Buh-bye, 30 for 30!

Actually yesterday was the end of 30 for 30 for me, and I joyfully slipped into a different dress and shoes. Unfortunately, you don't get a picture, because I was out the door by 5:45 am and didn't get back until 10:30 pm, and you don't want to see the end result of my day. My legs were killing me so all I could think this morning was, Cowboy boots.

Oh, yes.

And colors! And simplicity! (I added a blouse on top of this and a belt before I decided, No, no, simple.)

White tank - Target, Dress - Gap Outlet, White watch - Michele Watches, Bracelets - Uniquities, Blue boots - Frye

Pure joy.

I was in planes, trains, and automobiles yesterday, so I brought along a book--House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. About 65 pages in, I was telling my coworker that it hadn't drawn me in quite yet, maybe my brain didn't have space to pay enough attention, then bam, I started flying through it (maybe because at that point, the meetings were over and there was only a plane ride left). I'm trying to read one book by him before jumping into Townie, Dubus's memoir.

The Commoner, House of Sand and Fog, and Room (another book for book club)

The day before that, I finished up my book from the weekend, The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz, a novel about a commoner marrying into the Imperial Family of Japan. I think it's probably a... 2/5.

I was excited to read a book based in Japan because I don't get around to doing that much, unfortunately. The book is a work of fiction, but is very clearly based on the life of Empress Michiko and later in the book, Crown Princess Masako. The beginning jumped around, giving you bits and pieces of Haruko's childhood (that's the one that's supposed to be like the empress). It was a bit too choppy for my liking. When we finally get into Haruko's twenties, when she's playing tennis and meets the prince, things pick up and are more cohesive. It was interesting reading about the rigid rules this very old lineage of royalty places on themselves (and place on others in their family) and it was understandable how some would suffer because of it, especially a commoner. It made me wonder how Kate Middleton is feeling (I adore her, really and completely). The writing itself was...fine. Not great, not terrible, just kind of ho-hum. The book did make me want to find a non-fiction account of the family.