April showers bring May flowers! Photo Cred

Welcome to my first ever monthly roundup! I’ve wanted to this for a while because I read a TON (both online and off) and love sharing my recommendations with others.  Here are my top entertainment links from the month.

Blogs & Articles

Why I Love Saigon from Legal Nomads is a great way to learn about Saigon and will definitely make you want to move there before you reach the end of the post.

The Sheep and the Wolves by JD Roth is another reminder to invest in index funds and then ignore it.  I automatically deposit money every month into my Vanguard Target Retirement Fund 2050, but I often think I should be doing something else. This article lists a few other funds I could look into.

At about this time of year I am always looking for stuff to buy while I am home for the summer. I love this blog and have been contemplating buying some Birkenstock’s myself, so when I saw this post about Birkenstocks being in for summer 2014 on Travel Fashion Girl, I knew I needed to get some.

I really want to do what this blogger did: Camping in Hawaii!  I have only been on Oahu and I would love to see more of the islands, but have refrained from doing so due to the costs. Christy lists some good campsites and gives some nice tips about camping around Hawaii

Breakdown of Costs in Singapore  These travelers were able to travel in an expensive city on less than $25 a day (including sleeping arrangements) using some creative thinking.  I’m not sure that these are methods I would use at this point in my life, but I would definitely have done it when I was younger!

Books

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is the funniest and most entertaining read I have had in a long time! I would definitely give this a 5/5 stars and I have been telling people about it left and right since I finished it.  It is about a genetics professor who has Asperger’s and is in search of a wife.  He begins the Wife Project, and the hilarity unfolds from there.

Look at Me by Jennifer Eagan I would give this book 4/5 stars. It is very well written.  I like how there are so many connections and different points of view.  With many twists and turns, the ending was not what I expected. I would only give it four stars because there were some slow parts and characters that I found a little boring.

We Are Water by Wally Lamb. 5/5. I love Wally Lamb’s writing! This is a very modern slice of American life kind of story.  There is wonderful character development.  You can really connect with these flawed characters, even if you might strongly disagree with some of them. Class, sexuality, and race are all explored in a dark and twisted way.

Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey 5/5. This recommendation is for any teachers who might be reading this post. I actually read this book way back in 2009 when I was just beginning my first Master’s degree. Since then I have found myself either physically or mentally returning to this book. If you are an elementary teacher there are a lot of great ideas in this book. It is a quick read with many classroom vignettes to illustrate a teaching idea.

Music

La Cremita– Gilberto Santa Rosa and Guaco: I hear this song all over the radio around Ojeda. It is great to dance to! Gilberto is classic salsa at its best and Guaco is a local band from Venezuela. Great pairing!

TV

Game of Thrones- Love this show! I read all five of the books (I had a lot of free time in China to be able to read all 4,272 pages!) and can’t get enough of this beautiful show! I have watched all of Season one, two, and three and can’t wait to watch them again this summer when I have a little more free time.