My Summer Reading List

So obviously I’m one busy lady. I got my internship stuff going on Monday-Wednesday and I always end up having something to do or somewhere to drive on the weekends. I drive a lot more than your average 21 year old and it is honestly a pain sometimes. What makes it the hour here and there go by faster is a good audiobook. 

Here is the point where you say –MEREDITH, you are 21 years old. You are not a 49 year old women driving while listening to your old-school CD player with equally as old head phones. (yes mom, that was a stab at you) but audiobooks rock! Instead of having to worry about the next song or even making a playlist, you can just turn on your book at drive on.

Traveling from one side of Texas to the other for the past three years, I’ve listened to many books on tape. From the entire Hunger Games and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, to almost every Nicholas Sparks book written. Let’s be honest though. When you come home from your job or internship or even school, reading for pleasure is probably the last thing you want to do –unless you’re a book nerd in which case, I am not judging. Listening to books over extended miles keeps you from thinking about your crazy life and helps you plunge into a different one. Here are some that have kept me entertained on the road this summer:

 

 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling

I first started getting into this type of book when I listened to all of Chelsea Handler’s books. I then followed with Tina Fey, and now Mindy Kaling. First off, this girl is awesome. If you have not ever heard of The Mindy Project, I highly suggest getting on Netflix or Hulu immediately and watching every single episode that you possibly can. I knew about Mindy from The Office and I am going to be honest, I was not super stoked about her show. If you have ever seen The Office, you would know the character she plays is obnoxious. I reluctantly gave The Mindy Project a chance and cannot get enough of it! Since watching the show, I knew we were a lot alike and possibly could become best friends but after reading her book I’m thinking that it is destiny for us to actually become best friends. In the book she talks about her struggles, her childhood, The Office, her dating life and where she is now. If you are not a women, you would probably not enjoy it but she has got some major working-women girl power going on there. It sounds corny but it was nice to hear some of the struggles that us real people have. For a celeb, Mindy is one of the most real. Keep on keeping on my friend and I cannot wait until your next book and the new season of The Mindy Project. 

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

One of the things that makes this audiobook so amazing is the lady who reads..or “performs” it but regardless of that, this is an amazing book. It is not a typical girl and guy fall in love but they have cancer type book, it is more moving than that. You cannot help but fall in love with Augustus Waters just like Hazel does in the story. I still love him and he is a fictional character. I will allow myself to sob on any occasion that I feel like sobbing but I don’t think I’ve been more distraught than by the end of this book! The best part about this book is, even though it’s a sad story, there are instances of quick remarks and witty humor that you can’t help but laugh at. Any teenager with or without cancer can relate to the main character and we all were teenagers once. If you need a good cry, or you’re feeling a little down on your luck, I highly suggest you read this book. This book will change you, just don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

 

 

 

Serena by Ron Rash

This book has been different than the typical girly-sappy books that I’m accustomed to reading..or er..listening too. Serena is about a newlywed couple that owns a logging company in North Carolina in 1929. I started reading it because it is going to be a movie with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradly Cooper but what I got was an education in logging procedures in the 1930s and an instant draw to the time period. Also, Serena Pemberton (who the book is named for) is such a badass, I can’t even handle it. Granted, her tactics may have seemed a little out there, but for a girl in that time period…wow. It’s hard to say if this book would be more womanly or manly. Womanly because some of the characters require you to feel bad for them but manly because there is so much grit (and blood). Read it and decide for yourself.

 

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

When I first heard about this book, I did not really get excited about it. My family grew up listening to mystery novels on long car-trips and it just sounded like one of those. Reluctantly though, I downloaded it to my iPod and listened to it. After finally finishing it the only words that come to mind is: I did not see that coming. I thought I had it all figured out by the middle but boy was I wrong. Just when I got comfortable, there was a gigantic plot twist. All I can say is, IT IS NOT A TYPICAL MYSTERY. The only thing I can say is that the ending kind of disappointed me. I vested so much time and miles into this novel and it came up short. To be fair, it was well worth it. This book will also become a movie soon, so you’d better get to reading.

 

 

So there ya have it folks, my summer reading list thus far. Honestly, if you’re reading this and want to discuss any of these books with me, PLEASE do. I think discussing the book with other readers is one of the greatest things about finishing a book. As for now, I’m not going to stop LISTENING as long as I have miles to go. This summer, I’ve listened to a few good ones that I’m highly recommending to you, my dear reader, because just like every book you ever read or listen to, they change you in some way. These books have changed me.  

Confessions of a Mad Men Addict

Why oh why does this day and age have to be so different from the advertising agency of Sterling and Cooper? I mean, Don sometimes gets on my nerve..well, most of the characters get on my nerve in Mad Men but that doesn’t mean I love them any less BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

If you’ve never heard of Mad Men (GASP) then you should really get with it. Over the course of six seasons it follows an advertising agency through the the ups and downs of relationships, major world events, a toe getting run over in the office and plenty of drunken nights. Lets talk about some of the characters shall we?

Donald Draper is a coy, sharp man who is the main character in Mad Men. Until season 3 he was the creative director of Sterling Cooper and then he moved on. As much as I really love this guy, sometimes I hate him. He has an awesome family complete with a golden retriever. Women can’t resist him and I see why but come on! He can also be a jerk and I don’t like it. Oh Don, I love you but you make me mad.

Elizabeth (Betty) Draper is the most beautiful women on the show and nothing annoys me more than beautiful, unhappy women. She (like Don) has it all. DAMN HER and her tiny waste and hott husband. I don’t see why she sucks sometimes. I mean, Don cheats on her constantly but that shouldn’t be a reason to be a diva 24/7. Betty- your life isn’t so bad, GET OVER IT.

Peggy Olson is one of the characters that I dislike the least. Her can-do in a man’s world attitude is admirable and I like her gumption, it’s refreshing. Sometimes (like during the bye, bye birdie episode) she makes me cringe with how innocent she is. Girlfran-get it together! Pete only wants you for your bod and not the chubby lovin’ version. Peggy-keep on keeping on, you’ll get there.

Is it weird that I love Pete Campbell? His is one of the more annoying characters in the TV show because of his “I deserve this” attitude but I feel sorry for the guy. His ideas aren’t better and he isn’t smarter but I just want him to do something good in his sorry life. I did not grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth but I can relate to him on some fronts. Pete, nobody really likes you besides Peggy but get it together and pull through for me.

Joan Harris is awesome. It’s obvious that she is the QB (quarterback, queen B) of the office and she takes advantage of it. She can really be mean sometimes but obviously she knows what she wants. Don’t get me wrong, Joan can piss me off on occasion also like when she is mean to any of the boys. Is it sad that I don’t care if she is mean to Peggy? She really wants a good life and she tries really hard but I don’t think it’s in the cards for you Joanie.

Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper are the backbone of Sterling Cooper, obviously. Sterling is ridiculous by his crazy affairs and marriages and Cooper sometimes shows his oldness so profoundly, I wish him and his Japanese decor would just leave.

 

We’ve already talked about Pete (the middle guy with the navy suit) but the other four gentlemen surrounding him are great. I love each and every one of them through their flaws. These men go to work, have accounts and booze ALL DAY. They are always laughing, always together and always drinking. The first one to the left, Harry Crane is my personal favorite. His glasses, bow-tie and seemingly innocent face and demeanor have won me over. Paul Kinsey, the next one over, is a sassy almost gay man who tries to compete against the rest of the boys constantly. Love him but his constant competitive and liberal streak kind of annoys me. It’s like dude…nobody thinks you aren’t working, Peggy just has good ideas sometimes. The next one that isn’t Pete is Ken Cosgrove. He is the bachelor of the group and I just constantly feel bad for him. He will snag a wife eventually, I mean..besides Don, he is one of the more attractive men at the office. The last is Sal. Sal is 100% gay and to be honest, that’s one of the reasons why I like him. He really wants to love his wife but he would rather just be the sassy gay friend, I know. Good group of fellas right there.

I realize I didn’t cover every character and haven’t even covered the entire six seasons but I’m only in the third, so deal with it. When I graduate in December I’m hoping to go to work for Sterling Cooper as a secretary and then work my way to the top just like Peggy did. When we land big accounts like Pan Am, Diet Pepsi and of course Lucky Strikes, you’ll think back to this blog post and say, “she called it”.

Sincerely,

The Intern

p.s. if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t been blogging, I’ve been watching Mad Men and nothing else

8 Things You Really Miss About Summer Camp

I grew up looking forward to one thing during the summer: Camp. With slogans like “the best two weeks” and feed-back from kids saying things like “I bawled my eyes out for four days when I got home” and confirmation from the parents, “my son hasn’t stopped talking about anything else for the past three weeks”, it’s pretty apparent that I’m not the only one who enjoyed camp. There are certain feelings and experiences that you can get no other place. Whether your camp was located in the Texas hill country, the Arkansas woods, Upstate New York or even in the mountains of Colorado you undeniably miss these eight things.

1. The feeling you get when you’re arriving to your destination. It’s a weird mixture of nervous, excitement, anticipation and just plain joy. The moment you’ve been waiting for the past 364 days has arrived. Picture it, the front entrance of camp appears just around the bend. The small tingly feeling in your stomach rises to full blown monarch butterflies and you don’t know if you should throw up or start yelling with excitement.

2. It didn’t matter if it was 9 o’clock in the morning, sugar is always an option. When you were a kid you didn’t have to worry about your caloric intake or how many weight watchers points this or that was, you’d slurp down an ICEE with the best of them. You wouldn’t know it, but you’d burn those calories off right after the giant ice cream bar was consumed during a game of dodge ball or tennis. Any women older than 20 wishes they could eat anything and everything just like they did back in the day, including me.

3. REST TIME. The younger years at camp, this wasn’t always valued. When I finally was a teenager, I would be passed out by the time my my counselor said, “GET IN YOUR BUNKS GIRLS!” In the real world I would more than love to have a designated time for a nap. Can someone please get on that? Occasionally I would write letters to my mom and dad, but only if they were lucky..which was rare. The letters usually consisted of “HI MOM AND DAD I’M HAVING A GREAT TIME! My activities are water sports and redneck sports. I am having lots of fun. Please send more $ for sugar shack or a care package. Thnx luv u”

4. How it was perfectly acceptable to feel like your counselor was your mom and your best friend all at the same time. When I was a camper, I never realized that the counselors were actually like two years older than me. Looking back, I guess they didn’t know everything, but at the time, I was convinced that they were the smartest people in the entire universe. They could answer simple questions like: what are we doing this afternoon? what cabin is so-and-so in? how much time do I have before dinner? They also answered some pretty great questions about God and boys. I always looked up to these girls with the highest admiration. I just wish that I was able to stick around long enough to be one as well.

5. Your BFFS/Cabin Mates. The first thing I would always look forward to when going to camp was seeing the friends that I had made the previous summer. Although I’d only spent increments of two weeks at a time with them, I felt like nobody knew me better. From someone to go to the bathroom with, to someone who will really speak deeply with you about their revelations about God during cabin time the Camp BFF never fails to just..get you. Sure, cliques may have come about in the cabin and sometimes there was annoying drama, but at the end of the day, we stuck by each other.

6. The unity of the entire camp when they were all gathered, singing a song or cheering for a cause. When I went to camp, there was this nightly get-together called RoundUp. The entire camp would get together and have boys vs. girls competitions, awards for the best counselor of the day, a group cheer, a skit and eventually it would lead into singing and worshiping God. It was amazing! The entire camp singing at the top of their lungs about how great our God is, or even just the song Wagon Wheel. The energy in the room is like no other place in the entire world. Maybe your camp wasn’t a christian camp like mine, but at some point I’m sure everyone got together to chant, sing and cheer for something.

7. When your camp crush asks you to dance on the last song. Please tell me a better feeling when you were a 10-16 year old? Everyone has a camp crush and everyone had a vision of the boy you had your eye on, slowly walk up and ask if you want to dance. Then you proceed to two-step awkwardly until the song is over. Sure you don’t look at each other and sure you don’t have anything to talk about, but WOW was that dance amazing!

8. Being away from the world. Nowadays cell phones, TVs, computers, iPads..etc. have taken the world over. When I was at camp, I didn’t have access to any of it and that was perfectly OK. It was a relief to disappear from it all for a few weeks, or a few months. I don’t think I realized that when I was a kid going to camp, but now that I’m older and I can’t just go out into the wilderness for two weeks, I miss it.

Growing up sucks for many reasons. One of my main reasons I hate it is because I’m not able to attend summer camp anymore. There are so many other things that I’m sure different people miss about their camp experience. Now that I’m feeling nostalgic, I’ll snap back into the real world and finish my work BUT I’ll still be missing my lazy days at camp.

Sincerely,

The Intern

Things I do not miss about summer camp: No AC, riding in the back of trucks, feeling sticky all the time, not getting any letters, suddenly feeling conscious about your ridiculously hairy legs and most importantly, saying goodbye to everyone. But I’d take all of those things to get to spend another two weeks in the Canyon. (www.llyc.org <–the camp that I attended for 7 years)