A few weeks ago, I was happily getting ready for work one day. Well, happily might be an overstatement, but I was getting ready. I started drying my hair and all of a sudden, only cold air was blowing out of my hairdryer. "Crap, I must have hit the cold air button," I thought. Nope- my hair dryer was broken. And FYI- hair does not dry with cold air. After a few futile minutes, I learned that lesson. Luckily, I have a travel hair dryer, so I didn't have to go to work a wet head.
Later that week, I decided to bite the bullet and get a new hair dryer. So away to Target I went. Holy crap! There are a lot of hair dryers. I quickly decided against the $100+ Chi one. A leeeeetle too expensive for me. I tend to gravitate towards the $20 ones. There were some really cool hair dryers though. Pink ones, ones with patterns, all sorts of fun stuff. I ended up choosing a deep pink one from Remington. I am a Conair girl, but decided to branch out. To quote Julia Roberts, big mistake, HUGE.
The pink monster is heavy as lead. My arm is actually tired after the few minutes it takes to dry my hair. Yes, I said few minutes. 3, tops. The pink monster is also the most powerful hair dryer I have ever encountered. One would think that would be a good thing- hair would dry faster. Drying my hair any faster has never really been an issue for me. I just don't like the fact that my nicely combed wet hair is completely tangled by the time I finish drying it, thanks to the high powered monster.
Needless to say, I'm kind of stuck with the pink monster now. But next time, I'm going to hold each and every hair dryer that's on display before I pick one. Lighter is better. And I'm going back to Conair. They have yet to fail me!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
I'm so glad I'm Jane of Columbia, rather than Jane of No place in particular.....
I have always been a huge Anne of Green Gables fan. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE!! I've read all of the books in the series more times than I can count (and am re-reading them as we speak). I've also seen the movie quite a few times. By the time I was in middle school, Anne and I were already fast friends (or kindred spirits as she would say). So when summer vacation rolled around and my parents decided on Maine, my little mommy thought to herself, "Maine, that's right next to Canada. Prince Edward Island is part of Canada. Let's add a trip to PEI to the trip.". Just as an FYI- it was about 500 miles away. Not quite so "right next to," but whatever.
So off we went to PEI. And a better vacation I have never had! We went to Green Gables. I was actually offered a job due to how much I knew about the series. Sadly, I was too young. And didn't speak either French or Japanese fluently. Maybe I missed my true calling back there. I certainly still know more about Anne than about most other things. I got to see the Lake of Shining Waters and stroll through the Haunted Woods. I got to visit everything I'd ever wanted to see in Anne's world. And it thrilled me to my very fingertips!
By the time I had become an Anne fan, the first Anne movie had been made. While it wasn't exactly like the book (when is a movie ever exactly like the book?), it was so close that I was in raptures watching it. Megan Follows is unparalleled in her portrayal of Anne Shirley. A second Anne movie was also filmed. While it wasn't as faithful to the books as the first had been, it did a pretty good job of combining several of the books as best it could and certainly still captured the spirit of Anne. I own the first movie and hadn't watched it recently. So I decided to do so. Then I Netflix'd the second movie. Imagine my surprise to discover that in 2000, a third Anne movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story) and in 2008, a fourth movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning). So I promptly Netflix'd both of them as well. The third movie has the same actors reprising their roles during WW1. Which is the last book in the series, when Anne's sons (not Anne and Gilbert) go off to war. While Megan Follows can still do no wrong as Anne, the movie itself was miserable. They introduced characters not in any of the books and story lines that would have made LM Montgomery cringe. They even had Anne and Gilbert move to New York City briefly, before they were married, so that Gilbert could work at Bellevue Hospital for a while. In the 1900's, that wouldn't have happened, even if they were living in separate apartments. No woman, unmarried, would have moved with a man. Anne got involved in espionage in France during the war. Gilbert was a POW. Needless to say, I was bitterly disappointed.
Then movie four arrived. After 30 minutes, I was already "in the depths of despair," as Anne would say. Anne is now a widow because Gilbert was killed during WW2. Now, Anne of Green Gables takes place in 1878, when Anne is eleven. Which means that by WW2, Anne would be in her VERY late seventies. The movie has her in her late forties at best. This movie was beyond disappointing. It completely changes Anne's history and back story. It changes everything about who Anne is. It doesn't even capture the spirit of Anne, especially guilty of this is the actress who plays the older version of Anne. It took every bit of my will power to actually finish the movie. And as far as I am concerned, this movie no longer exists. There were 2 Anne of Green Gables movies. And you will never be able to convince me otherwise! Sadly, it's 2+ hours of my life I'll never get back. But if nothing else, I'm completely enjoying rereading the Anne books. I'd forgotten how much I truly love them. They might have to be a yearly reread!
So off we went to PEI. And a better vacation I have never had! We went to Green Gables. I was actually offered a job due to how much I knew about the series. Sadly, I was too young. And didn't speak either French or Japanese fluently. Maybe I missed my true calling back there. I certainly still know more about Anne than about most other things. I got to see the Lake of Shining Waters and stroll through the Haunted Woods. I got to visit everything I'd ever wanted to see in Anne's world. And it thrilled me to my very fingertips!
By the time I had become an Anne fan, the first Anne movie had been made. While it wasn't exactly like the book (when is a movie ever exactly like the book?), it was so close that I was in raptures watching it. Megan Follows is unparalleled in her portrayal of Anne Shirley. A second Anne movie was also filmed. While it wasn't as faithful to the books as the first had been, it did a pretty good job of combining several of the books as best it could and certainly still captured the spirit of Anne. I own the first movie and hadn't watched it recently. So I decided to do so. Then I Netflix'd the second movie. Imagine my surprise to discover that in 2000, a third Anne movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story) and in 2008, a fourth movie was made (Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning). So I promptly Netflix'd both of them as well. The third movie has the same actors reprising their roles during WW1. Which is the last book in the series, when Anne's sons (not Anne and Gilbert) go off to war. While Megan Follows can still do no wrong as Anne, the movie itself was miserable. They introduced characters not in any of the books and story lines that would have made LM Montgomery cringe. They even had Anne and Gilbert move to New York City briefly, before they were married, so that Gilbert could work at Bellevue Hospital for a while. In the 1900's, that wouldn't have happened, even if they were living in separate apartments. No woman, unmarried, would have moved with a man. Anne got involved in espionage in France during the war. Gilbert was a POW. Needless to say, I was bitterly disappointed.
Then movie four arrived. After 30 minutes, I was already "in the depths of despair," as Anne would say. Anne is now a widow because Gilbert was killed during WW2. Now, Anne of Green Gables takes place in 1878, when Anne is eleven. Which means that by WW2, Anne would be in her VERY late seventies. The movie has her in her late forties at best. This movie was beyond disappointing. It completely changes Anne's history and back story. It changes everything about who Anne is. It doesn't even capture the spirit of Anne, especially guilty of this is the actress who plays the older version of Anne. It took every bit of my will power to actually finish the movie. And as far as I am concerned, this movie no longer exists. There were 2 Anne of Green Gables movies. And you will never be able to convince me otherwise! Sadly, it's 2+ hours of my life I'll never get back. But if nothing else, I'm completely enjoying rereading the Anne books. I'd forgotten how much I truly love them. They might have to be a yearly reread!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Life in the fast lane (it's where I prefer to drive)
I ran into an old friend today who hadn't seen my new car. In fact, he thought I was still in a car I haven't owned in over 4 years. But it made me start thinking about all of my cars.
I grew up with parents who will drive a car into the ground. Only when it becomes unsafe is a car no longer a part of our family. We also name cars, but that's a whole other thing. In my entire life, my mother has had 3 cars and my father has had 4 (the most recent one being my old car). That's 33 years and a total of 7 cars here people! So I always thought I would be the exact same way. Wrong!
I got my first car, a grey-blue 1989 Honda Accord, for my 16th birthday. It was a complete surprise! I drove that car for nearly 4 years. Then, I got the Green Machine, a green 1995 Ford Explorer, during my sophomore year of college. Nothing was wrong with my Honda, other than it was small and I was driving to and from college. So my parents felt safer with me in an SUV. The Green Machine had many adventures and did a lot of tailgating. It was a great car and I loved it. In 2005 (I think), I finally got the car of my dreams- a silver Toyota Solara convertible. I named her Olivia. I have always wanted a convertible and figured, what better time in my life than when I had no responsibilities?! I had Olivia until I went to work at my new job, at which point she went to my father. I think he's changed her name, but I'm not sure to what. My new job came with a car. So my new car was a black Mercedes SLK350. It was a hard-top convertible (yes, another convertible). I named her Samantha. She was adorable, fun, sporty. But apparently, I thought she was also a submarine. One afternoon, after a flash rainstorm, I was driving to dinner. I saw a large puddle ahead of me, but didn't realize it was deep AND wide. In tiny Samantha went, and out she never came. I flooded the engine and she was never able to drive again. Next up, the black Mercedes E500. Black Betty, later to be known as Christine. I've gone through the saga of Christine before, so we won't rehash that. Suffice it to say, Christine needed to be gone from my life. And so she was. My new (hey- she's only a year old- that's still new) car is Fiona, a 2010 silver Toyota Highlander. After Olivia, Fiona's been my favorite car of all time. She is beautiful. She is functional. She's a winner! But let's look at this- I've been driving for a little over half my life now and I have had 6 cars. Yes, 6 cars!! That's almost as many as my parents have had TOTAL in double the time! I'm a little embarrassed at how many cars I've driven. But I have faith that Fiona will be it for me. Until death do us part. Her death, hopefully.....
I grew up with parents who will drive a car into the ground. Only when it becomes unsafe is a car no longer a part of our family. We also name cars, but that's a whole other thing. In my entire life, my mother has had 3 cars and my father has had 4 (the most recent one being my old car). That's 33 years and a total of 7 cars here people! So I always thought I would be the exact same way. Wrong!
I got my first car, a grey-blue 1989 Honda Accord, for my 16th birthday. It was a complete surprise! I drove that car for nearly 4 years. Then, I got the Green Machine, a green 1995 Ford Explorer, during my sophomore year of college. Nothing was wrong with my Honda, other than it was small and I was driving to and from college. So my parents felt safer with me in an SUV. The Green Machine had many adventures and did a lot of tailgating. It was a great car and I loved it. In 2005 (I think), I finally got the car of my dreams- a silver Toyota Solara convertible. I named her Olivia. I have always wanted a convertible and figured, what better time in my life than when I had no responsibilities?! I had Olivia until I went to work at my new job, at which point she went to my father. I think he's changed her name, but I'm not sure to what. My new job came with a car. So my new car was a black Mercedes SLK350. It was a hard-top convertible (yes, another convertible). I named her Samantha. She was adorable, fun, sporty. But apparently, I thought she was also a submarine. One afternoon, after a flash rainstorm, I was driving to dinner. I saw a large puddle ahead of me, but didn't realize it was deep AND wide. In tiny Samantha went, and out she never came. I flooded the engine and she was never able to drive again. Next up, the black Mercedes E500. Black Betty, later to be known as Christine. I've gone through the saga of Christine before, so we won't rehash that. Suffice it to say, Christine needed to be gone from my life. And so she was. My new (hey- she's only a year old- that's still new) car is Fiona, a 2010 silver Toyota Highlander. After Olivia, Fiona's been my favorite car of all time. She is beautiful. She is functional. She's a winner! But let's look at this- I've been driving for a little over half my life now and I have had 6 cars. Yes, 6 cars!! That's almost as many as my parents have had TOTAL in double the time! I'm a little embarrassed at how many cars I've driven. But I have faith that Fiona will be it for me. Until death do us part. Her death, hopefully.....
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
August readings- I've been busy!
My goal this month was to read more books than I read last month. Seeing as I bought an iPad at the beginning of the month and downloaded a few books onto it, I figured I could achieve my goal quite easily. And as I can tend to get bored with just one book, I read multiple books simultaneously. But that's a whole other issue.
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. This was my book club book (go ahead and realize there will be one of these a month!!) It took me a REALLY long time to get into this book. Which is odd because the "trailer" on the back of the book seemed really good. Sisters and a mother who have never gotten along and are forced to care for each other when the father/husband (the only person who connected them) dies. The mother is Russian and tells her daughters a Russian fairy tale. Which may or may not be a true story. Once the fairy tale got going though, I really enjoyed it. I found myself unable to put it down and there were even tears streaming down my cheeks as I finished reading. Amazing story.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz and The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The first became the first book I read on my iPad. Despite missing being able to turn pages and feel the paper, I rather enjoyed reading a book on my iPad. I have always been a huge fan of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, and the sequel, Return to Oz (a cult classic as far as I'm concerned.). And as I was looking through the free books on iBooks, I realized that I had never actually read any of Baum's books. So I downloaded all 14 that are in the Oz series. All of them proved to be easy reads. As for the first, I really enjoyed the "true" story of Dorothy (although the music was greatly missed!). The second and third books were clearly where they got the plot line for "Return to Oz". Many of the characters were the same as the ones in the movie. There is a boy named Tip in the second book who basically handles the role that Dorothy had in the movie. But Dorothy returns for the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh books, with a cast of new characters. The fourth and fifth books are just more of Dorothy's adventures in Oz. The sixth book changes everything, as Oz is attacked by evil creatures who want to destroy it. After they are thwarted, Princess Ozma asks Glinda to make her country invisible to anyone who doesn't already live there, thus making it seemingly impossible for Baum to learn any new stories about Oz. Luckily, by book seven, he realizes that he can telegraph Dorothy and still learn more stories, without having to actually see her. So she shares with him the story of Ojo and his adventure to save his uncle from being a marble statute. I really enjoyed entering the world of Oz, in even more detail than ever before!
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn. Another modern day fairytale. This one was Sleeping Beauty. Exact same set up, only this time, she sleeps for 300 years. Gotta be tough to wake up in the 21st century to discover that not only does your country no longer exist, but you don't even dress correctly anymore! It's a very cute love story and was a GREAT beach read!
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig. She writes historical fiction about spies in the 1700-1800's and has a whole series of books. Fortunately, they don't all need to be read together (or in order) to be enjoyed. The modern day story that links all of the books is a grad student writing her dissertation on "Aristocratic Espionage during the Wars with France, 1789-1815.". The spies she discovers are all flower names. And some are even women. Her books are great fun. This one takes place in British-ruled India. A very easy read, and if you are a fan of historical fiction, Lauren Willig is a master of the field.
Summer and the City by Candice Bushnell. The next installment of the Carrie Diaries, which are the prequel to Sex and the City. In this one, Carrie has just graduated from high school and moved to New York to take a summer writing class at The New School. She meets (and becomes the roommate of) Samantha, meets Miranda, falls in love, has sex, learns her strengths as a writer and meets a cast of characters (some of whom return later in the TV show). It's typical Bushnell- easy to read and good fun. I read the majority of it while sitting next to my pool and finished it once I got back inside the house. Yep, I read this one in one day. Hello, my name is Jane, and I'm a bookaholic. It's a problem....
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. This was my book club book (go ahead and realize there will be one of these a month!!) It took me a REALLY long time to get into this book. Which is odd because the "trailer" on the back of the book seemed really good. Sisters and a mother who have never gotten along and are forced to care for each other when the father/husband (the only person who connected them) dies. The mother is Russian and tells her daughters a Russian fairy tale. Which may or may not be a true story. Once the fairy tale got going though, I really enjoyed it. I found myself unable to put it down and there were even tears streaming down my cheeks as I finished reading. Amazing story.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz and The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The first became the first book I read on my iPad. Despite missing being able to turn pages and feel the paper, I rather enjoyed reading a book on my iPad. I have always been a huge fan of the movie, The Wizard of Oz, and the sequel, Return to Oz (a cult classic as far as I'm concerned.). And as I was looking through the free books on iBooks, I realized that I had never actually read any of Baum's books. So I downloaded all 14 that are in the Oz series. All of them proved to be easy reads. As for the first, I really enjoyed the "true" story of Dorothy (although the music was greatly missed!). The second and third books were clearly where they got the plot line for "Return to Oz". Many of the characters were the same as the ones in the movie. There is a boy named Tip in the second book who basically handles the role that Dorothy had in the movie. But Dorothy returns for the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh books, with a cast of new characters. The fourth and fifth books are just more of Dorothy's adventures in Oz. The sixth book changes everything, as Oz is attacked by evil creatures who want to destroy it. After they are thwarted, Princess Ozma asks Glinda to make her country invisible to anyone who doesn't already live there, thus making it seemingly impossible for Baum to learn any new stories about Oz. Luckily, by book seven, he realizes that he can telegraph Dorothy and still learn more stories, without having to actually see her. So she shares with him the story of Ojo and his adventure to save his uncle from being a marble statute. I really enjoyed entering the world of Oz, in even more detail than ever before!
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn. Another modern day fairytale. This one was Sleeping Beauty. Exact same set up, only this time, she sleeps for 300 years. Gotta be tough to wake up in the 21st century to discover that not only does your country no longer exist, but you don't even dress correctly anymore! It's a very cute love story and was a GREAT beach read!
The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig. She writes historical fiction about spies in the 1700-1800's and has a whole series of books. Fortunately, they don't all need to be read together (or in order) to be enjoyed. The modern day story that links all of the books is a grad student writing her dissertation on "Aristocratic Espionage during the Wars with France, 1789-1815.". The spies she discovers are all flower names. And some are even women. Her books are great fun. This one takes place in British-ruled India. A very easy read, and if you are a fan of historical fiction, Lauren Willig is a master of the field.
Summer and the City by Candice Bushnell. The next installment of the Carrie Diaries, which are the prequel to Sex and the City. In this one, Carrie has just graduated from high school and moved to New York to take a summer writing class at The New School. She meets (and becomes the roommate of) Samantha, meets Miranda, falls in love, has sex, learns her strengths as a writer and meets a cast of characters (some of whom return later in the TV show). It's typical Bushnell- easy to read and good fun. I read the majority of it while sitting next to my pool and finished it once I got back inside the house. Yep, I read this one in one day. Hello, my name is Jane, and I'm a bookaholic. It's a problem....
Friday, August 19, 2011
Dating, it's virtually impossible out there
It seems like every time I turn on the TV, there are commercials about online dating. And all of them claim to be the way to find the love of your life. Oddly enough, I've actually tried online dating. Yes, me. The hopeless romantic has tried to be practical and find love in whatever way might be out there. Hey, it's worth a try, right?
First up, many years ago, was Match.com. The first guy was Fish Boy (see one of my earlier dating stories). The next was a guy I talked with quite a bit. We were even planning to meet. Then, one afternoon while we were talking, he had to go finish up some work and said he'd call later. That was about 7 or so years ago. Hope he hasn't lost my number....
Next up, eHarmony. It sucked. Nothing further to be said about that.
Third try, not really online, was It's Just Lunch. You actually meet with a matchmaker who asks what you are looking for in a mate. I had a few things. The first guy- divorced with a kid (I said no kids). The second guy- maybe 5'6" (I said taller than me). I didn't give them a chance to screw me over with the third date option. They didn't seem to listen to what I wanted.
Recently, I decided to try OkCupid. And omg- the guys on this site are disgusting. To the point that I might not even try to stick this out for very long.
To be honest, maybe I'm not really sure online dating is at all the way to go.....
First up, many years ago, was Match.com. The first guy was Fish Boy (see one of my earlier dating stories). The next was a guy I talked with quite a bit. We were even planning to meet. Then, one afternoon while we were talking, he had to go finish up some work and said he'd call later. That was about 7 or so years ago. Hope he hasn't lost my number....
Next up, eHarmony. It sucked. Nothing further to be said about that.
Third try, not really online, was It's Just Lunch. You actually meet with a matchmaker who asks what you are looking for in a mate. I had a few things. The first guy- divorced with a kid (I said no kids). The second guy- maybe 5'6" (I said taller than me). I didn't give them a chance to screw me over with the third date option. They didn't seem to listen to what I wanted.
Recently, I decided to try OkCupid. And omg- the guys on this site are disgusting. To the point that I might not even try to stick this out for very long.
To be honest, maybe I'm not really sure online dating is at all the way to go.....
Sunday, July 31, 2011
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
One of my friends has a blog and occasionally blogs about the books she's recently read. I thought that seemed like a spectacular idea (as I tend to read quite a bit). So I've decided to copy her idea. At the end of each month, I'm going to do a little review of the books I've read that month. I'll go ahead and apologize- I've been a little lax this month on my reading. But with no further ado, July's books!
Sing Me Home by Jodi Picoult. This is NOT your typical Jodi Picoult. It's about fertility (or rather infertility), ownership of unborn children (I know, that sounds horrible), music, homosexuality and family. The only typical Jodi Picoult aspect is a trial. I'm not sure you can HAVE a Jodi Picoult without a trial! On the whole, one of my favorite Jodi Picoults. It was deep and very moving.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's a story of an eleven year old chemistry genius who turns detective when she watches a man die in the garden and her father is accused of murder. I read it on the recommendation of a friend and didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Little Lady, Big Apple and The Little Lady Agency and the Prince by Hester Browne. I read the first book in this series (The Little Lady Agency) for book club last month. It's British chick lit. Long story short, Melissa starts her own business as a girlfriend for hire (not a prostitute, as she makes sure people know). She gives make-overs, shops for gifts, attends events as a plus-one, you name it. Along the way, she falls in love (book 1), moves to New York briefly (book 2), and gets hired to transform a playboy prince (book 3). If you like British chick lit, this series is a winner!
Cloaked by Alex Flinn. I read another of Alex Flinn's novels recently. Beastly. Made into a movie that wasn't NEARLY as good as the novel. Flinn likes to modernize fairy tales. This one combined quite a few fairy tales, most of them quite unfamiliar to me. However, there was the one of the prince who was turned into a frog. The one of the shoe maker who is helped by elves. The one of the 6 siblings who are turned to swans and can only be saved by their sister (who doesn't know they exist). The one of the magic cloak that can take you anywhere you wish. The one of the magic fish who curses a man for wishing for too much. There were witches and giants. Humans who had been turned into animals. Princes and princesses. Love. And, most importantly, shoes. It wasn't a greatest piece of literature ever written, but I finished all 330+ pages in one day. So that says something!
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. This is basically a collection of essays/stories about Conroy himself. He talks about people who have influenced him, books that have influenced him, the reason he is the writer he is today. If you like Pat Conroy and like books, it's a great read. Honestly, the only part I didn't like was that I felt like a fraud, saying I was a reader when there were so many books he mentioned that I haven't read yet. And as a Southern girl, I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've only read one book by Pat Conroy prior to this. An ex gave me The Lords of Discipline when we first started dating (to help me understand the whole Citadel way of thinking). I absolutely loved it and can't believe I haven't read any others. Might need to rectify that situation and, while I'm at it, add a few more books from Pat Conroy's list of must-reads to my own. Maybe once I put a dent in the pile of books next to my bed.....
And as I finished My Reading Life TODAY, that's it for the books read in July. Let's see what kind of damage I can do in August!
Sing Me Home by Jodi Picoult. This is NOT your typical Jodi Picoult. It's about fertility (or rather infertility), ownership of unborn children (I know, that sounds horrible), music, homosexuality and family. The only typical Jodi Picoult aspect is a trial. I'm not sure you can HAVE a Jodi Picoult without a trial! On the whole, one of my favorite Jodi Picoults. It was deep and very moving.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's a story of an eleven year old chemistry genius who turns detective when she watches a man die in the garden and her father is accused of murder. I read it on the recommendation of a friend and didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Little Lady, Big Apple and The Little Lady Agency and the Prince by Hester Browne. I read the first book in this series (The Little Lady Agency) for book club last month. It's British chick lit. Long story short, Melissa starts her own business as a girlfriend for hire (not a prostitute, as she makes sure people know). She gives make-overs, shops for gifts, attends events as a plus-one, you name it. Along the way, she falls in love (book 1), moves to New York briefly (book 2), and gets hired to transform a playboy prince (book 3). If you like British chick lit, this series is a winner!
Cloaked by Alex Flinn. I read another of Alex Flinn's novels recently. Beastly. Made into a movie that wasn't NEARLY as good as the novel. Flinn likes to modernize fairy tales. This one combined quite a few fairy tales, most of them quite unfamiliar to me. However, there was the one of the prince who was turned into a frog. The one of the shoe maker who is helped by elves. The one of the 6 siblings who are turned to swans and can only be saved by their sister (who doesn't know they exist). The one of the magic cloak that can take you anywhere you wish. The one of the magic fish who curses a man for wishing for too much. There were witches and giants. Humans who had been turned into animals. Princes and princesses. Love. And, most importantly, shoes. It wasn't a greatest piece of literature ever written, but I finished all 330+ pages in one day. So that says something!
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy. This is basically a collection of essays/stories about Conroy himself. He talks about people who have influenced him, books that have influenced him, the reason he is the writer he is today. If you like Pat Conroy and like books, it's a great read. Honestly, the only part I didn't like was that I felt like a fraud, saying I was a reader when there were so many books he mentioned that I haven't read yet. And as a Southern girl, I'm a little embarrassed to say that I've only read one book by Pat Conroy prior to this. An ex gave me The Lords of Discipline when we first started dating (to help me understand the whole Citadel way of thinking). I absolutely loved it and can't believe I haven't read any others. Might need to rectify that situation and, while I'm at it, add a few more books from Pat Conroy's list of must-reads to my own. Maybe once I put a dent in the pile of books next to my bed.....
And as I finished My Reading Life TODAY, that's it for the books read in July. Let's see what kind of damage I can do in August!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Books, books, I love books
I am a bit of a bibliophile. Under both parts of the definition. A bibliophile is defined as someone who loves or collects books. As my current library scares people, I'd say I'm a bit of a collector as well. Sure, I don't collect first editions or anything exciting like that (other than my 1929 edition of Anne of Green Gables and a few other fun old books). But my library is still vast. A friend came over to borrow from the Library of Jane. When I showed her my list (it's 11 typed pages of books, alphabetically by author and separated by paperback, hardback and series), she was a little overwhelmed. I'm not going to lie.
Being a person who LOVES to read, it's usually my go-to activity when nothing else is going on. And definitely when I travel. I usually take one book per day of vacation. Nothing makes me happier than sitting on a plane or a beach somewhere, with a book in hand.
All that being said, I can do some damage to books. Last weekend, I read 3 books. For those of you doing the math, that's one book per day. I read "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See. It was the sequel to "Shanghi Girls," a book I read for book club last year. It takes place in the early years of communist China. Very good. I also read "Witches of East End" by Melissa de la Cruz (the author of The Blue Bloods series). It's about (wait for it) witches. Good beach, mindless read. The last one was "The Little Lady Agency" by Hester Brown. It was for book club and was British chick lit at its finest!
The weird thing is that this weekend, I can't seem to get into any of the books that I'm trying to read. I'm trying to read two of them and neither are actually peaking my interest. So I think I'm going to have to switch it up and try some others. This weekend can't be a TOTAL loss when it comes to finishing at least one book, right?
Being a person who LOVES to read, it's usually my go-to activity when nothing else is going on. And definitely when I travel. I usually take one book per day of vacation. Nothing makes me happier than sitting on a plane or a beach somewhere, with a book in hand.
All that being said, I can do some damage to books. Last weekend, I read 3 books. For those of you doing the math, that's one book per day. I read "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See. It was the sequel to "Shanghi Girls," a book I read for book club last year. It takes place in the early years of communist China. Very good. I also read "Witches of East End" by Melissa de la Cruz (the author of The Blue Bloods series). It's about (wait for it) witches. Good beach, mindless read. The last one was "The Little Lady Agency" by Hester Brown. It was for book club and was British chick lit at its finest!
The weird thing is that this weekend, I can't seem to get into any of the books that I'm trying to read. I'm trying to read two of them and neither are actually peaking my interest. So I think I'm going to have to switch it up and try some others. This weekend can't be a TOTAL loss when it comes to finishing at least one book, right?
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