Bloog

Because She Can - Bridie Clark

2010-02-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

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.)

2010-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-04-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-07-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

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!

Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea

2008-06-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

I love Chelsea Handler.She's got sarcasm, celebrity knowledge and she's funny as all hell. I loved this book. I felt like I was one of her friends that she had chosen to tell some very funny stories to. I wasn't always sure that everything she wrote was 100% accuratly told as it happened, but if she embellished, I really don't mind. She might have been adding a little bit of humor for me. Every chapter is a different story about silly things from Chelsea's past. One of my favorites was the story of her jail stint after a DUI. For one, it's nice to know that even a wildly successful woman has had her problems with Johnny Law as well as that she has had a horrible experience due to her family. I could relate. See, she would have gotten out of jail after sobering up, except her sister report identity fraud even though she knew that Chelsea had used her old ID to get into bars and clubs underage. As it were, Chelsea was held longer and her bond was higher because of her sister. The ending is really cool, but I don't want to ruin the book for you. If you haven't seen Chelsea Lately, her E! talk show that centers mostly around celebrity (bashing) gossip then you might set your tivo to get a sneak peek at her humor. I love her and now I hope to read more about her hilarious life.

Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach

2008-06-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Not to say that I didn't appreciate the other books that I have read on going green, but this book blew all those others out of the water. This was the book someone like me needs. I like it so much that I believe I will be doing the unthinkable. I might just buy myself my own copy. I rarely buy books and if I do, I try to pick up the used ones that are for sale at the library. I can get harbacks for $2. I'm not sure of the Price of Go Green, Live Rich but I believe it would be worth every penny. You may be asking, What is so great about this book? Simpky put, the wealth of resources. David Bach has created a book that is aesthetically pleasing, incredibly informative and chock full of webstites that coincide with the changes he suggests. Did you know that more than 8 million tons of trees are used each year to produce catalogs, requiring enough energy to power 1.2 million homes for a years and producing as many emmisions as 2million cars? Ifyou go to www.abacus-us.com and click opt out, you can stop the catalogs from being shipped to your house. MAybe you love catalogs, even in the wonderful age of the internet. Well do you love Junk mail? If not you can call
888-5OPTOUT and help reduce the 40lbs of mail sent your way each year. I found both of these options on page 94 in the chapter sensibly called Get Rid of Junk Mail. Maybe you are wondering why the last bit of the title says Live Rich. Well, we will lead a richer life if start trying to make changes, no matter if they are big or small, but we can also save money and in the last chapter of the book Bach describes some green money making ideas from investing green to starting a green business. If you are slightly curious about going green, this is the book I would reccomend. It is a short fast read, very well written and amazingly informative.

It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

2008-05-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

If you hadn't noticed I have been on a Susan Elizabeth Phillips kick. Sorry but when I find something I like, I stick with it. It only sucks when you exhaust all your resources and have to wait for a new title. Fortunately I have a lot of reading to do in order to dry up the well of SEP. I will say that this cover made me feel weird at work. I read on my break and lunch and I tried very hard to conceal the cover. I never want people to think I read Harlequin, but SEP comes close with some of her steamy sex scenes. They are the best written sex situations I have ever read. I do have to tell you though, I don't get that type of lovemaking and it sure does make me wish I did. It's that good. I don't want to go into all that, but if you get that kind of sex on the regular let me tell you to count your blessings. Anyway. Back to the book... IT WAS AWESOME! I haven't read any of her books that have let me down. I am starting to see patterns and I will tell you what I have picked up on. Father's that don't really care about their daughters too much, football players, sex, babies, specifically, twins. Fights, and usually you learn about something that you wouldn't necessarily get out of most chick books. I like how a lot of the books involve the same characters, but not in a way that you need to know those characters. I've been trying to go back to the beginning of her writing career and move through all the books, but that isn't as easy as I hoped it would be but I am learning that it's not totally necessary. I'm not going to get in to the details of this book but I just want you to know that I loved it! (So much so that I am already halfway through Nobody's Baby But Mine. So far, so very good!

Big Boned by Meg Cabot

2008-05-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have read some of Meg Cabot's books in the past and I usually love them. I really like the Queen of Babble books and I loved Every Boy's Got One. That was the first book of Cabot's that I read. They are usually a light, good read. Big Boned was okay. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it. I did read it pretty fast though it wasn't my favorite. A little FYI: She also writes teen lit and The Princess Diaries is her series. I did not know that until I started reading her adult fiction. I thought that was interesting when I first started looking into the author. If you like short stories as well as chick lit, I would recommend Girl's Night In or Girl's Night Out. I've read both and I enjoyed most of the contributing writers as well. Meg Cabot was among the ranks.

Thanks for the comments, I'm very excited to get to know others through my reading exploits!

Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee

2008-05-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

I read about this book in People magazine. My mom gives me her old copies and one of the first things I do is read the book reviews and then request a copy from my library online. I'm a very lazy person when it comes to the library. I have a system that is very speedy. I request items and then wait until the last possible time to pick up the most items available at one time. I go in, retrieve my big blue envelopes and proceed to check myself out at the kiosks. I love it. If I venture upstairs to browse I could be sucked in for at least an hour.

I really thought that Trail of Crumbs would be awesome. It's written by a woman who had been abandoned in a market by her mother in Korea. She is later adopted by Americans. Most of the book is about her failed relationships with men in France. Have you ever watched Oprah interview someone with an accent? After a few minutes she usually starts to mimic their speech patterns. Sometimes it gets on my nerves. I felt like Oprah while reading this book. My mood was despondent and I just felt hopeless waiting for a light at the end of the tunnel. When was something good going to happen? I wanted to put the book down after a few chapters, but I am a hopeful person and I really wanted to like this book and sometimes I'm willing to wait for that to happen. I'll just let you know it never did. I feel like Kim Sunee was writing this book to show that she could. Half of the book is recipes, which is cool. They were a major part of the story, but it really didn't appeal to me. The French dialogue also didn't appeal to me. I would find myself skipping those words that were in a foreign language and somehow I would feel lost.

I debated on whether or not to write this. I don't like to write negative things about books. Then I remembered that this blog is serving as a directory of what I read and I want to keep a running log of the books that I choose to read. Bad, good or indifferent. I would probably pick up a follow-up to Trail of Crumbs but I might not be as willing to stick with it. I do believe that Kim Sunee is very talented, I just wasn't very moved with the story despite that, in some ways, I could relate to her. I went through some destructive relationships in the past as well, but I went right back to that mindset when reading her book and that wasn't enjoyable.

I'm researching being green

2008-05-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

I started with The Complete Idiot's Guide for Green Living. I liked how this book explained why you should try to live green, but I did not feel like it was the definitive source I was looking for. I wanted recipes for organic cleaning supplies, which I ended up finding on the internet. I did like two facts in particular that were pointed out: Bush's Crawford Ranch is green. (Although alot of his policies aren't.) And, Texas has more wind turbines in the nation. Plus, TXU, a Texas Energy company that is prominent where I live, cancelled plans to build 8 new coal plants which will help to not increase carbon emissions. Basically the best thing that this book informed me of is that Texas isn't the big, bad enivironmental drain that I thought it was. Yay Texas!

I honestly picked out The Green Book because I liked the cover. I know you are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but I totally do and always have. I enjoyed this book. There is a lot of information about how the little things we do can impact the Earth whether good or bad. I also enjoy that each of the chapters are divided by celebrities thoughts about being green. CAmeron Diaz, Ellen Degeneres, Robert Redford, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston,Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Tyra Banks, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tiki Barber, Owen Wilson and Justin Timberlake all share their thoughts on trying to live green. With The Complete Idiots Guide I mainly skimmed, but The Green Book drew me in and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't mind actually owning a copy.

Although I have started a new job that is out of the food industry and offers benefits, I have been thinking about an actual career that I might feel passionate about. I used to think that could be writing but I realize that writing might not be the best thing for me to attempt in order to make a living. I've been seriously contemplating a green career. I have ideas about what I want to do, but I have been trying to research what kind of jobs are out there for environmental causes. I felt that The Eco Guide to Careers would be a great resource, but it didn't really help me with what I think I would be good at. I really want to start at the local level and try to make what I think are simple changes either in the restaraunt industry or at apartment complexes. I have seen a few shows on TV that have introduced me to biodegradable and organic take-out packaging. I think I would like to be a sales rep for a company that manufactures these products and try to get area restaraunts to make and Earth-concious switch. OR I would like to integrate green living at apartment complexes. I see waste all around me at my complex and I feel that if recycling were made easier, more people would do it and it's such a big community that we could really make some impact if I could just help make it convenient. These are my ideas and hopes and I guess we can just see where they take me. Until then I have more research in the works.

Love and Consequences

2008-05-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

I don't usually decide to try to contact authors after reading books. I have and there have been times that these people that I have the utmost respect for actually respond to my emails. If I do try to contact authors it is usually because of a non-fiction book. After reading Love and Consequences I was really driven to contact the author. Her memoir of being a foster child in South Central LA was riveting and truly touching. There was no contact info on the jacket so naturally I googled her name. The first thing that came up was that 4 days ago her book was outed as fiction. I wish she would have just submitted it as fiction in the first place because now her credibility is lost. I feel for her and what she is going through, but she really did bring on herself. None the less, I thought the book was good and then felt duped after wanting to tell her so. Damn these memoir writers. Stop picking the wrong genre.

UPDATE: I was so tired and frustrated last night that I left out a lot of details. Margaret B. Jones is really Margaret Seltzer and went to a private school in San Fernando Valley rather than slanging crack/cocaine in the hood. Her real parents raised her and she was not a gang banger living the hard life she portrayed in her book. There was a website on the last page of her book for a non-profit group that she "founded" for kids to try to avoid the gang life that doesn't even exist. I read a lot of the articles written about the situation and I believe this woman has been living a huge lie for a long time. It's kind of freaky.

A New Earth

2008-04-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

I like the fact that this book has a sort of disclaimer. Basically if you are not open and willing this book will be of no service to you. At first I was a weensy bit unsure if this book would be for me. At this point I am half way through A New Earth and it has changed my perspective in an amazing way.

The last time I went to the doctor he asked me how things were in my life. I told him that everything was good but that I had constantly been burdened by my negative thoughts, emotions and opinions. I felt like a nag was living in my brain. I thought that maybe an antideppressant would be the right solution and by telling him of this affliction he would jump at the chance to prescribe an easy fix. I'm not sure why I thought a pill would work being that I had previously taken antidepressants in some years past. I never felt happier for it. Fortunately my doctor did not react as I had expected. He just listened and moved the conversation forward.

Before I started reading this book I felt a great deal of yearning. It's been a sporadic feeling that has come over me for a few years. I didn't know what I was yearning for but I knew it was in the spiritual realm. When I began reading A New Earth, I realized that this was what I had been yearning for. I needed the principles of letting go of my ego spelled out for me in the way that Eckhart Tolle has beautifully written this book.

I have noticed a dramatic shift in my reaction to others, my work performance and my acceptance of what is. I'm amazed at the way people, some, complete strangers, react and echo my positive contribution to our world. This book has been a saving grace for me and I hope that others might take the chance to read it and see how it might apply to their life. No other book has ever touched me so deeply and I have a long standing love affair with reading and books.

Aint She Sweet?

2008-04-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

My friend told me that she thought I would enjoy reading books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips about 2 years ago. I don't know why I wrote off her suggestion then, but I'm glad I remembered those words recently. A week ago I read Match Me If You Can. (If anyone knows how to underline, please let me know.) It was one of the best books I had read in a long time. I absolutely loved it. Apparently Susan Elizabeth Pillips is the type of author who invests alot in her characters because they overlap in some of her books. My intention is to try to read all of her books in order, although I haven't exactly been doing that.

Aint She Sweet was so amazing. I loved every minute of the time I invested in it. The bad thing about Phillips is that she sucks you in. Once you start reading her books, you never want to put them down. I read 383 pages in 24 hours. For a lady that looks kind of, how do I say this kindly, mature, she sure does write some great steamy scenes. Nothing like a Harlequin, from what I have heard.

If you find yourself in the position to read any of the many novels Phillips has written, prepare for humor, tears, character's struggle and romance. I doubt you will regret it. I know I didn't and I can't wait for more.