Recommended Reading: Libba Bray's Beauty Queens

As many people can attest, college is not a time for pleasure reading. As much as I love to read, the past few years have been spent with my head buried in academic texts and literary works (some of which I enjoyed, but they were still for school). Now that I'm out of school - and even now that I've started my job I don't have homework - I've started to ease myself back into reading for fun.

About a month ago, my mom and I took a quick trip to new York to meet up with my current roommate and look for an apartment (the very beginning of our housing search). With two train rides on the schedule, I knew I would need something to read. I first heard about Beauty Queens on a TWoP recap of Pretty Little Liars (no shame here). As a fan of Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty series I was interested to see Bray's take on a more modern subject. Beauty Queens, as you would learn from reading the back cover or perusing the summary in the Kindle store (as I did), is about a plane full of teenage pageant girls crash landing on what seems to be a desert island. But it's not just about pageants and Lost-esque islands. What really impressed me was its commentary on society, femininity, feminism and what it means to be a woman (or girl) in the modern world. It was funny, it was thought-provoking and it was the perfect read for the train (and whenever I had down time in the hotel). If you're looking for a good book to read this summer - on the subway, on the beach or in your backyard - definitely pick it up.

Back in Action

Almost a month later, I'm back. Last time I posted I was getting ready to leave home for New York City and a new job waiting for me there. A lot has happened in the past month.

• I moved to New York, starting out (aka spending two weeks) by sleeping on a family friend's pullout couch
• I started my job, fashion credits assistant at Lucky Magazine (which won't change this blog an this blog does not reflect my employer) (I've always wanted to say that)
•  Bought my first pair of real designer shoes (thanks to a Manolo Blahnik sample sale)
• Found an apartment in a physically and emotionally exhausting whirlwind
• Moved into my apartment with my roommate (still a work in progress)
• Met my Sweet Lemon editor Carly (as well as bloggers Nicole, Mackenzie and Stephanie) and helped put out the 4th issue of Sweet Lemon Magazine
• Got my first real paycheck

It's kind of hard for me to believe that I'm a real adult, living and working in New York City. I saw my family this past weekend and felt like I should be going home with them. And unlike in school when I had defined breaks, I'm not sure when I'll see them next (though I'm planning on taking the train down in a couple weeks). Instead of being defined by classes and exams and vacations my life is more of an open expanse now. Sure, I have work five days a week and that part is defined, but I have no idea what exactly I'll be doing in five years. For now though, I love my job and I love New York. And I miss blogging. So, I'm coming back to it (in part due to inspiration from the ladies mentioned above). It might not be everyday - I'm still settling into my work routine - but it will be here. I promised suburbs to city and I'm going to deliver. And in the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @_hannahoward, Instagram @hannamariehoward, on Tumblr and on Pinterest.