little girl, big cities

Hurling has been played for the past 3,000 years. What is hurling, you might ask? Well, hurling is a popular outdoor team game which is administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association - and also happens to be the fastest field sport in the world. Which makes it really fun to watch as a spectator while simultaneously being especially difficult to keep up with when you have no ideas what the rules are. This past weekend, Fenway Park in Boston was the place to be for hurling fanatics, or really big fans of Ireland and drinking beer on a Sunday. The hurling tournament comprised of four teams that played three games, and the winner of the third game was the overall winner of the tournament itself. The first game was Galway versus Dublin with Galway emerging victoriously, the second was Tipperary versus Clare with Clare squeaking out an amazingly close victory, and the final game was Galway versus Clare - but sadly my ride home was calling my name so I was unable to stay to see it ...

I was born as a white, upper middle class woman. I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island where you could count on one hand how many people of color lived in our town. And it wasn't until I studied abroad two years ago that I was ever in a position where I felt that I was in the minority. And because of all of this, I have really never had to confront the question of race in the same way that a person of color would have to.  Thankfully, during my time in undergrad, as a Sociology major, I had the opportunity to confront the topic of race in a very real and meaningful way in many of the classes I took. Power of Whiteness was one of my favorite classes because it was a class during which we spent the entire semester learning about white privilege and how it has come to be - and also, what it means to not have it. Race can be an uncomfortable subject to approach, but if you happen to be white, it is so so so important to be made aware of your privilege, because you need t...

For me, there is nothing better than curling up in bed with a good thriller or mystery novel, one so good that it's impossible to put down. Page turners that keep readers engaged, wanting more, more, more. Sadly, the worst part about my love for thrillers and mysteries is that, since I've read so many of them, it's hard to come across one which really, truly surprises me. But Girl in Snow was able to do just that. Thanks to a brilliant combination of beautiful prose and an interesting take on the traditional murder mystery story, Kukafka creates a riveting mystery that is nearly impossible to set down. There is a razor thin tightrope which exists between watching and seeing, love and obsession, truth and memory, and Kukafka spends the entirety of  Girl in Snow  exploring these themes through the eyes of her delightfully complex characters. Rather than taking the more traditional route of having the story told through the eyes of the detective on the case, Kukafka c...