Can't keep up on all these books!

Last night I babysat the cutest little girl in the world, and her mom, my reading buddy Kay, loaned me another stack of books:

• The Mistress's Daughter by A.M. Homes
• Hannah's Gift: Lessons from a Life Fully Lived by Maria Housden
• In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols
• Three Little Words: A Memoir by Ashley Rhodes Courter
• Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
• Mistaken Identity by Don & Susie Van Ryn and Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak with Mark Tabb

So, just when I think I'm starting to get caught up on my pile*, it gets larger! Has anyone read any of these? Comments?

Note to Kay: I'm grateful for the books, but s l o w d o w n! I can't keep up anymore! :)

*by pile I mean the small pile on my nightstand. My TBR pile? Yeah, that one would be a good 60 books deep :)

No, I did not disappear...

...I've just been really busy! I haven't had much time for reading, although I've been researching a lot. For work, and for pleasure. Have a couple projects I'm looking into but I won't go into details right now.

Meanwhile, please check out some good posts in the book blogging world:

• Kristi at Passion for the Page posted a review of Alan Brennert's Moloka'i, and then gave us a preview of his next book, out in 2009. I've been dying to read Moloka'i for awhile, just can't seem to get my hands on it.
• I was curious about 37 by Maria Beaumont, and even a little more so now after the Literate Housewife's review.
• The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup? Read this. It caught my eye because I have been to a bullfight, which was a surreal experience in my opinion. And I was 15. And it was my first trip abroad and I couldn't believe that it was actually Spanish culture to watch these.
• I found a new book to add to my (seriously never ending) TBR pile: Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Thanks to Amy at The Sleepy Reader for her review!

By the way, I have a feeling I'm not the only one who has been a little lax on the reading this summer. Anyone with me?

101 books update

As of today, I have read 30 out of 101 books. The last one, Swapping Lives, really slowed my pace so I'm trying to make up for it in the next couple weeks. I started Night by Elie Wiesel last night and it seems to be a quick read (but certainly not an easy read, considering the subject matter.) I think I might be one of the few who didn't actually have to read this book in high school.

Anyway, I hit Barnes & Noble yesterday and sure enough - 50% off sale! Score! I picked up The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty, and America's Queen - The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Sarah Bradford. For some reason I've picked up a curious fascination with the Kennedy's lately and I'm dying to read a few books about the legendary clan.

Swapping Lives - Jane Green

Let me start out by saying that this book took me TWO WEEKS to finish. That really says it all - that I didn't enjoy it. First off, it was so slow moving, it didn't get to the actual "swapping lives" part until about 200 pages in. I really wanted to stop reading after the first 50 pages but I hadn't even hit the swap part so I kept reading. It didn't really get much better.

As is obvious by the title, 2 women - 1 from America, 1 from England - swapped lives for a piece in Poise! magazine, of which the English woman is a features editor. The book began with alternating chapters for each woman, but like I said, took nearly 200 pages to make the connection between the 2 women. I also must point out that I found several errors in my paperback copy of this book. Not just grammatical/spelling errors but where the author was referring to one woman but using the other's one name. (Makes me wonder if the editor of this book also did not enjoy it.)

Nothing more to say about this book, I don't recommend it. Anyone have experience with Jane Green novels? Please share!

101 things about me!

This is a new one! Awhile back I found a similiar post on a non-book related blog that I stumbled upon, which if I would have remembered what blog, I would have linked to it. I thought, "hey, my blog is 101 books, why not do a 101 things about me?" So here goes.

1. I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
2. Graduated from Western Michigan University.
3. Once made the Dean's List.
4. Ironically, it was the semester right after I turned 21.
5. For that, I rock :)
6. I moved to Florida in July 2006.
7. To be a nanny for 3 awesome kids, whom I still love very much!
8. I now work at the Chamber of Commerce doing marketing and research.
9. I love food. And wine.
10. And ice cream! I have a weakness for Marble Slab!
11. I have played soccer since I was 9.
12. Said sport caused me to dislocate my right thumb. (Before you say what?!, realize that I was goalie.)
13. My best friend graciously helped me with my trig homework after that! :)
14. I am stubborn.
15. I have expensive taste. Honestly, I'll walk into a store and be drawn to the most expensive thing before I even look at any prices!
16. I love to travel, but don't have nearly enough time or money to do it.
17. I love Boston - the city, the Red Sox, everything.
18. I speak Spanish.
19. I'm starting to lose it because I don't practice enough.
20. But in college, my roommate (who is latina) and I could speak it unbelievably fast while drinking. Go figure.
21. I swam in high school during my sophomore year.
22. Breast stroke. Ever tried it? Hard.
23. I love sports more than some guys I know.
24. I love Jeopardy, Scrabble and Bookworm.
25. I will be 25 this year! A quarter century!
26. I love the swings on the playground. Whenever I'm on them, I'm transplanted back to childhood.
27. I'm allergic to EVERYTHING.
28. Including my dog. And wheat.
29. I am doing immunotherapy for my allergies, so I give myself 2 shots every week.
30. I love garlic, pasta, cheese, filet mignon and avocados.
31. I love being surrounded by books.
32. I love the smell of new books!
33. And magazines.
34. I travelled to Spain for 2 weeks when I was 15.
35. It was my very first flight. (9 hours long!)
36. I watched a bullfight.
37. One day I want to attend the Tomatina in Pamplona. But not the running of the bulls.
38. I like to watch cooking shows.
39. And Jon & Kate Plus 8. That family is awesome; 8 kids?! Crazy!
40. My friends are like family to me.
41. I like to write. I wrote for my college newspaper, where I earned the News Writer of the Year Award.
42. I have one sister.
43. I am older, therefore cooler :) kidding!
44. I'm addicted to people.com.
45. And Icanhazcheezburger.com! It's hilarious!
46. I have crazy dreams when I take Benadryl (which happens semi-often. See #27.)
47. I am seriously Type-A.
48. I am often told I look like Sandra Bullock.
49. I love the beach.
50. One day I would like to attempt to surf.
51. I like to play football on the beach.
52. I played coed flag football in college.
53. I subscribe to Glamour magazine.
54. And InStyle. It's my favorite.
55. My cooking has come a long way! I once burnt taco shells.
56. I've had an extremely rare tumor surgically removed from my left heel.
57. TWICE.
58. My nickname is Kate. Or KT, depending on who I'm with.
59. My boyfriend thinks I'll go by Kate when I get older. (How old is older anyway? He says, what Katies do you know over 40? Um, Katie Couric!)
60. I think Barack Obama should be the next President. He's inspiring. Just watch.
61. I love going to Barnes & Noble.
62. On Friday nights.
63. I'm an extrovert.
64. And a networker. Or as my sister says, a socialite. (I disagree. When I hear "socialite," I think of Paris Hilton. So not me.)
65. I like to help people. Sometimes this gets me in trouble because I don't know how to say no.
66. I like to sing in the car.
67. But never in the shower.
68. I sleep with a body pillow.
69. To ease lower back pain I've had since soccer camp 12 years ago.
70. I was born 6 hours before Halloween.
71. I watch Oprah and Rachael Ray quite often.
72. But Grey's Anatomy is my favorite show.
73. Last Comic Standing is the best reality show on television!
74. My first car was a 1985 Toyota Camry.
75. I crashed it 3 months later.
76. It was NOT my fault. Seriously.
77. My first job was at Little Caesars Pizza.
78. I stayed there for 4.5 years and became Assistant Manager.
79. I was in Girl Scouts and I twirled baton as a young girl. (Can you believe it?!)
80. I had a hampster named Rascal when I was younger.
81. When he died, I buried him in the backyard in a shoebox and got a new hampster. Which I named Rascal, Jr.
82. My parents got me a dog when I was 3 years old and I named it Trixie Christine. I just figured that I had a middle name, so my dog should too.
83. I once used a crimper on my sister's Barbie's hair.
84. All the hair fell out.
85. I think monkeys are adorable. I must have 20 stuffed monkeys from childhood.
86. I don't use the Wii Fit nearly as much as I should.
87. I have a step-sister who is 13 years older than me, and a step-brother who is 11 years older than me. They have 6 kids combined.
88. Unfortunately they live in Michigan and I don't know them as well as I wish I did.
89. I have a mole on the bottom of each foot. Weird, I know.
90. I have coached 2 youth soccer teams.
91. I never got into the Harry Potter series, even though I read all the time.
92. I drive a Honda Civic - the smartest decision I've ever made, considering gas prices these days.
93. Super Target is my favorite store. It's a mile down the road.
94. I once got my mouth washed out with soap.
95. The last movie I saw in theatres was Hancock on July 4.
96. The last DVD I watched was The Life of David Gale. Highly recommend this movie, especially if you're not sure where you stand on capital punishment.
97. I have a BA in Journalism.
98. Upon graduation, the College of Arts & Sciences at WMU gave me a luggage tag.
99. I love reading USA Today in airports.
100. I check cnn.com multiple times daily.
101. I root for the New England Patriots and the Detroit Red Wings.

Anybody else wanna play?

Sister Salty, Sister Sweet - Shannon Kring Biro & Natalie Kring

This is a funny memoir about two sisters very opposite in demeanor, personality and even looks. I honestly felt like some chapters could have been written by me, and some chapters could have been written by my own sister, who is 3 years younger.

Shannon, who is 4 years older, was completely content being an only child and was rather disturbed when sister Natalie was born. Sounds just like me - I believe I actually told my mom to "put my sister back" when she was born. Shannon gets much attention throughout their lives, and while we the readers see why - a sexual assault, an eating disorder, and just general knowledge of a dysfunctional family - Natalie doesn't understand this until she's much older. Told in alternating views, we see the happenings of each Kring girl as they grow. According to the back of the book, Shannon is a successful entrepreneur in the restaurant industry with her husband, chef Marcel Biro. Natalie is a published poet and former book store manager.

I really love memoirs, mostly because I'm so interested in how others were raised. I think this is the most relatable memoir I've ever read.

The Year of Fog - Michelle Richmond

There are some books in which the details are so vivid and so strong that they allow the reader to form mental images of every scene in the novel. This is definitely one of those books.

Abby Mason is a thirtysomething photographer living in San Francisco, soon to be married to handsome Jake, who has a six-year-old daughter. Abby is thrilled at the idea of becoming a stepmother to young Emma, but on one of their beach outings - a cold summer morning with a thick fog - Emma simply disappears. Abby and Jake's lives change drastically that day, as they set up a search party for Emma. As they distribute hundreds of thousands of posters and pictures with no leads, and Jake pleads with viewers on television shows, Jake and Abby lean on each other off and on. Jake eventually feels the need to move forward, and after giving Emma a memorial service, he tells Abby that she must choose - try to form a new life with him, or continue her search for Emma, alone. She chooses the latter and sets off for Costa Rica, on a small lead about a frog on a rare longboard that she is certain is connected to a surfer couple who was on the beach the day Emma disappeared.

On Abby's quest, we are told the story of her life, including the bizarre childhood with constantly bickering parents, and the bond she shared with her sister, with whom she is still very close. We also hear of Ramon, her first and only love prior to Jake, the one she let go and the one who was killed on his motorcycle not long after their breakup. What I loved most about Abby was her obsession with memory, and of her details about and her genuine love of photography.

Abby searches Costa Rica's beaches, traveling on buses for hours, even days at a time, looking for any clues that may lead to the surfboard bearing a golden frog in the center. She forms some friendships, tells several lies, and hits many a dead-end. As she's ready to admit defeat and pack up to return to California, she spots Emma on a beach. We finally learn that Emma's real mother, who left years earlier and was never really a "mother" in any sense of the word, was behind the scheme, and paid the 2 surfers $10,000 to kidnap her. Emma returns home with her father while Abby finishes the case in Costa Rica.

Happily Ever After? Not hardly, but Abby does try to move forward. She was so focused on finding Emma that once she does, she has no direction in life beyond it. She did forge a friendship with a surfer named Goofy who teaches her to ride a wave. And that's where we leave Abby - on her first ride.

I really enjoyed this book; I highly recommend it. Please visit Susan's blog to see her review!