I love books, and I love magazines. I'm not sure what it is about them that has me so hooked. Maybe it's my way of clinging to my college dream of moving to New York and writing for one.
[Remembering what it's like to be young and naive]
Anyway, when I open my mailbox and see the new issues arrive I get giddy.
I subscribe to so many it's hard to keep up. My newspaper rack is usually full and I can't get rid of a single one until I've made sure to review all my dogears. As I read, I fold over a corner of the pages that have something I want to look into later like a recipe, book suggestion or product I might want to buy.
Before I take all the issues to the library bookstore I grab a pen and paper and make notes from the dogears, then use my printer to copy the recipes or articles.
In no particular order, the contents of my mailbox:
Parents
Parenting
Working Mother
Black Enterprise
O
O at Home
Cookie
Lucky
Domino
Inc.
Family Fun
Real Simple
Good Housekeeping (got this one free from AdPerk)
Redbook
All You (sold at Wal Mart)
Pink
What I Subscribe To
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
What I've Read - 2008 Reading List
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read. I just don't get people who say they don't like reading. Reading is the ultimate escape. It's relaxing. It's entertaining. It's informative. I'm sorry non-readers but you baffle me. What's not to like about reading?
Anyway, I wish I could list all the books I've read this year but there's so many I can't remember them all (not braggin', just sayin'). So, I'll list the ones I've read since I've been on holiday with a rating: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down or Switzerland (get it? neutral?) and a short note for the ones I didn't like.
I'll add to the list as I finish a book. Feel free to agree or call me a moron. I welcome spirited discussion. Earlier this month (4/08) I joined a book club through Meetup and I'll note which books were for the club.
In no particular order:
The Girls' Global Guide to Guys
Theresa Alan- Thumbs Up
Goodnight Nobody: A Novel
Jennifer Weiner- Thumbs Up
The Red Hat Club
Haywood Smith- Thumbs Up
The Red Hat Club Rides Again
Haywood Smith- Thumbs Up
Dreamboat
Judith Gould- Thumbs Down (Cliched and predictable)
My Favorite Mistake
Beth Kendrick- Switzerland (Cute, fast read but characters were formulaic)
Suburbanistas
Pamela Redmond Sutran- Thumbs Up
The Pact
Jennifer Sturman- Switzerland (Chick Lit mystery, predictable)
The Chinchilla Farm: A Novel
Judith Freeman- Thumbs Up
Wife in the Fast Lane: A Novel
Karen Quinn- Thumbs Up
Between, Georgia
Joshilyn Jackson- Thumbs Up (Way, way up)
Tales from the Crib
Risa Green- Thumbs Up
Julie and Romeo Get Lucky
Jeanne Ray- Thumbs Up
Pug Hill
Allison Pace- Thumbs Up (Despite my dislike of small, yippy dogs)
Gods in Alabama
Joshilyn Jackson- Thumbs Up! - Methinks she's going to become one of my favorite authors
The Ivy Chronicles
Karen Quinn- Thumbs Up
Promise Not to Tell: A Novel
Jennifer McMahon- Switzerland (I was expecting more creepy and scary)
The First Assistant
Clare Naylor/Mimi Hare- Thumbs Up the The Second Assistant
the first book, was also good
Just Between Us
Cathy Kelly- Thumbs Up (A little too long)
Rescuing Rose
Isabel Wolff- Thumbs Up (Stay away if you're tired of the Bridget Jones knockoffs)
Always and Forever
Cathy Kelly- Thumbs Up (Again, a little long)
The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd- Thumbs Up
Awake
Elizabeth Graver - Thumbs Up - Her writing style is a bit flowery. There were times when I got tired of it, and others where I loved her sentences
Oh My Stars
Lorna Landvik - Thumbs Up - This was very good
Weekend in Paris
Robyn Sisman - Thumbs Down - Couldn't finish it
Adventures of an Ice Princess
Liz Maverick- Thumbs Down (Vapid)
The Almost Moon
Alice Sebold- Thumbs Up
Remember Me?
Sophie Kinsella- Thumbs Up Finished 4/20/08
Naked
David Sedaris (for the book club) - What's between neutral and Thumbs Down? I didn't hate it. There were parts that made me laugh out loud. But it was weird. It's in essay format, but I didn't feel like I was learning about his life. Read at your own risk. Finished 5/10/08
Love the One You're With
Emily Giffin- Thumbs Up
Flirting with Forty
Jane Porter - Thumbs Up Finished 6/17/08
Water for Elephants
Sarah Gruen - Thumbs WAY Up - This was for the book club. I didn't expect to like it because of the whole circus thing but it was great!
Love Monkey
Kyle Smith - Thumbs Down This was for book club. Smith has a way with words, but I didn't connect to the character at all. (Finished 7/23/08)
The Time Traveler's Wife
Audrey Niffenegger - Thumbs WAY Up For book club. SO, so good!
Certain Girls
Jennifer Weiner- Thumbs Up
Dream When You're Feeling Blue
Elizabeth Berg - Thumbs Up
Family Baggage
Monica McInerney - Thumbs Up
Swapping Lives
Jane Green - Thumbs Up
The Center of Everything
Laura Moriarty - Thumbs Up
Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
Elizabeth Buchan - Thumbs Down - I rarely put a book down without finishing it, but I just couldn't get into this
Home to Big Stone Gap
Adriana Trigiani - Thumbs Up - I've loved all the books in the Big Stone Gap series
The Family Tree
Carole Cadwalladr - Thumbs Down - Could barely make it past the first chapter
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
Joshilyn Jackson - Thumbs Up
Anyway, I wish I could list all the books I've read this year but there's so many I can't remember them all (not braggin', just sayin'). So, I'll list the ones I've read since I've been on holiday with a rating: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down or Switzerland (get it? neutral?) and a short note for the ones I didn't like.
I'll add to the list as I finish a book. Feel free to agree or call me a moron. I welcome spirited discussion. Earlier this month (4/08) I joined a book club through Meetup and I'll note which books were for the club.
In no particular order:
The Girls' Global Guide to Guys
Goodnight Nobody: A Novel
The Red Hat Club
The Red Hat Club Rides Again
Dreamboat
My Favorite Mistake
Suburbanistas
The Pact
The Chinchilla Farm: A Novel
Wife in the Fast Lane: A Novel
Between, Georgia
Tales from the Crib
Julie and Romeo Get Lucky
Pug Hill
Gods in Alabama
The Ivy Chronicles
Promise Not to Tell: A Novel
The First Assistant
Just Between Us
Rescuing Rose
Always and Forever
The Secret Life of Bees
Awake
Oh My Stars
Weekend in Paris
Adventures of an Ice Princess
The Almost Moon
Remember Me?
Naked
Love the One You're With
Flirting with Forty
Water for Elephants
Love Monkey
The Time Traveler's Wife
Certain Girls
Savannah Breeze
Mary Kay Andrews -Thumbs Up - This was the second in a (sort of) series. I also read Savannah Blues
which was good too. Both are light reads.
The Alphabet Sisters
Monica McInerney - Thumbs Up
Swapping Lives
The Center of Everything
Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
Ready or Not?
Chris Manby - Thumbs Up
The Ex-Wife's Survival Guide
Debby Holt - Switzerland - Light and fast but not the best ex-wife gets her life together book I've read
Happiness Sold Separately
Lolly Winston - Thumbs Up
The Other Side of the Story
Marian Keyes - Thumbs Up
Speechless
Yvonne Collins/Sandy Rideout - Thumbs Up
Love Walked In
Marisa de los Santos - Thumbs Up
Luscious Lemon
Heather Swain - Thumbs Up
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters
Elizabeth Robinson - Thumbs Up
We Are All Welcome Here
Elizabeth Berg - Thumbs Up - I think I'm going to like everything she does
High Stakes: A Tale of Vegas Vampires
Erin McCarthy - Switzerland - I almost put it down, but it was such a fast read I finished before I got really bored
Ladies with Options
Cynthia Hartwick - Thumbs Up
Middlesex
Jeffery Eugenides - Thumbs Up
Hissy Fit
Mary Kay Andrews - Thumbs Up
The Family Tree
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming
Sweet Revenge
Dianne Mott Davidson - Thumbs Down I usually enjoy this series despite the plot similarities, but this was so formulaic and almost painful to read.
Labels:
2008 reading list,
book club,
books,
jobless,
reading,
reading list
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