Book Twenty-four: The Yada Yada Prayer Group

Another start of a series I took with me on vacation two weeks ago. It was good, but a little slow. I'll probably finish out the series, but I hope that it picks up momentum. I found myself getting really agitated with the protagonist in this novel, which is a good thing, I think. I'll weigh in more when I've read more of the series. I may just wait until I've finished the whole series and weigh in on all of them together.

Book Twenty-three: Fame

This book was the first in a series by Kingsbury that follows the Baxter family and others (in this case, the firstborn son of the Baxter family that no one knew existed). It was just as sweet at the series I read earlier this year. I so enjoyed this book, and stayed up entirely too late one night on vacation to read it...and paid for the next day in Washington, D.C. This book focuses on some of the same characters from the original series (Ashley Baxter), but also on others in the community. I loved this sweet book, and I can't wait to finish out this series and the next.

Book Twenty-Two: The Debutante Divorcee

This was the book I had in my bag the weekend of Lauren's wedding, which just felt wrong. I did not have it my bag because I needed something to do at school that day. I also did not read this book in my classroom on the last day of school.

I had read Sykes' first novel Bergdorf Blondes last year some time. Of course, I had to reread the last chapter in the library to remember what it was about. I remember enjoying it, but nothing of the plot. This isn't totally uncommon. I read a lot of things, and unless I really like it, I don't tend to remember much about it. It happens with student papers sometimes, which can be an issue.

The main character of The Debutante Divorcee is not actually the divorcee, but a newlywed who is friends with the divorcee. It follows their social season in NYC and the area, and is charming. There is nothing totally remarkable about it, but it was cute and an enjoyable read.

Book Twenty-One: Size Twelve Is Not Fat

My second book that is "just for fun." And fun it was. This book was a murder mystery. The protagonist is Heather Wells, a former teen pop star (ala Jessica or Brittney), who has left her label and experienced pop star angst. She is all grown up now (like 24ish) and working in a resident hall where girls start mysteriously "elevator surfing" and dying. She is the only one who suspects that these girls wouldn't be doing dangerous stunts and takes it upon herself to figure out who is killing these college freshmen. The whole book was charming, and again, another great one-night read.

Book Twenty: Shopaholic and Sister

I made an important decision early in the summer. I wasn't going to read anything that could be considered "literature." I'm only reading books. Books for fun. This is a big decision for me. I spend a lot of my reading time in the classics or in the great tomes that are being touted for their highly appealing storylines. Or in non-fiction. But for the next few weeks, I am only reading fiction, and only for fun. It's my summer vacation, and I need the break. It won't last long...just a few weeks, because I have some things to read for school, but it will be nice while it lasts. The other upside? I can polish off a book llike this in a day, no problem, so I'll get a lot read.

My first "fun" book was Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella. I had read the original Shopaholic and The Undomestic Goddess last year, during a similar period of "light" reading. I loved both of them, and quickly forgot them. This proved the same. It was highly entertaining, but hardly sticks with you once you're finished. Becky Bloomwood's shopping habits make me feel better about my own. And meeting her sister, her polar opposite was a look at frugality at its worst. All in all, and enjoying evening of reading. I would love to read the other books in the series, but our library doesn't carry them and I am on a book buying fast indefinitely. So I may request it from another library, if I can get over the embarrassment of requesting such a shallow book.

Books 17-19

So I have lost momentum on my reading. Apparently I'm not as good at balancing things as I once hoped. Most days, I make it home from work and end up asleep or, you know, just staring comatose for a few hours. So....I read these three books closer to my spring break. In March. And I haven't posted about them. Or read anything else. Maybe this weekend? Maybe not.

We'll see.

But I have a lot of papers to grade.

And a final exam to write.

And a study guide to create.

And some gardening to do.

And lesson plans for this next week.

So, who knows.

But my last three books were:

"Not Buying It" by Judith Levine.
Levine and her partner chose to not spend any money (beyond essentials like food, bills, etc) for an entire year. It was interesting. I don't agree with most her opinions on anything in life, but I was intrigued by the way not spending money affected her so much.

"The United States of Arugula"
Not as interesting as I thought it would be. It was a multi-decade look at the gourmet food culture in the United States.

"It's All Too Much" Peter Walsh
The guy from the TLC show Clean Sweep offered practical tips for the average person. Informative, to be sure. Not that I've done anything with the information :)

I hope to read something more fun soon. I'm going to need to read a good bit this summer in order to complete my goal of 50 books this year. If nothing else, I have some serious driving/flying time coming up with my vacations in June/July.