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....

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.....

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!

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?

Yep- I've been MIA lately

Yes yes. I know. I haven't really been blogging a lot lately. And by a lot, I mean not at all. At least in the past 5 months. Despite my New Year's resolution. Oops.

I'd like to say it's because I've been really busy lately. That I'm such a popular girl that I have no time to blog. But that would be a lie. Honestly, it's simply because I think I've lost my funny. I used to blog a lot. Making pithy comments and amusing the public (or at least myself).

So right now, I'm sitting here, watching Grey's Anatomy, playing on FB, and drinking a SkinnyGirl margarita (yummers). And blogging. Yep, blogging.

And I've realized that I've kind of missed it. I don't really have anything important to share. Other than I'm back. And hopefully (if not now, then soon to be) better than ever! Stay tuned kiddos....

Happy happy New Year, blogosphere!!

In honor of 2011, I have decided to start the new year off right and blog a little bit. Seems like a normal thing to do. New year, new blog entry. I'm not a big fan of making resolutions I know I'll never keep (hello never used gym membership, I'm talking to you). So this year, I decided to make some resolutions I can keep.

1- I will try to blog more frequently. Key word in this resolution is try.

2- I will take more pictures. I always carry a camera with me, but seldom remember to take pictures. Even last night, we only snapped a few pics with my camera.

3- I will give up drinking again for a little bit. My migraines are getting out of control recently and that's at least one thing I know I can control.

4- I will spend more time with the people I love.

5- I will not make any more resolutions than these.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 2011!!!

Jane of the Jungle (or maybe just the outdoors)?

I have truly been remiss in posting blog updates lately. And by lately, I mean the last 2 months. And there's really no excuse for it, other than that I've been in the happy bliss of new relationship. Which seems to push most other things to the back burner.

But, no more.

I'm back (well, sort of. At least for now).

For those of you who know me (which I truly assume is all of you who read this blog), you know I'm not much of an outdoorsy girl. In fact, I hate to rough it and have been known to run screaming from anything dirt and leaf covered.

But, no more.

The beau has a hobby that I never thought I would be around. The beau is a hunter. Yes, a hunter. And he is taking NotSoPlainJane along for the ride!

Right before hunting season began, we went to one of his hunt clubs (yes, I said one. He REALLY loves to hunt) and shot some guns. As some of the other members watched, I picked up that first hand gun and POW! right by the bull's eye. After a little more showing off, I was done for the day. Everyone was mightily impressed with me, especially when they discovered that I had only been shooting once before in my life.

Next up, hunting season begins. While I'm pretty good with a gun, I'm not so good with shooting living things. At least, I can't personally do it. The beautiful doe staring at me with sad dead eyes only served to strengthen that decision.

However, I have now spent many a weekend at hunt clubs around the state. Even staying in... wait for it... a camper! I will say this though. It is actually a wonderful environment with wonderful people. And I will continue to be myself down there. Which means that when you roll up to the beau's hunt clubs, you will see me walking around, rocking my Joe's Jeans and fUgg boots. Hey, I'm still me. Dirty outdoorsy stuff and all!