Boom Goes The Dynamite

As luck would have it, I did get the mailing finished. Before lunch even! The book is starting to take some interesting twists. Helen has befriended Sophie- under the pseudonym of Eleanor. So Helen is making up all these lies about what she (Eleanor) does for a living ect. So she says she does P.R. ... freelance of course. After all, it is what she got her degree in.

Sophie explains she's got a friend who is opening a new restaurant and could use some P.R. help. She hands Helen (Eleanor) his card and says he will call her soon.

Perfect timing! Helen just gave her notice at Global, since word got out about her and one of the directors (Matthew). This job with Sonny should give her the experience she needs to go out and get an actual P.R. job! Just one problem, "Eleanor" will be getting all the experience. Helen decides to take the job anyway and figure the rest out later.

Meanwhile, Helen & Sonny discuss the restaurants opening over dinner. Sparks fly, flirting happens, and a kiss takes place.

A few days later, Helen decides to call Sonny, strictly business of course. She pulls his card out of her purse, only to see Sonny's real name staring up at her. Leo Shallcross. Matthew's son.

AAAAAaaaaaannnnnnndddd Boom goes the dynamite. There's your twist.

If I may just add some of my own thoughts here.... well it's my blog, so ya I will. At dinner "sonny" asks "Eleanor" if she has a pseudonym. Out of the blue. I mean maybe I missed something.... but what are the odds. And of course she doesn't fess up. But have you ever been on a date and someone asks you out of nowhere if, by the way, do you have a fake name?? WTF. Odd. It hasn't been addressed again, and that was several chapters ago, so nothing's come of it so far but that leads me to more questions. Sophie and Sonny both have Helen's real cell number. I sure hope her answer message doesn't say, "hey, you've reached Helen's phone"......

Stay tuned!

I'm a slacker... not really.

Sorry, I know it's been several days but I got swamped with multiple mailings at work. I have been reading the book a little bit when I can. The story is interesting but, I just feel a little awkward reading it sometimes. Helen starts stalking Sophie...... yeeeaaaa.... so after she got the guy, she is hellbent on going over every small detail of his old life. Not that she even wants to be with Matthew now or anything. She's just.... ya know.... super curious.... I guess???? Kinda odd.

But if you can get over that, it's a good story. Entertaining and whatnot.

So like I say, I am super busy at work. When I left today I only had one more mailing to do. Hopefully (cross your fingers) I will be able to finish it tomorrow and I won't get anymore this week. I also start classes on Thursday. So I hate to say it, but I think my reading pace has officially slowed. Boo. Sorry. But I am still working on the order of the reading list, and putting a place on here where you can suggest books. I am thinking about adding Dear John, ya know, the one they made a movie out of. Someone on FB just read it and now I am interested. We will see....

Stay tuned!!

Goodbye Old Friend

Right now I am reading about 2-3 books a week, give or take. I realize this will be hard to keep up with, should I one day have regular followers. Well have no fear! School starts next week and I am enrolled in a History class. As we all know that will involve a lot of reading, so that will slow my recreational reading to a normal level.

I am also considering implementing some kind of order in which I read these books. Again, to make it easier for any would-be followers. The trick to this is that like I've said, I usually get my books from my local used book stores. It's always a bit of a hit and miss there, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?? I'm sure I will be able to figure something out. If I do, I will update the reading list in the order that I will go. Also I thought about maybe adding a place where people can send in book's they'd like me to read?? Keep an eye out for changes to come.

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I wish I had brought my hot chocolate mix into work today. Might have been nice to have that instead of coffee, since I will be finishing TCLC today. Maybe I can go over lunch and snap some up....

Today I am starting Getting Rid Of Matthew by Jane Fallon. Helen has been with Matthew for years, despite the fact that he's married to Sophie. As the big 4-0 creeps ever closer for Helen, she decides she's had enough. It's time she dumps him. That's when Matthew shows up on her doorstep, telling her he left his wife for her. But as he starts to move in, it becomes blindingly apparent to Helen that this won't work. If only she can get Sophie to take him back.....

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Okay,so I am only on chapter 5 but I MUST say; it's a little hard to follow at first. Jane also tells this story from multiple perspectives, but her writing style is difficult to keep up with. In most books, the perspectives usually changes each chapter, and our brains are all lined up for the switch in gears. Jane simply uses a new paragraph, so I found myself having to re-read things a time or two before I figured out what was going on. It's not enough for me to want to stop reading it (yet), But it's a bit distracting. I think I am getting a better handle on her writing style as the book goes on. And I will cut her some slack since this is her debut novel.

Love, Thy Name Is Chocolate

I seriously love this book! I was laughing a lot harder than one should at their desk while I was reading about Lucy's whitewater rafting experience! Classic! This is the kind of thing that would happen to me if I ever dare brave such a sport!

This is my ideal read. There are hilarious things that are pretty outrageous, and yet Carole doesn't go too far overboard into the unbelievable. Now I have never been whitewater rafting, so I can't say for sure, but I would bet my last dollar that people have fallen out of the raft before. I doubt very much that it's the boss they have a crush on that pulls them to safety, or that they bare their arse to co-workers while being saved.... but that's not to say it's not possible.

The best part is, Carole adds a great dialogue to go with the antics. The story is so well written, it makes it easy to get lost in it.

All these women are very believable as well, and they have problems that I think a lot of people can relate to.

Lucy, in her 30's, is still trying to figure life out. She has a job as a temp, despite having her degree, and is still trying to figure out what she wants to do. She is also kinda clueless when it comes to men, but it doesn't make her desperate. HALLELUJAH!!! I think most women can relate to falling for a guy who is just a bunch of trouble, and knowing it, but still having a hard time letting go.

Autumn has a huge heart and is willing to go out of her way to help anyone..... to a fault. Her glass half full view on life leads her to turn a blind eye to peoples bad side, which gets her in a bit of trouble.

Chantal is stuck in a marriage with absolutely no intimacy, not for lack of trying on her part. Her husband refuses to address the issue, and with communication failing, she starts to look for a physical connection elsewhere. Though it's not the main focus of her story, she does have a hard time facing the fact that she is cheating on her husband. She still loves him, but a big part of her is afraid what he might say if he is really honest about why he is being to distant. As my mom once told me, "you can't unscrew that pooch."

That brings us to Nadia. A stay at home mother, and wife of a plumber. On the surface their life looks humble and happy. But as her husband's gambling addiction gets worse, how long will she be able to keep it all together?

Who doesn't know at least one person with similar problems??

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It's fate, ya'll!! The powers that be like this book too!

I was getting all my things together, about to leave for lunch today, when goodies from my favorite little bakery get delivered!! Free! For the whole office! And since I am the receptionist, I had first choice. MMMMMMMMM...... Delish!!

Can't think of a better way to celebrate actually getting online and going for it! Welcome all! Cheers!

Turning The Page

FINALLY!! I've finished Best Friends Forever! Yay! The ending was the best part. I mean that both literally and facetiously. Jennifer waited until the end to have any kind of bright side. Though I think the ending was weird, guess it fits in with the rest of the book. Anyway, glad THAT'S over! If anyone read this book and liked it.... what am I missing??

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*side story*

I hated the Twilight series, really hated them. (I know, commence boos & hissing) I read all the books hoping they would get better. I really like the vampire aspect but the 'love story' part ruined it for me. I kept complaining to a friend that all Bella did was cry and whine. As a joke, she got me a bottle of red wine and made a new label. She called it Bella's tears, "since all she did was cry and whine".

If Addie was a real person, I would definitely buy her a bottle of Bella's tears.


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Anyhow, onto a book I know I like! Go pick up a box of your favorite chocolates and have a good laugh with me while we read Chocolate Lovers' Club!

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I just have to throw this out there, for all of you (like me) who keep a journal of new words to look up as you read. This is a great book for that. I am on the first page of chapter 3 and already have four words.

I also love British lit because, lets be honest.... they are so darn cute! They say things like "knickers" and refer to a one night stand as a "rumpy-pumpy".

It's always a bummer when you reread a book you really liked the first time, but the second time around it seems to have lost it's charm. That is definitely not the case here. In fact I have looked up Carole Matthew's other books and added them to my reading list.

Take note all you chick lit authors! This is how you write a great book from multiple viewpoints!

Are We There Yet???

I am back at the office today and back to reading Best Friends Forever. I am trying to finish this book today so I don't have to read the dang thing anymore. The problem is that it jumps around too much for my taste. I feel like it takes forever to get the story moving along. Jumping between viewpoints and time periods interrupts the books fluidity.

To add to this book's misery, there isn't a single character I like very much. I feel like the only time Jennifer spends developing a character, she points out how messed up they all are. Take Addie for example; She will never ever, never no matter what, be enough. Never skinny enough, never pretty enough, never funny enough. There is so much self loathing going on with this woman, she decides that having shitty people in her life is better than no people. Someone get her a puppy.

What Addie lacks in self confidence, Val more than makes up for. She is so self absorbed it's distracting. She's the type that thinks life owes her something. Barf.

This brings up to Jordan, the Cop. Or as I like to call him, Creeper. He more than lives up to the stereotypical single man. He's the I-feel-so-sorry-for-myself-because-my-marriage-failed slob that wants to have sex with any breathing female. But hey, that's criteria even Addie lives up to; if Jordan can stop whacking off to the hostess of a popular toddler show long enough to notice. Ya! Yuck right!?!?

Baby Steps

Baby steps. That's my new mantra.

For the past few days, I have been considering starting a blog about all the books I read. I love to get lost in a good book. I buy them at a used bookstore, (so I don't go broke),then recommend it to a friend. One of my favorite things is to find a good book someone else has already loved. To see where they dog eared it, or the coffee stains. It makes me feel like we are connected by something.

The down side is reading a book then seeing it after a period of time in a book store, and feeling like I can't quite remember it. That's the part that makes me sad, feeling like I have lost that connection.

I work the front desk at my office, and there can be quite a lot of downtime. This is where I get a lot of my reading done. For Christmas, one of the departments generously gave me a gift card to my favorite used book store. Right away I started making a list of all the book I wanted to read. As the list grew longer, I wondered how I would remember them all. Then I started thinking about how I'd like to re-read some of my old favorites.

That's when it hit me.

A book blog.

As always, that pesky little thing known as "doubt" set in. I thought, "I've never even read a blog! I don't know if I am supposed to 'talk' to myself or an audience. How do I set a blog up? Who would even read it? Am I too busy for to keep one up?"
Today I realized what that little voice was. Fear and Doubt. I will be damned if I let fear and doubt live my life for me.

But for now, it's baby steps while I work toward my goal. I am currently writing in a journal. I realize that by the time anyone reads this, it will be on the internet. Don't be confused. I am starting this blog in my journal to get a foundation going. Something to build on when I take the big leap to actually put my thoughts out there. I plan to copy these journal entries word for word. In the meantime, I still get to work toward my goals, while gathering information and building a foundation.

I read mostly Chick-Lit, because I like a good laugh. I generally don't like books that are too heavy. That being said, I will try almost anything that someone recommends.

I am currently reading Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. It's about two women Val and Addie, who grew up best friends. They have a falling out in high school. Years later, Val shows up at Addie's doorstep saying she's in a lot of trouble, and only Addie can help her.

This is definitely not one of my favorite books, I will be honest. The book jumps from Val's viewpoint, to Addie's and also from present to past. Both the girl's had hard, sad childhoods. So you go from the fun, interesting story of the present, to flash backs of the sad things, seen through the innocence of a child. I am about halfway through and not really loving this one. We will see how it goes.

Anyhow, I left that book at the office thinking I would be way too busy this weekend to get anywhere with it. Yet here I am with some downtime, so I figure I'll just start on another book in the meantime.

This one is called The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews. I have read this one before, in fact it's one of my favorites. I recommended this one to a book club. What better excuse to re-read a great book!? This book is about four women, Chantal, Lucy, Nadia, and Autumn. Their love of chocolate brings them together and creates a tight bond between them.