August- 5

Author of the Sweet Valley series, Francine Pascal, took up many hours of my childhood. It wasn't so much that I got lost in the Sweet Valley books almost weekly, but more so that I wanted to be just like Liz and Jessica. I wanted to have a twin sister, be blonde and tall, and live in California. I always wanted to be the "good" twin, Liz. A friend and I had the exact same Barbie and used to turn them into Liz and Jessica and act out some of the books or create our own story lines. So... when I heard that Pascal was releasing a sort of reunion book I was super excited. I wondered if it would be as cool as I remembered it being or if the book would be silly. I wondered how the characters would have ended up. Sweet Valley Confidential did not disappoint. I thought perhaps I'd have forgotten all sorts of details but just a few chapters in so much came back to me and I continued to get excited as old characters came back to life. It's a sort of high school reunion/ 10 years later recap story that allows readers to find out what happened after the twins "grew up." What a good reminder that so often high school sweethearts don't end up staying together, we lose people we love, "bff" doesn't always mean "forever" and though families grow and change, they more or less stay the same. It was a nostalgic look back at characters that always made me smile or taught me a thing or two.

Chelsea Handler has always amused me. She can be a bit much sometimes and she doesn't seem like her comedy would be my cup of tea, but yet I enjoy her comedy, her show, her books. Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me was her newest book release. Instead of Chelsea writing another book she had her friends/family/staff write short stories about their experiences with her. My favorite entry in the book is the last which is "written" by Chelsea's dog. Some of the stories seem like they couldn't possibly be true and yet they are believable on some level. Even with such horrible stories that sometimes I read and thought "how are these people still friends with this person" all ended showing you that even though she might pull some pretty big stunts, she truly loves her friends and family. Not my favorite of Handler's books, but an interesting concept nonetheless and a good listen.

I heart Jimmy Fallon. Perhaps this started in his SNL days, I'm not sure. In any case I can't remember where I saw that he was putting out a book of his "thank you notes" based on a segment he does on his late night talk show, but I requested it immediately. Thank You Notes is a cute quick read of funny thank you notes that only a comedian could think up.

I'm also not certain when or why I started liking Paul Reiser, perhaps from his Mad About You days, a show my family sometimes watched together, but I've read all of his books. The newest one, which came out way way way after his others, Familyhood shares some of Reiser's thoughts on his family and what it means in general in today's world to be a family. The reader gets to see Reiser write in such a genuine honest way about his wife and children. There's also a chapter about his dog in which he loving describes what his dog must be thinking as far as chasing squirrels through their yard. As a dog lover this chapter won extra points with me and had me laughing and thinking of my own squirrel chasing dog.

I was young when the story of Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping was making news headlines many years ago, but I was very aware of it being in the news in the last year or so. What a terrible and in some ways warming story. What an incredible person she must be to have endured all of this and be able to pick up and continue on with her life. As a professional I'm well aware it can't be easy for her, but it always intrigues me when someone can find a way to do it. A Stolen Life: A Memoir shares the story from her perspective of her kidnapping, capture, and release. The book was so intriguing I stayed up late and finished it the same day I started it. It really makes you think about the things in life that matter and the day to day things we take for granted. It's odd to be able to look at a book that sort of starts from the ending. You know as a reader throughout the book that she eventually gets found and released, but you still as a reader are rooting for that throughout. You still hope that will be the end, that she will stop having to endure. I had to stop a few times and remind myself this is a true story this happened and she gets to leave but not at this moment. What a terrible terrible ordeal this family went through. It was nice to have a moment to be thankful for all the day to day stuff that is taken for granted.

July- 2

I'm honestly not certain why The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams ended up on my list. But how nice it was to read a childhood classic. What more can I really say about a book that almost everyone has read. There were a few things I read this time around that I didn't quite remember from reading it in childhood, but other than that it was as good as I remembered it being as a kid, and though it wasn't one of my favorite childhood books, I'm glad I took a look back at it.

Author Sarah Strohmeyer always seems to end up on my list. I've read numerous of her books and while the writing is always fine and I'm never disappointed I took the time to read or listen to one of her novels, they are never quite what you think you are getting based on the book jacket description. The Penny Pincher's Club was not quite what I expected to find, but was a good listen. It also made me think quite a bit about adult relationships and reasons for divorce and how marriages can sometimes fall apart. This isn't quite what the book leads you to believe it will be about, but nonetheless it was a worthwhile listen.

June- 2

I watch a show on Showtime called Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It was one of those nothing else to watch on TV so I watched the first episode kind of days and I really liked it. It gets a bit too soft core pornographic at times but I also love the main character is so feminist and in charge of her sexuality. She's also not this teeny tiny woman, she's a normal size healthy beautiful woman. Anyways at the beginning of each of the shows it says its based on a book so I of course added the book to my list. I read Belle Du Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl by Anonymous. Now the book was as cool as the TV show with some minor easy to be overlooked exceptions. The difficult thing for me to grasp was that the book states it is a true story based on a European call girl. Now in the TV show it feels like it could be based on some truth but that the TV writers have taken lots of liberties. The book though had this constant reminder that hey wait this is all true stuff. Very different perspective to read from. Overall though satisfied my curiosity as far as the show being based on a book so no regrets in reading it.

Tina Fey is one of my favorite comedians. I recently watched the first several seasons of her show 30 Rock and found myself laughing most of the time. Her biography Bossypants came out recently and I was thrilled to read it. It was funny, heartwarming, and just all around enjoyable to gain some insight on a woman I admire so much. Some of it was a bit distasteful for me but I was able to forgive those sections pretty quickly. If you love Ms Fey as much as I do, you will very much love learning more about her, her family, and her career.

May- 2

In May the second Sex and The City prequel was released. The Carrie Diaries: Summer in the City by Candace Bushnell followed the life of Carrie as she moves to New York, meets Samantha (which was the end of the first novel) and then Miranda. At the end of this novel she meets Charlotte as well and our quartet has been formed officially. I love all things SATC so this book was no exception. Easy quick read and I hope there will be more prequel books though I'm not sure.

I also listened to You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon. This novel is a collection of short stories that overlap at times about various Army families. Basically it's like a short story book resembling the TV show Army Wives. It has more depth to it through the stories though than the TV show, perhaps because of how well the author shapes the characters. Definitely an interesting listen and though provoking.

April- 3

In April I listened to Nanny Returns. I really enjoyed the concept of revisiting the first part of this story that I really enjoyed reading many years ago. The original story was made into a movie, not the greatest version of the story of course but in fairness as an avid reader I'm never that thrilled with the movie versions of books. I was kinda worried that with the movie so fresh in my mind it would be difficult to enjoy the sequel novel. As I suspected it was difficult to go back into the mind frame of the original and not have the bias of the movie characters in mind. The story was a bit odd as well and just didn't seem plausible for the most part. I was mostly disappointed in what I hoped would be a cool sequel that just fell short. It was sort of nice to have some closure to some of the characters and I don't regret listening to the story, but I do wish it had had more substance to it.

April's second listen was author/actress Isabel Gillies Happens Every Day I can't remember how this one ended up on my list, but I didn't realize the author was an actress from a show I frequently watch until I was listening to the book. She plays Detective Stabler's wife on Law and Order SVU. She also has another connection to my world in that most of her book takes place in Oberlin Ohio. I think I identified with the book because she shares the story of the end of her first marriage and the effect that had on her and her children. She shares the story of heartbreak but also of rising up to be a mother to her children before being a bitter divorcee. It's a lesson a lot of women could learn something from. Healing isn't always easy but there are choices to be made that affect the outcome of families moving on.

The last read of April was something I picked up from the new book shelf at the library on a random visit. It was a parody of The Giving Tree, a truly wonderful book. The Taking Tree by contrast started off somewhat funny but just didn't hold the interest very well until the end. Overall I just wasn't sure what the anonymous author was trying to convey, which is a shame because it probably started off with a point...

March-4

So considering I had a huge exam March 18 it is no wonder the number is so low this month. Still slightly disappointing but for lots of reasons March was not a good reading month. In any case I read 4 really good books in March so what I lacked in quantity this month was made up for in quality.

Beautiful Boy by David Sheff was as amazing as the reviews promised it would be. I'm not a big fan of reviews in general, movies books restaurants whatever. As much as I struggle with being indecisive I'd like to formulate my own opinions instead of reading about what someone else thinks. This book however has gotten rave reviews since it came out awhile ago and it has been on my list for so long. For whatever reason it kept getting pushed down to be read later and I'm glad I finally took the opportunity to listen to/read it. The father's love is so overwhelming in the writing that you spend the whole book routing for a happy ending so as not to cause him further pain. As someone who works in the mental health/addiction field I just found this book to be unlike anything else out there. Lots of books are written from an addicts or a child's perspective of a parent, it's harder to find things from a parents perspective. Mr Sheff is clearly devoted to his son and the rest of his family but they certainly go through some of lives toughest downs. I won't give away anything else cause this book is wonderful, especially if you love an addict and have had to deal with what the effects of that are for you.

There are so many young girl coming of age stories out there it's hard to believe I found one as unique as The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty. This story follows a young girl growing up in middle of nowhere Kansas during Ronald Reagan's presidency and bomb scares. Evelyn, the main character, points out that the United States is at the middle of the world and Kansas is in the middle of that. She concludes this means she and her family are at the center of everything then, hence the title. I can't say I loved the ending and there were several parts that didn't seem as possible as others, but then again I didn't live through those times so I could be off on that. In any case it was a heartwarming story and again you spend the book rooting for Evelyn who has gotten dealt a not so great hand in life.

A few months ago a friend recommended A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron as a book I might like. I didn't like it... I loved it! What an innovative way to write. The book is told from a dog's perspective and yet still has substance beyond "food food food" (which is in there too). In the first chapter the puppy is killed and comes back and can't understand why he has been reincarnated. He sets out then to find his purpose thinking if he does this he will stop coming back. There were some parts that were a little too vividly dog descriptions but for the most part just a wonderful story. Also it was interesting because the dog (whose name changed each new life) told everything from his perspective so sometimes you had to guess along with him as he described what was happening before you could figure out what exactly was going on.

For various personal reasons, March is my least favorite month of the year. That being said the one good thing that I look forward to every March is a new Jodi Picoult book. Picoult is one of my all time favorite authors. This March's novel Sing You Home was wonderful. Usually Picoult's novels have some sort of family trauma that ends in a court room and there is a legal battle going on for decision making. This story was a little less about the court room stuff and more about the family dynamics and though I usually like the legal stuff a lot, it worked for the story line. A 30 something woman with fertility problems divorces her husband after they decide they are on different pages with the baby game after several miscarriages and devastating pregnancies. Ex husband becomes a born again Christian to battle his alcoholism and to make sense of where he is at in his life. Wife turns out to be a lesbian and begins relationship with lesbian lover. Lesbian lover can carry children and wife decides she wants to use ex husband and her embryos with her new lover. Interesting and timely work. Loved the ending too.

February- 6

Well since March is almost over (which is good news for me), figured it was time to update on February's books.

First up was Happy Ever After, the last book in the Nora Roberts series I was reading. This book was as predictable as the first three and I have to say if I wasn't so damn anal and needing to finish what I've started, I probably wouldn't have read it. That said though it was an easy enough read and probably great for the hopeless romantics out there. I am glad that I can also cross "Read Nora Roberts" off my list officially now ;)

Book two was Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi. Overall a good read but not quite what I was expecting it to be. I also couldn't relate to a lot of it because so much of her eating disorder had to do with her identity of being a lesbian. I appreciated her process but also found it difficult at times to align with what she was discussing. However, I love love loved a piece of the ending where she discussing eating disorders versus ordered eating. She describes ordered eating as that of which we do not think about our eating in terms of calories fats etc but eat to feel full and good and healthy. A teacher once said that eating disordered individuals have a negative relationship with food but she doesn't believe that is fair to say since healthy individuals do not have relationship with food at all. The way de Rossi describes it makes perfect sense and it is such a goal to strive for, perhaps unachievable and perhaps realistic long term wise.

So for a long time I've wanted to read Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell. I've struggled each time I've picked it up. After reading One Fifth Avenue last month by the same author I was again inspired to try again. This time I listened to it on CD and actually made it through the book (yay!). I think the issues I was having, and still had, is that it's really nothing like the show/movies/new books (Carrie Diaries). There are some similar names used and Big and Carrie are in a relationship, oh and there is also a Samantha Jones who might be as close to similar for the tv show, but aside from that it's nothing like the newer versions. I'm happy I finally made it through, but I also am going to choose to believe in the Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha from the show that I fell in love with.

Steve Martin has been a favorite of mine, I guess since Father of the Bride at least. When I realized that yes in fact Shopgirl and The Pleasure of my own Company were written by him, and not some author with the same name as him. I immediately pulled them off the library cart and took them home. They were good, more sexual than I expected them to be, but I guess that's cause I still saw the actor/author through my kid eyes and not through my grown up eyes able to see him as an adult male. An Object of Beauty, his newest novel, was as great as I expected it to be. It took a moment to get into it, possibly because of the art history of it, but it was really enjoyable and sad to see it end. Don't get me wrong, I like the art world (thanks parents) but the book was a little difficult for me to understand at first since I don't much about the buying/selling part of the art world. In any case though I'm glad I stuck with it and I'll continue reading Martin's books if he keeps writing them.

I'm a fan of Paris, especially the Eiffel tower, which I feel fortunate to have seen up close and personal some years ago. So when I saw the cover of Paris Hangover by Kristen Lobe I added it to the to read list. I forgot about what it was about until I ordered it as a read for my vacation last month. The concept seems pretty inspiring, high powered NYC woman gives it all up to move to Paris to live out her dream. The book is set up cutely with each chapter divided into a few repeating parts. "The search for Monsieur Right" "A few slightly annoying details I didn't anticipate" and "Sublime pleasure du jour." I like this division and it definitely works for the book. Other than that I can't say it was a good book. The supposed heroine prides herself on being a skinny, not so smart blonde, drunken slutty woman. Seriously. It was very Sex and the City meets Paris with just one character but without the great friendships and feminism in it. And of course there is a fairy tale ending, which I don't feel like is giving anything away since you know this 5 minutes into the book. That being said I don't regret reading it, especially since I read it on the airplane to vacation and maybe what I needed was a crappy romance novel disguised as a Parisian novel.

Oddly enough I ended up with two similar romancy type books on my vacation. The last book I read in February was You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs by Laurie Graff. This story is of a NYC Jewish actress looking for love. The chapters are various points in her life with various men all leading to the ending. This book though another "search for Mr Right" type book was not quite as sappy or annoying as the book above. The heroine dates, and yes sleeps with, quite a few men but it isn't as drunken slutty as the other novel. You feel for this woman and the funny dates she winds up with. They aren't just bad men they are odd and some of them are good but she chooses herself or her career over. One of them is a "famous" actor who takes her back to his house to make her dinner and after dinner starts acting like a dog, barking and the works. There is a "perfect" man (read: Jewish doctor) but whom she doesn't tell she is Jewish immediately and then loses not because she was dishonest but because he doesn't want to marry a Jewish woman even though that's what he has said he wants. (This chapter is titled "Shiksa syndrome" or something like that. It's a cute book. The only regret I had reading it was that the second to last chapter would have worked much better as the last chapter in my opinion. She gives up on the men and adopts a wonderful dog. That to me is a good ending and still allows me as a reader to believe she could end up happy. Instead the author takes it another chapter and gives us a different sort of happy ending. I was happy for the character but it was also a little disappointing.

All in all it looks like my February reads were on theme for the Valentine's month. March is new Jodi Picoult month!!!!!!!!!

January 2011- 4

Perfectly Secret edited by Susan Musgrave was a bit disappointing. The overall idea, secrets of teens, was a good concept to start with but I just didn't feel like the book delivered. Easy teen read so no regrets on finally reading this quick read, it just feel short for me though.

Oregon is recently holding a special place for me so when I heard about this book about teen runaways from Oregon I was especially interested. Live Through This by Debra Gwartney tells the story of Gwartney's teen daughters when they were runaways years ago. Her story shares her years long horrific battle to try to save the lives of her two girls. The book was well written and I liked that it came from the mother's perspective and didn't focus on the the girl's experience as much, as that is their story not hers. I was disheartened by some of the Oregon state laws that allowed Gwartney to have to fight harder. I also liked that the true story had a happy ending, though some parts were a bit graphic (you'll see what I mean if you read it). Sometimes with non fiction you don't get to see what happened after and since Gwartney wrote this much after the fact the reader gets the conclusion they need.

Anyone who knows me for a minute knows I love elephants, or as I call them dramblys (Lithuanian for elephant). I don't remember where I saw Elephant Reflections by Karl Ammann and Dale Peterson, but as soon as I did I knew I wanted to read it. What beautiful amazing pictures and history on elephants. My favorite sections were perspectives, passages, and portraits.

I am a huge Sex and the City fan, which has allowed for all of author Candace Bushnell's books to make my to read list. I've tried several times to read Sex and the City the book but haven't been able to get through the first few pages. It's odd cause I like the rest of her books but I guess maybe because I'm searching for Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, Miranda, and Mr Big I just can't get through those first few pages. I listened to One Fifth Avenue recently and enjoyed it enough that I may make another attempt at SATC book. One Fifth is set in NYC, of course. It tells the story of a historical apartment building and it's upper middle class to unbelievably rich owners. It's not a serious read but it had some interesting twists and turns and some good old fashioned NY romance of course.

Well thats the end of January's reads. I wish I had a few more to report, 4 doesn't seem all that big a number but I did start back up with school and have a busy month. February's a shorter month but I have a week's vacation and a box full of books to keep me busy :)

66

So the year is over, final count was 66 books in 2010. I wish I had gotten even a little closer to the goal but in some ways its even better that I didn't accomplish it. In 2010 I learned to fail, I learned to not be perfect, I learned to try as hard as you can and accept whatever that brings. I learned that's the best I can do and it is enough.

I am glad I had the chance to renew my love for reading. Realistically I think I knew from the beginning I wouldn't get to 100. With my schedule that was an impossible goal to set. It may have seemed possible at the beginning but a few short months in something more important to work on came up. I can't say I regret putting the books to the side for awhile, getting myself back is more important. In any case though I will continue to read whenever I can. I will continue to add books to my never ending "to read" list. When I move far far away this summer, I will be sure I know where the nearest library is to my new home.

Not sure if I'll keep blogging about the 2011 reads, but I just may. More realistically this year the new goal will be to read more than 66 books.

Thanks for listening.

-L

Classical Humanities

I honestly can't remember what landed The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman on my to read list. It is a story about classical mythology and art. It is also a murder mystery/suspense. None of these are typical to what I like to read. I have to imagine the additional link to mental health is what must have gotten my interest. In any case though the story grabbed my attention almost immediately and was a very interesting last read of the year. The somewhat surprising ending and it's focus to mental health did not disappoint me in the least.

63-65

Books 63-65 will not be blogged about. Subject matter is a little too personal and I'm not up for sharing. One of them was on my list for a long long long time and I'm glad I finally had the courage to read it. That being said all three were tough to read but every day this past year I worked on doing the impossible.

Invisible

The Visibles by Sara Shepard is one of those books that I picked up because of the cover. The concept seemed interesting to me as well after reading the jacket so it got added to the list. Mental illness, DNA, abandonment, and family relationships are the common themes. Other than that the book is far from common. It was hard to get it started because there was no flow but then it grabbed my interest and I really wanted to know what happened next. A lot of the questions never got answered and I usually don't like that but for some reason it worked for this book. It also takes place part in New York and the time frames jump around from decade to decade. I knew at some point it would end up at 9/11 and I really like how the author could have spent so much time on that one segment of time but chose (I think) not to. It plays a significant role for the characters but isn't focused on or made a major part of the book. Overall I'm glad I stuck with the book but I can't imagine it being many peoples cup of tea with all the twists and turns and unanswered segments.

DID

All I can say is wow after finishing Ellen Hopkins book Identical. When I worked at the library I would always see Hopkins' books in the teen section and wonder what the deal was with them. They are big books for teen reads. I think if I was a teen I would have read them all. Instead I chose to add this one to my list and I really enjoyed it. It was hard to get used to the style, it is written entirely like poetry. But I stuck with it and one insomniac night finished the book. I don't want to give too much away but if you are as interested in the mental health field as I am this book has lots of psychological twists and turns. Overall if you can stick with the style it's a pretty easy read and a very interesting concept. No idea how Hopkins even thought of this but again, wow.

Booky 2

Still no real idea why I love Russell Brand so much but shortly after I finished My Booky Wook his second book came out, Booky Wook 2. I liked this one better in some ways and not as much in others. First it sort of seemed like the first was a success so he rushed or they rushed him to make a second. I liked the context more but the style change didn't really sit well with me. I still find him to be extremely genuine as a person and hope that he isn't just fooling everyone.