Bookworm Bloggin

I finished this book the other day:

White Girl Problems by Babe Walker


This book...I wasn't sure if I would want to keep this book on the shelf or get rid of it the second I read it. I think I had a "book crush" on this book from the time I read the dedication page,
"For Me."
Awesome.
I loved the fact that she wrote it about herself, for herself, without a lot of crap behind it or the really mushy stuff. haha. Not that I would know who I would dedicate a book to, but just sayin'.

This book was very real yet unbelievable at the same time. I guess I say that because of one of the defining factors of the book - I, unlike the author, did not come from a home/life of privilege. There were things in there (as well as some of the fashion designer names) that were so unbelievable that they seemed unreal. Like, how in the WORLD could that have EVER happened to ANYONE?!
There were parts of the book that were a little more sexually graphic than I would have liked (something I keep running into oddly enough). Like, odd-to-be-reading-on-the-bus-surrounded-by-complete-strangers-book, if, given the completely oddly based fear that any one of them could read my thoughts, read what I was reading, and judge me harshly. But seriously guys - people in the bus totally creep on what you are doing/reading on your phone/kindle/nook/iPad/paper/book, whatever. I am totally guilty on a few occasions. One time I didn't even realize I was doing it until they "turned the page" on their Kindle and I was like oh - yeah...this is not my book...You are not reading that... (I was standing in the aisle and they were sitting down - easy to read what they were reading. It probably helped my cause because the woman had her font set at a very large setting).

So, the verdict on this book is that it will stay on the bookshelf for now - I feel I could want to re-read this book again sometime down the road. For now.

-LD

Bookworm Bloggin'

Hello? Spring? Is that you?
Oh no, it's just Minnesota's Spring - very different from that of a normal springtime...
Haha - Mother Nature sure likes to torment us with the fluffy white stuff, doesn't she?
Well, in acceptance of weather patterns out of my control, I am pleased to provide you with some of my most recent reads - rundown style.

I will tell you right off the bat, two of these books that I just finished stayed on my bookshelf (not an easy feat to accomplish in my mind, especially these days when I am trying to par down on the amount of books I have lining my shelves and collecting dust - in my quest to go (mostly) reading-digital by the end of the year 2013).

Without further ado, I give you:

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo

This is one of those books that I really have tried to stay away from. It seems like every so often, a herd of them storm through the Best Seller's List as the greatest, most true thing since...well, anything. I have read a couple similar books in the past and found that they tried too hard, or sounded fake, or just weren't up to snuff. This book on the other hand, seems to be completely, Real. I find myself still thinking about parts of the book here and there since reading it. Especially about this photo that was described and included in the book as to what Jesus really looks like in Heaven:

Without having been there myself, how am I to know? But I guess I am using this photo as a stand-in for my visual-learning-self in the meantime. 

Anyway, if you want a quick, funny, real read that makes you wonder about  the end of yours, or your loved ones' days, pick up this book and pass it along. I intend on passing it along in the near future. So, you could call this one a KEEPER for me, although I will be passing it along to someone else more than likely very soon!

Secondly:

The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein

This book was really good too. I had picked up this book at a Goodwill because I had seen so many copies of it there over time, that I was curios about the title, and the dog on the front cover (yep, totally judged this one by the title and the cover, just sayin'.)

First off, I didn't know a thing about the book and I did not read the back of the book before starting to read it. After reading a few sentences, I said, hey, wait a second...and read the back of the book. The book is told from the point of view of the dog. That totally threw me for a loop before I figured that out. 

Once I got that down, the book was a quick read and I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next and look forward to the next time I was going to be reading it again and get to the end. I also saved some room for this one on the shelf as well to hang on to. I really liked it - beginning, middle and end. Really good read, and not as sad and cheesy as Marley and Me, and a lot of those other books of man's best friend, man's best friend bonding with people and man's best friend dying, sadly...Dog lovers, I recommend this one to you as you curl up with your pooch on a drizzly day. It made me look at Tucker, and ask, "Do you think that about me?!" It was funny because when I actually asked Tucker that once, he looked up at me once like he understood me and knew what I was talking about. Silly puppy. I might need to look into the other books that he has written - once I make the move to my Kindle/phone.

The latest book I am reading right now is:

Love The One You're With by Emily Giffin

I am already learning that I am sort of "over" this author. She takes everything right to sex and I am sick of her stories always heading there first. I do like her writing style other than that - so that is probably what keeps me coming back. This is one of the larger of her books that I have read so far. I only have one more in my stack of hers to read (Heart of the Matter). Then, I might part ways with Giffin for a bit. I have already read most of her other books - the Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof books. Might as well round it off for now, eh?

So there is my current book status. I feel like I might have missed one more in there, but can't remember which one it could have been.

OH - look what I just found right across the street from my parent's old house!!!:

A Little Free Library!! I was SO excited to see this the last time that I was over! I grabbed one book from it already and brought a small handful of others over to donate to the library! I SO am making one of these someday! love love love them!

Happy Reading!

-LD

Bookworm Bloggin'

Just a quick update to let you know which books I have just finished reading:

'Tis by Frank McCourt

This was another memoir from Frank McCourt. I wasn't going to read this one because the first one was so depressing and oddly written, but I saw it at a Goodwill for 50 cents and I figured, why not. If I don't like it - I can put it in my SwapStack!

I did end up liking this one a bit better than the first memoir he wrote. I liked hearing more about his story once he came over to America. So, now I can say that I have read it, and it will be going into my SwapStack for someone else to enjoy (and P.S., my SwapStack is getting bigger and bigger by the minute...I ran out of room in my one (literal) stack of books under the desk. I might need to clear it out soon...maybe go visit a little free public library soon!

The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts


This is the first book I have read by Billie Letts. And oddly enough, I did not realize that she is the author who also wrote Where The Heart Is (as well as the screenplay) until I was finished with the book and looking more closely at the cover of the book! Guess I didn't really 'judge this book by the cover' as much as some of the other books I have read!

This book was a nice, quick read. It reads closely to what I now know to be her first book, Where The Heart Is. I read the discussion questions at the end of the book as well - questions to the author and her answers. Apparently she writes a lot of the same types of characters and scenarios, so, chances are, if you liked Where The Heart Is, or the Honk And Holler Opening Soon, you may want to grab her other two books she has written and read those too! I enjoyed this one for the quick read that it was - it kept me turning the pages and wanted to read to the end when I had about 40 pages left last night, but not a Keeper book for me - to the SwapStack - side pile. haha

The next book I plucked from my stack is:
Pure Fiction by Julie Highmore

I started reading this on the bus this morning and it was a little odd jumping into this book. It started out oddly to me. Maybe that is a European thing - the author is European and has sprinkled the book with things from the land abroad. We shall see.

One more book closer to me going electronic to my Kindle! I think my next electronic purchase might have to be a Kindle Fire. One of the first books that I read on my Kindle was a Cake Wrecks book - and it would have been much more entertaining to see some of those god-awful cakes in color! Oh Derick....a big Birthday present hint for you to get me this year!! Haha!

Happy Reading, friends!
What books/magazines are you reading right now?
LD

Book-It

Happy New Year 2013!

To kick-off the year this year, why not kick-start it with a book review post (shocker, I know).

I finished a few books all written by the same author, Emily Giffin. As you may recall from my last post ages ago, I was going to start reading her first book of the duo - Something Borrowed. I read that book and then jumped right into the next book, and then the next. 

Something Borrowed

Something Blue

Baby Proof

I have also signed up to get two more of her books delivered to be from Paperback Swap. I have one of them already - waiting its turn on my bookshelf, and the other is on its way to me from somewhere in the USA. 

All three of these books were quick, not too exciting reads. Fluff reads. And wow, I must have a tendency to pick some rather slutty books lately - if you can call a book slutty. I mean geez - sex this and sex that...at one point or two during these books I had to check to make sure I wasn't reading 50 Shades of Grey or to make sure that no one was reading over my shoulder. wow. I am not sure why I feel compelled to read more of the author's work. The books didn't do a whole lot for me, but keep me interested slightly and let my brain totally wander and be "fluffed" for the short time they captured and held my attention (until I was finished reading them). Overall, pretty forgettable at the end of the day, so all three are sitting on the top of my SwapStack. Which, I must say, is getting rather tall under my desk - as in, it is almost TOUCHING the desktop from the floor underneath to the underside of the desktop. I need to unload some of these things fast. Might be time to stop by the "Little Free Library" that my friend told me is close to her house! Maybe take 4 or 5 of them over there and see if I can swap any of them out for something more entertaining to read that I have not read yet. You never know what you might find in those I imagine.

I am not sure what my next book will be on my nightstand, but as always, I have a healthy amount to choose from! But I imagine that stack will slowly transfer to the SwapStack and I will need to go in search of more books closer to spring or summer. Until then, Happy Reading!

LD

Book Update

Once again, I have flew through another couple of books to share with you:

Such A Pretty Fat, by Jen Lancaster

Yet another installment of the hilarious Jen Lancaster. Man, these books make me laugh out loud! Such a fun read! I have kept the other two of her books that I have read, but this one I will be lending to a friend at work, then it is hitting my swap stack. I like it a lot, but am being very choosy about which books I am keeping vs ones that I can afford to get rid of in the meantime. 

Book summary from amazon.com

"To whom the fat rolls…I'm tired of books where a self-loathing heroine is teased to the point where she starves herself skinny in hopes of a fabulous new life. And I hate the message that women can't possibly be happy until we all fit into our skinny jeans. I don't find these stories uplifting; they make me want to hug these women and take them out for fizzy champagne drinks and cheesecake and explain to them that until they figure out their insides, their outsides don't matter. Unfortunately, being overweight isn't simply a societal issue that can be fixed with a dose healthy of positive self-esteem. It’s a health matter, and here on the eve of my fortieth year, I've learned I have to make changes so I don't, you know, die. Because what good is finally being able to afford a pedicure if I lose a foot to adult onset diabetes?"

Something Borrowed, by Emily Griffin

It was funny that I actually picked up this book (as well as the second and third book in the series that I know of) because I hadn't heard anything much about it other than it was a 'guilty pleasure' read. This novel has also been made into a movie:

So, it will be next on my list to see that one probably. I thought this book was alright - pretty long for what it was, but it made sense. I am interested to see what the other two books expand on from this piece of chick lit. This one was funny, a very fast read, but will also hit the swap stack.

Book summary from amazon.com:

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship. But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

Books books books

Update on the books that I have read. Oddly enough, I am finding that more and more of the books that I want to read, are quickly adding to the swap stack under my desk...

The latest books that I have finished reading:

The Idiot Girls' Action Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro

description from Amazon.com:

"I’ve changed a bit since high school. Back then I said no to using and selling drugs. I washed on a normal basis and still had good credit.”
Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that’s before she even puts on a bra.
For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised that she woke up in the first place.
The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls (“too cool to be in the Smart Group”) unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously. She delivers the goods: life as we all know it.

My take:
I thought the book was a quick, quirky, funny read, but just a book that I would read only one time. Off to the swap stack with you!

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

description from Amazon.com:

It's been a long summer for Goldy Schulz, who is engaged in planning a wedding reception for Aspen Meadow's nuttiest bridezilla. But then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend of Goldy's godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the local spa—allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.
So Goldy adds more work to her plate and dons chef's whites to go undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of smoothies. But if she doesn't find the clever killer on the spa grounds who's watching her every move, catering weddings and cooking low-fat food might just be the death of Goldy Schulz . . .
And enjoy Goldy's delectable recipes, including fatally flaky cookies and nutcase cranberry-apricot bread!

My take:
This was a bad comparison to the series I love love love from Joanne Fluke - the Murder She Baked Mystery series. This book was pretty lame and too long for what it was and how long it took to get to the point. Off to the swap stack with you too!

Running in Heels by Anna Maxted

description from Amazon.com:

"To say that Babs has been my closest friend for sixteen years is rather like saying that Einstein was good at sums. We were blood sisters from the age of eleven (before my mother prized the razor out of Babs's hand)."
But now Babs, noisy and as fun as a day at the beach, is getting married. And Natalie Miller, twenty-seven, senior press officer for the London Ballet, panics. What happens when your best friend pledges everlasting love to someone else?
It doesn't help that Nat is dating a guy named Saul Bowcock. As the confetti flutters, her good-girl veneer cracks, and she falls into an alluringly unsuitable affair that spins her crazily out of control. Nat is on the rebound and allergic to the truth—about Babs's relationship, her boyfriend's ambition, her parents' divorce, and her golden-boy brother's little Australian secret. Her mother's lasagna and her roommate Andy's fuzzy slippers are also monstrous affronts. But what Nat really needs to face is the mirror—and herself . . . .
Wickedly witty and refreshingly honest, Running in Heels is a hilarious look at the lies we tell ourselves—and the unwanted truths that only our best friends can tell us.

My take:
OMG - could this book BE any longer?! I was just wanting this book to be over. it was bad, like stupid, and if I said that the one prior to this took a long time to get to the point, then this one took that times infinity longer to get to the point, without much of anything there to keep you reading ugh. snooze. Swap. Stack.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

description from Amazon.com:

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts on an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey.

My take:
This book was NOTHING like what I had assumed it would be. I had seen the movie trailer for it and thought it would be more along the lines of the amazon.com description, but it was so weird in there and really hard to follow and figure out who was talking when and to whom. I am not even sure that I want to see the movie now...swap stack...

Book Binging

Hey there!

I just wanted to give you a quick review on the two latest books that I have devoured on my bus rides to and from work:

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt


This book was one of the strangest books that I have read. It is first and foremost a memoir - which I find very tragic. There was no break to tell when people were talking - no quotation marks at all - so that took some getting used to - to try and sort out who was talking to whom and when. It was such a sad, sad, sad desperate, lonely book. I read this book because I had heard it was a really good book - and possibly one that some schools were reading. After reading this book, I sure hope no kids read this book! Scandalous and pretty dark through the majority of the book.

Summary from Wikipedia:
Angela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New Yorkand Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's drinking issues, and his mother's attempts to keep the family alive. Angela's Ashes was published in 1996 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. A sequel to the book, 'Tis, was published in 1999, and was followed by Teacher Man in 2005.

I actually picked up the sequel, Tis, in Godwill just the other day. So, we'll see how that goes!
This book will go into my Swap Stack, but it was an interesting read.

The second book that I read - completely the other side of the spectrum:
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (wrote the Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing)


This book was more of a happy fun time book to read after reading Angela's Ashes. It was much much needed! It was a fun read, really quick, but not too memorable or relateable. 

Summary from Amazon.com:
The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing returns with the story of three best friends who vow to change their entire lives...and change them fast.

Emmy is newly single, and not by choice. She was this close to the ring and the baby she's wanted her whole life when her boyfriend left her for his twenty-three-year-old personal trainer -- whose fees are paid by Emmy. With her plans for the perfect white wedding in the trash, Emmy is now ordering takeout for one. Her friends insist an around-the-world sex-fueled adventure will solve all her problems -- could they be right?

Leigh, a young star in the publishing business, is within striking distance of landing her dream job as senior editor and marrying her dream guy. And to top it all off, she has just purchased her dream apartment. Only when Leigh begins to edit the enfant terrible of the literary world, the brilliant and brooding Jesse Chapman, does she start to notice some cracks in her perfect life...

Adriana is the drop-dead-gorgeous daughter of a famous supermodel. She possesses the kind of feminine wiles made only in Brazil, and she never hesitates to use them. But she's about to turn thirty and -- as her mother keeps reminding her -- she won't have her pick of the men forever. Everyone knows beauty is ephemeral and there's always someone younger and prettier right around the corner. Suddenly she's wondering...does Mother know best?

These three very different girls have been best friends for a decade in the greatest city on earth. As they near thirty, they're looking toward their future...but despite all they've earned -- first-class travel, career promotions, invites to all the right parties, and luxuries small and large -- they're not quite sure they like what they see...

One Saturday night at the Waverly Inn, Adriana and Emmy make a pact: within a single year, each will drastically change her life. Leigh watches from the sidelines, not making any promises, but she'll soon discover she has the most to lose. Their friendship is forever, but everything else is on the table. Three best friends. Two resolutions. One year to pull it off.

This one will also hit my Swap Stack - though I own both of the other two books she has written.

I laughed a couple of times through the book, but it was just a quick, fun read. 

Happy Reading!

LD

Busy Little Book Worm

The latest of my novel conquests is The Heroines, by Elieen Favorite. First of all, how cool of a last name is Favorite?!

Secondly, this was one of the books that I found while searching the Swap Site. The book summary caught my attention and sounded like it would be an interesting read:

In the padlocked attic she'd hidden all her books on shelves with locked pine doors. One never knew who might show up and in what state. The last thing you wanted was for Anna Karenina to discover accidentally that she was bound to take her own life on the railroad tracks...' Watergate is breaking news, but at the Prairie Bluff boarding house in rural Illinois, there are more immediate concerns...Emma Bovary has arrived unannounced - and distraught - and Anne-Marie and her daughter Penny have torn themselves away from the television coverage to attend to their new guest. But if there's one rule at Prairie Bluff, it's never meddle in the lives of the Heroines, however cruel the destinies to which they are bound. There's nothing to be done for poor Emma, immersed in her narrative crisis, save for the provision of tea, a tirelessly sympathetic ear, and clean linens...Adolescent angst isn't a patch on beautiful and grief-stricken- and Penny, a moody thirteen, knows she's no competition for her mother's attentions against these ethereal creatures. Hurt and excluded, and frustrated by her mother's passivity in the face of Emma's terrible fate, Penny strikes out across the Prairie to cool her hot head. But when she arrives at the forbidden woods, she's in no mood to obey her mother's second rule, never to enter - and soon finds herself in a world of very real heroes and villains, an unwilling heroine in her very own terrifying story... [Amazon.com]

The book was a pretty quick read - something that was more odd than other books I had read before - an interesting idea of classic novel heroines coming to visit in the storyteller's present day - and they were not allowed to interfere with the heroine's story line. Obscure, but interesting. This book went back on my Swap Pile, because once read, for me, it was a simple read and return type of book. Speaking of which - I should probably get out my library card and go peruse those shelves instead of purchasing books, even IF they are being purchased at Goodwill.

-LD

Readin' Queen

One more book down - the last of my Nicholas Sparks books that was in my stack:

I think I have seen the movie based on this book and didn't much care for the movie. The book also wasn't the greatest Sparks I have read either. Funny, considering it was one of the first ones that he wrote, following  The Notebook and A Walk To Remember. Both of those books are on my "for keeps" shelf at the moment. 

From the website:

Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, discovers it during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with, “My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together….” For Garrett, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Challenged by the mystery, and driven to find Garrett by emotions she does not fully understand, Theresa begins a search that takes her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation. Brought together either by chance or something more powerful, Theresa and Garrett’s lives come together in a tale that resonates with our deepest hopes for finding everlasting love. Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity, Message in a Bottle takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love. For those who cherished The Notebook and readers waiting to discover the magic of Nicholas Sparks’s storytelling, here is an achingly lovely novel of happenstance, desire, and the choices that matter most.

I also found it interesting that there is a "Did You Know" section about his books on the website:

Did You Know...

Theresa was named after Nicholas’s agent, Theresa Park?

The novel was sold to Warner Brothers when it was only half complete?

The first draft of the screenplay was finished on the same day the novel was finished?

So that is what the book is about. It is going into my Swap Pile though - not a book that I need to keep around any longer. 

I feel like I might be in a reading funk at the moment. 

I got through this book to get through it. At times it held my attention, and it was a pretty easy 300-ish page read to go through on my commute. I do have to say, it is enjoyable to have the option to spend about 40 minutes in a book on the way to/from work every day if I want.

Next on the docket is:

The Heroines by Elieen Favorite

Come to think of it, I have accumulated quite the stack of books under the desk in the office, waiting for the right swapper to request them from me. The more I see them sitting there, the more I want to build one of these at my parent's lake place:

A Little Free Library. Check it out, I think it's an awesome idea!

And how perfect would that be right at a cabin?! I think it would be a great place - especially since there are people around my parents' cabin who stay year-round, and I am sure there would be some great books that show up there from time to time - and I could stock it with my stack of books right now!

-Happy Reading!

LD

Bus Book Club

It has been awhile since I have posted in general, but it has also been awhile since I have posted about books I have read while commuting to and from work.

Over the past few weeks, I have read:

There's A (slight) Chance I Might Be Going To Hell by Laurie Notaro

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

See, told you it's been awhile!

But all that voracious reading hasn't exactly stopped me from frequenting the Goodwill locations near me to find some great new reading material.

As you can see a few Goodwill stickers peeking out of the stack, between Goodwill and PaperBack Swap, I'd say they are both going to do just fine keeping me in enough reading material to last me awhile.

And now, the reviews:

There's A (slight) Chance I Might Be Going To Hell by Laurie Notaro

This was a book that caught my eye on PaperBack Swap. I am not entirely sure why I picked it out to be sent to me, probably the title made me laugh. I was reading one of Jen Lancaster's books right before this book, and to be honest, I didn't find Notaro to be remotely as funny as Lancaster. This is one of the weirdest books that I have ever read, I will tell you that. And for these "reviews," I will not go into the synopsis on each one, or we will be here for a week! This book went back on my 'Swap Stack,' to be enjoyed by another reader out there. Not a huge fan of this one and I would not read it again.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

This is a re-read book, to help weed thought my book collection I have spent much of my lifetime accumulating. This is one of those books that is a pretty quick, decent read. Though, I will admit, after reading so many Nicholas Sparks books back-to-back-to back, I was getting a little tired of our Mr. North Carolina-only writing style. I remember when I first read this book, I thought it was completely awful. I did not like any aspect of the book. But after reading it a second time and seeing the movie in between readings, I liked it more the second time around. But, this one is going in the 'Swap Stack' as to clear it from my shelf to make way for reads that I can see myself reading over and over again that are my true favorites.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

This book is also a re-read of my NS collection. This one fell into similar territory as Dear John for me. Although, when I was in the midst of reading this one, I was almost sure that I was going to keep it. That is, until the end came and I was so cheese-balled by the way the story wrapped up, I gladly ended the book and placed it on the 'Stack.' I have not and WILL not see the movie that has been made about this book, however. I am not sure why, but I have a strong dislike for anything staring Zac Efron. Yuck. Pass.

The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

Also on the list of re-read NS books that I had to conquer, this was one of the ones that made it back onto the keep shelf. I remembered why I had kept it in the first place after getting to a couple of parts in the middle to end of the book. The way that NS describes something in the book - why the wife wants the husband to go to church with her, touched me and I could really relate to that part of the book, and wished that I could so eloquently put it in the same light to my husband as NS did for his characters in the book. Heck, I might just tell Derick to sit in front of me, be quiet and I read to him that passage of the book because, really, that is how I feel about it too, and have for a long time. Though I think he knows, it would be good to say it out loud in that way too. Maybe I am just wishing for my Hollywood moment, but just the same, it should be said. 

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

Another gem by Lancaster. Seriously, if you have not read one of her books, you should go out and check-out, purchase or borrow one as soon as you can. She makes me laugh-out-loud. For REAL lol-ing, even on the BUS! The other day on my commute to work, I had a permagrin on my face reading some of the happenings of her life written on the pages. Just great. I actually got a lot of reading of this book done while on my new store opening business trip to Georgia (see later post to come about that). This one might be a keeper. I could see keeping all her books. Not that I would need to read them again, but just because they are awesome books. We shall see if I start running out of shelf space again when the time comes to weed though again or buy more shelves!!

I think that just about sums it up for this long post - I had to get you caught up on the books I had gone through while riding the bus to and from work. I had gone through even more books that even I had originally thought heading into this blog posting!

-LD

Book Review: Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office

Book Review time once again folks!
This time, another one of my Paperback Swap book arrivals: 

Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office

This one looked interesting to me right when I read the back cover online. There was something about the book cover and the title that totally gripped me right away. I wanted to see if the sassiness continued throughout, and so far, just a couple dozen pages in, it does not disappoint!

The description on the back of the book sums it up quite nicely, in her own words:

This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment...

It's a modern Greek tragedy, as defined by Roger Dunkle in The Classical Origins of Western Culture: a story  in which "the central character, called the tragic protagonist or hero, suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected."

In other words? The bitch had it coming. 

Right away, you know it is going to be a fun read when the book starts out just like the title and summary, and there are footnotes of her wit on almost every page, lying there in wait.

So I finished the book this weekend and it was every bit as good as I thought it was going to be by my initial read. I ALSO found out that she has written a bunch of other books:


 

So, of course, I will be needing to read them ALL!

-Happy Reading!
LD

Book Review: The Amazing Book of Useless Information

Book Review!

As you now know (from my last post), I am weeding my way through the books in my shelf (I will take a picture of my leaning tower and post it next). Well, in the midst of my pile-shortening of re-reading that has been taking place, a few of the books of my Paperback Swap site have become available and have also shipped to me. Partner that with my frequent Goodwill-ing, and I have added more books to the stack. *sigh. Not a bad deal for the reader in me though - riding the bus gives me plenty of downtime to dive into my latest book:

This is one fun book! It is written just like the title would let on - just useless facts, although this book is broken out by similar items throughout the book. There was a chapter on wine for instance, another about movies, etc. After the first couple of pages, I wished that I could Tweet all of the really neat things I found out about - but alas, most of them were above the character limit. I think this would be a great book for a road trip, plane trip, any type of travel really - you can start and stop pretty much anywhere, unless you are one of those sticklers for the I must stop at the ENDs only of chapters! Heaven forbid stopping mid-chapters of you out there.There are a bunch more of these books in the collection. This was one of my Swap books - and I have the original at home that just arrived yesterday! Joy!

-LD

Book Review - Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man

A friend gave me the following book, which I just finished reading:

This book made me laugh, nod my head and think more than most books have in awhile. As most of you know, it is very unlike me to pick up, much less pick up and read a self-help type book. This one was given to me by a friend with the advice, "Give it to your sister to read, it's a good read." It has been sitting on my nightstand for too long now, and in an effort to reduce the numbers of books I own, I am re-reading the ones I have and deciding if they are in fact keepers, or if they are the next to be listed on Paperback Swap.

The book, in essence, is everything that women want to know, straight from Steve Harvey's mouth. His take on the male perspective - why they do the things they do in the way in which they do them, what they need to stay in a committed relationship and much much more...Even if you are in a solid, good, relationship, I still recommend the book - it is an entertaining read. Chances are, when you are done reading the book, or even part way through it, you will know instantly, another person to pass it down to next! I passed it off to a coworker of mine and she also found herself nodding, smiling, and "Oh DANG-ing" her way through it.

I think of this book in just that way - not a keeper really, but one to be handed off to a girlfriend, coworker or family member who might just need an extra bit of insight. Some of the things in the book I wished I had known more even before I dated or thought of dating people!

Happy Reading!
LD

Book Review: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

My latest read was The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter tells the story of a man who gives away his newborn baby, who has Down syndrome to one of the nurses who helped deliver the baby and who has worked with the father, the doctor, at the clinic. For years, the father keeps the secret of his daughter - whom he tells his wife - the daughter died in birth. years and years later, the father dies and the nurse comes forward and tells the mother about the daughter who she has been taking care of all this time.


Honestly, this book was really hard for me to keep picking back up and reading. I am not sure really why that is. I had seen the book in bookstores and it had interested me - just the title and the cover image that was chosen for the book. I had not read a book by Kim Edwards before. The book's writing seemed detached for me. Not sure if it is because of the subject matter, that is just seemed too far out for me to be able to connect with it, or what. But then again, I think of the Twilight books, and other more outlandish books, and I had no trouble reading them and coming back for more. I would not read this book again. Though, after completing an image search for the book cover to show here, I saw that there was a movie made based on the book. I might have to check it out to see if it could offer me any more insight, or if I like it more than I did the book. 


Well, they can't all be winners. So, that's my take!
-LD

Book Review: The Help

I just finished reading The Help By Kathryn Stockett.

Brief overview of the book:
The Book takes place in 1962, Jackson, Mississippi. It unravels the relationships and the roles of being a black maid, looking after the families of the town's white women. The love between the maids and the children and the struggle between classes and defining lines between them.


I admire one of the main characters of the book - Skeeter (Eugena) Phalen. In the book, she is a 22-year old graduate from Ole Miss who longs to be a writer. After graduation, she returns home to her mother, who will not be satisfied until she is married.


Another one of the main characters in the book is Aibileen - a black maid who is wise and regal, raising her 17th white child. She is such a strong character and the author does a really great job of bringing them to life off the page.


In the book, throughout the course of events, Skeeter requests the help of Aibileen and other maids to tell their stories of the white women they work for. They change the names, but the stories stay true to the things they have lived through. Once the book is published on a short run, it slowly gains momentum and spreads across town. The maids guarded by their secrets, as well as being set free. The book tells a universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t, and the decisions we make to daily choose between them.


My Take:
I really enjoyed this book. At first, I was a little daunted by how large it seemed - close to 600 pages, but I dug in, mainly because I enjoyed the movie so much, and I had not had the chance to read the book beforehand. I am so glad I did. I love the characters in the book - there are such strong personalities that really come to life and I could easily imagine them myself, albeit the movie helped plunk people into their roles for the most part, although a couple of the characters from the movie cast differed from the book descriptions of them. I thought the book Skeeter and Hilly would have looked different than what the movie characters looked like. It does make me want to see the movie again and compare and pick up things I may have missed the first time. 

Book Report: Sarah's Key

Yesterday on the bus ride home, I finished my latest book. I received the book at Christmas from my parents and was really excited to get started reading it. 


The book is Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.

The brief summary of the book is 
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. 


The book really made me want to keep turning the pages. 'just one more page, just one more chapter,' I kept egging myself on to find out what happened next. The author does a really decent job of weaving in the old story and the new story, although I felt she left the little girl's story somewhat unfinished. It would have been a little more complete, in my eyes, if she would have given Sarah's story one more chapter before finishing off the book in the present day perspective. 


The author has written two more books: A Secret Kept and The House I Loved (not out until Feb 14, 2012). I want to get my hands on A Secret Kept to see if that one is just as good as this one. I need to be careful though, that I don't get sucked into reading the same type of story line book after book just because I think I like the author. I made that mistake with Nicholas Sparks. I  understand the theory about "writing what you know," but when EVERY SINGLE book he writes is in the SAME place, has just about the SAME characters, it gets old. Nevertheless, I have just about all of his books...if anyone's interested. 


Now the choice of what to read next. I have two big options, a Marilyn Monroe book Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by Randy Taraborrelli or the Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. That will be a tough decision! All I know is, that I need to choose one of these and get it read by mid February, when a couple of books I have been waiting for come out in stores! 


Happy Reading,
LD

My Name is Memory, book review

The latest book to have been read and returned to the library is My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares. She also wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books.

Anyway, This was one of the oddest books I have read. I guess I have a knack for choosing odd books, like the more recent read, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Basically, one of the main characters, Daniel, has the ability to remember all of his past lives he has lived and the souls of people he has met in those prior lives. He remembers, particularly one individual, whom he calls Sophia, and tries to find her in each lifetime because he falls in love with her in each lifetime he finds her. She is his love interest, but when she comes back in each lifetime, she has no "memory" of her past lives or whom Daniel is. She feels some kind of subtle connection to him in one of her more recent lives, but is not sure how that could be since they had not so much as spoken before.

It made me wonder a little bit about the whole "past lives" phenomenon and whether there was any validity in it at all. The book was an interesting read and really brought you into the book once more of the action began about 3/4 of the way through the book. The ending I was a little disappointed about, but, I think it ended that way for the sole reason of one's own speculation.

The next book I have been reading is Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler. I thought her comedy was pretty funny, and this, I believe, is her second book about her life. The book is pretty much just like her, funny and vulgar. It reads just as I would imagine a conversation with her would go. I have been laughing out loud when reading this book, and have another of her books, Are You There Vodka, It's Me, Chelsea next on the list. 

Basically, I can review this book now: It is a book about parts of Chelsea's life. Some of the crazy stunts she has pulled. I can say that I hope I am never "tested" by one of her "jokes." Some of them are just plain crazy! But the read is a quick, funny one that gives you insight into her life, makes you feel a little sorry for her, laugh hard, and then not feel sorry for her any more. I just picked it up to see what it was about and if the books were any good. Often times, I have found, or have bought into the stigma that books "written" by celebrities are often huge wastes of time, and the paper they are printed on. Seriously, Lauren Conrad, I am talking to you.  Here are Chelsea's thoughts on ... Being unpopular: "My parents couldn't have been more unreasonable when it came to fads or clothes that weren't purchased at a pharmacy." Living with her boyfriend:"He's similar to a large toddler, the only difference being he doesn't cry when he wakes up." 

Too funny!

-LD

Book Review: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

A brief overview:
On the eve of her ninth birthday, unassuming Rose Edelstein, bites into her mother’s homemade lemon-chocolate cake and discovers she has a magical gift: she can taste her mother’s emotions in the cake. She discovers this gift to her horror, for her mother—her cheerful, good-with-crafts, can-do mother—tastes of despair and desperation. Suddenly, and for the rest of her life, food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose.

The curse her gift has bestowed is the secret knowledge all families keep hidden—her mother’s life outside the home, her father’s detachment, her brother’s clash with the world. Yet as Rose grows up she learns to harness her gift and becomes aware that there are secrets even her taste buds cannot discern.
Is one of the strangest books I have ever read. It took me awhile to get into the book. For some reason or another, I kept confusing the main character's brother - Joseph with his best friend, George. Something else that caught me off-guard and made the book frustrating to read was the lack of any type of quotations or punctuation when people in the book were talking.

I had heard from a friend, that it was a good book, and added it to my mental list of "books to check-out at the library." Upon my visit to the library, my mental list vanished and I just went looking around at various books to pique my interest. I suddenly looked down and lo and behold, there was the book that my friend had told me about! I love it when things work out like that! So I scooped up that one as well as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and My Name is Memory.

What a great day to finish reading a book though! We went to bed around 1am this morning - just because we were both awake and busy doing things around the house. I was busy scanning in all of the pages of my "inspiration" 3-ring binders. I have four HUGE binders that hold magazine clippings, ads, articles, anything that drew inspiration at some point, cataloged and filed under common name groupings. I finished one entire binder last night. I had started the project a little after 3pm and finished up around the 1am marker. Anywho, the weather here turned stormy around 3 or 4am. At about 5:30 or 6, we were both wide awake and could not fall back asleep. I showered, made myself breakfast and snuggled up on the futon downstairs to finish the book.

I am looking forward to jumping into the next book. There has been a lot of talk more recently about the "series" of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books, so I am excited to see what all the fuss is really about!

Later today we will be driving over to WI for my cousin and sister's grad party (from college - even though my sister does not officially graduate until next December). But I suppose we will also be celebrating her engagement to Tyler there as well... I made some "specialty cupcakes" for the party - stay tuned for photos of those!

-LD

Water For Elephants Book Review

On my "Road Trip" in rural Iowa, I finished reading Water For Elephants. The book was pretty interesting. I thought it was vulgar in some parts for no real reason, but I understand the fact that I think the author wanted to get across that life in the circus is by no means prim and proper, but the way it was depicted at times, was a bit alarming. It was not a favorite book, but an alright read for something to take your brain on a vacation. I do not see myself reading this book again, but it does make me curious a little more now, to go and see the movie.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932.

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

That is all for today, just a quick book-review update!
-LD