Great books, Lauren! What did you think of Remember Me? I was surprised by some of it, irritated by others, but overall really enjoyed it a lot. If you like Kinsella's books, you may really like Meg Cabot's series about a female detective. The first one is Size 12 is Not Fat. I thought the writing was quite akin to Kinsella's. I really enjoyed Something Borrowed and the companion book, Something Blue. The way it shows the issue from both sides (and what happens after the "happily ever after") was very compelling! I haven't read Griffin's other books, though they look very good. Have you?

I finished Chris Bohjalian's Double Bind. I was stunned by the twist at the end and totally didn't see it coming. The ending was very unsatisfying and quite confusing. I ended up feeling very "duped" by the author...almost like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football. :( Sad, because I really enjoyed another of his books, Midwives, and had high hopes for this one. Hmph.

I moved on to another audio book--The Next Thing on My List: A Novel by Jill Smolinski. Here's the summary:

It looks intriguing, but the interchange with the brother was kind of weird. We'll see...

I'm still working on Vice Versa. I read so slowly with non-fiction, especially when I get to repetitive parts like with this one. I'm about 200 pages in and it's starting to get tiring. I need to learn to just skip sections without the fear of missing something good. :shrug: Is anyone else good at that?

I finished reading The Shack, and I thought it was OK, but I wouldn't rave about it. I do want to read it again at a later date, and maybe I'll gain more insight into it.
Right now I'm thoroughly enjoying Jan Karon's A Light in the Window, the second novel in the Mitford Series. It's the perfect type of book I like to curl up with a cup of tea with. :)

Cottage, I'm sorry The Shack didn't hit you like it hit me. Maybe the second reading will. :shrug: I was amazed by how much it helped me in my search for a better relationship with God. :)

I LOVE the Mitford series and am so, so sad that I've read them all already! Hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Isn't the dog hilarious? I love his character, though all of them are wonderful!

The Next Thing on My List is getting good--I'm still thinking the original interchange with the brother was odd, but the rest has been really well put together and interesting!

I won a great prize at our parish festival raffle yesterday--a bag full of books and kids toys that included Godiva dark chocolate and $50 worth of gift certs to B&N and Borders! :love: I PaperBackSwapped a couple of the books, gave one to DH and put the kids ones aside for donation to our local literacy book give away program. I'm SO looking forward to using the gift certs!

I finished Robert Jorden's latest in the Wheel of Time series last week. It's about 700 pages but just seemed to take forever. I think it had been too long since I had read book 10.

I picked up five Terry Brooks books at the library Saturday. I finished the first one at the gym yesterday and the second this morning. They are good easy fantasies. The next three are a trilogy (continuation from prior series) so I expect equally interesting books. I love to get captivated by books!

Well, are y'all slacking on this thread without me? Hehe. Just thought I'd drop by and share what I've read this year so far.

1. Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (1/7/09) (NF)

2. The Girlfriend's Guide to Suriving the First Year of Motherhood by Vicki Iovine (1/9/09) (NF)

3. My Life as a Doormat by Rene Gutteridge (1/11/09)

4. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Gilman (2/1/09)

5. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson (2/9/09)

6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells (3/1/09) (reread)

7. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

8. Churched by Matthew Paul Turner (M, NF)

9. Chill Out, Josey by Susan May Warren

10. Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor

11. June Bug by Chris Fabry (M) (4/20/09)

12. Blog Blazers by Stephane Grenier (4/23/09) (M, NF)

13. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (5/3/09)

14. B as in Beauty by Alberto Ferreras (5/10/09)

15. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler (5/09) (reread)

16. Nine Ways God Always Speaks by Jennifer Schuchmann and Mark Herringshaw (5/09)

17. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl (5/09) (NF)

18. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl (6/09) (NF)

19. Never the Bride by Cheryl McKinney and Rene Gutteridge (6/09)

20. What's a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie

21. Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

22. American Thighs by Jill Connor Browne (NF) (6/09)

23. Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant by various (7/8/09) (NF)

24. Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn (7/09)

25. Scoop by Rene Gutteridge (7/13/09)

As the baby gets older, it gets easier to read! Yay! She goes to bed at 7, but unfortunately everything I had to do falls after that time. I'm still enjoying my books, though. Reading some for review and a lot for fun! What are you guys liking right now? Anything I should put on the library list?

WOW! I'm very jealous (and feeling a little guilty)! You're all reading so much!!!

I finished reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and passed it on to my sister since that was my third time reading it. She's read half of it and loves it. For some reason, I find his narrating style very similar to Murakami's, so I knew that she'd like it.

I'm re-reading another favorite Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver et. al. I don't know why, but reading it makes me think of fall and I'm desperately longing for fall right now.

Since I'm not heading home for lunch today, I may run over to the library just to see if I can find something there. I need to go more often, especially since it's just across the street.

Barb, remind me of what Terry Brooks writes. His name sounds sooooo familiar. :chin:

Jessie! :yay: It's SO good to "see" you and a big relief to know that motherhood hasn't stopped your reading habit! ;) Gives me hope for my future (no, I am not pregnant! But you never know...). Love reading your list and am looking forward to checking many of them out. Do you like the Sisterchicks books? I seem to remember that you did... I really, really need to keep some records about what I read! :o

Kim, I loved A, V, M. It really inspires me! I don't know how you stay away from the library. It's the closest thing to a candy store that I know of which won't add fat to my hips! ;)

I'm still working on the audiobook version of The Next Thing on My List and am really liking the path the main character is taking, even if it's one I can't imagine doing myself.

While on vacation I whipped through Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander (not the for the faint of heart in regards to sexual scenes) and absolutely LOVED it. Some of the writing could have used a more careful editor, but I just love stories set in the regency period and this one was gloriously long (over 500 pages!), full of great period details, suspense, spies, pistols, beautiful gowns, and a fierce heroine who wants to write for a living. Very fun!

I also finished Calendar Girl by by Stella Duffy, one that I got through Paperbackswap. It was an interesting mystery that involved two storylines that converge, but some of it didn't ring true, the beginning was really slow, and I especially didn't like some of the writing style. The author would have the main character talk about the past for 2-3 paragraphs, then have a single, cryptic line about the present. It was weird and jarring. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as it became fairly intriguing as I went on. Fun to read, but it's going back into the pile of books to give away on PBS. :shrug:

Right now, I'm working through the second half of Vice Versa. It's still hard to get through, but is becoming a bit more interesting. I need to get a copy of Olive Kitteridge (sp?) as that's the book for the book club meeting in August. Has anyone read it?

Laurie, Most of the Sisterchicks books I have liked, although they're not great literature or anything! I'm actually giving away a copy of that latest one on the blog this week! :)

I've never even heard of Olive Kitteridge. What's it about?

Kim, I added Kitchen Confidential to my Paperbackswap wishlist. Sounds fun! I love food memoirs (not that you could tell that from my reading list!). Those Ruth Reichl memoirs have totally been my favorite books of the year. I also LOVED Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant.

anything Jodi Picoult, shes got a great writing style. Try The Pact or Keeping Faith. also, Eat This, Not That! Hysterical to see what you thought was 'healthy' is actually a baby step away from a heart attack!!

Laurie - Terry Brooks is a fantasy writer. He is best known for his serieses based on the Sword of Shannara. He has 17 books in different trilogies based on that world and then two other series that are good too. I finished the last 8 of his books very quickly and picked up some Stephen Donaldson and David Eddings today at the library. If I remember David Eddings is better so I'll start there. I was able to get all three books in his new trilogy so I can read them straight through. I went to the library after the gym as a reward.

I just finished reading -Julia/Julie. This takes place in 2002. Julie decides to cook 564 recipes from Mastering French Cooking by Julia Child and starts a blog (which was not that common then). I really enjoyed reading about her disasters and triumphs. By the way if anyone doesn't now there is a movie made based on this book starting Meryl Streep.

I just started Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts. It's a good summer read and drew me right in from page 1.

sophie, I reread Julie and Julia again recently, too! (Somehow it didn't make my reading list--oops!) If you can get past the language, it's really great. I am always hesitant to see movies based on books I really like, but I'll probably see that one when it comes out.

Jessie: Just an FYI on Kitchen Confidential; get ready for some language and a bit of "unsavory" behavior. I know you're a "big girl" and have read this stuff before, but I do like to send out a bit of a warning on that book especially. Anthony Bourdain does not censor himself even a little bit! Lol!


Julie and Julia sounds like a great book; and probably a great movie as well. I will have to check and see if the library has it.

Barb, that brings back some of my memory. I love David Eddings...he's quite the writer!