BOOK #44

Originally, I had bought this book for Rachel as a birthday present. But, in rapid succession, I found out she had read it and wouldn't be able to attend her own birthday party. So since I hadn't read it and it was paid for, I did two things. We had the party without her and I kept the book!

I had been meaning to read it since I'm a fan of hers and I wasn't disappointed. I liked that it was a memoir and spoke of her coming up in the comedy world and really what a very hard worker Ms Griffin is. On top of being funny, she is brave and loyal and warm and understanding. To have survived Hollywood and still be good with it all is where the credit is due. She really didn't have anything horrible to say about anybody (well, maybe Steve Martin but don't we all know he's a dick??) when she well could have. She continually campaigns for the Prop 8, for women's health and for the troops. And she has the reality show as well. You gotta admire a woman like that.

It was a great fun read from an unlikely place. I only hope she writes another one really soon!

BOOK #43

I'm a sucker for a good psychic. The "other side" fascinates me. Always has. Always will. This lady has a new show on SyFy called "Mary Knows Best". I instantly loved the show and her. She's for real. Creepily so. I got chillbumps when I saw the show and then of course, watched it again.

But this book tells of her life and her struggles. Her own battle with MS, raising 3 kids on her own and learning to let go and let her ability speak for itself. And it's worked. She has a five year old show on Sirius, 3 books, her new SyFy show and a year-long waiting list for $450/half hour phone readings.

I found her book to be warm and funny and lively and a couple of her messages really hit home with me. I'm actually going to keep this book to pick up again someday.

If you don't want to read it, at least, give the show a chance.

BOOK #42

Tah-dah! First book club read for my new book club. And weighing in at about 800 pages, first monster read for the year.

While reviews were mixed from the club, I loved this book. I loved it for the story and for the way he writes. Yes, he smacks of Stephen King so that's only a compliment. I loved the beginning, the supposedly slow part and even the ending. I was pleased with the way it ended but now that I know it's one in a trilogy - I'm not so sure I'll read any more. Now, if one of the books is to be a pre-quel or to even flesh out the opening chapters, I might consider it.

The very over-hyped book delivered and I'm always glad to not be disappointed.

BOOK #41

I went to away camp. I loved it. And yes, I wrote these kinds of letters. So I naturally had to read this when I saw it on amazon.com. It only brought back tons of memories. Probably my funniest letters were the first one or two during my adjustment to camp. Where I hated it and the people and was sad and lonely. I was ten, after all. And after that, it was always about sending candy or money or letting me stay the rest of the summer. My parents never let me stay the whole summer - with my mother always telling me she missed me too much! hahahahahahaaaaa - that wasn't the truth but it was nice of her to say it. How could she miss me when there were still 3 at home? She probably didn't even know I was gone.

Nonetheless, the letters are hysterical and some are quite involved with drawings, escape maps, death threats while others are barely letters. I know I smiled through the whole book.

I'm always encouraging people to send their kids to away camp. It lets kids be kids. It lets them, for the first times in their lives, find their own identity. But parents are horrible people these days and refuse to let their kids out of their sights. I feel bad for the kids, I really do. It's a real shame for any kid to miss out on camp.

BOOK #40

Pledge or no pledge, there are just some authors I buy and read away. After discovering Victoria Laurie's two different series last year, I became an avid fan. She deals in the supernatural and the funny. This book is from the series about a psychic medium involved in her boyfriend's FBI cases (by mistake, natch) and being her own magnet trouble. The other series is a medium who prefers to catch nasty ghosts and send them back rather than sitting around reading tarot cards all day. Both series are delightful and a perfect afternoon read for me.

This was a Saturday afternoon read during a pity party and it really was one of her best. And the author also happens to be a psychic medium herself with a thriving practice in Austin. One of these days, I'm gonna make an appointment with her just because I'm curious. About her writing and her medium skills.

So, of course, I highly recommend this book!

Heart of Darkness

When it comes to books on the eReaders (on my iPhone), I pick lots of the classics. There are two reasons for this... 1. I feel it's a good idea to expand my noggin (the ones that I didn't get to read in High School/College) and B. they're free if they are 50 years past the author's death. God bless Project Gutenberg!

So, years ago, the first boyfriend and I had a debate over "Heart of Darkness" and whether or not Francis Coppola swiped the story without giving credit (ie: Apocalypse Now). The boyfriend had read "HOD" at the hoity-toity private school he went to. Whatever...

Well, I'm not totally convinced that Coppola shouldn't have skipped the homage. While the basic story line is the same - guy volunteers to drive a boat up a river to bring back Kurtz, the prophet/daemon/messiah/megalomanic (pick one or all) antagonist of the story - the settings of the two stories varied dramatically. And while I am one who believes that the book is always better than the movie, this might be an exception.

Perhaps movie credits should have a rating system too. This one would have been "story LOOSELY based on book by Joseph Conrad."

Worth a read if you're into the classics. Don't watch the movie first though. It's far more exciting than the book.

(Should I feel guilty that I wasn't impressed by a piece of "literature?")

BOOK #39

I keep wandering around the romance genre this summer. Why is that? Actually, the author of this bok is a friend of mine. Someone passed this to me and I did want to read it. And it's sure a lot easier than dragging "The Passage" on the train with me.

This is a very good first try. I give Addison a lot of credit as I know how many years she has worked to get the point of publications. I liked the theme very much. It was a whole lot different than most romance novels. It did bog down in places and some of the scenes did jump quite quickly but I enjoyed it overall. It's the first of 12 books (one for each sign of the zodiac) so I'll try the next one as well.

Do I recommend it? For a light quick read or for a plane trip, yes. Other than that...well there are other books I would recommend first.