A 2006 Bestseller and winner of numerous prestigious literary awards which I'm too lazy to name, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is definitely a must-read by all. It is a memoir of the successful and accomplished New York writer. However, unlike a lot of successful businessmen these days, Jeannette Walls didn't have everything handed to her. As a matter of fact, she had nothing.

Jeannette Walls is one of those kids that moved around a lot. You know, the ones with a father in the army and changed schools every 4 months? The difference between Walls and that kid, however, is that Walls' father did not have a steady. Simply put, he didn't really have much of a job at all.

Walls grew up with 3 siblings, a "hippie" artsy mother, and a drunk father. Mother Walls hated the idea of domesticity and never quite understood parenthood. Needless to say, the Walls children were down-right poor, picking food out of garbage cans just to survive.

What is truly inspirational about this work is that Walls really communicates the anguish and fear she suffered during her childhood. With the level of her success now, the novel really shows that anything is possible if you do a little dreaming, planning, and never give up.

This is byfar one of the best novels I've read in a while now, so I strongly urge you all to head to the local bookstore today and pick yourselves up a copy. Next on my list to tackle: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

Reading classics is a bragging right. It shows how intellectual you are and how much patience you have to actually follow through with the two or three hundred or so pages of mind-numbing text. But seriously, who really reads classics for leisure?

I admit, I once was one of those eager-to-please-people people who would read a classic novel just to say she did. I've attempted plenty - A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, To Kill A Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice - and the result was always the same: I gave up within two pages. It's not that I'm illiterate (I can finish the Da Vinci Code in one sitting), it's just that these novels fail to grasp my attention.

I met a girl this summer who told me that Jane Eyre was ridiculously funny and it was her favourite book. Or maybe she was referring to the Picture of Dorian Gray. In any case, neither of those two books were funny. My friend is reading them right now and she says they're both boring as hell.

Now that I'm out of high school and studying a major in university that has nothing to do with literature whatsoever, I don't give a damn about classic novels anymore. Don't talk about them to me or I will just drift away.

In all honesty, the only classic I've ever enjoyed is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I'm actually re-reading it again at the present moment :D

I am told that this book is a childhood classic, so that's why I spent my day reading it today. It was definitely a fun and light read. I'm not completely sure but I think it was read to me back in grade school. Ahh... those days were bliss.

What I liked about the story was the little prince's love for his planet. I don't think I could feel the same way about my home but I am going to try to love my planet now too. Being of Chinese descent and brought up in Canada, I really don't feel like I have a pride for my country, or culture, as a matter of fact. When people ask where I'm from, I say I'm Chinese and that's that. People speak to me in Chinese and I respond in English. This is all going to change.

I hope you all enjoyed your Mother's Day and spent a decent portion of time with your mother, children, or even just reminiscing.

I spent my Mother's Day helping out at my uncle's flower shop. Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year so they needed all the help that they could get. I actually enjoyed myself - I learned a lot about flowers and such. If someone were ever to get me flowers, remember, I like LILIES. teehee :D

I finished reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom today. I downloaded it yesterday from http://www.intexblogger.com. It's a fantastic site - offers over 200 free ebooks for you to download. The selection is great too, a lot of modern stuff along with the many classics. I downloaded a good 20 something books and am hoping to really get my read on this summer.

Conveniently enough, For One More Day is a book about a man remorsing over his life and his relationship with his family, primarily with his mother. It's a fantastic read and really gets you thinking about the real things that matter in this world. If you've got the time, why not spare a good 2hr on a book that will change your life?

Summer has finally arrived. I seriously have not had the time to read (aside from textbooks and magazines) and would love to spend this summer catching up. My current book list:

• A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You : Stories by Amy Bloom
• For One More Day by Mitch Albom
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
• A Short Guide to A Happy Life by Anna Quidlen
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee