Talk Healthy

Bugsy, I did finish it. It left me totally cold, I'm sorry to report. I guess I'm much more plot-driven than I thought. I need more action and fewer wrestling analogies!

I'm still reading Eat, Pray, Love. I'm in the India part now and.... slightly bored.

Blush wrote:I'm reading "Such a Pretty Fat" by Jen Lancaster. I enjoyed her first memoir, "Bitter is the new Black" so I'm back for more.

I read "Pretty In Plaid" by her a few months ago and thought it was very entertaining. Wish my library had her first two books!

Rowan wrote:Blush you must read The Help. It was fabulous!

Yes!!!

Crystal, you too! Read it.

I recently read:

Dewey: The Small-town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron (nice story, light read)

The Rescue by Nicholas Spark (same as the rest of his books)

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin (good! I had really scary dreams the night reading it, though!)

Now I'm reading "The Miss America Family" by Julianna Baggott.

I'm also reading "God Save the Sweet Potato Queens" by Jill Conner Browne. My friend Katie loves all things Sweet Potato Queen, but it's just not my thing. It's okay for brainless reading (like waiting in the dentist office.)

Well, I put "The Help" on hold at the library, and I'm 521st out of 521 holds. So I won't be reading that one for a while...

That's okay, though. I'm reading a book called "Alligator" by Lisa Moore. She's also a poet, and you can tell. The book isn't about much, but every single sentence is like a poem. Gorgeous.

I just ready "Touch of Dead". It's a collection of five short stories about Sookie Stackhouse. It wasn't as good as the whole books, but it was nice to get some Sookie-ness in.

Rachael, I requested "Touch of Dead" at the library. I think I'm like 50 out of 97 holds though so it might be awhile!

Tonight I got: The Heretics Daughter, The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry and The Undomesticated Goddess by Sophie Kinsilla. The Heretics Daughter looks really good, I think I"m going to start that one first.

I just remembered my DVD's are due back to the library today. Crap.

I'm still working on the Blind Assassin but it's getting much better as I go along. Silvia, we'll have to chat once I'm done it.

I'mr eading Stargirl with Jon for a parent kid book club at school

97. A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
Rating: 3.5
I really thought this was the next in the Sookie series but instead it was a collection of short stories. I didn't think I would like it but I did. I'm not sure if I would have liked it without knowing the characters but it was enjoyable.

98. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Rating: 3.5
I did enjoy the sequel to Hunger Games but not nearly as much as the first book. I felt that the author didn't spend any time reminding you why you loved the characters but assumed you would remember from the first book. Definitely worth reading and I'm looking forward to the third book. Off to Google when that will be released.

99. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Rating: 3
This was a recommendation from several LTers. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I've been on a YA kick but maybe this was a bit young for my taste. Definitely worth reading but wasn't a favorite.

Do you guys know about Google books? For many novels you can read the first 10-25 pages. How cool is that? I did it over my lunch break last week and got the book at the library to finish over the next day.

Just a nice way to test out a book.

Let me know if I've been living under a rock and everyone knows this.

ht tp://bo oks.goo gle.com/boo ks

Rowan, I did not know about that, but can't you do the same on amazon?

Spudd, yay! Someone's finally answering my question, then! (I hope I can still remember the damn thing...).

I'm about to finish Eat, Pray, Love. It was no more than ok. It's like a long blog entry. I'm a little annoyed now that there's a Brazilian character and she (the author) keeps making these generalizations about us. Such as a father kissing his 14-year-old SON on the mouth because "oh, you know Brazilians and their public displays of affection". Uh?? WTF does she know about Brazil? It makes me doubt everything she's written about the other countries.

Silvia, I think Google gives you more. For instance I read the first 25 pages of The Wednesday Wars whereas amazon only had the first 4 or so.

Rowan, thanks for the tip!

I'm reading Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline. She's written three other novels but I don't think I've read them. I'm 50 pages in and so far it's good.

I also did not know that about Google, Rowan. Thanks for the tip!

Last night I finished "What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal" by Zoe Heller. It had been reviewed in a newspaper or something here not too long ago and sounded good, but I thought it was only so-so. Entertaining, I guess, but nothing special.

I'm now just starting "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks. It's a collection of case examples of patients with neurological impairments. I think it's going to be really interesting and have pretty high hopes for it.

I also still have "The Science of Being Sexy," but I need J to help me get my measurements before I can really proceed any further with it. With his dad's cancer treatment starting, we just haven't taken the time to do that.

Bugsy, that Sacks book sounds good. I"m interested to hear how you like it.

Last year I read a fictionalized first hand account of a neurologist who became an early onset Alzheimer patient that was really interesting - it was called Still Alice.

I finished "The Miss America Family" by Julianna Baggott. It was pretty good. Gave up the Sweet Potato Queen book. Just can't relate.

We'll get to 3 pages, Rowan!

I just started The Rise of the Creative Class. I've wanted to read this one for a while, and it's very good, but I think I need something more brain candy-ish right now.

100. Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
Rating: 3
I didn't love this book but liked it. It took me a bit to have a feel for the characters of the story. I almost gave up before the 50 page mark but the title kept popping up everywhere as a fantastic book so I kept on.

101. Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Rating: 3.5
This was a YA novel. I really enjoyed this read as the Alcatraz history was very interesting and the story line was very cute. This was one of those stories that I had to relate to my non-reading husband.

102. Smash Cut by Sandra Brown
Rating: 3
This was your typical Sandra Brown whodunit. It was good but I wasn't blown away like some of her earlier novels.

So, I need 14 more books to beat last year's number. I've been reading a bunch of guide books for Disney which I don't count. I did buy a bunch of used paperbacks to take with me so I should read a few next week. I should be able to get to 116-120 by the end of the year.

Jon and I are now reading "City of Ember" for family book club, I was impressed there were probably 60 kids and families there!