READING LIST -- "To Celebrate the Season"

1.  A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
2.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3.  Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd
4.  Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
5.  An Idiot Girl's Christmas: True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List by Lauri Notaro
6.  Miracle on the 17th Green by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge
7.  The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey by Roger Highfield.
8.  Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
9.  The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore.

Has anyone read any of these?  If so, please review.

1001 Books for Every Mood

I picked this up at the library and have had some fun reading it.  I'll post a few of the book lists here - for fun.  It is an interesting way to create a reading list (by mood), and I was impressed that there is an eclectic selection of books listed.  So there is a little something for everyone, not necessarily pigeon-holed to one style.

Celebutantes -- (really?)

This book was something that any of us (talent or no talent) could write if we had the background smut.  No literary awards here - for sure.  Still -- I didn't stop reading because I was captured by my weakness to gauk at the shallow personalilties & weirdness of the Hollywood-types.  This is fiction, yes -- but one wonders if there is much truth written within those lines....
Don't bother unless you are trapped without anything to do or read -- or unless you are a lurker, like me.

A work of art, in both a good and bad way.

I read this one a while back, but I'm about to read another one of his so it reminded me to post it.

Boy, it's hard to describe because it transcends so many genres; science fiction, politics, social science, Native American, etc. It's about a self described "time traveling mass murderer", however not in a fun Terminator II way, more in like a thoughtful profound way. Eh, it's just too hard to describe.

While it was a great book and the writing was stellar, I'm not sure I can recommend it to people. It was so crushingly heartbreaking for me that I literally sobbed openly during it and almost didn't finish. You know how there are some things you wish you could unsee or unknow? This is one I wish I could unread because it hurt me so much. However, it's a testament to the writing that it was able to affect me that profoundly, which is what a work of art is meant to do.

I'll leave it up to you.

The Sugar Queen

A bit predictable, but overall a lighthearted, magical, feel good book. It was an easy and quick read and I am definitely a fan! SAA also has a book called Garden Spells that is supposed to be even better and one called The Girl Who Chased the Moon, which I haven't heard much about. However I would give them both a try!!! :)

Summer at Willow Lake -- Susan Wiggs

Yep, I got involved with another romance "series" - this one is called the The Lakeshore Chronicles, Book 1. Summer at Willow Lake. Go to sleep boys -- this one is for the girls. I tend to read more than one book at a time, and this one was read in snippets here and there, because let's face it -- it doesn't take much brain power to digest romance novels. This one is a very sweet story. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Associate -- Grisham

Did I mention that i was longing for a suspense? This one fed some of that craving, but it wasn't his best effort and left a lot of things hanging.

Grisham's formula seems to be writing about a scenario involving "real-life" events (however incredulous), and although the plot set-up is "nearly" unbelievable -- it doesn't stray away from possibility so far as to become totally implausible, however far-fetched it may be.

I'll admit that I like this easy and entertaining style, and although most of the books are basically the same -- I get involved enough to blow away a little stress.