"I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance." Nora Ephron

Hi there. It's been a while. Did we fail to mention that we take summer vacation seriously around here? You know what else we take seriously? Birthdays. And Tray just had a big one. So we celebrated big in the Big Apple because if anyone deserves a New York soiree, it's Tray. The only thing better than that skyline, a night spent with Hamilton, and Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding was simply being in the same zip code as Tracy. She is good for the soul, especially mine. Throw in her lovely sister Nin and our dear friend Kym, top it off with a little Captain Craig and Lady Di, and you've got the makings of a magical holiday. It was one for the books.

Speaking of books and magic, it's only fitting to talk about my latest favorite read in a post about one of my favorite humans. And of course, as is the case with so many books I love, Tray found it first. It's a gift, I tell you. Lucky us for being the beneficiaries. 

The Librarian of Auschwitz is based on a true story about a real-life literary hero named Dita Kraus, who at the young age of fourteen, risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. If you're a book lover (a redundant question), then you will love this book. Not to say this is an easy read—there were times I had to stop listening and weep. No, not easy, but hauntingly beautiful and immensely important. And hopeful. As Dita reminds us, "In a place like Auschwitz, where everything is designed to make you cry, a smile is an act of defiance.” You will smile. And you will even cheer. Because even in the darkest of places, "for the time the story lasts, the children stop being in a stable full of fleas, they stop smelling burned flesh, they stop being afraid. During those minutes, they're happy." Books are magic. And this one, just like Tray, is pure gold. 

Posted by Rachel