BOOK #88

Amanda Quick is in my top favorite romance authors of all time. She also writes as Jayne Ann Krentz. Majority of Quick's book are set in the turn of the century when women were courted and men were gentlemen. I just love that era.

And her stories are always of psychical nature. The baddies are indeed bad, the women are strangely independent and the men are always tormented.

I just love her work. This was a four hundred pager and I read it in a couple of hours. Nothing like getting lost in a story to waste a day.

I suppose one of these days, I'll get back to some serious reading. Ha!

BOOK #87

Once I start a Nora Roberts series, I always have to finish all of them. I almost didn't with this one, though. Loved the first one, but wobbled badly on the second and third. Thankfully though, the fourth one made up for the last two.

This series is set at Vows. The private estate of Parker Brown that she has turned into a wedding/reception venue. She and her three closest friends are all key components of Vows: a photographer, a florist, a baker and Parker runs it all. And of course, there are the Nora Roberts men. All strong and capable. Each book in turn is about one of the girls, her romance and inevitable engagement.

The fourth installment is Parker's story and it's just more interesting than the rest. Mostly because her story is a bit more complicated than the others and the man she tangles with is equally mysterious.

This series is not really Roberts best writing but good enough. And even her good enough is better than most.

BOOK #86

The author's life was in the shitter. Failed marriage, long custody battle, never ending lawsuit, running out of money. So he simply decided to put more good out into the universe than complain about the bad. He started writing thank you notes. To everyone. His kids, his employees, his fellow lawyers, his ex-wife. And slowly his life turned around. Not necessarily from the thank you notes but from his attitude change. I believe all the notes actually made him stop and think what was good in his life versus what was bad.

And attitude is everything.

BOOK #85

Without a doubt, Patton Oswalt is one of the funniest smartest comics working today. If you don't know him from stand up, you might know him from "King of Queens" or more recently, the voice of "Ratatouille".

His essays are brief but true to life and very very funny.

I highly recommend this book. But only if you HAVE a sense of humor.

BOOK #84

I should really make a point of starting to write down why and where I find a certain author. It's usually a link off a link from goodreads.com or sometimes even a review. I honestly cannot remember how I found about this author. But I'm glad I did.

This book is kinda sorta like "The Help" but in modern day Texas. And the kinda-sorta is a long stretch. Set in a fictional Texas small town that sounds like someplace I would live. I actually think it's based on Austin, only way smaller.

The characters are funny and believable. The horrible ex-husband is way horrible and I found myself saying out loud 'kill him!' and 'stab him!' more than once. Thank god I was tucked in bed in snowbound Wisconsin when all this killing was going on in my head.

Another fun ride of a book.

BOOK #83

I'm still on my quest to figure out why I'm retarded when it comes to love, intimacy and relationships. I discovered Dr. Berman from the OWN Network. She has a terrific sex/relationship show and I never fail to miss it. She's a very very good therapist. And the show only proves that a lot of relationships and sex lives got jacked up somewhere in the person's past. Dr. Beran is very good at untangling the couples and putting them back on a strong path.

But, this book wasn't anything new or revealing for me. One of my previous posts talked about a book called "Attached" that was a way bigger help for me than this one. But it was encouraging to know that everything she talked about in this book, I've already incorporated into my life. So I must be getting close.

But if you are not a reader of these type books, I still encourage you to either read this book or find her show on the OWN Network. She's worth it.

BOOK #82

In one of my earlier posts, I reviewed Crosley's first book of essays "I Was Told There'd Be Cake", which I loved. Next to David Sedaris, Crosley is rapidly becoming one of my favorite funny writers.

Unfortunately, I didn't feel the funny, humanity or warmth from this book as I did in the first one. Which is funny as a lot of other reviewers feel the opposite. They didn't like the first book as much as they did the second. So who knows.

But remember, any artist's first published work - whether it be writing, poetry, photography or music will be a culmination of years and years of work. It's always going to be the second body of work that shows whether they can hang tough. Crosley can. I hope she writes again.

BOOK #79, #80 & #81

Now, THIS is my favorite series of Vicki Lewis Thompson. The entire series centers around a banished witch & warlock couple to a small town in Indiana called Big Knob. Get it? Get what this series is filled with? Yup, hot sex along with magic spells. I love all of them.

There's also a iPod loving magic dragon that lives in the forest, a Loch Ness Monster that lives in the local lake and a town that only has internet service at the local cafe. How far fetched can it be? And the townsfolk have no idea this couple exists as a witch and warlock.

The books are actually funny most of the time but I get a big kick out of all of them. I hope she continues this series as they are too much fun to put down.

BOOK #78

Hold on because I'm thinking I read alot of Ms Thompson's books in a row. This is one of the books in the series of 'love and nerd' books that she did a few years ago. Of course, the titles of this series always tickle me as does the cover.

For some reason, her writing with this series is a bit off for me. There seems to be a lot of writing that goes nowhere and I find myself wandering off the story a bit. This is my least favorite series of Ms. Thompson's.

Although I have to say that this book actually kept me occupied and I never wandered off. I believe I read it in abou two days. And I think I have about six of them stacked up here somewhere. Perfect for the summer!

BOOK #77

By now, you must know I love occult romance novels. Werewolves, warlocks, witches, vampires, soul-less creatures - love it all. Vicki Lewis Thompson has numerous series of books but this is my second favorite series. Her characters are all vibrant and funny and bigger than life. This book was no exception.

Using only her imagination, the heroine of the story is an author who writes about werewolves. And very well, apparently. So well that the REAL werewolves of NY are a wee bit concerned about her. And of course, they send in their best werewolf to check it all out. And it so happens he's handsome and the knight in shining armor type. And the story follows the course you expect it to be. Fall in love, get married and very carefully she continues to write about werewolves.

But it's the way Ms. Thompson writes that I enjoy. It's just a rollicking good ride. She also has written the entire 'love and nerds' series which tickles me to no end as well.

With summer coming up, she's perfect for the beach bag.

BOOK #76

Another book in my reading quest about turning 50. Most of have been inspiring and uplifting. Not this one. I didn't find it particularly funny or even amusing. Well, of course, fifty is NOT the new thirty. Thirty-five, maybe.

Perhaps, I didn't like this because it was a little more truthful than the other books. Once you hit this age, in order to stay vibrant and alive, it becomes a battle. Everyday I have to fight the urge to want to work less but get paid more. Who doesn't?

This author insists on having a career after a career. Umm.....why? Not for me actually. I'm looking forward to living in a retirement community filled with vibrant men my age that can play tennis and golf and still wine and dine me.

That's my future. I see it all so clearly now. Even if my glasses are rose colored.

BOOK #75

The 'over hyped book' jinx kicked in for this one. All the previews I had read of this book led me to really believe it was gonna be something else. Sadly, it was not. It was even a pick for book club and ironically, almost everyone felt the same way with the book.

Started out good. Was interesting reading. And then I waited. Waited for the magical underworld part to kick in. It didn't. The story just went south into a very weird dark territory. The writing wasn't bad, it was actually entertaining. I'm just not thrilled with a book promising one thing and being something altogether different. Somehow that's not fair.

This is a common reader's dilemma. With each new book, you're never QUITE sure. Of where the book will take you. Of how you will react. And therein lies the adventure.

BOOK #74

I keep lists. A to read list of books. I had four or five them floating around out there. I have now consolidated them all into one list. And every now and then, I go to the list and then to Paperbackswap.com to find any of them. During the holidays, I got lucky and found 13. And of course, they are all sitting in a pile. Except this one. Somehow, this got stuck on my desk and it just sat there.

I picked it up last week because I had heard it was a book that you read slower and slower as you go along. And I thought that was kind of nuts. But that's exactly what happened. Robinson is such a delicate, exquisite writer that I did indeed slow down to catch each word. Absolutely beautiful. For the amount of crap I do read, it was a pleasure to find a real wordsmith still out there.

Here's what some of the reviewers said:

"Housekeeping is a haunting dream of a story told in a language as sharp and clear as light and air and water."

"Housekeeping is sensuous, funny and mythic, as penetrating as the chilly wind off a glacial lake."

"Housekeeping is extraordinary."

I gave it five stars.

BOOK #73

Most people know I like reading books about health and healthy attitudes, any of the 'ology' books, and inventive ideas. For a few months, I read that everyone and their mother was reading this book. So, I bought it. It sat in my iPad for a couple of months. During the holidays, I decided to see what it was all about.

Basically, the author, Gretchen Rubin, decided to spend a year of her life being happier. Each month was assigned a particular way to be happy. It takes a lot of effort and work to try and right what's wrong in your world and your perspective on a daily basis. I really enjoyed reading about how she went about it each month. After finishing the book, I have to say that alot of her ideas have stuck with me. I even shared a few with Meredith and she agreed that some of it made sense.

And to top that off, I've decided to start another Meetup Group based on this book. To help people bring more happiness into their lives and to help them examine maybe why they aren't happy. Happiness is definitely a state of mind.

On my work computer desktop, I have a large stickie that simply says 'ACT HAPPY'. And each day, I see that and it helps me maintain a good attitude. Even when things get thick and ugly and everyone is pissing me off, I stare at it to right myself. I have even walked into empty closets when I'm pissed to count to 10, bring it back together and remember to 'ACT HAPPY' and it works. Talking myself down off of a ledge is new for me. Trust me.

So do I recommend this? Yes. It's not a particularly well written book but you get the gist of it. Or join my meetup club!

BOOK #72

A big hit for our first book of book club 2011! I was thrilled. I was a little shaky on the pick because I had never heard of this author but then remembered that was the point of book club. The reason I maintain my right to pick the books for book club is because I can take the rejections and the animosity when a book goes wrong. We used to try it where individuals picked the book but if the book went south, more often than not, the picker got her feelings hurt. I have no feelings so it only makes laugh harder when they hate it. But they read it! And to be honest, sometimes I pick books they might hate just to get the conversation going.

This book was an enjoyable fictional romp thru the underground world of Seattle during the Civil War years. Very steampunk. Lots of action. One memorable character named Swakhammer! I was a tad surprised that there wasn't even one hint of romance at any portion. That shows great restraint on the author's part since it's a very easy trap to fall into.

I will definitely get back to read more of Cherie Priest. If I ever get through the stacks in my house, my iPad and Kindle.

BOOK #71

Technically, with it being 2011, our 2010 Book Pledge is over. Fortunately, most did pretty well. We all fell off but still made a dent in our stacks so that's progress. Unfortunately, I seemed to have added a large amount of new books to the stack. "The Imperfectionists" included.

I bought this book shortly after it came out. It was highly trumpeted and I liked the idea of each chapter about one character. And then how they are all tangled up together at the end. I have no idea why it took me a whole year to pick it up.

I chose this book as my favorite book for 2010. Easy to read, interesting to read, each chapter so different than the previous and how amazingly the author put it all together at the end. Again, pleasantly surprised that a hyped up book delivered on its promise. My luck may be turning!

I highly recommend this as a 'must read' for EVERYONE.

BOOK #70

Booyah! Seventy books for 2010! And I just got this one in under the wire. So for our 'book pledge' of 2010, I think I actually read about 50 of my 90+ books that I was trying to finish for the year. Not bad since we all fell off track somewhere in the spring. Oh well.

And this author, well, I can't resist her work. I always buy her newest on the day of release. She has two series: one is about a psychic detective and then there is this one - a psychic ghost getter. And the author herself is a psychic who lives in Austin - and I happen to follow her on Twitter. She's fun in real life as well. I can always tell when an author invests their own personal experiences in the writing as it always develops a strong ring of truth. And being fascinated by the whole 'ether' world and those that communicate with it, I'm naturally drawn to these types of books. Again, it's that 'magick' feeling that I love.

Unfortunately, for this book, I was seriously disappointed. The plot revolved around her and her crew 'busting' a big bad phantom in a very haunted castle on a cold, rainy Scottish island. Nothing new there. The plot was endless in its circles of going back and forth to the castle and battling the big bad phantom. And then finally (for us readers that is) solving the mystery that never seemed to ever be there in the first place. This book seemed to have less humor and more sturm und drang than her previous pieces. And I think that's what dragged me down for most of my reading. I hung in there though, only if to see if it might get better but alas, it really didn't. It ended. Oh well.

I highly recommend all of Victoria's previous books. Just not this one so much. And I will definitely be there when she releases the next one though. Here's to 2011, kids!

BOOK #69

Chick lit break! Took me about 2 hours to read it. Amusing, funny, silly.
Just what's it's supposed to be. Nothing to get excited about. But if I found some more of Plum Sykes' work for a couple of bucks, I'd buy them. Perfect for a no-brainer type of read.

BOOK #68

Having 90+ books lying around my house finally paid off! Martin Scorcese just released a documentary about this author, Fran Lebowitz, on HBO titled "Publicly Speaking". She is a very funny woman. After watching it, I dug out her book. I remembered I had ordered it by its colorful cover. Does her humor translate to her essays? Yes and no. I thought she was more charming and funny in person than in her essays. Yet, this book was published in the late 70s so there is a huge difference between the Fran of the 70s and the Fran of 2010.

She's been compared to Dorothy Parker and some other great wits of the past. I think she has developed her own niche of NY smugness, high intellect and the always obvious refusal of modern technology. She drives a fifty year old restored cab, for god's sakes (which is very cool, BTW).

Some of the essays are dated and only mildly amusing. While the others are hilarious and highly quotable. I am sure somewhere there is more than one website devoted to exclusive Fran Lebowitz quotes. I know I put up a number of her quotes on my FB page.

I think, if you are traveling to New York, then take this along for the read on the plane. That would be about perfect.