I love Young Adult fiction, I find it extremely satisfying and recently it's all I've felt like reading. So, here in no particular order, is a list of favorites:

Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
Ella Enchanted by Carson Levine
Fire by Kristin Cashore
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty
Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Favorite Foods & Foods I want to learn to make

Pesto Pasta
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Deviled Eggs
Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake
Fruit Tart
Spinach Lasagna
Butternut Squash Soup
Cream of Potato and Broccoli Soup
Black Bean Burgers
Corn Bread
Cheese and Onion Enchilada
Channa Masala
Aloo Parathas
Pav Bhaji

“We are all born alone, die alone and, in spite of true romance magazines, we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely, at least, not all the time, but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
-HUNTER S. THOMPSON

Today during my lunch break I went to the Pret near AI and got their cream of mushroom soup, as I was about to pay, the orange chocolate chip cookies sitting on the counter caught my eye. I can never resist the combination of orange and chocolate so of course I bought one. It was still warm, the chocolate gooey and delicious.

Busy Busy Bee

The new semester has started off pretty well so far. My volunteer job at Amnesty started on the 5th, I had my exam on the 12th and now I'm settling into a regular schedule. It's so nice to be busy five days a week, I had way too much free time last semester. I know I keep saying this but the speed at which time is passing keeps surprising me, how is it already January 17th?!?! In a month half of the semester will be over and I will be writing midterm essays! Work is going well, I've started reading/watching/listening to submissions for the awards, there's definitely a lot of really interesting stories out there.

My mom is leaving for India today. I'm jealous, I would love to leave this cold weather and bad food behind for warm sun and my favorite Indian dishes. This is the first year that I have no idea when I will be in India again...