Newsweek's Top 100 Books

I'm such a sucker for these lists. You know, the "top 100" or "best of" lists of books. I always have to compare my reading to the lists. And as always, I'm disappointed in myself for not having read the "classics" or the "top 100." On June 29th, Newsweek published this article on their Top 100 Books.

And here I go again. I've only read 10% of this list - 10 measley books. Realizing I have some serious catching up to do with all these great books of the past. I can't believe I call myself a reader! That's it - I'm incorporating some of these books into my reading list if it kills me! Here's what I'm starting with.

• 1984 - George Orwell
• The Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
• Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
• The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger
• The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
• Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
• Animal Farm - George Orwell
• The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
• As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
• The Interpretation of Dreams - Sigmund Freud
• The Color Purple - Alice Walker
• The Affluent Society - John Kenneth Galbraith

Just to make myself feel better, I feel like I have to point out that I actually HAVE read the Canterbury Tales. Not many people have. I had to recite the opening lines in Old English for a grade in high school English class. I nailed it, of course.

Vacation!

Well since I'm heading off to Key Largo tomorrow, I know I won't be able to get any more reviews finished. In the past 2 days I have finished Revoultionary Road by Richard Yates and House Rules, an incredible memoir by Rachel Sontag. I hope to have those reviews finished toward the end of next week.

I still have to pick up a few things at the store, pack it all up, and a hair appointment tonight. Phew! I can't wait to be in the Keys with a margarita :) Hope you all have a safe 4th of July!

It Had to Be You - Sarah Webb

This is the story of 3 friends, all living different lives in the sleepy town of Burnaby, Ireland. While the girls lead different lives (one is married with kids and running for local office, one is a bookshop manager who can't seem to get it right with men, and one has 2 very different jobs and a rough boss), they still meet up for coffee and to dish on life and love.

As always, some surprising twists create for drama and tension - although I didn't feel the book reached a good climax - it was more anticlimatic for me. Paige, the married and pregnant woman running for local office, survives setbacks that only come about when people go grasping at straws to get the "never seen before" picture of the local politican. In the end, she wins the race, of course, and becomes Deputy.

Paige's friend Molly, the bookshop manager, gets a huge surprise one morning at work when it's announced that the owner is selling the shop. It doesn't stop there - the new owner smells fishy, and he comes with an adorable son who is conveniently drawn to Molly. Can she get it right? (Obviously, this book is a happily ever after, and she does).

Kate, Molly's housemate, has 2 totally different careers - she's a (closet) shoe designer who moonlights as a matchmaker - can't get it right with men. She chases her old flame to Boston (from Ireland!) and realizes he's the same creep he always was. Crushed, she settles for the one she should have said yes to all along. (Nice guys finish last, right?)

I know this was an Irish bestseller, but I think it could have done a little better job at explaining Irish politics for Americans. Paige was a Councillor, but then ran for Deputy - but I don't really understand what each one is equal to in U.S. politics. For me, this was a large part of why I picked up the book (I love politics - from the sidelines), so I wasn't completely satisfied. However, this is still a fast and easy chick read for those seeking one.

And the TBR pile grows!

Surfing my "TBR" list and finding some titles on sale. Collecting books faster than I can read them. Receiving review books (yay!) when I still have a ton of books on my shelf. Such is life! (No complaints, I love the books!)

Here are some books that have made their way into my home recently.

Best Intentions by Emily Listfield - this was sent to me from an editor/publisher and I've yet to read it. I promise I'll get to it soon! It really does look good.

Michael J. Fox's Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist - I loved his first memoir, Lucky Man, and it was very well written. I'm always amazed when I pick up a book by a celebrity and it's extremely well written.

Obama: The Historic Journey - I'm so excited to read this and check out all the pictures! This will be my first "coffee table book."

The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools & Strategies for Business Success - I saw this in Barnes & Noble a couple weeks ago and knew I had to have it. I ordered it from Amazon to save some money, but I know I'll have this thing forever. It's 800 pages of social media goodness, from RSS to blogging to Facebook to LinkedIn. One of the reasons I wanted it was to research a couple ideas for my job - I am currently in charge of my company's social media (we have a blog, Facebook page and a dormant Twitter account) and I want to see which tools are actually worth my time. But I also wanted it for myself. Somedays I feel like I can't keep up with all this stuff on the web. I can't keep track of all my passwords, it took me forever to learn how to "retweet" on Twitter, and phew...it's a headache somedays!

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom - I've read it before (in high school) and I cried really hard. I remember the gist of it, but I really want to read it again. When I met my boyfriend, he made me read his book For One More Day, so I'm going to make him read this one too. It's one of those books I know I will keep forever.

The Likeness by Tana French - I loved her first novel, In The Woods, which won ...prize, so I'm dying to read this one! It's pretty much a follow-up too, so it'll be like picking up where I left off.

On Jodi Picoult...

I have said before that Jodi Picoult is my favorite author, and I've read more of her books than I have read any other author. I've also said before that sometimes while reading her novels it feels a bit predictable in that it will deal with a controversial issue and the law. There seems to always be a trial in her novels, which is part of the reason I like them - the drama and the legal talk is interesting, most of the time. But this article about Picoult's novels really said it well. In the New York Times article, the author writes that Picoult has found success as a writer of "literature of children in peril."

I do have to agree with the above statement - while it never seems that Picoult is trying to blame parents, or make them out to be unfit parents, she seems to write about topics that deal with the hard stuff. It's more or less that the parents are raising their kids they best they can. (Which is all you can ever expect of parents - that they will do the best they can.)

This makes me think of my own relationship with my family, and that while my sister and I had the same parents (duh), we turned out to be 2 extremely different people. And I see some traits of Picoult's characters in my sister and me, and it makes the books a little too personal sometimes.

Another part of the article I found very interesting was about Picoult's belief that what we remember vividly from childhood are often the moments that gave us the most humiliation or harm, and that she remembers a bully smashing her fingers into a locker. I really agree with this statement - at this very moment thinking about childhood the first thoughts that come to mind are my parents' divorce, the anxiety of starting a new school, some of the idiots who were rude to me in middle and high school, and the years that my sister and I couldn't get along for anything.

This is a great article for Picoult lovers, as it tells a little more about her choice to write these types of novels, and how it affects her life with her 3 teenagers. If you haven't read the article, you can read it here. Be sure to come back and discuss :)

The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright

As I said in my Sunday Salon post, I finished The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright and while I enjoyed it, I don't understand all the hoopla surrounding it. It was on The New York Times Bestseller List, but for some reason it didn't grab me the way it probably grabbed others.

The Wednesday Letters is the story of a woman and her 2 brothers who come together at their parents' bed & breakfast after they've both passed away over night. As they come together, it is apparent the family has suffered from some losses, and there is some obvious tension between the 3 of them. While they are coping with their loss and accepting family and friends at their parents' estate, they stumble upon boxes of letters their father used to write to his wife each week, starting when they were married. These letters contain everything from the most mundane days to a huge, life-altering secret that the now grown children must come to grips with.

The secret affects each of them in different ways, and as they struggle through the days leading up to their parents' funerals, they are also each dealing with another crisis in their lives. Samantha, a police officer and single mom, had put her dreams on hold to care for her daughter and be close to her parents as she knew they were growing old and weak. Now she must decide what her next step in life is, and if she will chase her childhood dream of acting. Her (normal) brother must face the fact that he and his wife may never be parents if their adoption doesn't go through. Their troubled brother, who was called away from Brazil to go home to his family, must face the consequences he ran from years ago after a fight. He must also face the girl he loves who of course, was the reason for the fight.

I am sure you know where this is going. The kids made amends, bury their parents and live happily ever after. I'm always a little unsatisfied when I read the happy ending, because that's not how life really turns out. I'm actually a positive person, I just think that not every book needs to end up this way. I am curious what other readers thought about this book, so if you've got any thoughts, please share!

USA Today summer books preview

Just like every other day, I browsed the USA Today (my favorite newspaper) online, and yesterday I happened to find the Summer Books Preview, and it's oh-so-exciting! There are some really great titles coming out in the next few months, and I for one cannot wait! Here's what I added to my TBR list:

• Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz (released June 9)
• At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream by Wade Rouse (released June 2)
• The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (released June 9)
• Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (released June 9)
• Trouble by Kate Christensen (to be released June 16)
• A Plague of Secrets by John Lescroart (to be released June 30)
• An American Alduterer by Jed Mercurio (to be released July 6)
• Vanished by Joseph Finder (to be released August 18)
• The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe by J. Randy Taraborrelli (to be released August 25)

And 2 books coming this fall that I'm also looking forward to:

• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (to be released September 15)
• Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych ER by Julie Holland (to be released October 2)

Also yesterday, I saw my reading buddy Kay and borrowed a couple more books from her:

• True Colors by Kristin Hannah (this was on my TBR list, so now I don't have to buy it!)
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova
• House Rules by Rachel Sontag

I guess I have some reading to do!!

While you're on USA Today's site, check out this interesting article about a not-so-traditional college education.