Talk Healthy

I finished Words the Dog Knows, which I enjoyed greatly. I recommend it.

Now I started "Your Money Milestones" which is billed as a guide to making the 9 most important financial decisions in your life. So far, it's kind of interesting. I'm only a little ways in.

And, I just picked up "Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War".

*updated* I don't know how I missed this. Doh!

I'm still working on:

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
The Stuff that Never Happened by Maddie Dawson
Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis - hard to get into
Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell

I'm adding the following:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Finished this and loved it. I highly recommend it!
The Happyness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Bonk - the curious coupling of science and sex by Mary Roach
Mockingjay by ??? I hope the series ends well!

Blush wrote:Ok, I've given up on The Glass Castle. I got halfway through it but I was dreading reading it. I think I just need something lighter, so I'm going to start "I think I love you" by Allison Pearson tonight.

So depressing, don't feel bad for giving up on it.

Bugsy wrote:Just finished "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Loved it! I had no idea this series was so suspenseful, so that was a nice surprise. Just placed a hold for the next one, so that probably won't come in for a couple of months.

And I'm still working on "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle. It's really interesting, but since "Girl..." is in such high demand, I kind of set "What to Eat" aside to be sure to finish "Girl" before it was due back.

You gotta read the rest of the dragon tattoo girl series. And see the movies! Soooo good!

Spudd wrote: And, I just picked up "Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War".

I LOVED Matterhorn.


I finished Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton, which is a chef memoir. Definitely a good read. It was more about her life and experiences that led to her becoming a chef than about the daily grind / behind the scenes, etc kind of stuff but I really enjoyed it.

Next up is The Complaints by Ian Rankin.

I finished "I think I love you" by Allison Pearson last night; it was cute but didn't really make me "feel" anything. Maybe if I had ever had a huge crush on a teen idol I might have been more invested in the story.

Now I've got "The Confession" by John Grisham. I'm hoping to zip through it before we leave for the airport on Saturday as I don't want to take it with me (hardcover, heavy) but I'll need to return it shortly after we get back.

I have the new Maeve Binchy to take, as well as "The Bright Forever" by Lee Martin and "Saints of Big Harbour" by Lynn Coady.

Funny...I finished I Think I Love You last night too. Again, I liked the premise but didn't really connect with any of the characters (and I did have a teen idol love -- Simon LeBon was supposed to marry me).

Not sure what's next.

I did read "gods in Alabama" by Joshilynn Jackson this weekend which I really liked. It was on my TBR list for years and finally got my hands on a copy. Glad I did.

I'm about to start "the Beck Diet Solution" the book and workbook as soon as it gets here today.

I also need to read Dark something or other for Middle School Book club, it's about the coast being under water

I'm reading We need to talk about Kevin http://www.amazon.com/We-Need-Talk-Abou ... 391&sr=1-1, and while her style gets on my nerves sometimes (too "literary", sometimes I wanna shake her to make her get to the point), I'm finding it very gripping. Creepy and disturbing, but gripping. I'm glad I started it.

I just finished "What to Eat" by Marion Nestle. It was such an excellent book--probably the most illuminating book I've ever read. It took me a while to get through it, but it was worth it for sure. Not sure what will be up next. I could use some Margaret Atwood, that's for sure!

The Complaints by Ian Rankin bored me to tears. A "suspense" novel that is around 500 pages should not draaaaag on and on. I gave up.

Now I'm reading Life, on the line by Grant Achatz - an award winning chef that was diagnosed with tongue cancer and survived and his restaurant is thriving. The writing is a little choppy but it's good.

Hey all,

I finished The Confession by John Grisham before we left. Standard John Grisham.

On holiday I read:

The Bright Forever by Lee Harper. This was the first of his I read and I really liked his writing style. It wasn't flowery but conveyed emotion well.

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy. I like that she brings back characters you already know. It was a good beach read; i.e. not demanding.

Saints of Big Harbour by Lynn Coady; this was about a small town in Nova Scotia in the early 1980's. It was quite good.

I finished The Girl Who Played With Fire on Saturday. Good book! Not quite as good as the first, I think, but still good. I'm looking forward to reading the third one as well.

On Sunday I started and finished Coraline. It's the first book I've read on my new Kindle. I liked the Kindle experience but I'm not completely won over from paper books. Kenneth is like "why would you read paper books when you can read Kindle?", but I don't agree. I still like the paper. Anyways, the book was good. I'd already seen the movie, though, so I kinda knew how it was going to turn out.

Spudd, I'm not a fan of the whole e-reader movement. I like actual books, in paper, in my hand.

I finished Life, on the line by Grant Achatz. The overall story was interesting and I loved reading about his time at The French Laundry and how he brought the concept of Alinea to life but the writing was really choppy. It would just switch topics, skip years....sometimes I couldn't figure out WTF they were talking about. I think the only people that will bother with this book are foodies/fans of Alinea and those in the restaurant industry.

I just started Moby-Duck, The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Evironmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovon Hohn. It's starting out sllllooooowwww so I hope it picks up soon.

I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

Bugsy wrote:I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

Loved her - so glad that Crystal recommended her. Hey, where is Crystal?

Bugsy wrote:I have "The Blind Assassin" by Margaret Atwood and am maybe 50ish pages into it. Liking it so far! I love her writing so much; it's so damn descriptive.

I LOVE that book! Seriously one of my favorites.

Moby-Duck, The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Evironmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them by Donovon Hohn was meh. I expected more.

I'm about halfway through The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming. It's espionage/thriller, pretty good so far and keeping me interested.


I have Forged: Writing in the Name of God by Bart Ehrman waiting for me at the library, which I'm excited to read next.

Mellen, I read The Discovery of Witches on your recommendation and loved it! Thanks so much for recommending. What was especially nice was that the science parts were not wrong (which I generally have such a hard time with). Really if anyone likes the vampire/witch thing, I highly recommend it.

Also read Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson which I picked up at the airport. I hadn't read anything by her before but I liked it. Nice suspense but there was so bumps in the story a bit.

Not sure what's on tap next.

Question: For those who've read The Girl Who.... series, how long did it take to get into the first book? I've tried a couple of times but just can't get far into it. I want to read them because people have loved them so much but I keep getting stuck.

Thoughts?