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!

Girls in Trouble - Caroline Leavitt

This book made me angry several times. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, it completely changed directions. The plot is good - 16-year-old girl has a baby and puts it up for adoption but clings to the adopting family, only to have them uproot themselves to get rid of the birth mother- which started out great but you can imagine how complicated the situation became. And rather quickly.

Sara Rothman gives birth at 16 and looses contact with the baby shortly thereafter (after an attempted kidnapping), but comes to realize she wants to know her daughter after all. She sets out looking for her, finds her, is reunited with the father of the child, whom she has not seen in 16 years- and who, as it turns out, didn't know the baby was ever even born- and realizes her love for him has not faded. Enter confused now 16-year-old girl who never knew she was adopted, and you have quite an interesting situation.

I did enjoy the book; it was a rather quick read, but there are some things I would like to have seen turn out differently.

Back to books!

After a brief hiatus, I'm back to reading for fun - yay!! I'm getting into the 8-5 workday groove so it's time to bust out the books again :)

I just finished The Picker Who Perished, a To Good To Be Threw consignment shop mystery, and for some reason it took me a couple weeks to finish. It wasn't even a hard read, I just kept going from thinking I knew what was going to happen to being totally confused that I had to stop reading. I think being sick the entire time I read it forced me to lose concentration easily, not something that usually happens to me.

This weekend I borrowed a great stack of books from my reading pal Kay:

• Jodi Picoult's newest, Change of Heart, which I've heard MANY good things about
• Caroline Leavitt's Girls In Trouble
• Dr. Judy Goldstein and Sebastian Stuart's 24-Karat Kids, which looks like a fun, easy read
• and a Memoir about autism, Running with Walker by Robert Hughes

Today I started Girls In Trouble, and I'm going to try my hardest to finish it by the end of the week..wish me luck!

Sick!

I've had a horrible time the past week with these darn allergies, and unfortunately I've been hitting the sheets early every night, which really cuts into my reading time. So, no real updates on the book front, except that I have one chapter remaining in Good to Great, and I just started The Picker Who Perished.

Lately I've been reading many business related articles, books and the like since I started my new job last Monday. I've got to get my mind to transition more easily from business to fluff, because lately I can only concentrate on one or the other, and business usually wins! I imagine once I get more accustomed to my job responsibilities, I'll have more time for the easy reading.

Happy reading to all!