Because She Can - Bridie Clark

I'm fairly certain that I read a review of this book and therefore checked it out at the library. I always enjoy reading a book by a first time author. Because She Can was your typical chick lit based around and aspiring heroine. The truth is, if you've read The Devil Wears Prada, then you will experience Deja Vu while reading Because She Can. The difference being Devil Wears Prada is about the fashion magazine industry and Because She Can is about the book publishing industry. One other difference is the antagonist in BSC, Vivian Grant is detestable because she is so revolting, whereas Miranda Priestly is written in a way that you love to hate her rather than throw up in your mouth when reading her character. Vivian is a lunatic who goes on and on about her sex charades and Mairanda is an evil witch, but sometimes evil witches are good for a great story.

Why I am I not writing about the main characters of either of these books? Because they are both your predictable, chick lit leading lady. In her 20's, living in New York, chasing her dream and ending up with the man. Neither stand out for me because the Evil Boss Lady steals the show, so to speak. I don't dislike chick lit, I dislike predictable. Unfortunately, most chick lit follows the same premise and is like eating a cupcake. It taste yummy, but in the end you are eating empty calories.

(One last note: I'm not a fan of the cover art.)

Brandon's Grandmother sent me a $50.00 gift card for Barnes and Noble back in November for my birthday. Brandon and I made a trip to the very impressive B&N in the Woodlands soon after Christmas and it was so hard to make choices. There are so many books that I read reviews on and find interest in.  I had never really heard of "What Should I Do With My Life," but it really spoke to me from the title alone. I am constantly asking my self this question.

This book is very inspiring. There are so many people that share their stories with Po Bronson about switching gears to try something different. These people faced their fears and really went after something that they knew was worth struggling for. I think most people hide behind their fears instead of really going after something they know they want, instead of what they have settled for. I do not re-read books as a habit, but I have a feeling I will read this one agian in a few months.

If you ever find yourself wondering what you should do with your life, or "Is this really it?" I would suggest you pick up this book and learn about other people who know that feeling but actually answered the question for themselves. You won't regret it.

Manic by Terri Cheney

I have read a lot of memoirs about people that suffer from Bipolar Disorder and I always come away with a profound respect. Not just for the fact that the author could be open and honest with an experience that can be nothing less than excrutiating, but also because I think this is the best way to rid the world of the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Bipolar Disorder is so hard to diagnose and understand because it affects each individual differently. Symptoms vary from one individual to the next as well as the treatments.

Terri Cheney's story might not be tidy and easy for most to digest, but I found it amazing. I believe this book would be an excellent read for anyone who has ever lived with bipolar disorder or who knows someone who has. There are still so many people in this world that don't really understand mental illnesses and why or how it affects people.

I saw it on Oprah!

Dana Canedy was on an episode of Oprah about "incredible, unforgettable dads". The show started off with tears and ended with tears for me. Dana was the last person Oprah talked to and while I listened to her story I boo hoo'd like someone who's pet just died. It was an ugly and loud cry. Dana had given her fiance a journal to write in about himself. It was a journal with prompts for a father to write to his child. At the time Dana was pregnant and Charles King, her fiance and the father of her child was serving our nation in Iraq. Dana writes about her love for Charles and his for her and there are passages that Charles wrote to his son. I have only met a few people in life that seem very close to perfect and even though I didn't meet him, Charles King seems like one of those men that is a close to perfect as it gets. I wish that every father in our country would read this book and take notes on what it really means to be a father. I have no children, I have a major lack of trust for men and romantic love, but this book really made me believe that all of these things are out there. I cried and smiled during the time that I read this book. I would like to say more about it, but I am hoping that someone will read this and then go out and buy or borrow this book and love it just as much as I did.









Steve Harvey was on Oprah to talk about his new book not once, but twice. The second time being ONE WHOLE HOUR. For those of you don't watch Oprah, that means you're gonna be rich! Recently I have been having relationship woes so I was quick to run out and buy this book of relationship advice. You might not expect a comedian to give really great advice on love and dating, but he does. Harvey doesn't hold back. He tells it like it is. He explains the way men think and what we could do differently for a different outcome. I don't usually read self help books because I then revert to feeling like a 12 year old girl who is getting a lecture, and I hate lectures. Harvey's book didn't feel like that. I felt like Steve and I were having lunch or maybe a beer and he was talking to me as a friend. There are realities in his book that some people haven't been saying but I know that my friends and I had been thinking. One being that we women are being too easy. I don't mean that we are being sluts, (although some of us women are.) I mean that we aren't sticking to standards and are accepting less than we are worth. I loved this book and even if you are in a blissful, perfect relationship, this book is fun and entertaining.

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Janelle Brown

Sometimes there is a complicated cycle to my reading habits. My mother passes along her old People Magazines to me, I look at the book reviews first and then hop on to the good 'ol L-I-B website and send in my wish list. Sometimes the books are not even in the system yet, but other times they are. Usually, by the time I get them, I forget that I had ever known anything about them in the first place. (As was the case with this book as well as Gifted.) There are quite a few books that I receive that after the three chapter mark go right back from whence they came. I don't always agree with the reviews I read. I picked up All We Ever Wanted Was Everything the other day and read the jacket. I thought I was in for a silly, trivial book. I was very WRONG! This book has been described as funny. It is, it's just a gritty, dark funny. Not always a "Ha,ha!" funny. I loved this book from start to finish. There was plenty of intrigue as well as unexpected events that unfold beautifully. The prose was amazing and the characters were so...engaging. This is the type of book that would make an incredible movie, as long as the screenwriters didn't hack it. This is Janelle Brown's first novel, but I'm guessing that it won't be her last. I am ready for the next one already. You don't come across this type of style often, but is nice for a change. If you noticed that the details are missing, there is a reason. I don't won't to give anything away on this one.

Three Titles - written in a hurry.

I picked this book up on a whim. It was your basic chick lit. Now, I've read books about Latin women, black women, British women, white women, but this was my first book that involved an Indian leading lady. What was really freaky to me is that Diane Mandy has posted a few blogs about "The Evil Eye". What do you know, the evil eye was written about in this book. I wonder if the universe is trying to tell me??? I enjoyed this book and it is nice to get a new perspective form a different cultural vantage point. This was a light and fun read.

Oddly enough I had reserved a book online from another Indian author. This book was different. I read the whole thing and if this had been a movie Brandon would have told me it was another stupid movie that I like to pick. The prose was beautiful so much of the time, but I did not enjoy the story entirely. I'm not sure if it is because the main character is a math genius and I don't have much appreciation for the subject or if it was just the type of book that ends with no real sense of resolution. Let's just say it wasn't my favorite, but I also read the whole thing. If I really dislike a book I will not finish more than three chapters. By the 50th page I know that this is not a book for me. I only read as many pages so that I feel I gave the book a fair chance.

Water Cooler Diaries is a cool book. There are many women that contributed to the text by writing about their day at work all on the same day. There are some women's daily experiences that I skipped and some that were really cool to read about. It's a good book for reading in spurts. I'm still not done with it. I just pick it up at times and get an idea of what other women experience in their daily lives at different jobs. It shows me that we are all different but still have the same worries and struggles that bog us down.

At Last!

Whew! My English class is over and now I can tend to my neglected Bloog. It's been weeks since I have been able to pertake in my favorite hobby in the manner that I like. I picked up this memoir about a mother's struggle to raise her mentally challenged daughter. Rachel had a few different health issues, but the major force against her seemed to be the system and obtaining services to help her join the rest of the world as an adult. I kind of trudged slowly through this book but I'm glad that I did. It's really good to take yourself out of your peoblems and take the perspective of someone else's struggles. Jane Bernstein makrs a lot of good points that I gad never really considered. When I read this book I thought about my mom's neighbor that suffers from some of the same health problems as Rachel.

I borrowed Hide from my mom. Actually she forced it upon me. We don't have the same taste in reading materials, but she insisted and I didn't have anything else to read. I actually thought this book was really good. It's a mix of crime/drama/mystery/suspense. Basically they are trying to find a sick bastard that mummified 6 young girls in an underground tomb. There are many suspects and many twists and turns in the story. The end was pretty surprising. This one is a page-turner that you won't want to put down. The only thing that I don't like about this genre is that it really puts me on-edge and makes me really paranoid. Other than that I liked it.

I enjoyed Remember Me? Basically Lexi suffers from amnesia after a car accident, but the amnesia only affects the past three years of her life. She wakes up thinking that she is in the year 2004, but finds out that she is really in 2007 and my how things have changed. She wakes up, rich, slim and married. She has also reached quite a level of success at work. Now she only has to figure out how all this actually happened in the first place, and it isn't any easy task. I love reading modern works by British authors and this one was really good.

Now... Got to get back to reading so that I can do some more writng about reading. He he he!