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.