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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.