Fall Into Reading Challenge Wrap-up

The Fall Into Reading 2009 is coming to a close. My goal was to read 5 books and I finished with 7! Here's what I read: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (for the record, I don't recommend it), Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot, A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano and Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.

Thanks to Katrina at Callipidder Days for hosting this challenge!

GIVEAWAY!!

This is my first giveaway here at Katie's 101 books!

I was contacted by Anne at The Book Report Network to receive a review copy of The Christmas Secret by Donna VanLiere, and I received an extra copy to share with one lucky reader! Since it's already December 13th, I will open this contest now and close it at 8pm Thursday, December 17. I will pick a winner that evening and get the book in the mail on the 18th.

Thanks to Anne and The Book Report Network for this giveaway!

The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano

From the book jacket:

When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, but the program took Melody's name, her home, her family, and ultimately her innocence. Now, twenty years later and still on the run, she's been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others. But the one person she longs to be is Melody Grace McCartney.


So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in yet another new town, she's stunned by a man who accosts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to find her, knows her, the real her, and it's a thrill Melody can't resist. Defying the feds, she goes willingly with him. To the Justice Department, she's nothing more than a pawn in the government's war against the Bovaro family. But, as dangerous as Jonathan is, he presents her with the chance of a lifetime - the chance to embrace her past and present, and choose a future all her own.

Another page-turner I could. not. put. down. It was soo good. The beginning took a bit to get rolling but by page 20 I was so sucked in I barely ate for 2 days. I have always been a little fascinated with mafia stories, so it was obvious this one would appeal to me. But the real thing that appealed to me was that Melody (or Kay, Karen, or a slew of other girls) was so believeable. I couldn't blame her for wanting to run off with Jonathan. Her entire life she'd been running from the truth and here he was in his tall dark and handsome demeanor and that was all it took.

By the time the story going, I was rooting for Melody and Jonathan. But of course, the story had different plans. See, the Bovaros sent Jonathan after Melody to "take care of her" because she was the only one left who could turn their family into the feds. Jonathan's scheme to take her home to his family and show them how innocent she is and how forgiving she is (the only thing she wanted anymore wasn't even death for those who killed her parents, it was just the chance to be herself) blew up in his face. Unbeknownst to Jonathan, the feds had found Melody one day when he thought she was in a beauty salon for the day. The Bovaros had also found her, and had the pictures to prove it. I was certain that Melody was in for death, but true to his word, Jonathan saved her. (No spoilers here, you'll have to read it yourself to find out exactly how it ends).

I really, really recommend this book for those who like fast-paced stories. And those who may also enjoy a good Romeo + Juliet story.

Strengths Finder

Last weekend I sat down with Tom Rath's Strengths Finder and took the assessment. Essentially, the assessment asks you a series of questions and you have to mark where you fit on each one. The assessment has 34 different themes and provides your top 5 after completing the assessment. I am not surprised at all by my top 5 themes: Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Discipline and Consistency. They all really sound like me. Here are a few key ideas about each area that I completely agree with.

Harmony: You seek areas of agreement. You don't push your views on others, you seek common ground in a group discussion, peacemaker, avoid conflict, you see the practical side of things.

Input: You are inquisitive, you like to collect trivia, probably a reader, a traveler, love playing Jeopardy, you love sharing information.

Responsibility: You take ownership of projects you're working on, you hold yourself accountable, your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should, you are hard on yourself, don't skip on quality for quantity.

Discipline: Your world is predictable, you prefer plans, you have no patience for error, you need a sense of order in everything, you keep a lot of lists, others may confuse your discipline with rigidity.

Consistency: Balance is important to you, you value equality, always give credit where it's due, you can be a leader, practice what you preach, keep the focus on your performance.

I talked to my mentor about the outcome of this assessment, and nothing surprised him. Nothing surprised me either. One thing that really struck me though was that some people do confuse my discipline with rigidity. Some people in my professional life have asked me if I ever "let my hair down." Of course I do, I just feel that I should be as professional and polished as possible when working, and I will never be that person who posts a million pictures of myself at the bar on my Facebook. I'm just not that person. But it made me realize that I probably do come off really rigid. Something to work on. I am really curious what my mother thinks about this.

Originally posted here.

New York Times 10 Best Books of 2009

Stumbled across this list today and guess what? I added some more books to my wishlist. That list is never ending, I tell you what! Here are the top 10 books of '09 according to The New York Times:

• Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It by Maile Meloy
• Chronic City by Jonathan Lethern
• A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
• Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
• A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
• The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
• The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
• LIT: A Memoir by Mary Karr
• Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
• Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life by Carol Sklenicka

So which ones have you read? Which ones would you like to read? Any of them gifts you'll be giving this year?

Julie & Julia - Julie Powell

Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen

Oh wow. What in the world took me so long to read this? As I picked it up the other day, I tweeted: I love food, I love blogs. Obvious match. Indeed it was.

Julie Powell, is a nearly-thirty year-old (temp) secretary living in a small apartment with her husband, Eric and their cats and pet snake. Her unsatisfactory life drives her to literally cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Additionally, she starts a blog to chronicle the process.

Her food sometimes turns out great, sometimes awful, but it continues to be the one thing that motivates her every day. It even garners her some press; first CBS, then a slew of others, including The New York Times food columnist, which thrills her. During that year, she cooks for her not only her husband, but her friends and family, as they share in the project with her.

(After cooking for a slew of friends one night, they sat around drinking wine afterward): "...none of us knew for sure what kind we were, exactly, but as long as we were the kind that could sit around eating together and having a lovely time, that was enough." (p.115)

As if it weren't enough to be cramming 524 recipes (French food, no less) into 365 days, Julie and Eric also move to a different (smaller) apartment during the whole project. (Whew!)

This is a great book. I laughed out loud, I cringed at times, I smiled a lot (Julie is a proud Democrat and many of her colleagues are Republicans and she makes many remarks in regards to that fact) and genuinely rooted for her throughout her journey. Ultimately, it was probably the greatest thing she ever did as she landed a book deal, and was able to quit her secretarial job at the "government agency."

Just one final thought: if I were going to embark on a project such as this, and cook my way through any cookbook, it certainly would NOT be French food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, Thanksgiving is technically over and it's now the monstrous national holiday of Black Friday (it is pretty much a holiday, right?) but since I slept in today I'm still awake. We had a day full of food, football, too much pie and a lot of laughter with friends. Friends I consider family. I laughed so hard my abs still hurt, hours later. I left our friends' home with a back full of books (we swap - I had brought a bag with me too) and we curled up on the couch with the dog to watch Angels & Demons. Such a great ThanksGIVING day it was.

So, of course I want to get reading all my "new" books...here they are:

• Marshmallows for Breakfast - Dorothy Koomson
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach (oh my gosh I'm so excited to read this! I am hooked on medical dramas and except for the rare horrifying scene, I love this stuff!)
• Another Mother's Life - Rowan Coleman
• The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano

I plan to head out around 9am to Kohl's for a couple items, but other than that, my Black Friday is looking like a bunch of reading and household chores (mostly laundry, which I don't mind so much.)

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and be careful if you're planning to shop - it's crazy out there!