I absolutely LOVE to read. Have ever since I was little. Today I stopped by the library on my way home from work (it's the only night a week they're open late - I hate the NYC library system) and picked up 12 books and I am so excited! I'd say my favorite author is Jodi Picoult. She always writes about really controversial/thought-provoking topics, and I find I can never put down one of her books until I've finished it! I'd say one of my favorites is "The Pact." "Plain Truth" is great as well though. Honestly, just read anything of hers and you're bound to love it! Her most acclaimed was "My Sister's Keeper," which made a lot of bestseller lists, so that may be easiest to find.
I read a variety of fiction/non-fiction though, mostly chosen just by browsing the shelves and seeing what's interesting. Tonight I picked up some chick lit (not very intellectual I know, but good for a break every once in a while), Joyce Carol Oates' new novel, a few diet/nutrition books, an etiquette book, a book on the airline industry and terrorism, a book on the stock market, and a biography of Hillary Clinton. Clearly an eclectic selection
Melissa - do tell about the Stephanie Plum books; I've never heard of her either. Are they chick lit? Mysteries? Details please!
Tera, I've been meaning to read Michael Pollan for a while. He's been talked about so much lately on various fitness blogs that I could even quote his little motto before you said it. The succinctness of it just makes it sound so funny to me that I laugh every time I hear it, as if the "mostly plants" is an afterthought. But so true! Also, you should definitely try making your own dressing. It's SO easy and quick, and a lot healthier than the processed stuff. Plus, you can control the ingredients to keep oils and whatnot down if you're worried about calories. I make a Greek dressing that is fat-free, made from all-natural ingredients, and only has 16 cals per 2 tbsp! Fantastic.
Emily, hadn't heard much about his other book, but I'll have to check that out as well.
Rhonda, never heard of Christine Feehan either. What are your favorites by her?
Sara - there is a sticky in the calorie counters forum that can walk you through the basics of calorie counting, including how to figure out how many calories you should eat. However, it's important to note that these are just guidelines. Everyone's body is very different, so the calculators really just provide an estimate for you to start the trial and error process of figuring out what makes you lose, what makes you stay the same, and what makes you (gasp) gain. I've been calorie counting for about 2 months now and I'm just starting to really hit my stride. I absolutely love it though, and I use DailyPlate.com which is the absolute love of my dieting life. Definitely check it out, and feel free to friend me (same username: Scenestealer) and look at what I eat.
My update: I stayed 600 calories under today after eating lightly and exercising a good amount! I'm thrilled, and hoping that will more than cover my dinner tomorrow. Then Friday I'm just going to suck it up and enjoy myself and use a light Saturday to compensate. Will keep you all posted!
to everyone on my team! 
Filled the whole room with that smell but had to remind myself that I had goals that were more important than a stinky ole donut. Needless to say, 3 days I endured of all this naughty food and only yesterday did I endulge in lunch because it was make-your-own-sub-sandwich. Easy enough to fix low calorie and loaded it with fresh veggies. Yummo!
