Thursday, August 28, 2008

Still Around

I'm reading President Clinton's book now... I especially love the following quote:

"I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life giving my time, money, and skills to worthwhile endeavors where I could make a difference. I didn't know exactly what I would do, but I wanted to help save lives, solve important problems, and give more young people the chance to live their dreams. I felt obligated to do it because of the wonderful, improbable life I've been given..."

I haven't been making very much time for reading, but I don't have much planned for the long weekend, so I should finish this book and start my next then...

Happy Labor Day!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Next Up

I'm going to read Bill Clinton's book (#59), Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World.

From The Washington Post's Book World, Reviewed by Peter Baker

58/101















I'm back with a vengeance! I read Adriana Trigiani's The Queen of the Big Time from cover to cover today (and it's only 3 pm). It was sooo good (but be forewarned, the story is a tear jerker, at least it was for me!), but sadly, it is the last Adriana Trigiani book. I'm not sure what I'll read next. It's always so hard for me to find something to follow up Trigiani's books because I like them so much... I do have the following books from the library:

1) The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall

2) Giving by Bill Clinton

3) Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir

I'm going to take a little snack break now and then figure out what I'll read next... Will update soon!

Ohhh and I almost forgot to mention my big news - I'm going back to school! I'm going to the University of Illinois at Chicago for a certificate in Nonprofit Management. I'll have to dig out a few of my grad school nonprofit books and read through them before classes start in September. More on that to come too...

Ciao!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Too many distractions!

I started a new knitting project this week (out of the blue I saw some yarn in my closet and decided I needed a skinny scarf) and got a new laptop... Hubby got seasons 1-6 of the tv show, 24, and it's his birthday on Saturday... So there has been a lot going on this week (on top of unpacking and adjusting to being off the cruise ship and back in the real world), and I haven't even started my book yet. Hubby leaves for a work trip on Sunday, so I'm sure I will get plenty of reading finished while he's away... Goodnight!



M

Monday, August 4, 2008

Trifecta

#55 The Story of a Marriage, by Andrew Sean Greer, was not what I was expecting. I found it through a recommendation in O Magazine, and I thought it would be a light, summer read. It was the opposite, but still a good and unique story. I have not read anything like it before, as it introduced me to life in the 1950s told by an African American woman married to a soldier. It definitely changed my "Stepford Wives" image of the era. For me, this book was a page turner. I found the story fascinating and unpredictable.

#56 James Patterson's Sundays at Tiffany's was an easy read for me. I read the entire book in an afternoon sitting on the deck of our cruise ship sailing from Greece to Croatia. Again, I found this another unique story about a girl and her imaginary friend. I was not sure what to make of this book while I was reading, but by the end, I was in tears and completely attached to the characters. I think I will read more James Patterson. I was looking at the list of all of the books he has written (I think we have Kiss the Girls somewhere in our stacks of books), and I am impressed by his range and depth. I want to try out something different by him.

#57 For One More Day, by Mitch Albom, was an okay book. I might have read this before, but I'm not sure... The story itself was probably good, but just not my style. I remember reading Tuesdays with Morrie in college and not being crazy about it either. Guess I'm just not a big Mitch Albom fan.

Next Up: Something fun!!! I'm reading Beth Harbison's Secrets of a Shoe Addict.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

greetings from venice!

i read two great books and countless magazines on our cruise, and i will have the third finished (and probably most of the fourth) before we get home late tomorrow night. will write more about them next week when i am home, unpacked, and settled. ciao bellas!

p.s. on a sad note, i heard that randy pausch, the author of the last book that i wrote about, passed away. my condolences go out to his family. i was very sorry to hear about his death.