From the book blogging world

Happy Saturday! I awoke this morning thinking only of books, perhaps because I was reading before falling asleep last night. Marisa de los Santos' Belong to Me is my current read.

I went to Barnes & Noble last night...and didn't purchase a thing for myself! I was looking for Brett Favre: The Tribute by Sports Illustrated for my dad for Father's Day. (Yes, I'm also interested in reading it!) I think half the time I don't need to purchase books at BN, I'm just happy to be surrounded by them. Anyone else feel this way? :)

Onto my fellow book bloggers:

• I just added this book - The Film Club by David Gilmour - to my wish list, and I found a review of it at MarysLibrary. Now I'm really looking forward to this read!
• I'd never heard of Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, but Suzi at BloggingMyBooks had some great comments about it.
• A Life in Books had an excellent April Reading Wrap Up post here. I just might like to read The Memory of Running myself, and I was interested in her thoughts on Jodi Picoult's Keeping Faith. My loyal blog readers will know that Picoult is my favorite author, but I've yet to read this book (of course, it's already on my TBR list). I am always shocked to hear about those who don't enjoy her writing.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! I'm going to work out via the Wii Fit (which is awesome, by the way) and continue reading Belong to Me.

**UPDATE**

I spent some time on my blog today, and created my list of books read in 2006 & 2007 (toward the bottom right of my blog). I'm so happy about that list, considering I didn't start on it until May 2006 after I graduated from college. (School and my extra activities took up ALL my time for 5 years!)

Little Children - Tom Perrotta

Well. What to say about this book. I'll start with what enticed me from the back cover of the novel:

Tom Perrotta's thirtyish parents of young children are a varied and surprising bunch. There's Todd, the handsome stay-at-home dad, dubbed "The Prom King" by the moms at the playground, and his wife, Kathy, a documentary filmmaker envious of the connection Todd has forged with their toddler son. And there's Sarah, a lapsed feminist surprised to find she's become a typical wife in a traditional marriage, and her husband, Richard, who is becoming more and more involved with an Internet fantasy life than with his own wife and child.

I'll say that this description enticed me more when I originally purchased the book....about two or so years ago. I don't know why I do that - purchase books and then don't read them immediately. But it always seems that when I grab a book to buy, the excitement wears off and I don't like the book as much as I once anticipated. Tell me I'm not the only one who does this?!

Back to the book. I do not condone adultery, but I will admit that I was intrigued by the affair in this book - simply because it makes it exciting. I always wonder when/if/how the cheaters will get caught. Too bad for Sarah that her "lover" didn't turn out to be so in love with her after all; he never made it to their meeting where they were going to escape once and for all, leaving their families behind.

One issue I really took with this book was Kathy's character. To outsiders, she really seemed to have it all - nice house, gorgeous husband, adorable son, good career. But only the readers realized that plan was enormously flawed - she was extremely jealous of her husband's bond with their son, she didn't love her career, she was only doing it to tide the family over (so to speak) while her husband put off the bar exam and his law career. She completely resented her husband and they had no love life to speak of. And she had a hunch about this Sarah...so she invited her family over for dinner... and then believed her husband couldn't actually be cheating on her (should have just gone with your gut, Kathy)! But I couldn't feel sorry for her. I actually felt the most sorry for Sarah; I think because she appeared to be one with deep-rooted self esteem issues.

I actually did like the title of this book. Little Children seems so fitting for the way the story played out. No more details for those who've yet to read it, but beware: one story in here invovles "adult content" - and it was shocking.

Have you read this book? Did you like it? Hate it? Please share!

TBR

I've been so behind in my reading lately, but for some reason that does not deter me from purusing books, borrowing books, or adding to my mountainous TBR pile. The following list are books lent to me via my reading pal Kay:

• The Year of Fog - Michelle Richmond
• The Bright Side of Disaster - Katherine Center
• Pack up the Moon - Anna McPartlin
• Running with Walker - Robert Huges (memoir about autism)
• Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos
• Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella

Also in my hot little hands - Barbara Walters' memoir, Audition. (I previously referred to it here.) And I added at least 15 more books to my massive wish list. I hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday weekend - I still have some more reading to do before the work week begins :)

Currently reading....

...Tom Perrotta's Little Children. I am not sure how I feel about this one, maybe it's too soon to tell, but already I don't like the playground banter between the stay-at-home moms. I'm not too keen on infidelity either, but somehow it always makes for a good story.

My mother is in town visiting from Michigan, and I recently joined a women's soccer league, so I haven't had as much reading time as I usually do. I hope to finish my book by early next week. I have some updates coming about books I've borrowed recently and a few additions to my TBR pile :)

Change of Heart - Jodi Picoult

Wow! I always look forward to her work, and she rarely disappoints. Change of Heart was by far one of my favorite Jodi Picoult novels, for so many reasons. Firstly, I love the law and reading about it. I loved Maggie's character and her determination to fight for what is right, regardless of the client and his offenses. (And I'm glad she finally found love, too!)

One of my favorite things about her work is the story telling. I just love the multiple points of view, and this time the inmate's perspective was incredible. I commend her for her research and details in the account of death row inmates. I cannot fathom being incarcerated for eleven years, knowing that death is inevitable and in the mean time trying to use my creativity to pass the time. Another element that really hooked me was the religion. I'm not a religious person, but I found the history very interesting and enlightening. I found myself reading some parts over again in order to fully grasp the concepts, but for me to be fully engaged in religious dialogue says a lot for her writing.

Jodi Picoult's books never fail to surprise, and I knew there was a twist somewhere, but it was hard to swallow when it came out that Kurt could have been sexually abusing his step-daughter. I think it only made sense when I started to see that maybe Shay Bourne did not really commit the double murder.

I still have a few books of hers on my shelf that I've yet to read, so I will settle for those while she pens her next masterpiece.

Book News

This morning I dove right into Jodi Picoult's newest, Change of Heart, and its very engaging! I didn't even realize I had read 80 pages in about two hours - I am normally a fast reader but her works tend to take more time since they are much deeper.

In other news, I have updated my GoodReads account. Lately I've seen many books I want to read, including:

• Just Who Will You Be? - Maria Shriver
• Summer Sisters - Judy Blume
• 52 Fights: A Newlywed's Confession - Jennifer Jeanne Patterson
• Teach Me - R.A. Nelson
• Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos
• The Penny Tree - Holly Kennedy
• Sheer Abandon - Penny Vincenzi
• Audition - Barbara Walters - I've been fascinated by her for years, which probably stems from my journalism background, but it's amazing to me how she's been able to get absolutely anyone to open up during interviews (and I have to admit that I'm curious about the rest of her life as well, with the recent reveal of her affair with former Senator Edward Brooke - admit it, you're wondering too!)

These books will not be purchased right now as I'm abstaining until I knock out a good chunk of my TBR pile. Happy reading to all!

24-Karat Kids - Dr. Judy Goldstein & Sebastian Stuart

The book hooked me immediately with the humor - a different kind of humor, but good nonetheless. Dr. Shelley Green just graduated from med school and is offered a position in pediatrics at a prestigious New York City practice - home of the rich kids. I felt like she truly enjoyed her work as a doctor, but there were some off-the-wall tales of snobby kids and parents that I found myself rolling my eyes at times. I knew there was a much deeper story though, in Shelley and her fiance, Arthur. It was obvious where their love story was going, and though it was a roller coaster it was predictable. It seemed like, after all they experienced in the course of a summer, that the end would be much less 'happily ever after' but that's exactly what I got from it.

Overall, the book was good - and the humor was certainly enjoyable!