Top Ten Tuesday (2-21-12)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, 

they post a different topic, and you get to create your own top ten list. So, this week's 

topic is:

Books I'd Save If My House Was About to be Abducted by Aliens

1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - a classic that must always be on my shelves.

2) A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith - my favorite book of all time. Of course I would have to grab this one.

3) The Harry Potter series - okay, so this is technically seven books, but I couldn't choose a few of them and leave the rest behind!

4) Bossypants by Tina Fey - such a funny book that I would feel guilty if I left that behind.

5) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris - my favorite Sedaris book.

6) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - another classic that I would have to grab. Plus, I would feel bad if I left Mr. Darcy behind.

7) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - such a wonderful story, decadent in the details that left me wishing that the book never ended.

8) Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - such a touching story.

9) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - a great World War II story (and I love a great WWII story).

10) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - another classic. I would feel bad if I left Jane behind.

So, which books would you save? Let me know!

Review: The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman

The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost
Author: Rachel Friedman
Published: March 29, 2011
Genre: travel, memoir
Paperback: 320 pages
Source: personal copy


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure. As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.


My Thoughts: While reading Rachel Friedman's travelogue about her adventures in Ireland, Australia, and South America, there were several times where I found myself packing my bags, about to jet off on my own adventure. Friedman writes very casually, describing her experiences in each place. While she does talk about the places that she's in, this book isn't focusing on the locations as much as it is Friedman discovering who she is and what she wants in life. It's her personal journey that makes this book so good and how she tells it that makes me wish that the book were longer (or that she will publish another book in the future!) 


It is difficult to write reviews for memoirs because I find it impossible to judge someone's experiences with something. For me, this was a great book that had me captivated and longing to plan a trip abroad, to go and see more of this world. If you enjoy travel memoirs, are a fan of Bill Bryson, or just looking for something to pull you out of a reading rut, then I would definitely recommend this book. It will make you feel as if you are going to all of these places without having to leave your hometown.

Review: Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner

Then Came You
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Published: July 12, 2011
Genre: chick lit
Hardcover: 338 pages
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 3 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): The lives of four very different women intertwine in unexpected ways in this new novel by bestselling author Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes; Best Friends Forever). Each woman has a problem: Princeton senior Jules Wildgren needs money to help her dad cure his addiction; Pennsylvania housewife Annie Barrow is gasping to stay financially afloat; India Bishop yearns to have a child, an urge that her stepdaughter Bettina can only regard with deeply skepticism until she finds herself in a most unexpected situation. Interlocking dramas designed to ensnare; bound to be a bestseller.


My Thoughts: I was very intrigued by this book when I first heard about it. I think surrogacy is a controversial issue today, so when I found out that Jennifer Weiner would be writing a book about this issue, I just knew that I had to read it. Not just because of the author, but because this is just too good of a topic to pass up. Four women share their stories of surrogacy, from the egg donor, the surrogate, the mother-to-be, and her stepdaughter. Each woman has a unique take on their experience with the process, handling the difficulties along with the joys. I think that having four women share their stories in this process was a great idea, because surrogacy involves so many people besides the mother and father. It really does take a team of people to bring a baby into the world. 


Each woman brings a unique perspective to this story and each voice is different. I was clearly able to distinguish between the four narrators and each had their own personality, which would shine through in their chapters. I don't want to give too much away in my review, but I would say that I found the ending to be very lacking. I felt the whole book building up to it, and then there was nothing. It just petered out, leaving me with a dissatisfied feeling. If the ending were stronger, then I definitely would have rated this book higher. I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the topic of surrogacy or looking for a chick lit book that isn't all about love.

Follow Friday and TGIF (2-17-12)

Happy Friday, everybody! I hope that you are having a great week and that you had a good Valentine's day, whether you had a Valentine or not. I spent the day working ... Busiest night of the year for restaurants, so to say I was tired at the end of it would be an understatement. But, probably the best thing to happen for me this week was that I bought a new car! I feel very grown-up now that I have a car payment, but I'm still so excited about it. Now, onto the Friday fun ...

Parajunkee asks:

What's the most unique character name you've come across?

I would have to say Hermione is the most unique name that I've ever come across. I had never heard of it before reading Harry Potter.

GReads asks:

Book Blogger Pride: What do you take pride in when it comes to blogging?

I would say that I'm most proud of creating a blog that people want to read. I try to write good, honest reviews so that people know what I thought of a book without it being sugarcoated or trying to make a bad book sound better than what it was.

So, what do you take pride in when it comes to blogging? Leave me a comment and let me know, and have a great Friday!

Waiting on Wednesday (2-15-12)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight an upcoming release that you are eagerly awaiting. This week, my pick is: Paris in Love by Eloisa James (expected publication date: April 3, 2012).

Synopsis (from BN.com): By day, James is actually Mary Bly, daughter of poet Robert Bly and associate professor and head of the creative writing department at Fordham University. By night, she's the New York Times best-selling author of 24 exquisitely written historical romances. This memoir discusses the year James spent with her family in Paris after she survived both cancer and the death of her mother. James is a smart writer in any genre, Paris is the dream city for escape, and this should be excellent.

So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Top Ten Tuesday (2-14-12)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week, 

they post a different topic, and you get to create your own top ten list. So, this week's 

topic is:

Books That Broke Your Heart a Little

1) The Art of Racing In the Rain by Garth Stein - okay, so maybe not a love story between two people, but this was one of the saddest books that I have ever read. It was just heartbreaking, but still a beautiful novel.

2) Dear John by Nicholas Sparks - I'm not a huge Nicholas Sparks' fan, but this book was definitely a tearjerker. If you have seen the movie, but not the book, the book is far better than the movie (the ending to the movie was AWFUL!)

3) Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah - once again, not a love story, but a story of friendship. I cried at several points while reading this novel. Definitely heartbreaking at times, but a great story.

4) The Help by Kathryn Stockett - parts of this book were so heartbreaking that I had to put it down and walk away. 

5) The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman - seriously, one of the saddest books that I have ever read. It was a great story, one that was building throughout the whole novel and had me until I closed the book.

6) The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer - another World War II story. It's very long (758 pages!), but it's so good that you won't care how long it takes you to read it.

7) The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen - the title alone lets you know that this won't be a happy read, but parts of it were so heartbreaking, it was hard to bear. Definitely heartbreaking.

Well, I could only think of seven this week. What books broke your heart? Let me know!

Audiobook Review: Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

Can You Keep a Secret?
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: March 1, 2005
Genre: chick lit
Audiobook: 5 CDs
Narrator: Emily Gray
Source: borrowed from the library


My Rating: 2.5 stars


Synopsis (from GoodReads): Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets:
Secrets from her mother: I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur. Sammy the goldfish in my parents’ kitchen is not the same goldfish that Mum gave me to look after when she and Dad were in Egypt.
Secrets from her boyfriend:
I weigh one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. Not one eighteen, like Connor thinks.
I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken.
From her colleagues:
When Artemis really annoys me, I feed her plant orange juice. (Which is pretty much every day.) It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all the times.
Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world:
My G-string is hurting me.
I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is.

Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger. But come Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse—Until they do.

My Thoughts: I love listening to Sophie Kinsella's audiobooks. They are so easy to listen to, the narrators are always entertaining and bring the book to life, and it's so easy to come back to after not listening for awhile. So, I was expecting the same things from this book that I have come to expect from Kinsella's work. And while it was nice to listen to, it wasn't my favorite book. The concept is interesting, so you think that the whole book would be that way. Emma is working for Panther Cola in the marketing department as an assistant. She is really hoping for a promotion since she's worked at the company for a year, so her boss sends her to a business meeting in Glasglow, thinking that it's a simple meeting that even she could handle. Well, she loses the client and on her return flight, experience turbulence during the flight and thinks that she is dying, so she starts sharing all of her secrets with the man sitting next to her. The flight lands safely and Emma thinks she will never see this man again, until he shows up to her office a few days later and she realizes that he is the CEO of Panther Cola. Hilarity ensues as she realizes what this might mean to her career and her personal life.

It's a typical Kinsella novel, which is good, but it wasn't as gripping as her other works. I felt like Emma was too wish-washy. She wanted Jack to know about her, then she didn't, then she did. It was just too much back and forth for a main character. And Jack's secret was such a letdown! The novel is building up to this moment where Jack finally tells Emma why he was in Glasglow, and it wasn't even that big of a secret (at least to me)! It was unclimatic and I was left feeling like I listened to this book without getting something out of it. It wasn't an awful book, but not what I've come to expect from Kinsella.