tifi

April 08:

• I’ve started Fatima’s Good Fortune, and it’s going well. It’s the tale of a spinster maid from Tunisia who moves to Paris after her sister dies there.
• I finished Let Them Eat Cake in a day or two, and eh. If you like Christian slanted literature and chick lit, this is a good one for you. The Christian theme wasn’t overpowering, but if I had known about it ahead of time, I probably would’ve skipped this book.
• I think I read a page or two of The Opposite of Love, so no thoughts on that yet.
• I finished Playing With Boys. It was a little disjointed and had an unexpected but at the same time predictable ending. I didn’t get all the references, not being Latina, but it was ok.
• I read Soulemama’s book and came away with new ideas to incorporate into our daily lives which I’m really pleased about. If you enjoy her blog (and I do, I’ve read it almost from the beginning of her move from blogger), you’ll love the book.
• Golden Legacy chronicles the rise of Golden Books, which I collect, so I couldn’t leave it on the shelf. I hope I like it!  Well, I got bored after the first chapter or two. It got textbook-y. I did enjoy reading about some of the more well known writers and illustrators and how they ended up in the “Golden” world. And I liked seeing some photos of the books I have, and loved seeing photos of the ones I don’t.
• I plan to start Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close any day now.

March 08:

• Remembering to update this is harder than I thought it would be! I think I may have read more books than those listed, but I’ve forgotten!
• I finished The Abstinence Teacher. It was excellent, unexpected. It started off a little slow for me, but ended very well. I think this will end up being one of my favorite books this year.
• The Bright Side of Disaster was cute. Texas based mommy chick lit with a twist, hehe.
• I’m a few chapters into Playing With Boys which is Latina chick lit. I’m especially liking the description of the boyfriend of one of the three main characters. He’s an entertainment writer for a newspaper who take on this mid 90s-early 00s rapper persona. Funny!
• A match made on Madison is more chick lit. What can I say, I love the stuff. Almost done.
• Slummy Mummy was hilarious. The author was dead-on when describing life as an at-home mom. I even jotted down a line or two from the book. The end was a little strange and mixed up, but I laughed a lot while reading it, so yea.
• I have about 10 books I’ve picked up at book sales recently that I really need to get started on including Like Water for Chocolate and Fatima’s Good Fortune.

January 08:

• My chick lit for the month was Little Pink Slips, an adorable book about a woman working in the magazine industry. Kinda like The Devil Wears Prada, but from the nice editor’s point of view. I don’t know why I devour chick lit. I finished this in two days.
• The Abstinence Teacher seems promising so far. I liked, and was slightly disturbed by Little Children, also by Tom Perrotta, so we’ll see what happens with this one. Little update: I’m enjoying it, and find it timely given the issues it deals with (morality and the religious divide faced in the U.S. right now).
• French by Heart was a cute, lighthearted read that I finished in a few days. Given my mini obsession with all things French and one of my dreams of being able to move there, I had to scoop this up when I saw it. I also really enjoy reading about people from the U.S. who have moved and made their life overseas. This is the story of a typical suburban American family that moves to France for four years. The best character in the book is the crotchety French neighbor Madame Mallet who shares words of “wisdom” with the Ramsey family. My favorite is when she tells them things like “Your country is young, you do not know any better.” So typically French! Hehe.
• More “chick lit”: The Manny. Stayed up late one night and finished this. It was cute, typical, but cute.
• Then We Came to the End and Use What You’ve Got are on hold right now. Actually, I just saw DH reading Use What You’ve Got, so it might be a while before I get to it.
• I have Eat, Pray, Love out again but am really stuck at the second part which I’m not enjoying as much as the first. Meh.
• I finished Because She Can. Now that’s Devil Wears Prada, but with books rather than fashion. Quick read.
• I also picked up The Bright Side of Disaster, but am only a chapter or two in. Maybe I can finish this one before the month is up!

December 07:

• I was reading Eat, Pray, Love, and really enjoying it, but I didn’t get to finish it before it was due. There is a waiting list for it at the library, I think they need more copies. It’s good enough that I might actually buy it. The author is witty and so it’s not a drag like I expected it to be given its popularity.I finished
• Real-Life Homeschooling and meh. I didn’t get much from it. I guess because I tend to read some fabulous homeschooling blogs, this book ouldn’t really compete. I did learn one or two new things though.
• My chick lit this month is I Don’t Know How She Does It. It’s a fun, but typical read. Working mom guilt, mommy wars, blah, blah, blah.
• Next to start is Then We Came to the End which the Times hailed as one of The 10 Best Books of 2007. We’ll see. Update: I’ve started it, and find it a little slowgoing at the beginning.
• I really liked reading The Little Fir Tree to the kids. I found it on Soulemama’s winter reading list and promptly checked it out. A sweet story.
• Owl Moon, another on Soulemama’s list was a big hit here. The kids loved hooting over and over again.
• I saw The Little House Christmas books at the library, and figured, why not? They’re simplified versions of the Christmases in the regular series. The best thing about these is that they’re short and sweet, so perfect for bedtime or for ZB to read to his siblings.
• We didn’t like, ok, I didn’t like The Big Snow. I found it long and boring. This book felt more like a lesson that a story. And my kids have no trouble coming to me if they want a lesson, so, meh.
• I found Use What You’ve Got at Dollar Tree and couldn’t not pick it up. After all, anyone that follows New York real estate even a tad (yes, I still subscribe to Brooklyn neighborhood blogs, heh) knows who Barbara Corcoran is. I’m really surprised how much I like this one, too. In fact, I may go back and buy a few copies to give as gifts. I can’t give a real review as I’m only about a third of the way through, but what sticks out for me so far is how down to earth and casual she comes across while talking about how she made her dreams come true.