Christmas Cookie Murder

 This book was super cute. I was at the library the other day just looking around for anything that would catch my eye, and this did. I love Christmas and I like mysteries, so I figured, why not. It's part of a series where the average housewife always seems to get herself involved in a mystery. She reminded me of a down to earth Martha Stewart. I look forward to reading some more of her books.

The Right Attitude To Rain

 I love this title. It's what got me to read the book. And the cover. It looks so green and lush as plants do after a rainfall. This author writes mystery series, and the first book in this series is a mystery, this book actual book was not. It read more the like the main character's diary. You followed her day by day as she dealt with her feels for a younger man and if she should pursue them, and her cousin comes to visit, etc. If anything, it's more of a romance than a mystery.

"The literay equaivalent of herbal tea and a cozy fire..." The New York Times.

I love that quote, it seems very fitting. The main character is a philosopher, so be prepared for lots of questions and deep thinking. I love it. It makes me feel smart. It's good to be smart.

North River

 This is a story about a doctor during the Depression who helps everyone, regardless if they can pay him or not. He's a good guy who's wife disappeared, and his daughter dumps off his grandchild while she searches for the father. Since he can't take care of the child on his own, he hires a nanny-type person, only to find love again. It's a good story, I was very into it until about half way when I just wanted it to end because I couldn't really figure out the direction the writer was going in. I've been wanting to read this since last year and finally it dawned on me that the library might have a copy, and they did. Why didn't I think of that sooner? I have another book by this author called Forever and its super long and kind a boring so its going to take me Forever to read it.

Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret

I loved this book. It was so cute. I wish I had read it back when I was in 6th grade. It brought back memories of me and my friends. Its a must read.

Eat This, Not That

 This is a very handy little book. I now know why I'm chubby, because I eat most of the bad foods that you aren't suppose to eat. When there was a picture of the good choice and the bad choice, the bad choice always looked yummier to me. I took notes and I hope that I use them so that I can start making better food choices in my life. Read this, not that.

For Women Only.

I don't really know why I read this book. It was sitting on my sister's bookshelf and I thought that I'd give it a try, so if it could answer my sex questions. It's a really helpful book and reads more like novel instead of a boring help guide. It didn't really help me with my sex problem, even though there was a woman who had the exact probably as I do, and they figured out it was caused by sexual abuse when she was younger. Well, that's never happened to me, so I don't know that the issue is. They talk about drugs and other actions you can take for whatever your sexual problem is, and how therapy can help. It actually is a decent book, something that would come in handy to keep around. So ladies, check it out.

A Is For Alibi

 I've got to stop reading mysteries. People dieing left and right is starting to bother me. I read them because they get my mind working more than a chick lit novel does. It makes you think. You've got to pay attention to what all is going on and who's involved and try to figure out who the killer is. In this book, there ended up being two killers. I figured out who one was, but didn't know for which crime. It was a good book. A good way to start a good series.

Shopgirl

I remember years ago when this book came out that my roomie at the time had bought it and I read a few pages, but never finished it for whatever reason. So I think that I had it stuck in my head that it was a boring book and that's why I never picked it up over the years. They made a movie out of it, and recently when I was on Netflix.com I saw it and I think that's what made me want to read it again. Its a short book and reads pretty fast, but I cannot figure out what the point of it is. Mirabelle works at the glove department in a department store, has a simple life, chills at home with her cats and books (sounds like me, minus the job). Then one day an older man buys a pair of gloves from her and ends up sending them to her, asking her out. She says yes. This guy is like 20 years older than her. What is with people dating people so much older than them. I don't get it. So they start dating. He's rich, she's poor. He doesn't want a serious relationship, she doesn't know what she wants. That's really about it. Toss in a guy her age who has a crush on her, but isn't there for most of the book. I don't understand why this is such a best seller. Because it was written by Steve Martin the actor? I'm curious to see how the movie goes. Someone else read this and let me know what you thought of it. I apparently missed something.

Bette

Back in March, my mother, sister, and I went to Las Vegas to see Bette Midler in concert. It was an incrediable show, something I have never seen before. After seeing her, it made me want to learn a little bit more of who she was. One day when I was at the library and was looking around, I found this book about her, and decided to give it a try. It was pretty interesting to learn about her childhood (she grew up in Hawaii), and her first taste of fame was when she had a small movie role where some of the filming took place in Hawaii, and others in L.A., and from L.A. she moved to NYC to go on Broadway. From there she started singing in clubs and bathhouses, teamed up with Barry Manilow, and soon became famous, putting out records and going on tour. In the public eye she's a wild crazy person who wanted to put joints under all the seats at 2 of her concerts and when they wouldn't let her, she sang a song topless-she's quite fond of her 'tits'. But behind closed doors, she's pretty mellow, likes to garden, and read, and cook. There's nothing really juicy or shocking in her life, so that kind of made this book a bit boring. I skimmed the last few chapters, but once she got older, the boob flashing stopped and she became a mother and started making films for the Disney company. I decided that I don't want to read a book about a person unless that actual person wrote that book, because that would mean that you get all facts, and not just fluff, which I'm sure there is some in this book. Plus that means that the person actually wants to tell their story. Sure, there are quotes from Bette in here, but I kind of felt like a person's life should be kept to themselves unless they want people to know it. If you ever get the chance to see her perform, do it. It was a wonderful show.

Til Death Do Us Part

All these mysteries I keep reading, are making my head hurt. To bad I've got four more sitting on my dresser waiting to be read. This book was much more interesting than the last Kate White. Bailey was a bridesmaid along with 4 (because you need 5 bridesmaids) girls and 3 of them end up dead, so Bailey is certain that she might be next. Sounded interesting. And it was for the most part, but like her last book, there were so many characters and suspects that you had no idea who the killer was. I suspected who it actually ended up being way at the begining of the book. Seems like you can't trust anyone anymore. Not even your friends.

A Body To Die For

The reading kick that I was on back in March and April died after the last book I read. I had to force myself to get through this one. I really liked the first book by this author 'If Looks Could Kill', but was disappointed with this one. I realized that I don't like mystery novels that take place other than where the main character is used to. Bailey lives in NYC and that's where this first book took place, but this one was at a spa elsewhere so there was always random people popping up that aren't going to have any importance in any other books, so you can't really get the feel for the characters. I don't know if anything I just wrote made any sense. Bailey goes to a spa that her friend owns for a little weekend getaway and of course stumbles upon a dead body, because who hasn't had that problem. So she makes it her business to find out what happened, all because she is friends with the owner. So she does. Turns out that the good guy ends up being the bad guy. How reassuring. Now we can't even trust the good guys. Skip this one and go to the next book 'Til Death Do Us Part' which I'm half done with. Handy little note, don't read to mysteries about the same character at one time, I got easily confused about which mystery it was that Bailey was trying to solve.