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.