10 - lost & found

originally, all i was going to say about this book was "eh." but, i really got into it the last 100 pages or so. annnnnnnnnnd, i must say for a chick lit book, it has one of the best endings i've read in a while. if you read it, be prepared for a lot of british wordiness at the beginning. overall, pretty good story, though. i might read some of jane sigaloff's books this summer. seems like they might make good poolside/tanning fare.

9 - teen idol

so. meg cabot. i was really really really into her books a few years ago. but my reading lists got overwhelmed with so many other books, i just had to take a break from her. teen idol was the first of her books that i'd read in a while. the pink, purple, and silver cover art probably gives away that it is whole-heartedly a F-U-N book. right now, though, people i'm in the midst of teaching about the Holocaust to one set of students, then i will turn around and teach it to my other set (all in all, probably about 3 months on such a heavy subject). PLUS, the albatross that is the joy of ELA 8th grade teachers in tejas is right around the corner. yup. taks. so seriously, with just those two things combined, i need a little a little fluff - although i really could go on and on about the strong girl characters that cabot ALWAYS creates and the positive messages her books send toward teenage girls, which means her books are never truly and really FLUFF. instead, i'll tell you that if you like to read writers' blogs, you should check hers out.

8 - bloom

so, i am an official resident of where i live now . . . i finally got my drivers license, am registered to vote, AND have a library card. it only took 19 months . . .

bloom has the distinction of being the first book i used my card for. exciting. i know. anyway. it was a very fast read and is, of course, a YA book. hey, i spent most of january reading outside of my comfort zone. give a girl a break. i'd never read any of elizabeth scott's books before. she is very much like sarah dessen and deb caletti. i liked bloom. it did kind of drag a little for me, but it was a sweet story. she has a couple of other books out, so i'll be looking into them i am sure. there is no doubt in my mind that mis estudiantes would like bloom, which, you know, is really the most important part of it. i'm starting book talks in march and will make sure to include it.

okay. so. i need some suggestions on books to read. i have garden spells on hold (look at me actually using the library services!) because i've only heard great things about it. any others? i kind of feel like a biography, so if you know of some good and interesting ones, let me know!
have any of you read any of the books written by obama, mccain, h. clinton? worth reading? just curious!

7 - vote for larry

this is the sequel to a YA book that i really like called the gospel according to larry. it was a fast little read and very current because, obviously, it is about an election. not just ANY election, but the first election where an 18-year-old runs for president. ( in the book the states ratified an amendment to change the law from 35 to 18.) to be honest, i didn't anticipate that there would be a sequel to tgatl the first time i read it, so, at times, v4l seemed a little bit too contrived. BUT, it totally brings up some really important issues and statistics that teens need to be aware of and somehow none of that 'stuff' turns boring or preachy.

6 - sisters

have you ever been walking through the neighborhood 'market' derivative of that big box store we all know and love with your random assortment of peanut butter pup treats, strawberry yogurt, butterfinger chocolate hearts, and apples only to be suddenly hypnotized by the bright fluorescent lights that are seemingly glowing only on that one danielle steel novel on the end cap at the self checkout lane?

anyone?

hmm.

two of my all-time favorite books are d.s. classics: zoya and message from nam. i'm sure they'll get listed here eventually as 'read' because they are staples in my pool bag every summer. sisters didn't quite live up to either and there were at least two scenes in the book that were absolutely HORRIFIC, but it still was fun to read some fluff.

i finally got my drivers license transferred, so i can go to the library and start finding more books that i'm too cheap to buy!!!

5 - hypocrite in a pouffy white dress

i know right now that any review i post of this book is not going to do it justice. for some reason i forget how much i love to read essays and memoirs. then, i seem to find myself shocked when i read a book that falls into that category and i fall hopelessly in love with it. trust me. it's happened before . . . like the summer i discovered sarah vowell and decided that she and i could be besties. yeah. so that's what i'm feelin' with susan jane gilman here. i'll be honest, i've been trying to decide whether or not to buy this book for the last year or so, but felt bad because my initial reason for wanting to read it was based solely on its cover. but, you can see why, right? so here is my simple review . . . i love how sarcastic, ironic, and crass gilman is and how she surrounds all of that with candid and sincere observations about life. my most favorite people in life seem to have a crazy knack for that. and even though she is jewish and was raised by her extreme leftist parents on the upper west side in nyc before it was gentrified, which is totally different from my suburban-okie-methodist upbringing, i really feel like she was writing for me. things i need to read right now. plus. she's a Feminist. so rock on.