Friday, June 16, 2006

Saying Yes


"The Year of Yes"
by Maria Dahvana Headley

A few months ago, I heard Dahvana Headley speak at a local bar. I decided to pick up her book after an eye exam and am wondering what inspired me to drop that kind of coin on what is at best a library book. I thought I would be inspired by her year of yes but instead I was turned off. In the end, I'm not glad I read this and it is too bad since I so wanted the inspiration!


"Marriage Most Scandalous"
by Johanna Lindsey

I'm on a romance book bender and I love it! This one was quite good!


"In the Bed of a Duke"
by Cathy Maxwell

As was this one!

Books read in 2006: 26 (or 83% done)

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Obsessive Reading


"Sharp Objects"
by Gillian Flynn

My boss recently received some advance reading copies of books coming out in the Fall. This one caught my eye and so I quickly gobbled it up. It is the story of a reporter who returns home intent upon finding out why little girls are being killed in her town. Along the way, the reader learns about her strained relationship with her family and who is behind the murders. Great read!


"I Did (But I Wouldn't Now"
by Clara Lockwood

After such a heavy read, I decided to settle into something lighter and this book was just the ticket!

Lily Crandell finds herself married to a rock star and learns the hard way about his affair with an actress. Lily escapes to London and into the arms of a former flame. Lily's life goes from bad to worse when the paparazzi finds her.


"The Undomestic Goddess"
by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella is always good for a great read when traveling and since I was traveling, I picked up her latest novel in the airport. Kinsella never disappoints! Twenty nine year-old, Samantha Sweeting is on the verge of partnership at the prestigious London law firm Carter Spink, something she's been working toward her entire life. Just before the partnership decision, she finds she has made a terrible, costly mistake. In a moment of panic, Sweeting jumps on a train and ends up in the middle of the English Countryside. After stopping at a house to ask directions, she finds herself hired as their new housekeeper. Kinsella keeps the reader on their toes as Sweeting's life spirls out of control.


"Everyone Worth Knowing"
by Lauren Weisberger

After Weigsberger's debut novel, "The Devil Wears Prada", I wasn't sure if she could live up to the hype with her second novel. Was I ever wrong! "Everyone Worth Knowing" was entertaining, spellbinding and wonderful! I laughed, I sympathized, I wondered if Weisberger was spying on my thoughts. Great wonderful read!


"Halfway House"
by Katharine Noel

This book haunts me. Noel's use of words and imaginery drew me in and wouldn't let me stop reading until the pages ran out of words. This book tells more than the highs and lows of battling mental illness, it tells of how mental illness affects more than just the person with the disease.

Set in rural New Hampshire, Halfway House is about Voorster family, whose lives are torn apart when 17-year-old Angie suffers a breakdown and is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Angie goes from hospital to dorm room to halfway house to hospital, as each member of her family deals in their own way. Pieter, Angie's father retreats into himself while Jordana, her mother, begans an affair. Luke, her brother looks for love in his girlfriends. Familial relationships break and are reinvented. In the process, each memeber of the family confronts their own demons in order to come to terms with the crisis.

Books read in 2006: 23 (or 74% done)