This month seems to have gone way too quickly...which is fine, but I feel like I haven't really done anything. Oh well. I did manage to see the movie Bridesmaids in the theater and it was hilarious! Also, a Memorial Day weekend marathon of Pawn Stars filled my brain with lots of crazy stuff.
With Lent safely in the past, I was able to purchase some of the fine, fine books that came out this month: If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster, Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, Cooking Light's 200-Calorie Eat Smart Guide, Incendiary by Chris Cleave, How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood by William J. Mann, Hungry Girl: 300 Under 300 by Lisa Lillien (a mom purchase), In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, Fa La La La Felt by Amanda Carestio (another mom purchase), and at some point, but I can't honestly say it was this month...it may have been sitting on the nightstand for a while, but I only read it this month, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell.
This month I had a little blip. Because of the Harris book and seeing the promo for season 4 of True Blood before we got rid of HBO, I kind of wanted to re-read a lot of the Sookie Stackhouse books...so I apologize in advance to anyone who was expecting some sort of substance to appear in this post. In May, I read: What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell, Cooking Light's 200-Calorie Eat Smart Guide, If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse, Dead and Gone, Dead in the Family, and Dead Reckoning all by Charlaine Harris.
What the Dog Saw is a collection of Gladwell's essays. I've read another one by him and I really like collections like this. He covers lots of interesting ground from Ron Popeil's empire, ketchup, and hair dye to plagiarism, the Challenger tragedy, and the dog whisperer. It was nice to actually learn something while otherwise miring myself in vampire land.
The Cooking Light book is a great cookbook! I read through most all of the recipes and then began by making the chicken salad with asparagus and radishes. It was extremely tasty and I plan to make many more items from this book!
In case you weren't sure, I heart all Jen Lancaster books. Would she and I see eye-to-eye in a political debate? No. Would we agree that having five animals share your house is a great idea? No. But, I fully believe we could sit and drink some wine and chillax talking about the 80s for hours and hours. If You Were Here is Lancaster's first foray into fiction. Loyal readers will see many of her friends in the book as fictional characters and even heavy doses of herself and her husband as the main characters in search of their dream home. Can any of you make the same instant connection I did? And if so, did you squeal a little out loud when you realized what it was? If You Were Here is the lovely Thompson Twins' song that plays at the end of Sixteen Candles when Jake Ryan gives Samantha a birthday cake, her undies (lent to a dork to help him win a bet), and a kiss. I love that movie...and like most women my age, I still love Jake Ryan...the boy knew how to work a sweater vest. Anyway, this book (I don't want to give away any more than I already kind of have) is great! It made me super nostalgic for all the John Hughes movies (which were watched immediately after reading) and it made me laugh out loud...many, many times. If you like the 80s movies and you like laughter, you should totally read this book.
And now we come to the vampire portion of this post. I like the Sookie Stackhouse books. They are completely enjoyable fluff. I like the HBO series True Blood. It is completely enjoyable fluff and filth with pretty, pretty people (<cough>Eric, Sam</endcough>) to look at and not a bad take on the books. I know a lot of people complain, but I started with the visuals and trust me, reading those books with those particular people playing out the parts in your imagination is super hot...I mean, quality literature ;) I read the most recent one, Dead Reckoning as soon as I bought it. It's as fluffy as the other ones, and left me hanging on pins and needles, wanting another one RIGHT NOW! The story picks up where it leaves off with vampires, werewolves, fairies, shifters, and the crazy world of supernatural politics and fighting...all the things I like about reading these. They totally take you away from the here and now. Then I saw the preview for season 4. Oh. My. Goodness. It's my favorite book in the series, Dead to the World. Because of the different turns the TV show has taken from the books, I didn't think they'd ever use this one. I am ecstatic that they are! In this book, it's a departure from super-couple Sookie and Bill (Billkie?)...which has gotten old very quickly...and the forming of the new and improved super-couple Sookie and Eric (Sooric?). It starts with her finding Eric wandering alone at night, half-dressed, and suffering from amnesia (a spell put on him by a witch). It's not hilarity that ensues, it's pure fantastic reading. I can not wait until I can see the season...I think iTunes will be carrying the episodes.
And in other news, Jen Lancaster used some of her free time this weekend to post the first part of her summer reading list. Hurrah! I have read several of her selections before and she's got great reading tastes. Make sure to check it out...I'm pretty sure The Wilder Life is going to make my nightstand as soon as I get another Borders reward!
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