Okay all you loyal readers (if there are any), I'm sorry that I haven't been posting. With school ending, going on vacation, going back to school, the computer going crazy, and getting a dog, I have been ignoring my blog. However, the reading has not stopped! Let me share a few of my favorite summer reads and then I'll try to get back on track and keep my blog updated!
The Host by Stephenie Meyer -- Knowing that this was going to be a science fiction story, I was completely prepared to hate this book. In fact I might not have read it, if my daughter had not given it to me for Mother's Day. Having said that, I loved the book! In the same way that Stephenie Meyer makes vampires seem human in Twilight, she makes aliens seem human in The Host. The story was great, although maybe 50 pages too long, and I strongly recommend it.
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci -- I'm a big Baldacci fan-I really enjoy his political thrillers. This book took a little different bent which appealed to the public relations person in me. A defense contractor pays a p.m. (perception management) guy big bucks to manufacture a cold war, and it's scary how easily it works. Of course, a couple of people catch on and end up in danger as they try to discover the truth. The characters are a little exaggerated, but I could totally see the situation happening. After all, "Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?"
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin -- I think that Steve Martin is a fabulous actor and writer, so I was very interested to read this biography about his stand-up comedy years. It didn't disappoint. I had no idea he had worked at Disneyland starting at 10 years old and then had put in a couple of years at the Birdcage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm. He talks about what inspired him to try stand-up comedy, how he came up with his material, and what made him finally stop and try movies instead. He writes with great humor (of course) and with thoughtfulness. I truly enjoyed it.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer -- I don't want to talk too much about this book because I know some of you are still reading it, but this is the last book of the 4 in the Twilight series. I was hoping to love it, but I had some major problems with it early on. After those parts passed, I enjoyed the resolution and thought it was appropriate. A must-read for Twilight fans.
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs -- This was a book club book, and I was disappointed that I was the only one who made it all the way through by our meeting, but I enjoyed this book. A.J. Jacobs, editor at large for
Esquire magazine and an agnostic, takes on the challenge of reading the Bible and then following it as literally as he can for a year. Keeping an open mind, he consults with experts of all sorts (polygamists, rabbis, atheists, creationists, Amish, etc.) and writes about his voyage of discovery. He uses humor and
insightfulness, and he made me question if I'm really following my religion for the right reasons. I loved the obscure tidbits found in the Old Testament.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer -- Knowing that this was going to be a science fiction story, I was completely prepared to hate this book. In fact I might not have read it, if my daughter had not given it to me for Mother's Day. Having said that, I loved the book! In the same way that Stephenie Meyer makes vampires seem human in Twilight, she makes aliens seem human in The Host. The story was great, although maybe 50 pages too long, and I strongly recommend it.
The Whole Truth by David Baldacci -- I'm a big Baldacci fan-I really enjoy his political thrillers. This book took a little different bent which appealed to the public relations person in me. A defense contractor pays a p.m. (perception management) guy big bucks to manufacture a cold war, and it's scary how easily it works. Of course, a couple of people catch on and end up in danger as they try to discover the truth. The characters are a little exaggerated, but I could totally see the situation happening. After all, "Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?"
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin -- I think that Steve Martin is a fabulous actor and writer, so I was very interested to read this biography about his stand-up comedy years. It didn't disappoint. I had no idea he had worked at Disneyland starting at 10 years old and then had put in a couple of years at the Birdcage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm. He talks about what inspired him to try stand-up comedy, how he came up with his material, and what made him finally stop and try movies instead. He writes with great humor (of course) and with thoughtfulness. I truly enjoyed it.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer -- I don't want to talk too much about this book because I know some of you are still reading it, but this is the last book of the 4 in the Twilight series. I was hoping to love it, but I had some major problems with it early on. After those parts passed, I enjoyed the resolution and thought it was appropriate. A must-read for Twilight fans.
The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs -- This was a book club book, and I was disappointed that I was the only one who made it all the way through by our meeting, but I enjoyed this book. A.J. Jacobs, editor at large for Esquire magazine and an agnostic, takes on the challenge of reading the Bible and then following it as literally as he can for a year. Keeping an open mind, he consults with experts of all sorts (polygamists, rabbis, atheists, creationists, Amish, etc.) and writes about his voyage of discovery. He uses humor and insightfulness, and he made me question if I'm really following my religion for the right reasons. I loved the obscure tidbits found in the Old Testament.
