Friday, April 24, 2009

Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him-Danielle Ganek

This was one of my favorite reads of 2007--and yeah, maybe I'm a little biased. For those of you that don't know, I'm an Art History major at Sac State, so it seems only natural that I would be drawn to a story set around an art gallery. This one is about a girl named Mia, a discontent "gallerista," living in New York city. Mia despises her boss and yearns for a gallery all her own. The gallery she works at receives a collection by an unknown artist, Jeffery Finelli. There is much interest surrounding his major piece, which provides the book's title. His sudden fame brings his family out of the woodwork, including his niece--who learns she is the girl featured in Finelli's piece. The artist is hit by a taxi and dies, which leaves his neice to discover more about her family. She ends up unlocking her own passion for art and inspires Mia to find a new path in life. This story moves pretty quickly, much like the fast-paced city of New York. I was worried the characters would be the stereotpical "Soho art snob," but you become involved in their lives. Everybody can relate to Mia; starting out in a job that once suited you, then outgrowing it, wanting to pursue something more. Needless to say, I enjoyed that everyone loved art, sans the pretentiousness.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Library Loot


Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Alessandra that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

OK, so I'm a total library hog. My one and only New Year's Resolution was so check out less books in the hopes that I'd read more of the books I checked out instead of having to return them unread. I've cut down a bit, but it's still slightly out of control. How can I restrain myself? IT'S FREE!!Ugh. Rant aside, here's the list of what I've checked out this week:


BloodSucking Fiends: Christopher Moore
I've been curious to read something by Christopher Moore for awhile now. I recently heard him on NPR, and he was so charming and funny that it sort of sealed the deal.


You Suck: Christopher Moore
Well, I can't read one book without also reading it's sequel, can I? I thought not!


On the Road: Jack Kerouac I've tried to read this book at least twice, and I'm hoping I can make it through this time. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a dude book, but I'll give it another shot.


Jane Austen; The World of Her Novels: Deirdre Le Faye

Oh man, doesn't look like a made up name? Le Faye indeed. Anyway, I recently read Pride and Prejudice for the first time, and thought this one looked interesting. Here's betting I'll only read a few chapters.

Crime: Irving Welsh I loved Trainspotting (although, my god did it take awhile, and I was saying "shite" for weeks) so I thought I'd give this a go.


Kiss: Ted Dekker and Erin Healy
"When a tragic auto accident leaves Shauna McAllister's brother brain-damaged and erases her recent memories, she discovers she has a paranormal ability to steal memories from others, a capability that will either get her killed or unveil hidden sides of the very people she thought she could trust." I'm a sucker for YA paranormal stuff AND the lead character has the same name as me (though she totally spells it wrong.) I'm in!

Shadowed Summer: Saundra Mitchell
The cover looks a little cheesy, but I've heard good things. And, um, see above for how I'm a sucker.


Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence Looks like an amusing, quick read.


Deal Breaker: Harlan Coben Katie is currently obsessed with this author, and she begged me to come with her to his book signing last week. He was pretty funny and clever, and I'm always up for a good mystery.


Plutonium Blonde:
John Zakour & Lawrence Ganem I love the pulp fiction type cover, and was super disappointed when I picked this one up that the cover is totally covered by a GIANT Link+ sticker. Boo! Still, this looks like it'll be a fun read.


Breaking the Back of Love: Echo and the Bunnymen I heart Echo, and, as my iPod is currently being retarded, I need some tunes in my car.



Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Collection-Gioia Diliberto

Can we all just take a moment to marvel over this cover? Seriously, It's gorgeous. Sadly, for me this book didn't live up to either the cover or the description.

From Amazon: Following the death of her fiancé and family, fictitious 22-year-old seamstress Isabelle Varlet leaves her provincial town in 1919 and takes a low-level job working for Gabrielle Coco Chanel, joining a gaggle of young women sewing until their fingers bleed to serve Mademoiselle in preparation for the upcoming fall collection. Considering how obsessed I am with all things Chanel, you can understand how excited I was to read this novel.

I never really became invested in Isabelle's story, and it's never a good thing when you don't really care about what happens to the main character. The highlights were definitely the bits discussing the creation of the clothes, and any page on which Chanel appeared.
I wouldn't say this is a bad book, but it didn't live up to my admittedly high expectations.

Friday, April 10, 2009

sTORI Telling- Tori Spelling


Honestly, I had never thought much of Tori Spelling; like many others, I thought she was a vacuous, spoiled, washed-up T.V. actress. I hadn't planned on reading her autobiography, but ended up looking through it while waiting for Seanna at the library. I was pleasantly surprised with what I read. It was a funny, candid, sometimes heartbreaking look into her life. Tori shared stories from her childhood, including the famous "snowy Christmas in L.A." story. Her father did, in fact, hire a company to create a "winter wonderland" for his children on an 80 degree Christmas morning. And yes, the mansion really does have a bowling alley.

Tori wrote about her first marriage, which seemed perfect to everyone on the outside, but was actually dysfunctional at the core; they didn't, in Tori's words, "mesh well." I enjoyed reading how
Tori met and fell in love with her current husband, Dean. Though it wasn’t the most ideal situation (they were both married at the time), they couldn’t deny the attraction. Tori followed her heart and ended up getting just what she was looking for—a family. I also enjoyed reading how she moved on from her days on 90210; she strived to make a name for herself in the acting world, despite being the daughter of Aaron Spelling. After reading this book, I got the feeling that Tori is a determined person—she was determined to step out of her father’s shadow and to be the kind of mother she had always hoped for. Done and done!

OK, so maybe she talks about some heavy stuff (mommy issues anyone?) but she’s also really funny, and after reading this book, I’m pretty sure I want her to be my B.F.F. I definitely recommend it if you need a good laugh.


F.Y.I: Tori Spelling's new book, Mommywood, comes out Tuesday, April 14th!!

Gods Behaving Badly-Marie Phillips

I’m pretty much a sucker for anything involving the Greek Gods. Since an early age, I’ve been fascinated by the sordid tales of romance, betrayal and lust. When I first heard about Gods Behaving Badly, I knew I had to have it.


Several of the Olympian Gods are sharing a dilapidated flat in London. The peeling paint and layers of dust are a far cry from the marbled splendor of Mount Olympus. The Gods are suffering a loss of their powers. Turns out that if no one believes you in anymore, it gets harder to turn a girl into a tree. Who knew?


The Gods are forced to take day jobs to make a living. Aphrodite is a phone sex operator (natch), Dionysus runs a sleazy bar, Artemis is a dog walker, and (possibly my favorite) Apollo is a t.v. psychic. When Eros hits Apollo with one of his famed arrows, causing Apollo to fall in love with mousy maid Alice, all Hades breaks loose.


This was such a fun read. I think Phillips did a fantastic job of modernizing these ancient gods. Apparently, Ben Stiller’s production company has purchased the rights and are in the process of turning it into a television series. Here’s hoping they don’t ruin this great story.



The Book of Lost Things-John Connolly

I consume books quickly. I also have a terrible memory. Those things combined ensure that I’ve read a lot of books that I can't remember. Every so often though, I’m lucky enough to read a book that, upon finishing it, I know with total certainty will stay with me for a long time. The Book of Lost Things is just such a book.

Set in the beginning days of WWII, twelve year old David is consumed with mourning his recently dead mother. To make matters worse, his father remarries and relocates the family to his new wife’s old English country house. David spends most of his time in his attic bedroom, ignored and ignoring his new baby brother. Feeling so alone, he takes refuge in the books lining the shelves of the attic. Imagine his surprise when the books begin to whisper to him. Of course, a magical adventure follows, complete with a new world discovered beyond the walls of the old garden.

This is honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’m quite sure it’s going to be one I read yearly. It’s sweet, poignant and sad. Though it may involve a trip to a magical kingdom, werewolves, trolls and dying kings, it brilliantly captured the loss of childhood innocence on the road to becoming an adult.

The imagery was fantastic, and I could easily see this book being turned into a film.

Oh, and here’s a little secret, just between me and you; it totally made me cry like a little girl.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Seriously, you should read more.

I can't even count how many times I've heard people complain that they don't have the time to read. Personally, I find this really hard to believe. No matter how busy my life is (and between working full time, attending to family obligations and having a social life, it can get busy) I'm always reading a book.

In this blog, I, along with my partner in crime (and sister) Katie, will be posting reviews of books we love, books we hate, and books that made us go "meh." We'll also squeeze in some other stuff.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and I hope you take the advice seriously: You Should Read More.