Category: Books

I finished this book before classes started a few weeks ago. I just haven't had time to post about it.

This was another book by Sophie Kinsella (the author of the Shopaholic series). I normally would have given myself a break from this author, but I borrowed this book from a friend and wanted to get it back to her.

On a side note…I am sorry to that reader out there that I borrowed some books from when I came to see your house (you know who you are!)….you might not get them back for a while. Leisure reading hasn't been on the schedule lately. Let me know if you need them back any time soon!

So anyway. This was a cute story. The main character is on a plane (she hates flying) and she thinks she's going to die on the plane (there's a bit of turbulence). So she spews forth all her dirty secrets to the poor unsuspecting stranger sitting next to her on the plane. Turns out…he's the big-wig boss of the company she works for. *GASP* Things get much much worse before they get better in the book, but it was so funny. I know that's a little mean of me (to laugh at the character's misfortune), but it IS just a made up person. So all the guilt left me. I put my hand over my mouth in surprise a couple times in the book. It had me laughing and I just couldn't imagine what I would do in her situation.

If you're looking for something lighthearted to make you giggle, read this book. And whatever you do….don't tell all your little secrets to a stranger….you just never know!

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. It was a very creatively written book. I haven't read anything like it. I was impressed that this was the author's first book. I am hoping there are many more wonderful books by her in the future.

I was impressed that she was able to write such a well written book from so many different perspectives and time frames and still be able to have the reader understand what was going on. Plus she was able to write from both the male and female perspective. Not ever author has the capability and talent to do that.

I did think there were a few unanswered questions at the end of the book, but it didn't sway me from really enjoying the book.

I have not seen the movie. I had considered seeing it this weekend, but after hearing from so many people that it wasn't as good as the book, I decided I wouldn't spend my money on seeing it in the theater. I will wait until I can rent it to see it. By then, the story won't be so fresh in my head and I may not dislike it as much! Plus, I have recently learned about the joys of Redbox and might just wait until it shows up there! That is slick!

I digress.

If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. As a friend warned me, it's a little confusing at first and a little hard to get into. But stick with it, because you'll be hooked.

Happy reading!

Ok. So after I played with Library Thing a little more, I realized you can only add a certain number of books for free. So I decided to do a little more sleuthing to see to what else was out there.

I came across Good Reads.

This is a very large community out there of book lovers. What I haven't been able to figure out is if recommendations are given on the books you have read like Library Thing did. I am not sure it will be a deal breaker if it doesn't, since it is free and you can add as many books as you want.

It's quite easy to use and I was able to import my list I started from Library Thing into it. That way I didn't have to enter them all again. I did re-rate them since that didn't transfer over with the importing.

That being said. It has a lot of pros, but I wasn't completely satisfied. So I did a little more looking.

I came across another site I am really in love with. It's called Shelfari.

Chuck has taught me a lot about user interfaces and how appealing and easy things can be when they are done well.

I love that this site places all your books on a book shelf. You can even modify the wood your shelf is made of. Now, yes, Good Reads also displays your books in this layout, but they aren't sitting on a book shelf!

Another thing I like about it is the way you add your books. I have chosen to allow it to ask me a number of questions when I add a book. Why? Because you can choose if you are reading it, plan to read it reading it currently, can rank it there, then you can add if you own it or if it's on your wish list, then gives you similar books by that author or books like it at the end you might like to read before adding it.

You can skip a lot of those steps, but I like being able to categorize them. You can then look at the books on your shelf based on this.

When adding a book, you also have a chance to give a review or description of the book for others to see. You can also make note if you have loaned this book to someone and who has it and what condition it was in when you gave it to them. Of course, that cannot be viewed by anyone other than yourself. But what a neat idea.

Both sites allow you to add “tags” to the books you added so you can categorize them. I have not utilized this feature yet.

Shelfari is a newer product, so they are adding new features to it and appear to be receptive to user's ideas and suggestions. I also found it took me slightly longer to find things and navigate on their website than Good Reads. But once I found it, I had a bit of a “DUH” moment.

As I said, Good Reads has a larger community than Shelfari, so there are more book opinions. They both have a lot of groups to join and this might be the replacement for the recommendations that Library Thing has. But not having the recommendations will not be a deal breaker for me. Because Good Reads and Shelfari are free and that wins out. But I am still trying them out and deciding what I like best.

So has anyone out there used either of these? Do you have opinions or thoughts on them that might be useful?

And since I have not completely decided which one I am using, I have been importing new books I add to each of them. But before too long, I hope I'll pick one that I like better and stick to just one.

Edited to add: I am going to be modifying this post a bit. (Or probably doing another one with what I have learned.) So if you are interested in starting an account, hold off until you hear what I have to say about other sites. I may have been too hasty in my choice!

My sister-in-law had told me about this site a while back and I just recently remembered to check it out.

It's called Library Thing.

You add books you have read, rate them, and then it shows you tons of people that have read them, what they rated them and gives you new book recommendations. There's a lot more you can do with it, but those are the basics.

I can't remember most of the books I have read, so I am going to add more when I have time to add books from my book shelf. Then I'll have a better collection. My collection is pretty pathetic right now.

Since school is starting in just a few weeks, I want to make a resolution to try to read a little bit before I go to bed. Just to keep reading books that aren't school related and because I do love reading, I just don't make myself do it enough. So hopefully this site can give me some good suggestions on books to read.

Are there any books you have read this summer that I should look into reading?

*Please note*…I have not read the Harry Potter or Twilight series and don't have big plans to read them in the near future. I know everyone has read them and loved them. But I don't need it suggested to me here…since I already know.

Happy reading!

I just finished reading this book. What a cute story. Something a bit far-fetched (because imaginary friends just aren't real….or are they?), but it was really cute. It wasn't a terribly gushy love story, but it still put a smile on your face. I did learn that I really like James Patterson's writing and his REALLY short chapters. I love having easy places to stop when I am reading so I can read just a chapter or two without it taking too long. If you are in the mood for a love story/finding yourself/make-believe story…check this one out.

So does anyone have a favorite James Patterson book I should read?

I finished the final book in the shopaholic series yesterday and returned the book to its owner! This was a very cute story. The main character was again overly dramatic at times (but aren't we all?) but she was also really likable. There's not a whole lot to say about this book that I haven't already said about the others. Quick read, fun story. The author didn't the birth of the baby part. I would have liked to see how the main character was going to get through that. I think the main character changed a lot throughout the course of the series. But that could be because the character had to finally grow up. I really like this author and plan to read other things by her in the future.

I have already started another book and hope to tell you about that before too long!

I finished another one of the books in the shopaholic series. This is book number 4/5. It was a cute story. The main character learns she has a long lost half sister and they are nothing alike…so it seems. It was a fun twist on the character. And just like the other books, she manages to get herself into a situation she doesn't seem to have a way out of. Really, all of her problems would be solved more easily if she wouldn't keep secrets from her husband and friends and stopped thinking she can solve problems without help. Clearly, she can't! But it wouldn't make much of a book or be as hilarious without her absent mindedness. So Thanks Sophie Kinsella for another fun read.

I have started book 5 (and the final one in the series). I am excited to see how it finishes up and if there is room left for more books in the series.

This was a short little book from two authors…Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch…titled Serial. I haven't read anything from either of these authors, but this was fun. This book was free, because it was something the authors were trying out. It was also quite short and I have not been able to find it in a form other than Kindle.

It was a collaboration. One author wrote the first chapter. The other wrote the second. Then they put their minds together for the third. It was really interesting. From what I have read online, these are pretty twisted authors. I thought it was good. But I am not really bothered by gore in books. If you don't like it, I would stay away from it.

Now, Kindle is a reading device you can get. It's a thin book-sized tablet. You download books and then read them on the Kindle. This is great for people that travel a lot because you can bring lots of books on just one device. Some people don't like reading that way, but I think it's so cool! I will probably put it on my Christmas list this year. How can I read these then? My iPhone has a Kindle application so I can use the same books on my phone. I think it works pretty well. But I still think a Kindle would be cool to have!

I just finished this the other night. It was the third book in the Shopaholic series. It was yet again another cute book. The story wasn't hard to follow and it was a quick read. I find it amusing that the main caharacter always seems to get herself into such predicaments. I think she has some avoidance issues! But overall, it was really creative and the endings are always happy. All issues are resolved. Which isn't all that realistic, but it's what makes it a fun book to read! On to book number 4 for me! We'll see how quickly I read this one and how long before you see another book post!

This is the second book in the “Shopaholic” series. They are really cute books. There's always something dramatic that happens to the main character that then gets resolved by the end of the book. It astounds me that one person can get themselves into so much trouble! Then again, it is just a story, so the realistic factor isn't really there. But still…oofda!

The author did a nice job of making the story understandable even if you haven't read the first book. There wasn't a lot of things that were pulled from the first book that couldn't be explained in a sentence or paragraph. I think that is nice if you happen to come across it in the store and want to read it unknowing it's part of a series. But if you are reading the series, she also doesn't bore you with too many details from the previous book. So, well done Sophie Kinsella!