Saturday, November 20, 2010

Reading Rockstar

It just dawned on me that the show Reading Rainbow didn't really feature a lot of reading. Did it? I remember having to watch it in my English class in third grade but I don't remember them reading on there.

Anyways. Here's what I've read the last two weeks:

1. Summer at Tiffany- Marjorie Hart

Summer at Tiffany
This book was given to me awhile ago and it's been sitting on my shelf for almost a year. SHAMEFUL. It's a memoir written by Marjorie Hart, who at the time she wrote this, was in her 80's. It was given to me by a senior editor who wanted me to know that you seriously don't need to be of a certain age to write your first book.

Essentially, the book is about Marjorie and her friend Marty, who were students at the University of Iowa in 1945. That summer, they set out on an adventure and lived out what happened to be the best summer of their lives. They went to New York City and got a job at the famed Tiffany & Co. store and became the first female pages of the store. Pure luck got them the job but they didn't take it for granted. The story is really good and mixed in you learn about the war going on at the time and just interesting tidbits about the time in general. She writes about her sightings of celebrities, summer love with a soldier, and her making a tough decision at the end. Basically- it is a really fun read if you like memoirs.


No One You Know
Sometimes I have a really hard time getting into plain old fiction books that don't have the promise of hot sex in it. I don't know why- just the way it is. This one... was ok. It wasn't great but the mystery aspect was enough to keep me going. The book is about Ellie Enderlin who leads a direction-less life since her sister Lila was murdered. The murder was never solved but her family was torn apart by the betrayal of a book about the crime written by Ellie's friend. Eventually Ellie decides that in order to give herself a path she needs to correct the wrongs and figure out once and for all who really killed her sister. I will tell you that you DO find out who it is but it's a surprisingly sad twist, really. I got lost in some of the details that weren't really important at all, but for the most part the story kept me engaged.

3. Chill Factor- Sandra Brown

Chill Factor: A Novel
I feel like I've gotten onto the Sandra Brown train really late and that is terrible. This book was SO interesting that I read all 389 pages in two nights. The story is about Lilly Martin who comes to this po-dunk town to finalize her divorce to new police chief Dutch. Oh, and the po-dunk town has 5 missing women, presumably all dad. Enter Ben Tierney who is a suspicious character. It's a snowstorm, Dutch leaves, Lilly hits Tierney with her car and they become holed up in her cabin during an ice storm. Sounds cheesy, but go with it. The plot line of trying to figure out who's the killer is gripping. I thought I knew who it was but then changed my mind and ended up being right. All of the characters are shady and while there are a few different plot lines going on at once, Sandra Brown winds them together perfectly at the end. I totally recommend this book- and I'm going to get more of hers in the future.

4. Conversations with the Fat Girl- Liza Palmer

Conversations with the Fat Girl
I actually got this book from Amber during last month's Blogger Mail Swap. The thing about this book is that you might not really get it unless you are, or previously were, a fat girl. Basically, Maggie (the fat girl) is the maid of honor in Olivia's wedding (her best friend who was previously fat but then got skinny bitch via surgery) and while Maggie tries to plan a shower she loses enthusiasm for the wedding when she questions whether or not Olivia is still a good enough friend. She wants it to work out.. yet... Olivia makes it hard. And then Maggie has a crush on a really hot guy.. who seems interested. So she's batting her worth and dealing with Olivia. It sucks. There were funny parts, parts where you felt bad, and parts where you could sympathize with Maggie. I absolutely loved the ending... love and revenge. :)
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OK- so I also started the Maggie Stiefvater Faerie books... Lament is first and Ballad is second. I'm like half way through Lament and I am IN LOVE with this book. If you like Shiver and Linger (her other two books) you will love this.

What are YOU reading??

3 comments:

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Okay so I have a Sandra Brown book that I borrowed from my mom and never read. Maybe I should get on that? Sounds like she's a good author!

BTW I LOVE Rachel in Shiver and Linger. She cracks me up. And I totally cried at the end of Shiver.

Lady Grey said...

I just started reading a book that is a few years old that was recommended to me by a friend: I know this much is true by Wally Lamb. It appears to have had good reviews.

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

My reading Dead Man's Chest by Kerry Greenwood, which is a mystery set in 1929 Melbourne Australia. It's a good series if you like strong female PIs