Spring Has Sprung

I am all about spring right now. I can practically smell all the flowers. I can't wait for bright nail polish - is anyone else just sick of all the grown-up goth dark colors? Pinks and yellows and whites are just happier. So in a nod to spring - here are a few of my favorite things.


Oh Loft, I love you... This is gorgeous. Hot pink and ruffles. Swoon.



And how cute are these? Slightly Boca/Ladies that lunch with a cool twist. Get them here.

And I'm still loving rompers. This is a grown-up version of the little kid fav. Get it here.

I think this is the cutest dress I've seen all spring. It's been in loads of magazines if that pushes you over the edge. Get it here.

A new book. I loved Sweet Valley High growing up and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm dying to read this book. I'm only debating if I should buy it or try to find it at the library... I'm thinking buy it.

I'd also add to the list hot pink nail polish, nude lip gloss, bronzer and a new pair of sandals. And a vacay if we're dreaming.

Happy Friday - My Favorite Things

So I'm waiting to get in the shower and actually get this day going but OMG People just made my entire day.

First there was this story, annoucing Tim Gunn is writing a third book. He's calling it a fashion bible. One word. Amazing. I love him. My dream fashion lunch would be with him. Think about it - inside scoop on Project Runway and fashion advice. Too bad the book isn't getting released to 2012.


And then there was this....

Britney's new video! The song isn't my favorite Britney song ever but it's catchy so I find myself singing it. I won't buy it yet because I'm waiting for the album. The music video - I don't know - I don't have my contacts in - it looks ok.... What do you guys think?

What I'm Reading...

Since I haven't done any book reviews or recommendations recently. I thought it might be nice to tell you what I'm reading/read this past week. I'd love to hear what you're reading as well since I am always on the hunt for a good book.

1. My Name is Memory, Ann Brashares - This was really good. Surprising me actually because I read her last adult fiction book and thought it was barely ok. Apparently this is the first in a line of three books and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

2. Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern - Laugh out loud funny. Probably the funniest thing I've read since Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea. Super quick read - you can finish this in a night and still have time for The Real Housewives...

3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith - Somehow I missed this in high school and book club has ignited a passion in me to read a bunch of classic books "you should read". I wasn't a huge fan at the beginning - it just sort of dragged along - but I'm over halfway through and hooked. I read Angela's Ashes a long time ago and this reminds me of that (although I guess it's the other way round since this came first). Same premise - poor family growing up in NY trying to make ends meet.

4. The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe, Andrew O'Hagan - Ok I had heard a ton of good things about this but I got close to halfway through and just wasn't loving it. I couldn't get into it at all. The dog has somewhat interesting stories but spends half his time spouting off philosophy... I ended up returning it unfinished.

So that's my list so far. I'll try to keep you updated.

Book Review: The Swan Thieves: A Novel - by Elizabeth Kostova

So I picked up this book because I saw it in a magazine and then it was on the past best-sellers cart at the library. I had doubts because I read Kostova's last book The Historian and thought it was just ok. Ok meaning - slightly boring at times and a bit too long - and I don't really remember it. A good book I can remember. A bad book I can remember. An ok book just sits there in no where land and every now and then I'll be like did I like that or not and the answer is usually not so much. Still I took The Swan Thieves home and started reading because it was on a 2 week loan and the book is long!

The story flip flops between a few characters: Marlow, Mary, Kate and Beatrice (who lives in the late 1800's) and revolves around Marlow trying to figure out why a painter Robert Oliver went crazy on a photo called Leda and tried to stab it. Mary and Kate are his ex-lover and wife respectively and Beatrice is a painter who Oliver is obsessed with. Following me still?

First - the mystery is pretty easy to guess. Kostova gives a pretty big clue in the beginning of the story and Beatrice pretty much confirms it as she goes along.

Second - the story is long and kind of boring (hence why I didn't like The Historian). The book could have been shortened by a good 150 pages at least. Kate and Mary's parts aren't that interesting - they just highlight how Oliver went off the deep end and half of what they say could be summed up - do we really care how they met and the painting classes Mary takes (I didn't). I found myself actually skimming over their parts and the endless descriptions of useless stuff. For example, Marlow visits some painter in Acapulco and Kostova spends forever describing the hotel, the area, the painter's house... skim, skim, and more skimming.

I'm only hoping no one in book club picks either of her books and I'm stuck rereading them because I can guarantee I'm going to read Amazon reviews and random websites for a summary. Three out of five stars at best - I'm actually more inclined to say two but I don't want to be too mean. The story is actually interesting and the mystery if you don't pay attention or maybe with fewer clues is a good one - I just think it could have been better done and in a shorter manner.

Get Reading II

I realized that I haven't published one of these posts in forever. Read the first one here. So it's time for my second list of books that I loved.

1. Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas - pure fluff romance at it's best. I think I cried through half this book.

2. Watership Down - maybe because I love rabbits but I love this book about a colony of rabbits - not as boring as you may think.

3. Anna Karenina - I remember having to read this in advanced high school English and loving it. I've actually been thinking I should add it my pile when I need something to re-read.

4. Freakonomics - so insanely interesting. A collection of topics that range from baby names to crime in NYC.

So only 4 this time. I can't give them all up right away. Oh and the book club book is the Forgotten Garden. Of course I'm waiting to the last minute but I'll start it tonight and let you know what I think.

Book Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

A couple of co-workers were talking about how this book was really good. They sold it as a mystery which immediately made me think - great I won't like this one (I'm not a huge mystery fan). But I looked on Amazon and the reviews were all favorable. I'm going to have to say I didn't really like it. Maybe 2 out of 5 stars.

The book dragged for me. There were endless descriptions of things that didn't really matter. He took practically two pages to describe the interior of a cabin. The whole story seemed convoluted. Was it a murder mystery? A corporate thriller? Was Larsson trying to make a point about how often women are abused? I don't know... the book tried to do too many things. The funny thing is if he had stuck with the murder mystery it would have been good. I liked the parts where Mikael and Lisbeth are trying to unravel what happened to Harriet. It's the rest of the book that bogs it down.

I'm struck by how violent the book is towards women. Lisbeth is raped by her guardian. Harriet is raped by her father and her brother. And SPOILER: The Vanger family has a history of murdering and ill-treating women. If I'm reading this book correctly, then half of the women in Sweden have been abused at some point. Doesn't exactly read as a tourist advertisement for a Swedish vacation. The thing is - I felt like some of the mistreatment was gratuitous... there for the reaction or the shock value. Larsson goes into detail of Lisbeth's rape and the aftermath yet in the end the rape has little to do with the plot of the story other then to illustrate the fact that Lisbeth feels cut off from "normal" society. Maybe I'm not into mystery's because of the violence but within moderation and when it enhances the basic plot I wouldn't be gasping and making a point of it in my review. The violence in the book was over the top and I felt like often only used for shock value and not to help the plot.

Speaking of more unnecessary parts of the book - Mikael basically sleeps with any and every main character in the book if it happens to be female. There's absolutely no point. I don't feel like he's in love with any of them. I don't even really like Mikael or his one sex partner - Erika because Erika is married and her husband finds it acceptable that every now and then she and Mikael still have sex - what??? Really? And honestly, none of his sexual escapades again have anything to do with the plot other than to tie up another 50 pages of nonsense.

The corporate thriller part of the book dragged for me. The bad guy (I can't remember his name because all the names are Swedish) is obviously dirty. You learn pretty early on there is a spy working for Mikael. And really you can assume from the beginning that if given the chance Mikael will take bad guy down (sorry - I'm too lazy to look up his twenty character Swedish name).

Apparently there are two more books in the series. I already have the second one - had placed it on hold before I read this one. I'm not sure I'm going to read it. I'm not sure who to recommend this book too - maybe if you like mystery's but the mystery in my opinion is just okay. There's really no satisfying reason as to why the guilty party or parties were committing the murders (SPOILER) other than the fact that they were sociopaths who got off on that sort of thing. I feel like it was a bad six part episode of CSI where at the end you find out the killer was the lady next door and she did it because she was bored. Lame.

Note of warning - aside from the graphic rape scenes. The book is written in Swedish and translated to English. Meaning - it reads like a book that wasn't written in English, and you have to try to struggle through a lot of place names and character names that are Swedish. The author gives you a family tree in the beginning of the book but a map of Sweden would be helpful. I never knew whether Mikael was going down the block or four hours away.

So no, I'm not going to rave about how great this book is despite the many reviews saying they think it is great. I feel like it's one of those books that people read and after struggling through you sit back and think that's interesting and then immediately toss it out in the yard sale bin but brag to all your friends you read it because it happened to make some best-seller book club pick somewhere. Have you read it? What did you think?

Book Review: Sweet Little Lies Lauren Conrad

Why did I read this book? Hmmm I kind of have to ask myself the same question because I wasn't a huge fan of the first one. The writing was mediocre, the plot just ok and honestly I spent more time trying to figure out who was who and hoping for some great Hills dish than getting into the story. But still, when Sweet Little Lies popped up at my library I figured what the heck at least this time I wouldn't have to buy it (LA Candy never made it to the library).

Thoughts... if I'm being generous three out of five stars. Probably leaning more towards 2 1/2. It's not horrible but it's not by any means great. It got four out of five stars on Amazon and frankly I think the only reason it did was a bunch of teenagers or Conrad's friends went in and ranked it a five so the honest reviewers didn't stand a chance.

The plot is ok. The book picks up where LA Candy leaves off. Lauren... I mean Jane (yawn what a boring name ... all you authors out there this is the time you can really go for it on names don't go with Jane...augh)... anyway... Jane is in Cabo with Madison (who clearly is supposed to be some form of Heidi) after photos of Jane cheating on her boyfriend were leaked to the press. Jane has gone from the good girl to this tabloid sensation. Apparently, she gets all this press about her hooking up with Braden (I hope I spelled that right). First... I don't know - I know Lauren was big in her prime on the Hills but seriously a ton of covers? Maybe the not so classy mags but I doubt People or Entertainment Weekly is rushing to publish a story about a reality TV star cheating. And two, even if they did publish it, it's going to be in the back or the very front like a two second blurb - not a cover and maybe only one week not week after week like this nonsense dragged on. (Don't get me wrong I liked the Hills and think Lauren is great but I just doubt her character's ability to land so many covers...). Scarlett is trying to convince Jane that Madison leaked the photos and is a huge bitch. Gaby (another girl in the story) is just there to fill space, as is a girl at Lauren's work who is memorable enough that I forgot her name.

Basically, all you learn about The Hills - is gasp the producer tell them what to talk about. Wow. Come on Lauren, I'm guessing a good percentage of the people reading this book are doing it to get some gossip and that's all you're going to give us?

Problems I see with the story:

1. Jane gets back together with Jesse even though there is no reason she should. Jesse acts like a jerk and she stays with him for 2/3 of the book. I felt like there was no reason why she would stay with him, even if for some reason she decides to get back together with him.

2. She tries desperately to make Madison likable but I think fails miserably. And honestly why is Madison targeting Jane - so she can be a star? I don't know. Madison is a little too one dimensional for me. She's not likable because I don't care about her. I have no reason to feel like she is remotely justified in what she does to Jane.

3. All the characters aren't very likable. Jane is ok - she's the main character you're supposed to like her but like you sometimes feel watching Lauren on The Hills - she's the nice girl that's just there. The action happens around her and sometimes too her but what's she really like. I will say though Lauren has a certain charisma (I stopped watching after she left) that doesn't come across with Jane. You root for Lauren because you want her to succeed - she's the every girl in her early twenties (just with better clothes and more money), clubbing, trying to find a job, trying to find love, friend drama, etc.

I think the book is filler to get to book 3 (sort of how I felt with Twilight - only I felt like books 2, 3, and 4 were filler and could have been summed up in 1 but that's a different topic). This one leaves off with a cliffhanger - will Jane continue on LA Candy, will Madison be the star, will she chose her high school boyfriend or Braden or someone new... cue dramatic music.

So... in conclusion, it's a good beach read. It took me maybe a day to breeze through. But it wouldn't be my first choice read.

Book Review: House Rules: A Novel

I started reading Jodi Picoult with My Sister's Keeper. It took some very difficult topics (what obligation do you have to your family, is it ethical to have another child to save your first child, etc) and made them compelling and easy to read. It was an emotional roller-coaster. I quickly read pretty much every other book she ever wrote. I came to the realization that My Sister's Keeper - while still a great book - follows a strict Picoult formula and House Rules is no exception.

Rule 1: Emotionally charged topic with lots of grey area (things can't be black and white - that would make it too easy).

Rule 2: The story told from multiple viewpoints.

Rule 3: Surprise endings.

Rule 4: Make you think but not too hard.

Rule 5: Stressed but very attractive women who will usually sleep with someone that is at least mildly inappropriate.

Those would be the basics. Rule 5 may or may not happen but I've noticed it in a few of her books and if the woman doesn't sleep with said person she will be described by multiple people as being strikingly pretty. And really this has not much to do with the plot except for the fact there are few books (or movies, or TV shows) about incredibly not-good looking people.

How do I feel about House Rules? Let's start with 3 out of 5 stars. If you've never read Picoult before then you'd probably go with 4. I think it was average. I don't hate it but it followed a formula and pretty quickly you could guess where it was going. I'm glad I didn't buy it - I wouldn't read it again (Shout-out Library!).

The story follows Jacob, a teen diagnosed with Asperger's, his family and others that are dragged into the murder case of Jacob's social skills tutor. Jacob is a strange character - on one hand you feel bad for him because he is so socially awkward but on the other (and I'll admit I don't know much about Asperger's) he's cold, awkward and surprisingly functioning for someone who has panic attacks when paper gets crumpled. His brother Theo - another character - doesn't have Asperger's but he's living with the affects it has on his family because of Jacob. Theo is breaking into houses, stealing minor things, he doesn't fit in, etc. The thing is I felt bad for Theo but I didn't feel like he was developed quite enough for me to care too much about him. Emma - is the mom, she's gorgeous, stressed, poor. Then the other two narrators are Oliver (Jacob's lawyer) and Rich (a police officer who arrests Jacob). For me, the characters in this book weren't as well developed as some of the others. I wasn't drawn to them in the same way as I have been with her other books and like Jacob with his Asperger's - socially the characters all seem awkward (the point perhaps?).

I always read the reviews on Amazon when I decide to get a book. Yeah, sometimes the people are dead wrong but a lot of times they are pretty accurate. A lot of the people were complaining the story just ended without any resolution to the case. Well, one I think it's pretty easy to figure out early on what happened to the social skills tutor. And the case, I felt like it was all just background for the family to all come together. And honestly, I cared about Jacob but at the same time he didn't think through his actions, didn't explain what happened to anyone, and so you can't feel that bad (ok maybe because of his Asperger's because no one asked him to explain, he didn't... I don't know if I buy that). And the non-ending is pretty typical Picoult. It's basically what do you think happened? Was Theo arrested? Did Jacob get convicted? Etc...

Have you read it? What do you think? My next book is Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad - I'll let you know if I like it, the first one didn't blow me away so I'm not having high hopes.

Books: Romance

This is kind of a review, kind of a favorite thing post. I'm going to admit that I like romance novels. I'm not talking Nicholas Sparks romance, I'm talking the books with the embarrassing covers of muscular men and beautiful damsels in distress. There is something so deliciously forbidden about them - obviously you can't cart that novel off to the gym. Yet at the same time I love slipping into that world - where ladies are elegant in fancy clothes, and men are a little rough and tumble.

I recently read pretty much every book by Deeanne Gist (a Christian romance writer for all those faint at heart) and Sabrina Jeffries.

I received the Jeffries book for free last year from a book festival and took it home laughing that I might read it if I was bored. Well, boredom came and I grabbed the book - I can't remember the title but its from The School of Heiresses series - and I loved it. It was well-written (i.e. not just about bodice ripping encounters with fluffy dialogue as filler) and really captured my attention with the story. Sure romance stories are always a little far fetched - beautiful intelligent women falling for men that don't always seem to be the best match - but Jeffries make it so easy to fall into their character's world. I went to the library and quickly scooped up every Heiress book I could find. Sure some are better than others - that's the way of novels - but all of them are interesting stories with a little bit of sex. I can't even pick a favorite. I did join her fan club so I get random emails and I bought her latest book The Truth About Lord Stoneville - I'll have to let you know if it's any good.

Gist is different - I read one of her books a few years ago - A Bride Most Begrudging - I actually picked it up thinking it was just a regular piece of fiction - not realizing it was romance or Christian romance at that. I was reluctant to read it thinking it would be all scripture and Bible study - but its not. Obviously, she works that into the story but most of the time it doesn't seem forced. The only two books of hers I wasn't really into were Deep in the Heart of Trouble and Courting Trouble a series about Ellie. Ellie just isn't that likable to me - its not because she has premarital sex (gasp - apparently this has gotten Gist a lot of flack on Amazon) - but I don't care about her. She's ahead of her time (the book takes place in the late 1800's) - she believes in women's right, loves biking, helps run a company but can't find a husband. The stories were just ok - Ellie spends way too much time harping on the fact she gave her virginity to a scoundrel and now she's not pure and no man will want her (not to mention she's decided she's going to be married to God).

Do you read romance novels? Are you too embarrassed to admit it if you do? I'm almost tempted to pick one for Book Club just for fun of course.

Book Club Update

So book club was amazing - we had two new people show up - yay! I always get excited to think how far we've come in a year... just that we're still meeting is a huge accomplishment. So next month is my month - we're a little off because of adding some new members so I get to pick again pretty quickly. So I picked The History of Love... As always read along if you like and let me know what you think.

Book Club

So I have to pick the book for next month - suggestions?

Here are my three choices so far (could change):

The Reliable Wife - I've heard mixed reviews. Amazon gave it three stars - usually not a good sign.

Olive Kitteridge - mainly because I bought this book for a $1 at a library sale and haven't read it.

The History of Love - I saw this in a magazine and they were raving about it.

K suggested Great Gatsby (love) or The Pit and the Pendulum... This has gotten me thinking of maybe picking a newer/older book - Fitzgerald maybe?

Anyway, leave your suggestions and I'll of course let you know what I end up picking. Book club falls on Cinco de Mayo - so I could make guacamole and salsa and do a Mexican theme for the food... yum.

Thoughts on Mansfield Park Thus Far

So I’m reading Mansfield Park for book club. I was reading like a mad man this weekend thinking book club was this Wednesday but I am saved and can once again procrastinate as book club is next week. It has gotten me thinking though and I don’t know if I’ll bring up at book club or not – am actually afraid to bring up here as I know a lot of people are die-hard Jane Austen fans. But here I go (don’t be too mean in the comments).

Is Austen as good of writer as everyone claims or is she really the seventeen hundred’s version of say a Nicholas Sparks? I read a lot and I’ve read a lot of Jane Austen books (if not all at this point at least 90%). And reading this one I’ve struck with the thought all her books are pretty much the same romance bundled up and packaged under different characters and different names. Girl meets boy, is somehow unworthy of boy or not interested in boy, girl realizes she is deeply madly in love with said boy, randomness happens (usually something to do with what’s proper and not or social classes), boy and girl get together. I tried to google Jane Austen critics but got a bunch of literary reviews that I didn’t feel like reading and none that screamed in the Google site description – same story over and over. Are they well written? Sure – better than half the dribble current authors put out at lightning speed. But that doesn’t change the fact that pretty early on you can guess where the story is going.

Maybe this is just the way it is with romance – I recently heard a romance writer talk and she said publishers want the heroine and hero to meet in the first chapter and if you can do it on the first page even better. Have romances not changed in 200 years?

It makes me mad though when I fall for a writer and slowly come to realize after devouring a few of their books that it’s the same stories repacked in a shiny new cover with a few new names. I can name a list right now: Janet Evanovich, Nicholas Sparks, Danielle Steel, practically any romance novel, Jodi Picoult, Sophia Kinsella (although I’m still addicted to the shopaholic series)…. They all have a stick – Nicholas Sparks is guaranteeing some tragic event, Danielle Steel is most often some down in her luck heroine with expensive things meeting an unlikely price charming, Evanovich with her Plum series is all about an unlikely bounty hunter and the scrapes she continually finds herself in… And Picoult, who used to be a favorite of mine is all drama wrapped up in a social commentary of sorts - school shootings, the death penalty, suicide, it’s all fair game and it’s all likely to be an open ending.

Is it the curse of a prolific author to be drawn to the same story over and over? Maybe. I truly believe you write things you want to read. But I also think some of it is pure laziness - it's easy to repackage something that already works. Hell, half my job is to think of a new way to sell the same products. There's only so many ways you can write a love story.

So get to discussing... I'm interested on your take.

Book Club April Book

So I don't think I told anyone but the book is Mansfield Park by Jane Austin. I just started and it's ok... in all honesty I haven't been motivated to read so that could be it. I'll let you know what Book Club thinks but if you read it too - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Book Review: The English American

I picked The English American because the author will be at the book festival I've been thinking about going to this weekend. It sounded like it could be interesting - a story about an English girl who was adopted from America.

So what do I think? This book is interesting to me - part of it made me want to keep reading and I devoured the first half quite quickly. The second half of the book dragged. I found myself wanting to shake Pippa. She seemed to naively bounce along and do exactly what everyone else wanted her to do just because she was English and apparently English people don't stand up for themselves and hide their emotions.

I think this book tried to be too many things:
- A take on the cultural differences between Americans and British people. The British according to Larkin are reserved, quite, don't share their feelings, etc. Americans by contrast are loud (most in the book are downright obnoxious), pushy, and overly emotional.
- A slight political rant on whether or not England and the US should be in the Iraq war.
- The feelings an adopted person goes through growing up and deciding to search for their birth parents.
- A romance.

There are probably more subplots but that's all I can think of at the moment. I think the book would have served a much better purpose to pick one or two things and go with that. The part about Pippa being liberal and against Bush and the war really served no purpose in the book other than to have a few spats with friends and her birth-father.

The romance in the book feels contrived and the "surprise" ending wasn't much of a surprise. It was pretty much romance book writing 101 - does she fall for the jerky guy she's been lusting after or the friend who is always there for her. I won't tell you who but I'm sure anyone who has read much Chick Lit can figured it out.

I felt like the ending in general was a major let down - it was this big build up to will Pippa finally wake up and realize who she is and fall in love, etc. and the book quickly wraps everything up in about twenty pages.

The cultural differences were interesting but very stereotypical. I just don't think every English person is reserved and quiet and all Americans are brash, arrogant over-sharers. As an American, I felt like we were painted in a very bad light. Larkin has apparently spent time in the US but was raised elsewhere. I would hope her experience with Americans has not been so crazy. It would be as if I wrote a book about typical stereotypes of English people or Canadians, or French people... it was a lot like a horoscope to me - all Americans are this and all British are this. I've read other books by British authors and never came away with quite the same take on the British (who in this book I felt came off in a bad light as well - as a bunch of push-overs who quietly go along accepting their lot in life). I liked the language differences a lot - the difference between a pocketbook and a wallet for example - and the fact that apparently Fig Newtons don't exist in England.

Although it says in the back of the book that the author Alison Larkin was adopted as well and shares a similar story to Pippa - I felt like Larkin had read a book on how adoptees feel and tossed every stereotype imaginable into the work. Pippa loves but feels unconnected to her family (the ones that adopted her), she has issues with abandonment, she doesn't let people close to her, her (adopted) family doesn't understand her, she feels guilty for talking to her birth family, her birth family when she meets them suddenly get her and love her instantly... It felt contrived.

Let's talk about Pippa's birth parents for a second. Pippa finds them and meets them - Billie and Walt. Walt is a self-centered politician (they never really say what he does but he works in DC in the government so lets just say politician). He's cheated on his wife with Billie, who ended up getting pregnant and they gave the baby up to not hurt his career. He claims to have loved Billie but later you learn that he had a son with his wife the same year Billie had Pippa. Pippa is immediately infatuated by him despite the fact that he seems stand-offish and is obviously a people user. Billie on the other hand, works with art somehow - her job seems very fluid. Pippa is also drawn to her. She moves in with her shortly after meeting her - which just seems weird. Billie is from Georgia and from the very beginning seems like she has some sort of mental disorder. She's spacey, she over-shares, she's downright trashy. If I was Pippa I would have been on the next plane back to England. But instead she tries again and again to make it work with them and suffers through both of their antics far too long.

I would say the book is 2 out of 5 stars. For me it would have faired much better as young adult literature or if Larkin could have tightened up the story a bit. The book starts strong but flounders miserably halfway through. I only finished it to see exactly what happened to Pippa and I won't say I wasn't tempted to just skip to the end.

Get Reading I

If you don't know by now that I love reading then you haven't been reading this blog too closely. I've been thinking back to that post on the BBC book list and how the point was that most people hadn't read those books or even a portion of those books. Anyway, I figured from now on I'm going to start posting a list of a few books a month I think are decent enough you should give them a read. Some may be more fluff than substance, some might be classics... it's whatever I'm feeling and whenever I get around to it (hey I'm not committing to a day on this - sorry!).

So here's my first list. Read them all or pick and choose. I will say I will have read every book that makes my Get Reading Lists just I might not have read them recently.

1. Gone With The Wind - I have to say this is one case where I like the movie better than the book but it's a classic - you have to have read it once.

2. My Sister's Keeper - I think after awhile Jodi Picoult books get to all sounding the same but that being said - this is the first book of hers I ever read and I think it is probably one of the best ones she wrote.

3. The Time Traveler's Wife - My book club gave this mixed reviews but I still love it.

4. Persuasion - I did not want to read this book one bit. But I loved it. It is by far one of my favorite Jane Austin books.

5. Wuthering Heights - Love it. Hands down one of my favorite books. Who wants to go see the movie?

Week 10 of the 52 Week Challenge

Only 42 more weeks to go! So this week I'm going to be slightly selfish and make the goal something that might force me to do something. This week you have to do something you wouldn't normally do.

This could be saying yes to drinks with an acquittance. Buying that camera you've been eyeing (that's me but not sure I'll pull the trigger). Signing up for a yoga class. Whatever... think outside of your box.

For me? Well the camera could make my list but I'm not sure I want to spend the money. And I did pull the trigger on a piece of art at the craft show yesterday (I can't pick it up until May) but still that was big for me - usually I'll say I'll think about it and then never do anything.

But what I'm really debating about (and I can't say I would never go) is there is a book festival and writing classes next Saturday about an hour from here. The classes I picked are free so it isn't the costs. Its forcing myself to do something alone (I don't really know anyone that's as hardcore into writing that they want to sit through classes most of the day). Their website and my writing group all make it sound very interesting and pretty unique that they have writers teaching classes for free. And my goal this year is to actually write something I can start editing to be published, so this could really help me. The thing is if the classes/festival were in town I wouldn't think twice about going. Since I have to drive to a new city and figure out the hotel, etc. I'm a bit more nervous. So I'm hoping this goal will force me to go - or I might just have to go buy a very expensive camera so I can say I completed it.

Babysitter's Club Is Back

If you grew up in the 80's I don't think its possible that you didn't read The Baby-Sitter's Club series. I for one loved it. I remember trying to figure out how I could start my own baby-sitters club - it didn't matter I was probably 8 at the time. People trusted me of course I could watch their children!! I did end up baby-sitting (when I was older) - I still do occasionally.

So I was pretty excited that I read on CNN today that they are re-releasing all The Babysitter Club books and they are writing a prequel. Read the article here and here is the official Baby-Sitter Club site. While I am way to old to be starting up a baby-sitter's club now I do not believe I'm too old to put my name on the request list for this book at the library. I've requested more embarrassing stuff than this (Twilight series for one). I for one cannot wait to reminisce about a part of my childhood.

PS My favorite characters were Claudia, Stacey and Dawn. Can you have three favorites? I don't know but I did.

Book Review: One for the Money Janet Evanovich

This lady at work is always asking me about books - she knows I read a lot and that my friend and I have a book club. I secretly think she wants an invite to book club but I could be wrong. Anyway, every now and then she comes by with books I "have to read". It started with Jane Austen's Persuasion. I dutifully took the book and thought the whole way home, now I have to read this boring English Class book so I can tell her I liked it. I was delightfully surprised. Persuasion is one of my all time favorite books. Next up on her list is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. She apparently loves them and is always trying to get me to read them. I've been hesitant for awhile (two years) - for one, this is a big commitment there are like 15 some books (at least) about Stephanie Plum (luckily enough the numbers are in the title), and two mysteries aren't really my thing.

I felt bad putting her off all the time so I finally checked out book one (One for the Money) at the library. It looked short and I figured if I read one or two it might make her happy. It's an easy read but not necessarily a good read. I could be bias since I'm not a huge mystery person but I just wasn't that into the story. I didn't think it was that good of a mystery. There weren't enough clues along the way to help the reader figure out what was going on. The ending was a surprise but everything wrapped up so neatly after the big killer's reveal, I was left thinking - what??

Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny (one scene in particular where she is trying to tell someone she is really busy but all she wants to do is buy a blender to score free daiquiri mix). Others are just a little bit predictable.

The basic storyline is that Stephanie has just been let go from her job at a lingerie company. She is broke, behind on bills and needs a job. So, she asks her cousin to let her be a bounty hunter for his bail bonds company. I could be wrong but I didn't think bounty hunting was a job you could just decide to do. Her first case is tracking down Joe Morelli, a cop who is charged with killing someone and skipped his bail. My second thought is, if bounty hunting is a job you can just start doing - would you really start by tracking down someone accused of murder? The rest of the story is about her adventure trying to learn how to be a kick-ass bounty hunter, solve the mystery of whether Morelli is guilty, all while trying to track him down and get him to the police so she can collect her reward.

The book is good for a lazy long weekend. It wouldn't be my favorite book or favorite mystery. I wished for a little bit more substance. The story is easy enough to follow and I'm pretty sure you could probably jump in and read any book from the series and be able to keep up. I did go and get the second book just to see if the story got any better... but that is another blog.

Two or three stars out of five. If you're interested I would check it out from the library before I bought it. I don't think it's something you would read twice.

February Book Club Pick

Last year this time my friend SP and I decided to start a book club. I can't brag too much because starting a book club is pretty easy. You find a few friends, you get some apps and drinks and pick a book to read and discuss. This will be my sort of online book club. I'll tell you our picks for the month. You read them and then we can discuss.

For February we're reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

Happy Reading!

Twilight Blah....

Ok so I was going to post a book review but on the way home Cocktails with Patrick (Sirius 111) was talking about Twilight - the books and the movie. And if I knew Patrick I would freaking kiss him (I love him anyway because he makes my ride home a little bit better) but he finally said what I've been thinking forever - Twilight is garbage. Now before all the Twilight fans throw stones at me (or blood).... let me back up my statement.

I will first off say I don't know if the movies are bad (Patrick said New Moon was a complete waste of time and I tend to agree with him because I wouldn't be caught dead in that theater) but I can't talk about the movies because I hated the books so much there is no way in hell I'd sit through those movies.

So let's discuss the books. First, they aren't my typical read. 1. I'm not a teenage girl 2. I'm not into vampires and 3. I just don't typically read sci-fiction (are vampires and werewolves sci-fi?). But since I kept hearing about how these are the best books ever and it seemed like as big of deal as Harry Potter (and I've read all of those) I figured I'd give it a try. Harry Potter books and Twilight books don't even deserve to be in the same category. Harry Potter books are well-writen, have great plots and basically are just all around better books. Think of this way - it's one thing to have one really well-written book, it's another to have seven books that not only work together but stand-alone and all have plots to them.

So let me start by saying I read all four of the Twilight books (or whatever the series is called). I thought ok I didn't like the last one but let's see it has to get better because people really like them. My reccommendation is they don't get better and it's a complete waste of time and paper.

Here are my problems with the books:

1. Bella has absolutely no life outside of Edward. And Edward for a 100's of year old vampire has little life or interest outside of Bella. Let's get real for a second - teenage girls don't need to read some dribble about how this poor girl can't live without Edward's love. Give me a break. Does she even have other friends, can she join a sports team or get a job?

2. The whole plot of all four books can basically be boiled down to this... Bella loves Edward. Bella is human. Edward is a vampire. Edward against his better judgment loves Bella. They can be together. They can't be together. Bella might love Jacob (who happens to be a werewolf who is supposed to kill vampires). Following along still? Bella gets into more scraps than anyone I know. The girl has some serious bad luck. But not to worry the good "vegeterian" vampires (Edward and his family) will save her just in the knick of time. So this drags on for four books. Before Edward and Bella get married, have a half-vampire/half-human child, narrowly avoid getting destroyed by the head vampires before they can go live happily ever after as vegeterian vampires together (Edward has to "save" Bella's life by turning her into a vampire). Ok... really? I could turn those four books into one book... or look I did it in one paragraph. This drags on and on like a bad soap opera. It's a will they/won't they of high school proportions.

3. The books just aren't that well-written. No offense. I'm sorry. I know I don't have any best-seller books published but get an editor and 1. cut dialogue and descriptions you don't need (the books could be a 100 pages shorter) and 2. edit - meaning don't repeat yourself six thousand times. I get it Bella smells good to Edward and Edward is basically this dreamy pale white hunk.

I just wish if someone is going to write a book for teenage girls it would have some kind of plot to it that they can learn from. This isn't 1955 here, girls need to know that 1. they can have a job and stand on their own two feet and 2. being in love isn't the end all goal that you should have in life. Being in love is nice but having a life outside of that is pretty good too. Besides I imagine in five years or so Bella and Edward aren't going to have much to talk about to each other since all they do is hang out with each other. Boring!

So I'm sorry if I offended any Twilight fans but I just don't get it. I've also read Stephanie Meyers other book The Host - just as a quick summary so this blog isn't too long. It's basically a rework of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Aliens take over our planet and our bodys using us as host. Humans have to fight for the right to live against the parasites but at the same time learn that the aliens aren't all bad. It was ok. I'm not going to reccomend it because out of five stars I'd probably give it two. I ended up skimming the end because like Twilight it drags.

So my title sums it up for me Twilight was just blah. Save a tree and don't even check those books out from the library.