Eh

I was really excited to read this book because I really like Julia Quinn's books, especially the Bridgerton series. But I really think Ms. Quinn peaked too early with the series. The second book, "The Viscount Who Loved Me," is one of my favorite romance novels, so really this eighth and final installment just couldn't compare.

It wasn't that it wasn't a good book, per se. Ms. Quinn's writing, along with Eloisa James's and Mary Balogh's, is the best in the Regency romance genre. But this book just felt like it was lacking in something I will call "Umph." After seven books reading about the Bridgerton siblings, I still felt like I didn't know much of anything about the hero. His personality was not distinct from the other Bridgerton characters. And the drive of this story was pretty much love and the different ways that people experience falling in love. Unfortunately, I wasn't really convinced that the hero and heroine loved each other as much as they said they did, basically because all they ever did was say it, over and over again. Back it up with something!

Also, I think I was a little disappointed because I was expecting more of a dramatic and unifying ending to the Bridgerton series. Ms. Quinn has written eight of them, and she writes about one book a year. I picked up on the fouth book, but that was still five years ago! I've been waiting a long time for this chapter to close, and I just wanted something more climatic.

But, if you've never read a Bridgerton book and you like romances that are clever and well-written, you'll like this book. But here is where it falls in my overall rating for the series:

1. The Viscount Who Loved Me
2. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
3. An Offer From A Gentleman
4. The Duke and I
5. It's In His Kiss
6. To Sir Phillip, With Love
7. On The Way To The Wedding
8. When He Was Wicked

Lindsey's Grade: B- (you're right Mike, I just can't do it!)

It Is Finished

Well, I finally finished "The Historian." For a while there it felt like I would be reading that book forever, but really that was mostly because I have a semi-job now and therefore not as much time to read. And even though I'm a fairly quick reader, I can't zip through 656 pages.

Now, I've heard mixed reviews about this book. It's gotten a lot of good press and attention, which made me buy it in the first place, but I read elsewhere that a lot of people were disappointed with the ending. I think I would have to disagree.

The sheer complexity and creativity of this story makes "The Historian" an engrossing and enjoyable read. It is essentially a book about the legend of Dracula, Vlad Tepes, a 15th century Prince of Wallacia. The characters in the book are historians who are basically researching their way through old archives all over Eastern Europe. One of the things I liked best about this book was how the author portrayed that part of the world with such beauty and history that it made me want to go there when before I had no interest in the area at all!

I'm not really one to read fantasy/magic/vampire books, but this one is subtle enough and presented in a classy way so that I didn't mind it at all.

Lindsey's Grade: A

Book Review: The Complete Book of Sushi

The Complete Book of Sushi by Hideo Dekura

I love sushi! The only problem is that it can be expensive and they don't have dollar sushi like in Japan. I chose this book because it received great reviews on Amazon and I've been very pleased with it so far. The step-by-step direction of how to make sushi rice was great! They also explain what to look for when selecting fresh fish and seafood. I successfully made six rolls on Sunday and they tasted awesome! The book goes beyond sushi with several soup recipes as well. So, for those of you who are nearby there may be sushi parties in the future so that I can keep practicing!

Thrift Store Finds

I don't like to buy books brand spankin' new so on weekends I frequent the many thrift stores in Boise. I've been very lucky on some occasions, finding some fairly recent books like David McCullough's 1776. This weekend I found a first edition copy of Jostein Gaarder's book Sophie's World. The book is a history of philosophy as seen and understood from the perspective of a little girl. It is extremely creative! I have read it twice and believe Forrest still has my copy somewhere which is why I picked up another.

The other book I was happy to find is Marian Keyes' chick lit novel Sushi for Beginners. No, it has nothing to do with sushi, a food I am in love with, but looked like an interesting afternoon read. For a buck fifty I am sure I will be entertained!

What thrift store reads have you found lately?

Who is reading what this summer

I came across an article in USA Today awhile ago that listed what some authors were planning to reading this summer. Here are just a few of them.

Jodi Picoult, author of The Tenth Circle

•Digging to America by Anne Tyler: "It's on my nightstand, and I keep looking at it and thinking, 'VACATION!' "

•We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg: "I savor Elizabeth Berg's books, and I have heard the story behind this one, which makes it even more tantalizing. The idea grew out of a story that Elizabeth heard from a fan about her own life. I love that idea of a transaction between reader and writer."

Sophie Kinsella, author of The Undomestic Goddess

•One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (to be published in the UK, where Kinsella lives, in July; in the USA in October): "I adored Case Histories, it had such dry humor and a page-turning story line - and this book features the same main character, Jackson Brodie."

•A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka: "The story of two sisters and the gold-digger who is after their aging father. I have heard it's very funny."

Wally Lamb, author of She's Come Undone

•The March by E.L. Doctorow, Ted Williams by Leigh Montville and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: "These are the books my wife has raved most about from the other side of our bed."

•Pushcart Prize XXX: Best of the Small Presses, 2006 Edition, edited by Bill Henderson: "One of my favorite summertime traditions is savoring the annual Pushcart Prize volume. This ever-reliable series harvests a bumper crop of the best American prose and poetry written in the previous year. The selections never fail to satisfy, amaze and illuminate life."

Eliot Schrefer, author of Glamorous Disasters

Brutal Journey: The Epic Story of the First Crossing of North America by Paul Schneider: "Because a recounting of the trek of a conquistador and his motley crew of 400 Spaniards, Caribbean natives and Africans across a searing and untamed American landscape - with only four of them surviving - just screams out fun beach read."

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue: "A 7-year-old is abducted by hobgoblins and replaced by a fairy twin: Don't you want to lie under the covers and have someone read it to you?"

John Grogan, author of Marley and Me

•The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan: "I've been a fan of Pollan's work for years. He's smart, insightful, funny and often profound. And he makes me question my comfortable assumptions and understand the true costs of the lifestyle choices I make."

•The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar: "Her writing is lovely, and she takes the reader vividly into another culture, another world - in this case, the modern-day caste system of contemporary Bombay."

Kim's New Books

Yes, I've been behind on my reading, well reading for pleasure at least. I could start reviewing technical books on GIS and statistics but I am not that nerdy yet. Instead I thought I would tell you about the books that have come in the mail recently.

Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi
Iran is a country I wish I knew more about, along with Ebadi's work. I also love memoirs and this looks extremely promising.

Rogue State 3rd edition: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum
Delia recommended this to me and I read an interesting interview with him not so long ago from Democracy Now!, I think. I started reading it in the car last night and IT LOOKS GREAT!!

Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq by Riverbend
Delia also recommended this one to me. Its next on my reading list. The title should be self-explanatory. "Riverbend is the pseudonym of a young Iraqi blogger; this book archives the first year of her blog, Baghdad Burning. Once a computer programmer who enjoyed considerable personal freedom, after Baghdad's fall, Riverbend finds herself unemployed and largely restricted to the safety of her family's home. In English that would put many Americans to shame, she chronicles daily life under the occupation, writing about water and electricity shortages with humor and exasperation, writing about violence with deep feeling." Keir Graff American Library Association.

Kabul in Winter: Life without Peace in Afghanistan by Ann Jones
I've been waiting for the library to get a copy of this but it doesn't look like it will arrive. Jones recounts her experiences as an aid worker in prisons and schools in post-Taliban Afghanistan and discusses Afghani culture.


As you can see I'm in a Middle East mood! Whats your reading mood?

Book of the Day

You know those calendars where you rip off one a day? Well, I have one on books. Yes, I am a nerd. I even bought if for myself (a whopping $2). So, since I am behind on my reading I thought I would list today's book suggestion!

The Ig Nobel Prizes 2: An All-New Collection of the World's Unlikeliest Research by Marc Abrahams

"Think of the Ig Nobel awards as the Darwin Awards for science. Ig Nobels are bestowed by Abrahams, the editor and cofounder of the science humor magazine Annals of Improbable Research, for the most hare-brained 'scientific' schemes. How about this one: a study to learn if listening to elevator music can reduce your risk of catching a cold. 'So funny you couldn't make it up,' promises the Washington Post." --The Book Lover's Calendar

Book News: Alentejo Blue

Alentejo Blue by Monica Ali

I have read a couple of reviews of Ali's new book and am interested in reading it. It sounds similar to the book Ocean Sea by Alessandro Baricco which I thoroughly enjoyed. Oprah has also suggested it as part of her summer reading collection. I don't mind Oprah's book suggestions sometimes, but at other times I can't stand the idea that I am reading a book thousands of other women will read only because Oprah suggested it. I will have to wait patiently for the library to obtain this book.


"Provincial Portugal--specifically, the region called Alentejo--provides a rustic but atmospherically rich setting for a cycle of stories by the Bangladeshi-born author of the critically celebrated novel Brick Lane (2003). Are these nine stories better seen as chapters in a loosely constructed novel? Actual classification is incidental as Ali follows a group of individuals who call the village of Mamarrosa home, whether permanently or temporarily. Her sensitivity to tender natures leaves her an astonishing inhabiter of the psychology of a variety of characters who come within Mamarrosa's orbit, including an English writer who has stationed himself there, the local tavern owner, and a female tourist bringing her problems from home. Many characters recur from one story, or "chapter," to the next, providing a strong connective thread in addition to their common setting. A master of concision and suggestion, the author says volumes about characters and situations by what she does not say. It does indeed take a village--in this case, to show the fundamental universality of all human predicaments." Brad Hooper American Library Association.

Book Review: The Mermaid Chair

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

I have finally finished this! I started it awhile ago as an audiobook and finished it since I had a road trip over the weekend. I had looked forward to this book and have wanted to read her other book, The Secret Life of Bees for quite some time.

I would most likely refer to this book as a historical Harlequin book. The main character, Jessie, returns home to Egret Island to care for her troubled mother who in ways is obsessed with the Mermaid Chair and praying for forgiveness. While there Jessie, who has been happily married for years and years, decides to have an affair with a Benedictine Monk. This is where the book becomes absolutely ridiculous and I can no longer read it but convince myself that I must find out more about the Mermaid Chair and Jessie's mother.

Again, what is it about women these days that causes them to break down and have to "explore" who they really are? Why couldn't Jessie be satisfied with her marriage, adoring husband and daughter? There is always the risk that one may not be able to "find themselves" and then what?

Although the Mermaid Chair is real, Egret Island and the monastery are not.

Kim's Grade: C+

A Bad Man

"Guilt by Association" came out a little over a decade ago. My sister has had this book for a while but for some reason I never read it until now. The story involves a young college student who is raped and beaten by a man she meets at a party when he offers to walk her home. That was in 1962 and the woman's life as she had planned it is basically ruined as she doesn't go back to school and her boyfriend breaks up with. Then in 1992 she learns that her rapist, whose last name she didn't know, is a California senator that is running for President of the United States. She decides to get revenge.

It's a satisfying story to watch how she gets her revenge, but at the same time the book was pretty disturbing. When she is raped almost everyone, including her mother and boyfriend, think that it was her fault and that she must have led the man on by letting him walk her home. Nevermind that her jaw was broken, her knee shattered, multiple ribs broken, her lung punctured, her larnyx crushed, and her lung collapsed from the beating he gave her. How could anyone think that was consensual? Even if she wanted to have sex, I don't think she wanted she be beaten within an inch of her life. I know people that pretty crappy views of rape back in the 60's, but I couldn't figure out if the author was exaggerating or really being truthful that back then a lot of people didn't believe that women could be raped. I mean, we've all read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and that was a rape case. But it probably goes without saying that the public view black men and Harvard law students differently when it comes to rape.

Book Review: The Bushes

The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty by Peter Schwetzer and Rochelle Schwetzer

We listened to this book a while back on our way to Jackpot and I would not recommend it. I like to rent audiobooks from Hastings but they really need to beef up on their nonfiction audiobooks. This book is entirely pro-Bush and glosses over many events I would think pertinent to understanding any "dynasty."

I did however learn some interesting stories about how George Jr. received his Skull and Bones' name "Temporary" and that Reagan and Bush Sr. did not get along to the point that the Bushes had not seen the residential section of the White House until Bush Sr. was elected. Think about that! For eight years they were not invited over for cookies and milk! It doesn't sound right.

If you like the Bush family then this is a happy little book. If you want to read something more critical or in depth then stay away!!

Kim's Grade: C+ (I did learn some things and at least it wasn't too long!)

Book Review: Never Drank the Kool-Aid

I was excited about this book until I realized I have little appreciation for hip-hop culture. Its not completely hip-hop though and has some pieces on Condi Rice, Colin Powell, and Al Sharpton. For the most part the book is comprised of Toure’s essays from the Rolling Stone. Toure’s writing is wonderful, humorous and thought-provoking.

Bonus points to those who "get" this title!

"In a varied collection of lucid, colorful pieces, journalist Tour, author of the novel Soul City and the story collection The Portable Promised Land, takes readers from the inner sanctum of Prince's Paisley Park to Jennifer Capriati's practice court, Lauryn Hill's Christmas party and beyond. Deftly organized by theme, the book comprises mainly magazine articles dating from 2005 to the mid-'90s, and its title refers to the author's insistence that he never bought into the philosophies of the people he profiled but rather aimed 'to understand who they were beyond the image they want us to think they were.' He succeeds with meteoric personalities, like Eminem and Al Sharpton, and with people like junior-tennis phenom and eventual professional bust Al Parker Jr. Tour has a knack for putting his subjects at ease, and he blends their intriguing candor with apt observations on the nature of their careers. He describes his own place in events without overshadowing the story itself. He's just interested in bringing us along for the ride, even if that means sitting shotgun while DMX pulls a full-speed 180 in a Cadillac Escalade on Sunset Boulevard." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Kim's Grade: B+

Book Review: Why Do Men Have Nipples?

Why Do Men Have Nipples? by Mark Leyner and Billy Goldberg


Lindsey had this book so I thought I would read it. You have to admit that it is a catchy title! The book is full of odd medical-like questions like that of the title. You will find answers to other questions like: "Why do some folks have an "outie" belly button and some folks have an "innie"?, "Can hot tubs make you infertile"?, or "Can you really get scared to death"?

I found the book very funny and would suggest it for any coffee table, party conversation or road trip reading. The only thing I found annoying was the authors' on-going conversation planted throughout the book, it wasn't needed.

Kim's Grade: B+

Book Review: The Dogs Who Found Me

The Dogs Who Found Me by Ken Foster

I read this book in three hours that is how much I loved it! Its not exactly a happy book since Foster discusses how stray dogs have found him all his life. Eventhough you're sad, you can't help but have a smile on your face while reading this. He has what seems to be, a preference for pit bulls since they are too often misunderstood as a breed. He talks about rescuing dogs from abusive homes, random acts of kindness from those wealthy enough to pay for high vet bills and dog food, and his own evacuation, with his three dogs, from New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.

The chapters are short with each consisting of a dog that has crossed his path. There are also tips on how to approach stray dogs and find housing for them if you can't keep them. For more information on this book or Foster’s dogs you can visit his blog at www.dogswhofoundme.com and see photos of the dogs that have entered and exited his life.

Kim’s Grade: A

Book Review: The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

I have always enjoyed Joan Didion’s writing. I find it honest, simple and direct. I didn’t know what to expect from her memoir but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I have grieved I have never been through a major death like the death of a husband, child or parent. Her memoir is about how she deals with the sudden death of her husband of more than 45(?) years John Gregory Dunne, also an acclaimed author. When he dies their only daughter is in an intensive care unit and spends the next year in and out of the hospital.

"Life changes fast.
Life changes in the instant.
You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."

These lines are revisited many times throughout the book as she reflects on life, grief, time, and how to bring John back.

About half way through the book I looked up Didion’s daughter Quintana. I learned that she died soon after Didion turned in her final draft of the book. She was asked to revisit the draft and include the death of her daughter, who is a major aspect of the book but says only that, “Its finished.” I listened to a wonderful interview of Didion by Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air and found it equally as moving as her book. If you have ever experienced a major death or grief or know someone who has, this is a great book.

I also recommend Didion's Slouching Toward Bethlehem.

Kim's Grade: A

Book Review: Blue Shoes and Happiness

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

I hated this book. I listened to it on a long drive. I should mention that I have not read the other books in this series but I had read that it didn't matter. I found the book to be uneventful; a look into the ordinary life of any woman and not a Botswanan woman. For a detective agency it seemed their work was mundane. I was hoping more of Botswana would come into the picture but it didn't and it makes me wonder why the author chose Botswana when the plot could very well be anywhere.

I will admit that I appreciated the reader using an African accent since it made listening to the book slightly more enjoyable. I have the first book in this series and still plan on reading, so I hope it will be more exciting than this one.

I am afraid of reviewing on Amazon though since everybody loved this book. I can see my review just being slammed!

Kim's Grade: C

A History of Cheerleading!

Book Review: Cheerleader: An American Icon by Natalie Guice Adams & Pamela J. Bettis


I met Pamela Bettis a couple of months ago when she came to discuss cheerleading. This is a very straightforward, neutral take on cheerleading and is extremely enjoyable. They discuss how cheerleading developed from a mens only squad in the late 1890's into today's ESPN competitions. They talk about the huge industry around pom pons, uniforms, and cheer camps. They discuss adult squads, as in cheerleading over the age of 60, and the CHEER groups that are in several major U.S. cities. Radical cheerleading is also covered, as in using cheerleading techniques in large scale protests such as those usually seen around the World Economic Forum or World Bank meetings.

I should note that this book supports the idea that cheerleading instills confidence and many leadership qualities into young women. It takes guts to try to lead audiences of hundreds or more.

I enjoyed this book a lot and its not because I was a cheerleader, I think its because it is so informative on where this sport has come from and where it is going.

Kim's Grade: A

The Real X-Men

I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago. I thought it looked pretty interesting, and it was. It was kind of a refresher course of the Developmental Biology class I took in undergrad as the author talked about all sorts of things I remember: beta-catenin, insulin-like growth factor, noggin, sonic hedgehog... all that good stuff.

Basically the book talked about how mutations can lead to discoveries about genes and development. In a way it was pretty sad, though, because after reading a few chapters I decided that I'm going to think long and hard before I have children because SO MANY THINGS CAN GO WRONG IT'S SCARY!!!

I think people who don't know much about science would find this interesting, but it's hard to tell since I was familiar with all the jargon.

Lindsey's Grade: B

Book News: Memoirs

With Marley & Me, a memoir of a man and his dog, being such a great hit USA Today has listed other bestselling memoirs. I disagree with their list mainly because they are listed due to the amount of copies sold, not the content. Teri Hatcher's life is of no interest to me and I find it difficult to believe she wrote a book considering she can't even eat!

55 Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life by Teri Hatcher. Manifesto on life, love from Desperate Housewives actress.

60 The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls. The author's parents eventually became homeless.

103 A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. Oprah chose this for her book club and then disowned it after it was revealed that Frey embellished many details of his experience in rehabilitation when he was 23.

122 The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart by Willie Nelson with Turk Pipkin. Country music legend tells his life story, beginning with his boyhood in Texas, and shares his wisdom.

164 Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. At 12, Burroughs was given away to be raised by an unorthodox psychiatrist and his bizarre family.

223 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Collection of autobiographical essays.

225 My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme. Child's memoir of her years in France, beginning in 1948, and falling in love with French food.

260 Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert. Meet the Press talk-show host recalls life lessons he learned from his blue-collar father.

For the complete story go here!

Dog Books to Watch Out for!

John Grogan's Marley & Me, a wildly successful first-time memoir about a misbehaving Labrador retriever, has been on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list for 32 weeks. It touched a nerve with dog lovers, and now publishers are planning a slew of books about canine companions:

Dog Heroes of September 11th by Non-a Kilgore Bauer (Bowtie Press). No one would guess that Ego Alley and Red, two black Labradors rolling around on the floor of the Washington Convention Center at last month's BookExpo America, played a critical role in recovery after a plane crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. More than 70 search and recovery dogs are featured in this tribute to canine heroes. August.

•A Three Dog Life: A Memoir by Abigail Thomas (Harcourt). The author's husband suffered severe injuries from being struck by a car. The unconditional love of her dogs - Harry, Carolina and Rosie - is what gets her through the tragedy. September.

•Stealing Love: Confessions of a Dognapper by Mary Fischer (Harmony Books). Fischer, a crime reporter, writes of her tough childhood and how she spends her free time "stealing" dogs that are being neglected and abused. September.

•I Have Heard You Calling in the Night by Thomas Healy (Harcourt). Scottish author recounts tale of how his down-and-out life as a drunk and a brawler is turned around when he adopts a puppy. October.

•A Good Dog: The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz (Villard). Orson is what Katz calls a lifetime dog: "Dogs we love in especially powerful, sometimes inexplicable ways." October.

•From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth (The Lyons Press). Kopelman found a 5-week-old flea-bitten mutt just after the battle for Fallujah in 2004. With the help of fellow Marines, journalists, Iraqis and Iams pet food company, Lava was smuggled out of Iraq and into the USA. November.

By Carol Memmott USA TODAY

Intellectual Candy

I may be a law student, but I was first a biochemistry undergraduate student, so every once in a while I like to pick up a science book. This book by Diana Preston is about the development of the atomic bomb, starting with Marie Curie's discovery of radiation.

This book is a facinating read from beginning to end, but maybe I just feel that way because my dream job is to be a scientific historian. But seriously, this book makes you feel like you're right there with the scientists, first as they were making amazing discoveries into the structure of the atom and then as the Allies raced to develop an atomic bomb before the Germans. What I especially liked was the way Preston made sure to include the human element. The attention she paid to Werner Heisenberg (the origin of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle) as he worked on the bomb for his native Germany while the Nazi party was in power was very intriguing because the poor man obviously had an inner battle to fight.

If you like either science or history you will love this book!

Lindsey's Grade: A+

Blah

I read these romance novels the week before last, and they were all so-so. Not bad, but nothing really great, either. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to read romance novels when I find them so unremarkable, but every once in a while a good one comes along and makes it all worthwhile!

The Book of Lost Books

The Book of Lost Books : An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read by Stuart Kelly

I really looked forward to this book after reading a great review of it in the NY Times. However I found it so boring that I skimmed through the majority of it. Its not that it is a boring book really, its more that I don't have a strong "classics" background and appreciation of these authors.

The chapters are short and list some of the authors achievements and discusses the work that was or may have been lost. Its a great idea for a book!

Hemingway's early work was stolen on a train in Europe while Kafka wanted all of his work burned when he died (although it wasn't). Dickens' last novel was never finished and possible plot lines are discussed.

I really enjoyed the pieces on the authors I was familiar with and learned some interesting things. If you enjoy Greek, and early British literature then this would be a great book for you!

Grade: B

A letter to Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals : What to Keep on Hand, What to Buy Fresh for the Easiest-Ever 30-Minute Meals

Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes

Dear Rachael Ray,

You are now almost famous. You have tv shows on the Food Network, several cookbooks, a line of cooking utensils and your own magazine. Congrats! However, you have no clue what the average American cooks and eats!

I, like millions of Americans, live on a budget. I have a million things to do and like to cook fast meals but swordfish doesn't sound tasty on a Tuesday night. Have you looked at the price of swordfish or tuna lately? I am happy that you can afford to eat it but what about me?

Rachael, you claim that all I need to do is keep a couple of specific items on hand for your recipes but this isn't true! You've tricked me! I cannot afford the specific items, nor the other items to make the recipe! What am I supposed to do? Why do you tell me that all I'll need are a few items then send me to the store again?! THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EXPRESS LANE BOOK! SHOPPING TAKES TIME!

Also, where am I to find a jar of fire-roasted tomatoes? or some chipotle liquid smoke?

By the way, frying bacon in EVOO, oh wait I'm sorry Extra Virgin Olive Oil since that is what its known as, is not healthy!

Rachael, you've left me feeling sheltered, poor and not a sophicated enough eater. Your books are not helpful and I'm returning them tomorrow!

Kim


Grade: C-

Waste and Want

My friend Jamie asked me last night if I had read John De Graaf's book Affluenza the All-Consuming Epidemic. I haven't but I have seen the PBS show that takes after the book. I find it interesting these days that more and more literature is being transformed into television series. Doesn't anyone read anymore?

Another interesting book, which I have read, is Susan Strasser's Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash. This is an amazing book about where and what we do with our millions of pounds of trash. I highly recommend it!

Our worldwide garbage epidemic is starting to enter more conversations these days with the addition of websites like Freecycle where you can list goods you no longer want or search for items you may need. There are also growing communities of "Freegans", " people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources" (http://freegan.info).

So when thinking about my own lifestyle with regards to yesterday I asked myself "did I overconsume?" Yes, I bought sushi I didn't need and a Coldstone cone BUT I rented audiobooks instead of buying them full price and we purchased used books. I will admit that I consume too many books but hey! I suffer from the vice of literature!

For an interesting news story on Freegans go here!

Top Ten Summer Reads

These top ten summer reads came from USAToday.com.

A lovable pig. A baseball legend. Fearsome foliage. That's just some of the company you'll find in the pages of our 10 hottest summer reads.

The Ruins
By

Scott Smith
Knopf, 319 pp., $24.95
available July 18

What Stephen King did for cars with Christine and for dogs with Cujo, Scott Smith does for creepy foliage (and yes, it's horrifying!) in his new thriller, The Ruins.

It has been 13 years since Smith's thriller A Simple Plan rocked best-seller lists. Now he's back with a story so scary you may never want to go on vacation, or dig around in your garden, again.

Two couples enjoying a relaxing beach getaway in Mexico agree to help another tourist look for his missing brother. Their search takes them to an archaeological dig in some Mayan ruins.

What they find there is bad luck, a terrifying presence and an unimaginable battle to survive. Everything goes wrong, bad choices are made, and soon they are turning on each other.

If you love ABC's Lost and the novels of King and Thomas Harris, you'll love this book - and someday the movie: Film rights for The Ruins have been bought by

Ben Stiller.

The Big Bam: The Life and Times of Babe Ruth
By Leigh Montville
Doubleday, 400 pp., $26.95
In stores

It has been 58 years since Babe Ruth died, 71 since he last swung a bat. Yet as Leigh Montville writes in his lyrical biography, "The Babe remains remarkably vibrant." He was "the patron saint of American possibility." His "deferred childhood, extending pretty much though all of his life," was a "shared wicked delight." He was "crude and rude and kind and approachable, sometimes all in the same ten minutes."

But Ruth compares favorably to Barry Bonds, the modern-day slugger suspected of steroid use. Montville calls Big Bam "an attempt to tell the story again for the SportsCenter generation." He does that and a lot more. He does not break much new ground, but the writing is fresh and sharp, a reminder of all that remains unknowable about the most famous ballplayer.

Bonds will forever be linked to Ruth, but I doubt anyone will write a book about Bonds 70 years from now.

Lost and Found
By Carolyn Parkhurst
Little, Brown, 283 pp., $23.95
available June 13

The Amazing Race may have crossed the finish line for the season, but Lost and Found is just revving up.

In her new pop-culture-saturated novel, the author of The Dogs of Babel goes behind the scenes and imagines what TV reality show participants are really like.

Lost and Found- also the name of Parkhurst's fictional reality show - incorporates bits and pieces of actual shows we all either love or hate. It's like The Amazing Race, but it's one big global scavenger hunt.

Parkhurst's characters include a mother-daughter team dealing with a tragic secret, a husband and wife who believe religion will keep them faithful to heterosexuality, brothers divorced within a year of each other, and former child stars hoping to jump-start their careers.

You think the bickering is bad on TV? Just wait until you hear what Parkhurst imagines they're really thinking and saying off-camera.

The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood
By Sy Montgomery
Ballantine, 225 pp., $21.95
In stores

Animal lovers, prepare to be seduced by Christopher Hogwood.

The Good Good Pig is naturalist Sy Montgomery's tender valentine to the sickly runt she and her husband adopted and nursed back to health - and then some.

This little piggy comes home in a shoe box and soon porks up to 750 pounds.

Saved from the slaughterhouse, "Chris" lives in hog heaven in rural New Hampshire, indulging in "Pig Spas" (scrub-downs from the little girls next door) and choice slops (from a gourmet shop).

The peripatetic pig (this pen can't hold me!) becomes a local celebrity, adored by everybody, especially his besotted mistress, who tells his story with effortless charm.

When Christopher meets his maker after a good, long life, get ready for waterworks.

Spoiled rotten, dearly loved. Extraordinary, indeed.

Telegraph Days
By Larry McMurtry
Simon & Schuster, 289 pp., $25
In stores

Imagine Augustus McCrae from Lonesome Dove in petticoats and on

Ritalin.

In his lighthearted new novel, Telegraph Days, Larry McMurtry creates the daughter whom Gus should have had with Clara - a lively, lusty, take-charge heroine named Nellie Courtwright. Nellie romps through the post-Civil War American West, ensnaring gunslingers and cowboys with her grit, gumption and gall.

Telegraph Days opens mere moments after Nellie's feeble father has hanged himself. She ditches the failing ranch, hustles into town, gets her little brother hired as the deputy sheriff and gets herself situated as the town's telegraph operator. Soon Nellie encounters legends such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Jesse James, the Earp brothers and other buckskin immortals before ending her days as a famous novelist in Hollywood.

Telegraph Days is a picaresque and entertaining ride.

Natural Selection
By Dave Freedman
Hyperion, 414 pp., $21.95
June 27

Jaws meets Charles Darwin in Dave Freedman's debut novel, Natural Selection, a maritime horror story.

Freedman, a former Wall Street executive, creates a survival-of-the-fittest predator from the deepest depths that can snack on mere sharks. The creature, forced to look for new food sources by an underwater virus, is a supersized, hostile kind of stingray. It's hungry, learning to fly and comes with a set of teeth "more powerful than the crushing mechanisms of most garbage trucks."

The novel opens with a question: "Aren't dinosaurs, crocodiles, lions and sharks really monsters? ... Every single one of them a product of evolution. So could evolution make another monster?"

Of course it can in a thriller with a budding romance between scientists and a lot of marine biology thrown in. There's also much foreboding: "Strange things were happening in the world's oceans." The formulaic writing won't win any literary prizes, but it doesn't slow down the plot.

OK, everybody in the water!

Showdown
By Tilly Bagshawe
Warner, 480 pp., $24.95
June 13

Ah, to dwell forever in a fantasy world where reality, sexually transmitted diseases, terrorism threats, credit card limits and cellulite never loom.

If this sounds like your ideal summer literary destination, book a trip with fledgling trash queen Tilly Bagshawe.

Aficionados of sex 'n' shopping sagas will fondly recall the Brit's debut novel, Adored, now out in paperback. That book centered on modeling and movies. In Showdown, Bagshawe probes the world of high-priced horseflesh and L.A.'s mega-money moguls. The plot revolves around the romantic and professional collision between a gorgeous horse trainer from California's cowboy country and a feisty English girl jockey.

Supporting players include trophy wives possessed by insatiable carnal and consumer appetites, vile real estate developers who like to dominate women emotionally and sexually, overweight heiresses stalked by fortune hunters, and stallions on two and four legs. Go, girlfriends! Use that whip hand!

Jump at the Sun
By Kim McLarin
Morrow, 320 pp., $24.95
July 3

Whew. Kim McLarin sure aims high in Jump at the Sun, and you've got to love her for that.

At its best, her daring novel has the fire-breathing sass of Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale and the soul-searching depth of Toni Morrison's Beloved.

Grace Monroe is what they used to call a Buppie. She's a black sociologist with a Ph.D. Her husband, Eddie, is a chemist. They've got two cute little girls and a nice new McMansion in a Boston suburb. Life is good, right? Well, not exactly. Grumpy Grace's maternal instincts are MIA: She loves her kids (she thinks), but she's tempted to pack her bags and flee without even a see-ya-later.

What's wrong with her? Aren't black women the rocks who hold their families together? Grace looks for clues in the fascinating life of her elusive, poor Southern grandmother, Rae, and in the damage Rae inflicted on Grace's mother, Mattie.

Jump at the Sun is not flawless, but it's honest and surprising and provocative. And that's refreshing on a hot summer day.

The Whole World Over
By Julia Glass
Pantheon, 509 pp., $25.95
In stores

Julia Glass' The Whole World Over is such good company that toward the end of its 509 pages, it's tempting to ration a few pages a day.

This is Glass' first novel since she won the 2002 National Book Award for Three Junes, her lyrical debut about a gay bookseller (Fenno) and his family and friends.

Fenno returns in a minor role in The Whole World Over. But taking center-stage is Greenie, who leaves NYC to be a chef for the governor of New Mexico, bringing her 4-year-old son. Her husband, Alan, a therapist, stays behind.

Everyone is trying to figure out their lives - whether to adopt, have children, get married or leave a relationship.

All this builds to Sept. 11, 2001, a day of terror, and, for the people in this novel, a day of reckoning with their own lives.

A bonus: delicious descriptions - one overwrought wife is "mosquitoey."

The Whole World Over is the literary fiction of the summer - and, surely, way beyond that.

The Futurist
By James P. Othmer
Doubleday, 257 pp., $23.95
June 6

This intelligent, wise-cracking debut satire, written by a former Young & Rubicam ad exec, takes a hard look at what's cool, what's not and what people are willing to buy into morally, emotionally and culturally.

Yates, the book's protagonist, is a "futurist" paid millions to be "the Codifier of Cool." But a series of events - he's dumped by his girlfriend, witnesses a deadly soccer riot in Johannesburg and makes an emotional connection with a prostitute - sparks an attitude adjustment.

He decides he's a phony. He proclaims it to the world and is cheered as if he's the new, new thing. He even gets a job offer and is hired by a mysterious organization to travel the world to find out why everyone hates the USA.

Yates' tumultuous journey takes him to Bas'ar, an

Iraq-like country, where he sees firsthand why Americans are so unloved.

The Futurist slams pundits, corporations, government policy and American war policy. Othmer leaves us with a taste of fear in our mouths even as we're laughing at Yates' ridiculous life.

Self-Help comes with Five People

A while back I listened to this audiobook. It was only six hours long and that was the length of my drive so I thought why not? I would like to be able to tell you that I liked it, mainly because I've criticized most of the books I've read lately.

I didn't like this book though. I felt it was a sneaky self-help book disguised as fiction. Each of the five people Eddie meets has a "lesson" for him to learn whether it be love or forgiveness. As readers we are supposed to learn that we influence more people's lives than we realize, and thus learn to treat people differently. This reminds me of the whole "if Jesus walked the earth today would we recognize him?" I really had a hard time finishing this, but this book was a huge success. The reader was horrible too. I hate it when they try to "do voices" for each character. Sometimes a man is not believable as a woman!

Mitch Albom has a new book out this fall on a relationship between a mother and son, most likely similar to this one.

Grade: C+

Romance Reads

I love Lisa Kleypas's books. She is a great writer of Regency era romance. However, I think this book must have been one of her earlier works because it just didn't have the energy and excitement that her newer books have. The couple in the book were married by their opportunistic fathers when they were four and seven, and haven't seen each other since. The hubby is searching for the wife so he can move on with his life and get a real wife, and the wifey has run away from her domineering father. Lo and behold the hubby's surprise when he discovers the actress he's been lusting after is his long-lost wife! Oooh, how exciting!

It was an okay read, but nothing spectacular.

Lindsey's Grade: B-

BOOK BATTLES!! Round 4

I recently read two books by Anita Shreve, her latest release "A Wedding in December," and the previous release "Light on Snow." I resisted buying "Light on Snow" for a while because the large print and sparse number of words on a page made me think that it wasn't worth $14. So I bought "A Wedding in December" and read it first. Kinda disappointed. Shreve is the master at taking a subject that sounds infinitely boring and turning it into an enjoyable read. This book was about a bunch of high school friends who get together 27 years later at the wedding of two of their classmates. Adultry abounded, and if you know one thing about me, it's that I hate adultry in books. I thought the ending was uber lame, even though the characters were interesting.
Lindsey's Grade: B-

"Light on Snow," on the other hand, was touching, funny, and sad all at the same time. The story is told through the eyes of a twelve year old living with her widowed father. While hiking in the woods during December, they find an abandoned newborn and save its life. Again, Shreve is wonderful at making an ordinary sounding plot full of life and interest. Her books are always character-driven and, for me, the characters become people you genuinely care about.
Lindsey's Grade: A

Winner: "Light on Snow"

The Da Vinci Economy (a rant)

The Da Vinci Code is now an economy! Here are your many choices! You can choose the original novel by Dan Brown, the special illustrated version, or the illustrated screenplay.

I, like many, don't get all the hype about this movie. It must be some "Harry Potter" for adults thing. We listened to the abridged version on a trip to the San Juan Islands two summers ago, but I didn't think it was SPECTACULAR.

However, have you noticed all the OTHER books in the Da Vinci world lately? Let me fill you in!

For the most part you have about a dozen of books questioning Brown's novel! (***novel: a work of fiction) There is Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code: A Challenge Response to the Bestselling Novel by Richard Abanes, The Da Vinci Hoax by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel, Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Da Vinci Code by Dan Burstein, or The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? by Hank Hanegraff and Paul Maier. Fwew!

If you want to start a discussion group about it you can use Discussing the Da Vinci Code: Examining the Issues Raised by the Book and Movie by Lee Strobel and Garry Poole.

Ok, if that was not enough please read on!

There is the diet! YES, A DIET!
The Diet Code: Revolutionary Weight Loss Secrets from Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio by Stephen Lanzalotta.

Da Vinci was a smart, smart man!

My favorite has to be Da Vinci style travel!

Fodor's Guide to the Da Vinci Code includes "A travel section featuring unique suggestions on where to go, stay, and eat for Da Vinci Code disciples who want to take the ultimate self-guided tour."

CRAZY!! For more on traveling to unlock already unlocked mysteries go here!

I think I'll just watch the movie...just to see if Tom Hanks can make a comeback after his flop The Ladykillers.

Books to Read Aloud List

As you know, I like to read. Every now and then I skim the literature sections of major newspapers to see what interesting bits I might find.

I found one, although I believe that this list is geared towards girls.

Books to read aloud. Enjoy!

Short Cuts

I read this book. The title kind of says it all. Not much else to say.

Although I will add one thing. The hero was a total asshole at one point, and the heroine forgave him WAAAAAY too easily. Just my opinion. He needed to do a lot more groveling.

Book News

This book is getting a lot of press lately. Some sources say that it will be the book most women will read this summer but I disagree, Oprah hasn't selected her book yet.

Entertainment Weekly gave this book a C+ while USA Today gave it a good review:

"In The Man of My Dreams, Sittenfeld gets inside the man-obsessed motives that strike some women in their late teens and 20s.

The result: Dreams could be the women's novel of the summer, the one they talk about, dissect, analyze and compare with their own experiences.

In this insightful book, Sittenfeld asks: Does every woman deserve a soul mate?

Modern women might cringe at a story about a young woman who, for most of this novel, is looking for the perfect man.

Despite the title, Dreams is no frothy tale of looking for love. Hannah Gavener, Sittenfeld's protagonist, is no chick-lit chick. She's not perky, pretty and effervescent. She's plain, obstinate and sometimes very hard to like."

For more of the review click HERE

You're Wearing THAT?

Tannen's book IS NOT for me. No, I didn't read it because it was Mother's Day; I read it because, (sigh), its on the NY Times Bestsellers List.

If you have a mother then read this. The book is about how words have more power and impact between mothers and daughters than in other relationships. We tend to take personally what our mothers, or daughters, say to us and think of our conversations as mostly criticism.

I suppose that if I had a relationship with my mother I may be able to relate to many of the stories. I was hoping there would be suggestions to re-build your relationship with your mother, but this was lacking.

Kim's grade: B nice writing, but cannot relate

What are you thinking FREY!?

Move over Opal Mehta! James Frey is the new liar...well, the new "yeah, I lied again" liar.

It was announced today that he admitted to fabricating parts of his sequel "My Friend Leonard" about his friendship with a gangsta!

WHAT ARE THESE AUTHORS THINKING THESE DAYS???!!!!

For more of this go here!

Update

I finished this book around nine o'clock last night, and it haunted me all evening. Yes, I ended up crying at the end, and even a few hours later because it was so moving.

This is a genuine love story, even though it does have a tragic ending. I would recommend it to anyone who, like me, occasionally enjoys being moved enough to have a strong emotional response.

Lindsey's Grade: A+

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I usually enjoy memoirs and travel but really struggled through this one. I think its because she has so much privilege yet fails to acknowledge it. Not everyone has the luxury of spending three months each in Italy, India, and Indonesia JUST TO "FIND" THEMSELVES!!

Maybe I haven't found myself yet and that is why I cannot relate (someone please find me so I don't have to). I looked forward to this book because it has been well-reviewed and on the NY Times Bestselling list but I just see Gilbert whining, complaining and not fully appreciating what is in front of her.

Why is it that 20-30 something women are breaking down and having to find themselves through trekking abroad? I'm starting to think this is a new genre! I can think of three other books off the top of my head just like this! "Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure" by Sarah Macdonald, "A Year in the World" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" both by Frances Mayes. I want to read something happy, light, or challenging. I don't find "finding yourself" escapades challenging--its a luxury most people will never have.

However, this book is an interesting look at how one woman lost nearly everything she had and renewed her spirit and life. I also appreciated greatly that she recognized a relationship was something she DID NOT need and kept her celibacy within focus. Realizing that a relationship won't fix anything or parts of everything is something most people don't think through when trying to get their lives back in order. I really respect her for that.

B+ interesting comments on mediation and renewing one's self-esteem and confidence /more self help or spiritual than travel

Too Emotional

I'm on page 152 of this book with 389 pages, but I honestly have wondered more than once if I'll be able to finish it. I've mentioned on my blog how Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper basically ripped my heart out and stomped on it, leaving me in a crying, slobbering mess at the end.

I can already tell this book will be worse.

Every page, every single page, is so unbelievably sad. Heck, I've already cried and I'm only on page 152! The book is about two families who have lived next door to each other for eighteen years. The moms are best friends and the oldest children, Chris and Emily, have been inseperable their whole lives and have been dating for the past three years. At the beginning of the book, Emily is shot dead. The police think Chris murdered her. He says they had a suicide pact and they were stopped before he could kill himself.

Not that grieving parents aren't bad enough, Picoult tells Chris and Emily's story throughout the present events, doing flashbacks to their childhood (they are seventeen when Emily dies). Anyone who was in love as a teenager can relate, and knowing that Emily will eventually die is just awful. And to top it off, Emily was pregant when she died and I think she was molested when she was a little girl.

I will keep you posted on how I fare at the end. I except some major waterworks.

More Grocery Store Selections

This time my Safeway book wasn't so bad. The writing was actually pretty good. The plot was just your standard romance, though. It was kind of silly because the hero was supposed to be the governor of Florida, but he was such a complete goofball that it was kind of hard to believe. Oh well.

Lindsey's grade: B-

The Last Templar

The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury

I chose this book because it was on the NY Times Bestseller List (which we all know I like to read from) and it was in the library (beats paying 25 pigs for). Initially I was put off because it opens with the same quote the Templar Legacy does (See Book Wars posting). But being that the book is due and that I was struggling through my other read I opened it again.

Its a fast read (1/2 day) and I didn't think it was as predictable as the Templar Legacy. I liked that it brought the alchemist side of the Templars into view and that most of the plot happens in NYC versus Europe. This is Khoury's first book. He works as as a screenwriter and I feel that is very obvious when reading the book.

Kim's grade: B not really my kind of fiction

No Happily Ever After

There are some authors that I find, to borrow a phrase I once heard in a book review, “compulsively readable.” For me Tracy Chevalier is one of those authors, although at times it’s hard for me to understand why.

Chevalier is probably best known for her book Girl With The Pearl Earring which was made into a movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Since finishing Falling Angels I’ve now read all four of her books and I’ve absolutely loved all but one of them, even though I HATED EVERY SINGLE MAIN CHARACTER! I don’t understand how she does this to me!

Also, I like happy books. That’s why I primarily read romance novels – they’re guaranteed to have a happy ending. But there is a darker side to my persona that delights in sadness and despair, apparently. I cannot resist certain authors that I know are going to piss me off by not making everyone happy at the end. Chevalier, along with Anita Shreve (who I LOVE) is one of the best at doing this.

Falling Angels is set in London between 1901 and 1910 and it revolves around the lives of the Coleman and Waterhouse families, whose daughters Livinia and Maude are best friends. Let me just say this – I HATED MAUDE’S MOTHER WITH A PASSION! She was a selfish bitch. No other way to put it. All she cared about was herself and could focus on nothing but how discontent she was with her life. Sure, it probably wasn’t easy being a woman in 1901, especially one who was an independent thinker, but buck up, missy! Maude desperately wanted attention and love from her mother but Kitty (the mother) never gave it to her. Oh, and Kitty was also adulterous on more than one occasion. This was “justified” in her mind because she was unhappy in her marriage. Her husband, although he loved her, didn’t appreciate her independent nature enough. Nevermind that she made the decision to marry him! Chevalier did this in her first book, The Virgin Blue, as well, but at least here Kitty was not set up as the protagonist. In my opinion Maude was the protagonist, even though the book was written through multiple character voices. Towards the end of the book Kitty gets involved in the suffrage movement, but I couldn’t get behind her at all because her motivations were purely selfish. You got the distinct impression that she wasn’t doing it because it was something she really believed in, but rather because she just wanted a “cause” to get behind that would make her feel important. She needed the attention and her neglect of Maude was heartbreaking.

There were other heartbreaking turns of events in this book that nearly brought me to tears. The more I think about it the more I realize I read romances not just because I like a happy ending, but also because I can’t handle these somber, sad, depressing stories all the time. They’re great for unleashing the vulnerable and human side, but Lord Almighty they’re downers.

Lindsey’s Grade – A-

Opal Mehta = Literary Theft

Do you see that woman right there?! She is a THIEF! Her first book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life now has TWO charges of literary theft against it!!

I have a few things to say about this!

1. I liked this book. I found it hilarious and was excited to learn that Dreamworks bought the movie rights.

2. I don't read "chick lit" often enough to pick up on the similarities between Opal and ABOUT A BAZILLION OTHER CHICK LIT BOOKS!!

3. Yes, originality should be important but AHEM! JUST ABOUT EVERY PLOT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE!!! (see just about any Clancy or Dan Brown novel or visit your friendly romance/thriller/sci-fi section of your library)

4. Kaavya Viswanathan YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO PLAGIARIZE!! YOU GO TO HARVARD FOR BETSY'S SAKE! There is NO excuse for you. Is this what Harvard is producing? You don't deserve your book contract and YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION MORE IN YOUR ENGLISH CLASSES!

5. After all this, I still recommend this book. Its funny and light-hearted.

Sounds Familiar

Well, I FINALLY finished this book last night. It was pretty good, I have to admit. I did stay up until I reached the end. But while it was entertaining, I couldn't help but feel that I had heard this story somewhere before...

...Hmm, let's see, this book had:

- a young person whose mother sacrified herself to save her child
- a young, motherless person who is "the chosen one" and has special abilities
- a group of children at a boarding school that are experimenting with magic
- an evil bad-person who went over to the dark side of the magical world and is determined to destroy the motherless child

Where have I heard that before? Gee... Oh wait!

Now, this book still had a lot of creativity, but honestly it was lacking in originality and that kind of put me off. I know, I know, I read romance novels and I'm put off by a book that lacks originality? I admit it doesn't make much sense, but nevertheless... But it was entertaining. And I'll probably read the sequel

Oh yeah, and the big "surprise" at the end? I totally called it about half-way into the book.

School Stuff

Before you all (and by you all I mean Kim and Boise because I'm not sure anyone else reads this blog) wonder why I'm putting a textbook here, there is a good reason.

I'm not sure if I've ever been in a class where we've gone all the way through the textbook before. Well, we did it in Contracts this year. 883 pages of offer, acceptance, consideration, and the like. Fabulous.

Doggies

Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
by John Grogan

I love dogs!! I love everything about them and this book is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Now, the dogs I had were crazy and we could never quite relate to others who had dogs since their dogs never did some of the things ours did.
For example, when it thundered Pixie would jump into the bathtub to hide. It took us forever to find her! Once we walked Olive all over the side of a Wal-Mart we were at trying to get her to go potty. She is a very stubborn dog! So, she shit in my car after we walked her for twenty minutes. (We weren't in Wal-Mart for long!) I had a table dancing Rottweiler for a while and Ocean always liked to ride on the hood of the truck instead of the back.

Well, if you have stories like those then this is the book for you!! I laughed and cried and didn't want it to end!

for more similar stories go to www.marleyandme.com