Thursday, December 31, 2009

My Top Books of The Year

Here is a list of my favorite books that I read this year. And the date that I read it so that you can go back and check the review.

The Opposite of Love: Julie Buxbaum: Read back in February.
Something Borrowed: Emily Giffin: Read back in February.
Chloe Does Yale: Read back in May.
Get A Life That Doesn't Suck: Read back in June.
Thanks For The Memories: Cecelia Ahern: Read back in September.
Permission Slips: Sherri Shepard: Read back in October.
Marley and Me: Read back in December.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Post Grad


A simple read about a girl who just graduated college and had a plan to get a job at a awesome publishing company and live in a wonderful apartment. Of course nothing goes as planned and she doesn't get the job or the apartment so she has to move back in with her family who are crazy. The ending was predictable, but a decent read. There was a movie made out of it, so I'm looking forward to watching that.

Monday, December 28, 2009

That Extra Half an Inch


Ever since she was in the Spice Girls, I've been fascinated with Victoria Beckham. Its kind of hard not to be. Have you seen her husband? And she's known for her fashion. And there's rumors. I swear, I heard one once where the husband wanted her to remove a rib or something so that she will be thinner. I don't think that's true. Anyway, a friend of mine gave me a bunch of old magazines and there was one with an article about Victoria and it talks about this book. So I checked it out. I have very little fashion sense. I have enough to know that wearing stripes and dots and hot pink and other tacky colors look bad on me, and most people. I like fashion. I just can't afford it. That's what happens when you spend all your money on food. That's definitely one of my goals for the new year, to start taking better care of what I'm wearing. Get a bra that fits right as a pair of jeans that aren't baggy. I know that I'll never be comfy in dresses, so I need to play up jeans. In this book she says that she always wears jeans, which doesn't make sense because I never see photos of her in jeans. Shes always in dresses. Anyone can read this book. There's even a section for pregnant women. My only beef with it was that all the places she lists to buy clothes are the more pricier stores. Of course, you can't really expect her to shop at Target or Walmart. Other than that, I found it helpful. So check it out.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Visions of Sugar Plums


During that holidays I try to read Christmas books and I found this one at the library and it was short so I thought I'd check it out. It was pretty lame. But for 150 pages, what do you expect. One day soon before Christmas Stephanie finds a strange man in her apartment (and doesn't flip out) and hes some sort of spirit and he tries to help her find the joys of Christmas. All while he tries to find an evil spirit who is hanging out with a guy she is trying to catch. Like I said, it was lame. I really need to stop reading her books. I don't know why they are so popular.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Marley & Me


I didn't read this book for years, because I didn't think a story about a guy and his crazy dog would be very entertaining. Plus everyone said it was sad. I heard the same about the movie, so that's why I never watched that. Then a few weeks ago I was at my parents house and the movie was on so I thought, why not, I'll watch it. And I liked it. Yes, the ending was sad. It usually is when a pet dies. So I figured that I would read the book. And I liked the book too. After I got done reading it I was trying to figure out why I liked it. And I think the reason was was because after all the trouble and chaos that the dog causes, they still keep him. A lot of people would have gotten rid of a hyper active dog who eats everything and gets slobber all over everything. And that's sad. So I really respected the fact that they kept him and never gave up on him. Its like with my cats. I hate when they pee on the bed or scratch at the door, but they do prove entertainment and give me a reason to get up everyday (someone needs to feed them), so I would never give them to a shelter like some people would've. I think people need to remember that pets aren't perfect. Marley wasn't perfect, but they loved him anyway.

So, yes, you should read this book. Or if you don't have time, then watch the movie.

Friday, December 18, 2009

One For The Money


I read the latest in this series so I thought I'd start with book one and read them all. I don't know if that is going to happen. I didn't really like this one. I understand that its the first book so the characters are being formed, but it really bothered me that Stephanie didn't show hardly any emotion. Shes being stalked by a crazy boxer and has to sell all her stuff because she doesn't have any money, and I felt like she was just kind of like "Oh well. Such is life". If I'm being stalked by a crazy guy, I'm not going to be able to sleep peacefully and act like nothing is happening when I'm with my parents. Maybe I'll continue with the series. You'll know if I do.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Finger Lickin' Fifteen


I've tried to read this series before but couldn't really get into it. But I like the title and cover of this one so I thought I'd give them a second chance. It wasn't a bad book, the characters are pretty crazy (except for the main one, she's kind of boring), and there were funny parts and it was a fast read.

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter and in this book her friend witnesses a guy getting his head chopped off, and now the killers are after the friend, so Stephanie tries to help her find the killers, while trying to catch other criminals. This woman does not get a break and what I didn't understand is that she just kind of lives with it. I would've flipped out at someone sooner or later. And she has two guys, who both seem a little creepy, who are smitten with her. This poor woman needs to take a vacation.

I liked this one enough to start reading book one. Its OK so far.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Offical Book Club Selection


I like the title and wonder how many book clubs will actually pick this book. Honestly, I wouldn't. I've seen her stand up shows on the Bravo channel and they cracked me up, so I thought that I would like her book. If she's funny on TV, shouldn't her book be funny too? Apparently not. She did try to make it humorous, but, to me, it just wasn't. The main reason why I wanted to read this is because I wanted to hear to go off on celebs like she does in her shows, and while she did mention them, she didn't say anything that exciting about them except that apparently Lisa Kudrow (the chick who played Pheobe on Friends) had a nose and boob job before she got famous and that Steve Martin is an ass. Other than that, its just about her life, starting from childhood to now. Her parents are pretty interesting people. Maybe they should write a book. I understand that she was trying to make a name for herself in the biz, but really, saying bad things about people (she spread a rumor that Dakota Fanning, who was 10 at the time, had gone to rehab). That's a bit harsh. I think that her marrying a guy who took all her money might have been karma for that horrible joke. I guess my feelings for her haven't really changed. If I catch one of her stand up shows on TV, I'll watch. But will pass on her reality show and any other books she writes.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Skipping Christmas


I love this book. It's short and simple and teaches us the real meaning of Christmas. That its not about spending money on gifts and other things.

The story is about Luther who wants to skip Christmas because his daughter is going out of the country so he figures that he and his wife can save money, skip the holiday and go on a cruise instead. No one really understands why he wants to skip it. Frankly, I don't blame him. Spending all that money on gifts, cards, decorations, parties, etc it just seems a bit much. I do disagree a little when he didn't want any decorations up, I mean, a few lights would've been OK. That's really all I've got going on.

Check it out. Or you watch the crappy attempt of a movie version called Christmas With The Kranks starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. Personally, I think the book is better.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Knockout


I always figured that Suzanne Somers was some flaky blond celebrity, because that's how she always seems when she's on the Home Shopping Network. I wasn't very interested in reading any of her books because they all seemed like a stiff read, about hormones and ageing and stuff like that. Then one morning I saw her on the Today show and she was talking about how one morning she woke up and was covered in a rash and couldn't breathe. She went to the hospital and they told her that she has full body cancer. She couldn't figure out how this could happen since a month or so earlier her doctor said that she was in great health. So after being told numerous times that she is going to die, the doctors finally figured out that she had something called Valley Fever, which is no where near as bad as cancer and can be treated. They tell her this after they want to give her chemo, and a ton of drugs which she later found out would've killed her. Why would doctors give something to someone that would kill them? So she wrote this book which is a bunch of interviews with doctors who are trying to prevent and treat cancer without using chemicals like radiation and chemo. Since it is full of doctor speak, some parts are kind of dry, but it really was a very interesting read.

This is what I kind of got out of it. In order to prevent yourself from getting cancer, which I think is impossible, you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Fruits, veggies, exercise, no soda, no sugar (apparently sugar can actually cause cancer), try to stay away from processed foods and chemicals (like in cleaning supplies. I'm screwed because I spray Febreze all over my room). And even if you do all these things, there's still a chance you will get it. But I think that what they were saying is that if you do live a healthy, clean, lifestyle that if you do get cancer, there will be a better chance of beating it. You need to believe that you will be healthy and its proven that even something as simple as that can help.

After some of the interviews there are statements from that doctors patients who tell their story and how that doctor helped them. Suzanne wants the reader to understand that there are other options out there instead of the typical chemo and drugs that most people get.

One of the things that someone said in the book was when one of the doctors was having a conversation with other doctor and that doctor said that the way to treat brain cancer is with radiation, but if he had brain cancer, he wouldn't do radiation. Because it doesn't work. Why have a patient take something that you, as a doctor, would never do to yourself. Shouldn't you trust how you are treating a patient enough that you would do the same for yourself?

My fav quote from the book was "Feelings Never Lie". It makes sense. We really need to start listening to our bodies. Mines a mess and I need to start making it happy so that I won't die when I'm like 30. Lay off the sugar and start exercising. Surround myself with positive people and do things that make me feel good.

So, check this book out, you might learn something.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Gift


I love Cecelia Ahern's stuff. Her books are always magical and touching and can make you laugh and cry. But with this one, I didn't really get that feeling. I kind of felt like her editor wanted her to write a holiday book and she kind of just made this story up. Its a little confusing. The story is about a cop who is telling a kid the store about Lou who is a busy, busy man, and always needs to be in two places at one time. One day Lou gives a homeless man a cup of coffee and later decides to give the man Gabe at job at his work. Something is a little off about Gabe. He always seems to be there, even when he should be elsewhere. One night Gabe lets Lou in on his secret, he gives him a pill which has a cloning effect and allows him to be in two places at once. Lou takes advantage of this gift, but learns that work isn't everything and realizes that he needs to spend more time with his family. About the time he realizes this, something tragic happens to him. I really didn't like the Lou character, kind of felt like she didn't know if he was suppose to be a nice guy or an ass. All in all, this is my least favorite of her books, and I've enjoyed all of her books. Read it if you want, but you won't be missing to much.

Run For Your Life


I was in a reading funk and was in Target and saw this book and it looked interesting. James Patterson is a pretty good writer and the plot sounded good. Its part of a series, which I have not read yet, and about a police officer who has 10 kids and his wife recently died and he's trying to juggle family while working to catch a crazy killer who calls himself The Teacher. He's out to teach the bad people a lesson. It was a good read. Fast paced. A good book to read if you just want something to entertain you. Check it out if you like his stuff.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Murder Under The Mistletoe


I've had this book for years and its been moved from bookshelf to bookshelf, and recently I found it on my mom's bookshelf and decided that I should finally give it a chance and just read it. Its pretty short, so it wouldn't take long. So I read it, and it was OK. Apparently it is part of a series. The main characters- Dee and Barry go on vacation to a B&B for Christmas. While there, a famous model who is also staying there dies. So Dee and Barry (who are likable characters) try to find out who did it. Its a pretty simple book. I would've liked it more if there were less characters. I kind of got confused who was who. But, all in all, it was a decent read.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities


OMG! There's your review.

Just kidding. Back in 2002-2003ish MTV had a TV show called Sorority Life. I watched it and wanted to join a sorority. Not really sure why, maybe because I thought that's what all the cool girls do, or maybe I wanted to make friends and meet guys. Whatever the reason, clearly I never did, because frankly, I didn't really care enough to actually do anything that one has to do in order to join. I was much more distracted by hanging out with friends, working, and having fun. So when I found this book in my sister's car I was interested to read it, because don't we all secretly want to know what goes on behind closed doors. After reading this, I kind of wish I had never wondered, because this was no doubt the most shocking book I think I've read so far. Mostly because it's nonfiction. Through out the book I had to keep reminding myself that it was nonfiction because I could not believe people would treat people like this.

The author picked four girls to follow during a school year and their sorority life. All these girls and their 'sisters' do is drink, do drugs, have sex, talk about their boobs, talk about how they hate the sorority, and talk about how they love the sorority. Half the book felt like is should of been on daytime TV following Days of Our Lives. I would never last in a sorority because A.) I don't like to be bossed around B.) I don't like sharing a room and a bathroom with 100 other girls C.) I'm not a size 4 with clear skin and silky hair and D.) Having sex with a ton of guys and drinking to much and doing drugs is not my think. I actually have respect for myself.

I know a sorority is suppose to be a place where you can make friends and such, but really, after reading this, they kind of seem like a cult. Never really thought of that before. They tell you how to look and how to act and basically don't be yourself, because if you are, then they don't want you. You don't fit the image.

There's lots of facts in this book, so at times it felt like reading a boring newspaper article. It was informative, how some places won't let you in their house if you aren't white, and there's stories of hazing, which just shocked the hell out of me. Why in the world would you want to be part of a group that would make you take off your shirt and bra so that they arr age you in a line by size of your boobs. Ew. The author even asked some girls why they would want to join a house after they were treated so badly and for the most part their answer was 'because we want a place where we can belong'. That's insane. It's pretty common for girls to get tipsy before going out drinking. They call it pre-gaming. And a few girls have actually been raped. One girl got so drunk one night and she even invited the guy who raped her to come over and have sex. That's sick.

This is a must read of anyone who has a daughter who wants to join a sorority. Force your daughter to read this and hopefully she will change her mind. Hopefully by the time any of kids go to college, the Greek system will have cleaned up their acts. But as the author noted, they are still doing thing that they did 40 years earlier, so maybe not. Personally, I think they should just all be shut down. Because with every girl who has a good experience in the house, there's another who had a shitty one and will be scarred.

But that's just my opinion.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Testimony


I was in a reading funk and was checking out the books my mom had lying around and this one really seemed the most interesting. Yeah, my mom has boring taste in books. The reason why this one caught my eye is because its about a sex scandal that takes place in a private school. We all know that kids who go to private school are usually spoiled and more screwed up then public school kids. So even though this is a novel, it sounded like it would be good.

A sex tape involving four students leaks out and the novel follows the events following up to the incident, during, and after. Each chapter is a different character and their point of view of what happened. The students, their parents, and the headmaster. Parts of it were kind of confusing because it jumps around and doesn't go in order of the event. Other than that its a good book and was hard to put down. Check it out. It might make you change your mind about sending your kids to a private school.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Permission Slips


I don't know anything about Sherri Shepherd except that she's on The View and has been on some TV shows. I was reading a magazine and they had parts from this book when she's talking about diabetes, and it was interesting that it made me want to read the book. It's memoir, but doesn't feel like one. I've read a few books based on people's lives and they are just boring. This one is a quick read and since she's a comedian it's humorous. She talks about God, Family, living with Diabetes, and all the ups and downs that come with it. I think the chapter where she talks about having diabetes, or as her family calls it "the sugar" was the most interesting because I do not take care of myself and if I don't have them now, will probably get them if I'm not careful. I've got a soda sitting right here, so that should be the first clue that I need to get healthy. While most of the stupid things she's done in her life is humorous, there are some times when you are just kind of like "no one is that dumb". Sometimes she's not the brightest star in the sky, but who is? Check it out, I liked it.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Perfect Christmas


I enjoy Christmas books, and I enjoy books by Debbie Macomber, so I really wanted to read this book. It was a pretty predictable book, but a good one to read for the holiday season. Cassie is tired of being single and goes to a matchmaker to find love. The matchmaker (Simon) is really annoying. If there was a reason to not read this book, it would be him. He's such a Scrooge. He gives Cassie three tasks before he will let her meet the man he's going to set her up with. One of the tasks was for her to make a Christmas dinner for her neighbors. All that talk about turkey and stuffing and such made me very hungry. So make sure you have some turkey on hand when you read this. It was a pretty good book, just way to predictable.

Thanksgiving


I love Thanksgiving, so I think this was the reason for my reading this book. Plus it has a cute bunny on the cover. It was a pretty simple little read. About a girl who meets a boy because his bunny is chewing on her skirt. At first they hate each other, and then when they are put into a unrealistic position where they did pretend to be parents to a baby, they start to fall in love. Like most romance novels, it's pretty predictable. But if you're looking for a quick read, it's a cute book.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Summer On Blossom Street


Debbie Macomber has a bunch of series out there, but I'm a fan of her knitting books. I don't really feel that they are very realistic, but sometimes it's nice to read a book that takes place in a perfect world, where everyone ends up happy in the end. In this book, Lydia has another knitting class at her yarn shop A Good Yarn and it follows the going ons in her life and her three students as they knit and learn to get over something, whether it's smoking, an ex-love, or something else. These books always make me want to take a knitting class. They make it seem so easy and people always make friends. If you are ever in the mood of a feel good book, this is a good series to read.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Thnaks For The Memories


I LOVE Cecelia Ahern's book. Her writing makes you feel like you aren't even reading a book, but that you are actually part of the character's life. And this book didn't disappoint. It follows the store of Justin who donates blood so he can get a date with a girl he likes, and little does he know, that his blood is given to Joyce who has lost a baby and a lot of blood and needs his. Only when she gets his, she gets some of his memories as well. So she tries to understand why she has these memories and who they came from, and in the hunt for answers finds love. Might sound cheesy, but it pulls you in and you can't stop reading. And you have to read it for Joyce's dad. I love him. He was my favorite character. He made me laugh. So check this book out. You'll love it.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Vision In White


This was a pretty decent book. Not to long and a quick read. It's the first book in the wedding series which is about four friends who start a wedding service. This book is about Mac who is the photographer. I think that might be one of the reasons why I liked it. I like photographs and taking them for a living sounds like a pretty good job. Mac is pretty much anti-love, as she never got it growing up, and then one day she meets Carter who had a crush on her in high school. She denies that she is falling for him, and that kind of annoyed me. So she seems kind of bitter for most of the book and her needy mom keeps making her mad, and frankly, it just got annoying. Of course the ending is happy, and I liked it just enough to read the other books when they come out.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The Time Traveler's Wife


This book was made into a movie starring one of my favorite actresses, Rachel McAdams, so that kind of made me want to read the book. I was expecting it to be really sad since all the females I know who have read it, cried while reading it and cried when they saw the preview for the movie. I didn't cry.

It follows the story of Henry who can time travel. He doesn't know why, and he doesn't like it, but it happens. The book bounces around during his travels and his present time, and most travels include Claire. I thought that it was cute that she met him when she was little and never stopped loving him. I don't think a lot of women could be so in love with a guy who will be there one min, and gone the next. I kind of felt that she deserved better than him, since she was true to him her whole life and he has a wild past. But no one's past is perfect, so maybe they were meant to be together.

There were some boring parts, and probably could've been shortened a little, but all in all, it was good. The ending is a little said, especially since I was listening to the song "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab For Cutie at the time, and that's a sad song. But I didn't cry. Now, I can't promise that I won't do that at the movie, which I am looking forward to seeing, so I can how they did things.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Uncommon Reader


An interesting little book that I stumbled upon at the B&N website. It follows the story of the Queen of England who one days discovers the traveling library (aka, the book mobile). Feeling like she should check out a book, she does and discovers the world of books. So she starts reading non-stop. But for whatever reason (maybe because reading changed her a bit) all of her workers don't like her reading and do what they can to make her stop. I was a little annoyed by that. If someone wants to read, then let them. Its a good book for someone who loves books since that's mostly what it talks about. And at the length of only 120 pages, there's no reason to not read it. So check it out. And make sure you have a dictionary. There's some big words.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Penny Pincher's Club


I really liked this book. Couldn't put it down. Read about half of it in one day. It's quick entertaining read. It follows the story of Kat who is a shopaholic who finds out that her husband is cheating on her and plans to divorce her after their daughter graduates high school. She joins the Penny Pincher's Club so that when the day comes she will be able to have saved enough money to support herself. I was hoping to a bunch of money saving tips out of it, but I really didn't. I'm not one for coupons or 'dumpster diving', but I do agree that getting rid of things like cable are a smart choice. Maybe someday I will do that.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Moving Is Murder


This is the first in the Ellie Avery series. Not as good as the 4th book, but still pretty good. Not as creepy and had to many characters to follow. That's my issue with mystery books, there's always so many characters that its hard to keep track of them. Especially when they are all women. In this book, people in Ellie's neighborhood start dieing, and even though she shouldn't she starts to investigate why. You'd think that after figuring out that someone put antifreeze in your water cup would be a sign to stop sleuthing. But, like Nancy Drew, she keeps at it. When will she learn?

Magnolias, Moonlight, And Murder


I picked up this book because I liked the cover. Its got a pumpkin on it, which means that it takes place during the Fall, and I love Fall. This is the latest book in the series, but unlike some series, you don't need to read the others first to understand what is going on. The story is about Ellie who is the wife of an Air Force officer and it takes you into the world of what life is like for their wives. I enjoyed it. Wasn't sure if I would or not. Ellie finds a dead body who everyone thinks belongs to a girl who went missing a year ago. And while investigating it, another unsolved murder is solved. It was creepy and something I shouldn't have read when before bed. But it doesn't take much to scare me. In other words, good read. Check it out.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Fixer Upper


I kind of expected this book to be another cheesy chick novel, but it wasn't, and that made it so much better. Dempsey is a strong headed character who doesn't back down when her life falls apart. She loses her job in D.C. due to a government scandal and goes to Georgia to fix up an old house that her dad got from his dead uncle. The whole book is basically her fixing up this old house and finding her way in life. I really enjoyed it. It was kind of long, but good enough that you just keep wanting to read it. My only issue with it was that it ended kind of suddenly. It could've had a wrap up chapter, but other than that, I liked it.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Naturally Thin


I love the show The Real Housewives of New York City. It's one of my guilty pleasures. So when one of the girls on the show wrote a book, I wanted to read it. It's a health book, and normally I wouldn't have read it because health books are boring, but the chick who wrote it is funny on the show and slim and a cook, so I figured that she might have her act together. It was actually really easy to follow, and quick read, and helpful. Even after reading the first chapter it changed my state of thinking when it comes to food. It's such simple things that you wonder why you weren't doing this a long time ago. So here's the cliff notes verison of the book. I still think you should go snag a copy, but until you can, here's something to get you going....

The first part of the book is broken up into rules. Here are the rules and some notes that I wrote down for them.

Rule 1: Your Diet Is A Bank Account:


  • "Eat what you want to eat. Just regognize what you are eating and if you know its an "expensive" investment, enjoy every bite. Or recognize and balance it later. Then you won't blow your budget and you can stay balanced. If you hate to exercise, you can eat a little less. If you love to exercise, you can eat a little more."

  • Never have the same kind of food for two meals in a row. (Example: If I eat pasta for lunch, don't eat it again for dinner, like I usually do.)

  • If you eat a big lunch, have a small dinner.

Rule 2: You Can Have It All, Just Not All At Once:



  • You are the only one responsiable for what you put into your mouth.

  • Example: Instead of pizza and ice cream, it's pizza OR ice cream. Not both.

Rule 3: Tast Everything, Eat Nothing:



  • Eat little bits of really great food.

  • Eat a little bit of what you want, but don't feel like you have to finish it.

  • You want to eat not until you feel full, but just until you feel satisfied. (Don't keep eating if you feel full just because there's still food on the plate.)

  • When you feel like you are going to over eat on something, eat something else. If you are still craving the first item, go ahead and eat it.

Rule 4: Pay Attention:



  • Tune into your preparation, no matter how simple.

  • Tast your food. If you eat food and you pay attention, you'll feel as though you didn't eat.

  • Chew your food slowly and well.

  • Quit muiltasking.

  • Take a seat. Never eat while standing up. Always sit down.

  • Slow down.

  • Pause between bites.

  • Make food special.

Rule #5: Downsize Now!:



  • Eat what you want, just eat a small portion of it.

Rule #6: Cancel Your Membership In The Clean Plate Club:



  • You don't have to clean your plate, its a bit cause of over eating. Box whatever is left over and eat it later.

Rule #7: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself:



  • Mostly this chapter talked about binge eating.

  • Listen to your body.

Rule #8: Know Thyself:



  • Know what your body likes and what it doesn't. Know when to much is to much.

Rule #9: Get Real:



  • Real Food= Good. Processed Food= Bad.

  • Eat organic when you can.

  • Go local~> Foods are fresher.

Rule #10: Good For You:



  • Let yourself be thin.

  • Take care of yourself first, and the other things will fall into place.

  • Sleep!

  • Love yourself.

In the second part of the book, the author walks us through a week of what she eats and why she ate it and weather it was a good choice or not. There are also recipes throughout the book, so if you like to cook, they might come in handy.


Through out the book, she mentions a ton of times how this isn't a diet book, and that she's not telling you what to eat or how much to eat. But how to pick good choices.


Saturday, July 18, 2009

Certain Girls


I got this book over a year ago, started reading it, decided that it was to long and read something else instead. I got tired of looking at it on my bookshelf so I started reading it again and made myself finish it. It wasn't a bad book, for the most part it was pretty interesting, but it really was to long. It's a story about a mother and a daughter. When the daughter was 3, the mother wrote a dirty novel which the daughter didn't know about until she was 13, then she read the book and basically flipped out because she felt like the mom had been lieing to her about stuff. The mom is like a overweight June Cleaver with a dark past. I got really annoyed hearing the daughter and the mom talk about how heavy the mom was. She's chubby, we got it, doesn't mean you need to remind us every other chapter. Like I said, it was a decent book, but I was very happy to have it read.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Stealing Home


I was really into this book up until about the last 100 pages when it started to get cheesy romantic. Of course you do find it in the romance section, so it only makes sense.

The story is about Maddie, a mother of 3 who just found out that her husband has been cheating on her and knocked up his girlfriend. So they get a divorce. Which is a sign for her two best friends to make her join in their idea in opening up a spa in their tiny little town. While doing this, the town's cute new baseball coach falls in love with her. And she starts to like him too. But for some reason, the town's people have an issue with this. What will Maddie do?

It's the first in the series of 4, and like I said, I was really into it, then it just got a bit to cheesy for me. So, I probably won't read anymore from the series. Even though I started the 4th book. Maybe it will be less cheesy.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Freshman Obsession

I don't know if this can really count as a post since it's a book for young adults. I used to love this series and then sold all the books I had in it when I felt that I was to grown up to own them. But there was a few in the series that I liked and wanted to read again, so I looked on Amazon and found this copy for super cheap and bought it.
The series is called Freshman Dorm which came out in the 90s. It's about three high school best friends who go to college. The reason I like these books is because they always have a life lesson in them. In this book, one of the characters feels like she has to turn to drugs to get her life back together after she gets dumped on her wedding day. Of course, in the end, the drugs just mess up her chance of getting into the Olympic trails for running because her leg goes out during a meet. In other words kids: Drugs are Bad.
Like I said, they were made in the 90's, so don't expect anything super spectacular. They are simple and a fast read, and I like them.

The Penguin Who Knew To Much


It was on the bargain rack and had penguins on the cover, so I figured, why not. It's part of a mystery series that I haven't read before, where, as far as I can tell, often have to do with animals.

In this one, the main character Meg finds penguins in the basement and a dead body. No, the penguins didn't kill anyone. The town zoo went out of business and before the keeper disappeared he got all the towns people to take the animals. Meg's dad took the penguins and as the book rolls along, they end up with half the zoo in their backyard. Of course, who wants a zoo in their backyard? So Meg is on the hunt to figure out what happened to the zoo keeper and how to get all the animals back to their rightful home.

It was a quick read and pretty funny when in just about every chapter another animal showed up. I was a little disappointed that it didn't have more to do with penguins. :o(

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Get A Life That Doesn't Suck


I bought this book about a year ago when my life really did suck. Unemployed, couldn't find a roommate, broke, chubby, etc. But, I never read the book. Got through chapter one then got distracted by something else. A self help book can't help you if you don't read it.

It was a pretty good book. A little slow at first, but if you keep at it, it's quite helpful. I really liked how the author put in real life situation stories in there so that it was easier to better understand what she was trying to say. It really made me rethink my choices and the actions I make.

If you are unhappy with your life, check this book out. Take those sucky lemons and make some yummy lemonade.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Home For The Holidays


I started reading this last December, since it's a Christmas book, but never got around to finishing it, so it's been chilling on my bookshelf for 4 months and I decided to just go ahead and finish it. It only took a week, but geez, I thought this book would never end. The first 100 or so pages were OK, but then once the two main characters started to hook up, it just dragged on. Of course there was the conflict towards the end of the book that all books have. Gotta have that twist to wake the reader up.

Maybe if I had finished reading it during Christmas time, I would've gotten into the holiday spirit. Maybe if I wasn't so bitter about love right now, I would've found it more romantic. But mostly I found it to be a waste of time and am glad that I bought it was gift card instead of spending the $7 it would've cost to buy it.

But that's just me.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Chloe Does Yale


I have passed this book a bunch of times at the bookstore and was a little scared to buy it because the cover and title suggests that it's about sex. And for some reason, I seem to think that the person at check out is going to care what I'm buying. It was only $5 so I figured I will just get it instead of starring at it every time I hit the bargain shelf. It actually wasn't that bad of a book. The best way to describe it is if Sex And The City went to Yale. Basically, it follows Chloe through the school year as she writes for the sex column for the Yale newspaper. The thing I didn't quite get was how someone who never has sex can write a column about it. Regardless, it was a quick read and worth the $5 it cost. So don't be shy, check it out.

Forever...


I don't know what makes me read the books I read, I think I just liked the cover of this one and thought it would be a romance. It was kind of a romance, if you are a teenager, which of course this book was written for teens. It's about two teens who fall in love and throughout the whole book the boyfriend is trying to get the girl to have sex with him. Big shock there. Finally they do and then they get separated for the summer when they go to two different camps and the girl realizes that maybe she doesn't really love the guy. Spoiler alert: They break up. Which just proves my point that you can't find real love at the age of 18.

First To Die


I read this book a month or so ago, and for the life of me cannot think of anything to say about it. It's the first book in the Women's Murder Club series, and I'll probably read more from the series. The ending was very unsuspected. If you are a James Patterson fan, then you'll like this book. Sorry I can't say more, but I'm having writers block.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Lost Recipe For Happiness


Despite the fact that this book ended up to be kind of predictable, it was good. The basic storyline is, Elena gets fired from her job as a chef and about 5 mins later gets hired to be the head chef at another restaurant in Aspen. Packing up her dog, she moves to Colorado to start over. Very convenient that the owner of the restaurant is cute and the two get a crush on each other. It's a pretty simple story, fast read, but I was expecting it to be a little more insightful and life changing. The thing that annoyed me was that Elena had been in a car accident that killed some of her family members and her boyfriend, and 20 years later, she's still letting it affect her life. Kinda got tired of hearing about it. I get it, something bad happened in the past, move on. Since it takes place in a restaurant, there are recipes involved. So if you like reading and cooking, it will be a good book for you to check out.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder


I've really got to learn to stop reading books in this series because the main character owns a bakery so throughout the book it talks about cookies, cakes, and other yummy goodies. Plus it has recipes, which, if I was a cook, would be very handy.

Last winter I was on the mission to read all the books in the series in order, and so did everyone else apparently because it took me forever to get this book from the library, and once I finally did, I didn't really want to read it, but did because I had waited to long. It wasn't that great. Kind of blah. A guy gets murdered and Hannah tries to find out why. And while doing so, discovers that the noisy reporter in town has been blackmailing people, so of course she decides to find out why and fix the problem. Like usual, I had no idea who did it until the end. I'm really not very good at figuring out mysteries. In other words, I've read better books by her.

Yum, strawberry shortcake sounds tasty.

Honeymoon


Since I apparently like Thrillers now, I decided to check out James Patterson. Which is weird, because every time I've read his stuff in the past, I've hated it. This particular book wasn't super exciting, but it is fast paced.

It's about a woman who leads a double life and kills all the men that she dates. Soon a detective is on her trail and creates a false identity so she wont know that he's on to her. If anything, this book shows that you can't really trust anyone. Oh goody. Just what the world needs, for people to second guess people.

Probably not his best book. The beginning was exciting, but got kind of boring toward the end.

Hold Tight


So, I apparently like Thrillers. Who knew? This book caught my attention because it seemed realistic. Two parents set up a spy program on their teenager son's computer because like most teens he is acting depressed and weird. When they do this, they start to worry that he might be responsible for the death of one of his friends. It's a good book to read if you want to learn how to spy on your kids.

My only biff with this book is that there is another story about a crazy guy who likes to murder people, which at first makes no sense as to why the author tells you about him, but in the end, every one's story ties together.

Good book. Check it out.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Married In Seattle


I like Debbie Macomber, and my mom knows this, so when she was at Costco one day, she saw this book and bought it for me. I asked her if maybe she was hinting at something. Me getting married maybe? Gotta have a boyfriend first Ma.

This book has two stories. Both about 2 women in Seattle and how they find love.

Story 1: First Comes Marriage. In this one, a woman's grandfather tells her that he wants her to marry his co-worker despite the fact that the two dislike each other. Being the predictable story that it is, you know that in the end the two get together.

Story 2: Wanted: Perfect Partner. In this one, a teenage daughter and her friend puts a personal ad in the paper for her mom, and surprise! the guy they pick to date her mom turns out to be Mr. Right. The mom is kind of annoying.

Out of these two stories, the first one is probably the best.

Something Blue


This is the sequel to Something Borrowed and it wasn't as good. In the first book the author builds up the character Darcy so that you want to hate her, then she turns around and writes a book based on Darcy's life. It picks up where the first one left off, so you get to hear Darcy's side of the story. I found her to be very annoying throughout the whole book and think that she gets what she deserves, but she does get a happy ending, because you can't write a chick book without a happy ending.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Something Borrowed


I liked this book. It's a chick book, but the main character isn't ditzy and annoying. And even though you should hate her, you gotta love her.

On Rachael's 30th birthday party she and her best friend Darcy's fiance Dex have sex. And while Rachael and Dex should feel bad about the hook up, they don't and realize that they are love each other. Throughout the whole book you are just waiting for Darcy to catch them and see what happens. Does she catch them? Do Darcy and Dex get married? You'll just have to read and find out.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Opposite of Love


I love smart chick lit books. They are the ones that don't scream chick lit, but really they still are. The cover isn't pink and girlie, and the main character actually has a brain and doesn't need to rely on a guy or endless shopping to make her happy. This is one of those books. Even though it is about love and realizing that you had the right person when you no longer had them.

Emily breaks up with her boyfriend Andrew when she gets the feeling that he's going to ask her to marry him. Andrew sounds like the perfect guy, because it's a lot easier to make one up on paper than it is to actually find one in real life. Emily knows that Andrew is Mr. Right but gets worried that she isn't Mrs. Right and ends things before they get any further. Then Emily kind of has a break down. Quits her job at a law firm, tries to get Andrew back into her life, but he doesn't want anything to do with her because she 'broke them'. Then she finds out that her grandpa is dying, and basically her life just falls apart.

But hey, this is a chick book so of course everything works out. She gets a new job, she and Andrew get back together. The grandpa dies, which is sad, but it brings her and her father closer together.

It's a good book. A fast read. Read pretty much all of it in one day. So check it out.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sharp Objects


I don't usually read thrillers. I stick to the friendly chick lit and funny mysteries. But there was something about this book that always caught my eye when I saw it at the bookstore, so I finally just checked it out from the library. I was very disturbed by it by the end of the first chapter, but it's written in a way that makes you want to keep reading.

Camille is a Chicago reporter who gets assigned to go back to her hometown to cover some murders that have happened to two little girls. Her boss thinks that going back home will help her after her recent stay at a mental hospital. Camille likes to cut words into her body. Going home brings back some dark memories for her and while there is uncovers some dark secrets about her mother.

It kind of reminded me of like a really twisted episode of Law & Order or one of those kind of shows. Some parts are kind of graphic, so if you like fluffy stuff, this isn't the book for you. Stephen King gave it a good review, and that was my first sign that this was going to be different than my normal reads. But I liked it, so maybe I'll read more thrillers.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Girls Next Door


We all know who Hugh Hefner is, but none of us knew anything about his girlfriends until the E! Channel created a show about his 3 girlfriends, Holly, Bridget, and Kendra. Of course, at this time they aren't his girlfriends anymore, but back when they were, they had a show called The Girls Next Door. I love it. It's my guilty pleasure. And now they have put out a book, so of course I had to read it. It mostly just talks about where the girls are from, how they met Hef, some of their favorite things, and is filled with lots of pictures. So if you are a fan of the show, then you will like this book. One thing that would've made it better is if it was a little juicer. Come on, people want to know what really happens behind closed doors.

Monday, February 2, 2009

He's Just Not That Into You


Unless you've been living in a hole, you've probably heard of the book He's Just Not That Into You, where a guy named Greg tells you all the signs of a guy who isn't into you, and if you are dating this guy, then you need to dump him.

I've recently (and currently) have dealt with a guy who is giving me mixed signals on if he's 'into me', so that's why I picked up this book. I had read it a few years ago when it first came out, but they are turning it into a movie, so I wanted to refresh my memory and hope that maybe it will get me to stop thinking about this guy who, according to the book, isn't into me.

Here's some notes that I took from the book and Greg's signs that a guy isn't into you. I color coded them so the red are quotes from the book, the blue are my thoughts on those quotes, and the black is the chapter titles.

If a guy really likes you, there is nothing that's going to get in his way.

1.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's N0t Asking You Out. (Because if he likes you, he will ask you out.) OK, this makes sense. If a guy likes you than he's be wanting to get to know you better, grab a cup of coffee, going out to dinner, whatever it is that people do on first dates. Guys don't mind messing up a friendship if it could lead to sex whether it be a 'fuck buddy' situation or a meaningful romance. Well, that's good to know. Best friend Rob would rather get laid by you instead of caring about your friendship together. Let's make up a rule that we do sleep with our friends. Shouldn't they be more important than sex? Men like to chase and you have to let them chase you. I asked some guys about this one, and they disagree. Guys like it when girls ask them out, they say that it takes off the pressure of having to ask a girl out. So, don't assume that just because you asked a guy out that things aren't going to work for the two of you.

2.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Not Calling You (Men know how to use the phone.) Of course you want a guy who's going to call you, but there are some people who just don't like talking on the phone, I'm one of them. So if he's texting you, does that mean he doesn't like you? It's the year 2009, where I think texting is the new calling. But yes, having a guy call you up every so often is nice. So guys, if you are into a girl and are just texting her, give her a call once or twice a week. 100% of men polled said they've never been to busy to call a woman they were really into.

3.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Not Dating You ("Hanging out" is not dating.) Duh. I haven't really been on dates. Every guy I've dated I was always friends with first, so I don't really know how to tell the difference between hanging out and dating. Would be watching at movie at home with a guy be considered "hanging out"? Do you actually have to go to the movies to have it be considered ''dating"? If this is the case, than hanging out is cheaper than dating. 100% of guys polled said "a fear of intimacy" has never stopped them from getting into a relationship.

4.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Not Having Sex With You (When men like you, they want to touch you, always) True. But there's always those players out there who will have sex with you and make you think that they are into you, when really, they aren't. But yeah, if you are dating a guy and he doesn't want to have sex with you, then there's something wrong. Unless he's religious and is saving sex for marriage. If a man isn't trying to undress you, he's not into you. Once again, this kind of applies to if you are dating the guy. There's a guy who I know is into me (and I wish I was into him, then I wouldn't have needed to read this book) and he's not spending his time trying to get me naked. It's called respect. I don't want every guy who likes me to try to get me in my underwear.

5.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Having Sex With Someone Else (There's never going to be a good excuse for cheating.) I think we can just leave it at that. No explanation needed.

6.) He's Just Not That Into You If He Only Wants To See You When He's Drunk (If he likes you, he'll want to see you when his judgement isn't impaired.) Good point. You can't have a relationship with someone who's always drunk. Drunk people are only fun for a few hours, then they just get annoying. 100% of men polled said they have never vomited in the bed of a woman they were really into. Does that mean they have vomited in the beds of the women they weren't really into?

7.) He's Just Not That Into You If He Doesn't Want To Marry You (Love cures commitment-phobia.) This one kind of made me mad. I'm friends with a couple who have been dating for like 5 or something years and they aren't married yet. According to Greg this guy just isn't into this girl who he lives with and spends lots of time with and are just super cute together. Of course she's ready to get married, and he's not, but I don't think that means that they won't ever get married, they are both still young and no one has ever created a time limit on how long you have to date someone before you have to marry them. Marriage is a scary thing, and so many of them end bad, that as of right now (because you should all listen to the single girl) I don't even know if I want to get married. Of course, that could all change when I find a guy who I like who is 'into me'. 100% of the guys polled said they would have no problem marrying a woman who they were positive was the love of their life. OK, but just how long did it take for these guys who actually marry this woman?

8.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Breaking Up With You (Duh) ("I don't want to go out with you" means just that) 100% of men polled said that when they broke up with someone, it always meant that they didn't want to go out with them anymore. I thought this was pretty true, until one of my ex's kept telling me he missed me and stuff. Of course, it wasn't the ex that I would actually get back together with. There's a guy out there who's going to be really happy that you didn't get back together with your crappy ex-boyfriend.

9.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Disappeared On You (Sometimes you have to get closure all by yourself.) That's just mean. Geez guys, have the guts to actually tell the girl that you don't like her anymore. In a nice way off course. No answer is your answer. 100% of men polled who had "disappeared" on a woman said that at the time they were completely aware of what a horrible thing they were doing, and no woman calling them up and talking to them would have changed that.

10.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's Married (and other variations of being unavailable) (If you're not able to love freely, its not really love.) It sucks when you think you've met Mr. Right and he turns out to be married. But don't get involved with him, because in the end, either you or the wifey will have gotten hurt. And love shouldn't involve hurting people.

11.) He's Just Not That Into You If He's A Selfish Jerk, A Bully, or A Really Big Freak (If you really love someone, you want to do things to make that person happy.) Basically what this chapter talked about is how weird guys can be, there was one guy who wouldn't sleep in the same bed as his girlfriend. So much for snuggling. Either he's just not into her, or he has issue, but I know that I would never want to be with a guy who didn't want to sleep in the same bed as me.

So there you go, 11 signs that this guy just isn't into you. Hopefully you either have or will find a guy who doesn't fall into any of these categories. Someone who will call you, sleep with you, marry you, love you, etc.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Here Comes The Bride


I enjoyed the first two books buy this author, her writing is simple and relatively realistic, and after having a dream where I was at my friend's wedding, I kind of wanted to read a wedding book, and in this one, Cate who is the main character of Always The Bridesmaid gets to finally be the bride. My beef with this is that it doesn't really go into much detail so I find of felt like I didn't really get to know the characters. Cate's life seemed a little bit to good. Great boyfriend who wants to marry her, an apartment by the beach, a job as a teacher, all her friends and family love her. There's no conflict. Sure, the author tosses in some wedding drama, but even that didn't bother Cate to the point where she lost her cool. This chick never gets mad. That's not natural. Oh well. I'll still read other books by this author.

Last Writes


Continuing on with my Laura Lavine mystery series reading, this one was equally good as the others. There hasn't been any of them that have stood out at me, they are just a fun, easy, mystery read. Something I can take to work and read in between annoying phone calls.

In this book, Jaine gets the chance to write for a sitcom. And of course someone ends up being murdered and Jaine's best friend Kandi is the main suspect, so Jaine tries to clear her name. The ending is kind of disturbing, as the killer commits suicide. That was a little to dark for me, because I kinda liked that character. Oh well, it's just a book.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

If You Could See Me Now


I love Cecelia Ahern's book. They make you laugh and cry and are so full of feeling. They also give you the notion that love exists and there is someone out there for all of us. And sometimes it shows up before you can even see it.

This is the story of Elizabeth, a woman who likes everything neat, clean, and in its place. Elizabeth has a wild and crazy sister who has a young son who Elizabeth has to take care of. One day the child meets an imaginary friend, Ivan. Ivan falls in love with Elizabeth, something that imaginary friends never do. One day she is able to see Ivan and without realizing it, falls in love with him too, but of course he's not real, so their love could never amount to anything, but she doesn't know that he's not real. Ivan cracks open Elizabeth's shell and she is able to learn to live again, but once she is, Ivan must leave, because his job is done.

Its kinda sad, because the one person who she could be open in front of isn't real, but the whole time you read the book, you just keep wondering what's going to happen next. How can a real person and an invisible person love each other. It's a really good book, and pretty fast paced. So check it out.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The PMS Murder


Like all the other books in this series, this was just a fun mystery novel. Most mysteries are kind of stuffy and dark, but these are fun. The main character is entertaining. She eats a bit to much, she lets her cat rule her life, she has guy troubles, there's something about her that I think every woman can relate too. It's a fast read, and something to enjoy when you want to read something that you don't have to focus to much attention on. It's like chick lit for mysteries.
I'm going to read a lot from her, so be prepared.