there really any other kind?”

Bel Canto
by Ann Patchett
One of the most lyrical and beautiful books I’ve read in a really long time. Just utterly exquisite and will probably end up as one of my favorite books ever.
Quote:

“Carmen prayed hard. She prayed while standing near the priest in hopes it would give her request extra credibility. What she prayed for was nothing. She prayed that God would look on them and see the beauty of their existence and leave them alone.”

World War Z
by Max Brooks
The BEST zombie book ever. Not that I’ve read a ton, but it was so thorough, almost historical or sociological in its writing. A zombie book with real intelligence.
Quote:

“Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has. That’s not stupidity or weakness, that’s just human nature.”

Looking for Alaska
by John Green
One of the best Young Adult books I’ve ever read. Just so smart, thoughtful and well written. If I had read this as a teenager, I think it would’ve been like what Vonnegut had been for me at that age, a book that completely helps to shift and shape your world paradigm.
Quote:

“Thomas Edison’s last words were ‘It’s very beautiful over there’. I don’t know where there is, but I believe it’s somewhere, and I hope it’s beautiful.”

“They love their hair because they’re not smart enough to love something more interesting.”

Blind Assassin
by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors, and I think she outdid herself on this one. Even better than my previous favorite, The Handmaid’s Tale. This was like a showcase of truly genius level talent.
Quotes:

“Farewells can be shattering, but returns are surely worse. Solid flesh can never live up to the bright shadow cast by its absence. Time and distance blur the edges; then suddenly the beloved has arrived, and it’s noon with its merciless light, and every spot and pore and wrinkle and bristle stands clear.”

“Women have curious ways of hurting someone else. They hurt themselves instead; or else they do it so the guy doesn’t even know he’s been hurt until much later. Then he finds out. Then his dick falls off.”

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
I am not a huge science buff, but despite the plethora of scientific information in this book, I was so hooked. One of those books that I think all people should read, since the history and implications are so far-reaching.
Quote:

“You know what is a myth?” Bobette snapped from the recliner. “Everybody always saying Henrietta Lacks donated these cells. She didn’t donate anything. They took them and didn’t ask.”

Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein
I love dogs, and so I love books about dogs. Cheesy? For sure. But I can’t help it. Books like this, and Story of Edgar Sawtelle, A Dog’s Purpose, Marley and Me, etc, they all make me weep.

“People and their rituals. They cling to things so hard sometimes.”

Vampire Academy
by Richelle Mead
Yes, I sometimes read trashy vampire chick lit. No, I don’t feel guilty about it. And at least this one has a main female character who is a trained fighter and bodyguard. It’s bad, but in such a good way.

“The only thing better than imagining Dimitri carrying me in his arms was imagining him shirtless while carrying me in his arms.”

The Imperfectionists
by Tom Rachman
I’m not usually a fan of short inter-connected stories, but I LOVED The Imperfectionists. Funny, wry, poignant.
Quote:

“If history has taught us anything, Arthur muses, it is that men with mustaches must never achieve positions of power.”

Unbroken: A World War II Story Of Survival, Resilience, And Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
One of the most spectacular true stories I’ve ever read. It blew me away, not just the sheer terrifying amount of trials and tribulations, but the heart and humanity in it. I was sobbing by the end.

“Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen. The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man’s soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it.”

The Sweet Life in Paris
by David Lebovitz
I picked this up as a nice easy read, from one of my favorite food bloggers. And it ended up being a witty, funny, and supremely informative book on all the joys, frustrations, and quirks of being an American living in France.
Quote:

In a country where there’s such an emphasis on fine dining, whose good food is celebrated not just here, but around the world, it’s stupefying why Parisian coffee is so vile that fed-up French food writer Sophie Brissard described it as “donkey piss.”

Bossy Pants
by Tina Fey
Not only is this book hilarious, but Tina Fey’s humor is just so intelligent. So sharp, and quick. And rooted in so much common sense.
Quote:

“Some people say “Never let them see you cry.” I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone.”

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick
I have a strong interest in North Korea, not just because my Grandpa was originally from North Korea before he escaped during the Korean War, but because I have always had a fascination with dystopian society. This was an incredible and haunting look into the lives of defectors, both in North Korea and out of it once they escaped.
Quote:

Dr. Kim couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a bowl of pure white rice. What was a bowl of rice doing there, just sitting out on the ground? She figured it out just before she heard the dog’s bark. Up until that moment, a part of her had hoped that China would be just as poor as North Korea. She still wanted to believe that her country was the best place in the world. The beliefs she had cherished for a lifetime would be vindicated. But now she couldn’t deny what was staring her plainly in the face: dogs in China ate better than doctors in North Korea.

The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Enchanting is the only word for this book. But do yourself a favor, stay away from reading too many reviews beforehand!

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

And because I actually wrote up a post a year ago and never posted it, here’s my list of favorite reads from 2010.

Never Let Me Go
The Book Thief
Ender’s Game
Water for Elephants
Suite Française
Pillars of the Earth
Hunger Games Series
Dune
The Namesake
Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Medium Raw
The Glass Castle
My Life in France

And a shoutout to the worst books I read in 2011, Ready Player One, Inheritance, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Here’s to another year of great books. What have you been reading lately?

Thanks Abi Q for second shooting with me on this one!

Nestldown
http://www.nestldown.com/
22420 Old Santa Cruz Hwy Los Gatos, CA

So much to eat, so little time. And since I haven’t done a food photography post in awhile, here’s a little glimpse into some of the great food we had while in the Big Easy.

At John Besh’s Restaurant August…

At the famous Cafe du Monde…

But I really haven’t had a ton of time until very recently, to really throw myself head first into wedding planning. After the initial amazing giddiness of being engaged, I settled into a warm happy bubble and would wave away all the questions that kept coming my way. I was engaged! All the planning stuff would come later. And then weeks drifted away and I found myself face to face with something I like to call the post-engagement-dear-caught-in-the-headlights stage.

This is the part where I started to freak out a bit. When, where, how?? You would think that being in the wedding industry, I would have all the answers figured out long ago. But no, when I hunkered down to do some planning I literally felt like every wedding I have ever photographed came flashing through my mind. Almost every wedding I photograph, there’s yet another cool element that inspires me, so that my wish list for my own wedding keeps expanding or changing directions. So many different types of weddings, so many different venues, which one was right for us? I’ve been lucky to photograph so many beautiful weddings, and shoot at some amazing venues. It was a situation where there were TOO many options.

I slowly figured out what I wanted our wedding to be and to represent. I knew the kind of atmosphere I wanted, how I wanted the whole thing to feel. But how to accomplish all that? The practicalities can be daunting. I soon came to find that out of the plethora of wedding resources out there, my FAVORITE online resource has turned out to be blog posts by wedding coordinators, other brides, and the amazing power of pinterest. I can’t tell you the number of times in the past few weeks when I’ve felt overwhelmed just *thinking* about planning the wedding, the budget, the guestlist, that I would read a blog post by another bride, or see some truly simple but amazing advice on a blog or a forum and felt like, “hey, I’m not crazy. I’m not alone in this! Other people go through this and there’s a solution for every problem.”

So out of gratitude to those bloggers and planners who freely share their experience, I feel motivated to do the same. And I’ll try and update about my progress as a bride in the hopes that this might help other brides, or if all else fails, just be entertaining for those who read it.

First off, a few wedding planners who I feel provide invaluable advice and share it freely on their blogs.

Amy Nichols – Planner extraordinaire from the Bay Area. She has a great series called “5 Quick Tips” with advice from some of the best planners and designers and other wedding industry folks. I read through pretty much every one of these quick tip posts, jotting down notes the whole time. It’s a treasure trove of great advice from across the wedding spectrum.

Kelly Oshiro – Swoonworthy is a word that gets tossed around a lot in wedding circles, but Kelly, a floral and event designer from Santa Barbara literally has the kind of style that catches your breath. What I found so invaluable on her blog was her Wedding Planning Tips cateogry, which goes over the tricky topics of budgeting for rentals, catering, etc and she also is a great venue resource if you’re planning a wedding in Santa Barbara. There’s lots of venue guides around the internet, but it’s nice to be able to get venue recommendations and some specific details from someone who has scouted out the venue herself.

Amber Events – From my hometown of Los Angeles, Amber has in my opinion the most refreshingly frank and upfront “voice” of a wedding planner and blogger. She has a wedding advice category on her blog that goes over nearly everything you could think of for planning a great wedding, including this post about How to have a raging Dance Party which every bride & groom should read!

And now to Pinterest, aka my new best friend. What was the world like before Pinterest? I can’t even remember. I am such a visual person, and I’m also somewhat scatterbrained. I often have a ton of ideas floating around in my head so that you’ll catch me just running around looking for a piece of paper so that I could write something down before I forget. I was a bookmarking fiend before Pinterest. Now I can codify all my thoughts and ideas into one place, and best of all, it’s VISUAL. Which is how my brain functions.

Everytime I look at my wedding Pinterest board, I feel absurdly happy. I don’t know how, I don’t know when, but it’s all going to come together like THIS.

And in addition to my wedding inspiration board, I’ve used Pinterest to keep track of the venues and vendors I’m interested in.

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Whew! I think this is the longest post I’ve ever made! There’s something about becoming a bride that makes it so that I just can’t stop talking about weddings and wedding planning. More posts to come soon. Next up: The Great Venue Search of 2011.

I’m a huge fan of period pieces. Particularly being over the moon about Pride & Prejudice (the book, the BBC mini series, the 2005 movie). And Downton Abbey is exquisite. Just the clothes alone are to die for. Swoonworthy regal elegance. I love watching this show while I edit weddings especially. It puts me such a romantic frame of mind.

Now hand me a cup of tea and I’m good to go.

You can catch this series on PBS Masterpiece. Watch it, love it. Go buy yourself a hat afterward.