"Hello Everybodee!"

While walking through the grocery store on Sunday, a rack of books caught my eye. This wasn't just any rack of books, but rather a childhood memory situated next to an end-cap of store brand mouthwash: a display of Little Golden Books. I hadn't seen a rack of Little Golden Books in years, and had in fact figured them to be extinct.

And there, sitting beside "The Poky Little Puppy" was my most favorite Little Golden Book ever - "The Monster at the End of this Book", 'starring lovable, furry old Grover'. Grover's drawn form smiled at me from the front cover waving hello. I admit, I clapped and gawked in my moment of excitement. This in turn caught Steve's attention, and he picked up the book, examined the price, and added it to our basket.

Tonight I picked up my childhood and read it aloud. The cover of the book made of the same cardboard I remembered, the binding appropriately pulling up on one side, and the same cast of characters telling me that I was reading one of a series of the most loved children's books for over 60 years. The only change to the cover of this book was the addition of "Visit us online at www.goldenbooks.com" in the lower right hand corner; oddly enough, advertising a web page was not prevalent in the 1980's.

As I read the pages of the story, I was flushed with memories of sitting on the floor in our apartment as a kid. I was suddenly curled up with my 5-year old brother in bed, myself only 8 years old, reading to him and remembering to add Grover's frustration and fear with every word. I was reading to my sisters when I was 12 and they 5 and 2, doing the same thing. Even at almost 28, this is still one of my favorite books of all time. I got giddy when I "knocked over" the brick wall, making a "terrible mess", as Grover sheepishly asks me: "Do you know that you are very strong?"

It's funny how much happiness is contained in these few pages of grocery-store children's reading. For the few moments of reading, I gain a few more afterwards of nostalgic relaxation.

Bookworm

I saw this meme on Kat's blog, and I thought it was pretty interesting. Because I'm not completely done with the Tuesday Tackle I was working on yesterday (should finish tonight), I thought this would be a good idea for today's post. It's all about BOOKS!

1. One book that changed your life.
The Bible. Ever since I rediscovered Christ about a year and a half ago I've been working to try to realign my life based on how He wants us to live. I don't succeed at every turn for sure, but there's a concerted effort there that wasn't before. I also love the hope and good news that the Bible gives us.

2. One book that you have read more than once.
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery. I love that "Anne girl"! She's so fiesty, has a great imagination, and doesn't let anything hold her down.

3. One book you would want on a desert island.
A very thick notebook (and a pen) so I can write down observations and things I've learned. Also so I can come up with some sort of contraption to throw notes out to sea without them getting wet/ruined so someone can rescue me.

4. Two books that made you laugh.
Love and Marriage and Kids Say the Darndest Things, both by Bill Cosby. I don't know why that man makes me laugh so much, but he does.

5. One book that made you cry.
Can You Feel My Tears? by Lauri Merrow. It's the book my mom wrote about my stepfather's aneurysm that he had when I was 11. When I read it after she published it (mostly to make sure they didn't print any glaring errors for her, very small publisher) it was very hard to relive the experience, and read more about the things he went through. I was so young I didn't realize a lot of what went on.

6. One book you wish you’d written.
None. There's reasons people write books, and I sell airplane parts. I'd like to leave it to the experts.

7. One book you wish had never been written.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Hands down the most boring book I have ever been forced to read. I have never read another Dickens book since, even though I've heard there are some awesome ones out there.

8. Two books you are currently reading.
I'm currently reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and it's awesome so far. I've learned if I try to read 2 books at once I lose track of one or the other, so I'm only reading one.

9. Two books you’ve been meaning to read.
Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers and The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. There are actually a lot more than that, but it said to only pick two.

There you go! What are your thoughts on books you're reading?

"Eat, Pray, Love"

I just finished the book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's a book about her spiritual journey and self-discovery as she searched for balance in her life after a miserable few years and a messy divorce. I found it to be a very inspiring book and have started to reflect on myself in certain areas of my life (well, except the whole wanting a divorce thing... yeah, I don't want a divorce) and so far it's been very good.

Anyway... this morning as I typed up my review about it on my Good Reads page (in fact, go there to read it!), it occurred to me that I never "officially" announced that my book reviews are all there now. I had started to do it on this blog, but then Mags sent me an invitation to join Good Reads. I checked it out, and absolutely loved that you can catalog the books you've read. I love that you can review them and let other people know what you thought of them. You can network with your friends and share reviews and booklists and you can exchange what books you have that others may want to read. My favorite part is that it has "bookshelves" where you can list what categories (which you create) your books fall into, and they have a built-in "to-read" shelf.

The to-read shelf lends for some accountability that I tend to need when it comes to reading. I often will buy new books without putting a dent in the books I already have (which reminds me - September 21-22 the Nevins Library in Methuen is having a book sale...) and will stare at a shelf for hours trying to figure out what to read. With the to-read list, I can just check off the books I want to read as I read them and then add new books once the list is depleted. I heart it. This is a great website for me because I've always tended to be a bookworm and have enjoyed discussing books I've read with others.

Anyhow - now that I've given Good Reads a free plug, I'll go back to work. I'll be sure to let you all know when I post a new review over there so that you can read it if you're interested (since I know a lot of you are also Good Reads members).

Also... Kristin turned me on to Pandora Radio at her afternoon tea on Sunday and I've been listening to it this morning. I'm a fan so far. I'm sure in a few more days I'll have a better feel, but so far I think it's purty cool.
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Current Music: Michelle Branch, "Breathe"

Triple Time Book Report

So between the time I left for Jamaica and the time I got back, I finished/read three books. Here are the Danielle Book Reports for all three of them. I promise I'll try to keep it to a snippet synopsis and a grade.

Bill Cosby: Love and Marriage
There's something about Bill Cosby's perspective on life and how he can capture it into words that has always caught my attention. Be it his stand-up comedy or his books, I've never run into a Cosby "thing" that I didn't like. This book was no exception. In this book he travels through his journey with all the other fish in the sea up until he meets the woman he marries, Camille. From that point on, Cosby is able to capture the quirks of marriage that I can only imagine every couple runs into and puts his comedic spin on it. It's a quick read, is entertaining, and also gives you an idea of where the basis for the Cliff/Claire relationship came from on the famed "Cosby Show". A great book for any couple who is either married or in a serious relationship (and if anyone wants to read it let me know, I'll start sending my copy around).
Grade: A

Madeline Wickham: The Gatecrasher
My good friend Kiki has never led me astray when recommending a book, and this was no exception. While I have to admit that when I first started reading this book I wasn't too turned on to the idea of a woman preying on innocent widowers and stealing their money, there was something about the main male character of the book that she got involved with that kept me interested. Wickham does a great job with her character development and with this story understanding the characters and their backgrounds is so key to the plot. I can't give this book an "A" because like I said - I wasn't too keen on the initial premise of the book, but the ending was mildly heartwarming. Kiki almost never wants books back and I've been given the OK to pass this one around, so if anyone wants to read it next let me know. It's a good "beach read" or if you're looking for something decent you don't have to think much about.
Grade: B+

Sidney Sheldon: Master of the Game
While in Jamaica, I finished "The Gatecrasher" and with Steve still reading Clancy's Rainbow Six, I knew I needed to find something to read or I would go crazy. I went to the resort lending library and among the many books in foreign languages found this as one of three books in English. While it was not one that I would have picked out for myself on a Barnes and Noble or Borders trip, it was not a bad book. Some parts of it are a bit far-fetched (like... crawling on all fours across a minefield to escape a pack of crazed dogs in a massive fog storm?) but overall the book wasn't bad. The basic premise is that this guy leaves his home in Scotland to go hunting for diamonds in South Africa, ends up in a world of trouble, and defys death to beat his nemesis and build a giant conglomerate. His... either daughter or granddaughter Kate becomes a business-obsessed woman whose main goal in life is to make sure that there is an heir to take over the family business before she dies. I would deem this one another beach read, but there's a bit of thinking involved to follow the plot at times and you have to look past the parts that aren't all that realistic though. However, if you can let that go and just look at the book as it is - it really isn't a bad story.
Grade: B-
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Current Music: The Knack, "My Sharona"

Book Review - "Don't Even Think About It"

In my quest to keep stress at a minimal, I took to reading a couple of fluff books. The first was Tietam Brown by Mick Foley. I didn't review that here because well - it just was not worth it. The story was just too strange and even trying to explain it to Steve I could not verbally explain how strange it was. Needless to say - I suppose it was entertaining enough, but it was pretty vulgar and I don't quite know that I would run to recommend it to someone.

After that reading debacle, I went to my bookshelf and perused. I decided to go the girly-fluffy-chick-read route and grabbed a book I had gotten on clearance at Borders a while back called Don't Even Think About It.

While it was not the best book I've ever read, it certainly was not terrible. It reminded me of Friends almost, but British and a bit more racy. There were two or three graphic parts, but if you can get past that (and the handful of swears that there are) it's not a terrible book. I would recommend it to someone who is looking for an easy read that they don't have to think about. However, if soap opera drama hurts your face - this book may not be for you.

There are three main characters - Jude, Sally, and Michael - and the book goes in and out of their point of view while speaking from the third person. They are three best friends who live either across the hall or across the street from each other in a working-class neighborhood in London. It basically revolves around how the three of them handle their romantic lives and gets into what they think of each situation in their minds. There's also quite a bit of focus on the girl-bonding part of the book with Jude and Sally which is central to the story. I'm not going to get into the storyline too much here because it's all intertwined and will give too much away.

The story itself is a good read. The flow is very similar to the flow of a "Friends" episode; the banter between the characters is very much like that (at least I felt). It's a good book if you're looking for something easy to read. I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that if you're looking for a feel-good novel - this might not be the best route for you to take.

Danielle's Grade: C+ (Basically Average)
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Current Music: Eddie Money, "Take Me Home Tonight"

Book Report

Currently Reading:


What I think:
So far, this book has been extremely interesting. If anyone is interested in World War II, I highly recommend this book. But, if graphic descriptions of the physical and mental aspects of being in a tough warzone against a near invisible enemy aren't your thing... avoid this book.

I do think it's a very interesting book though. It's written by the son of one of the 6 men who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. He went on a quest to learn as much as he could about his father and the battle that took place on that island, and the book is the result of that quest. I don't want to give away too much, but I will say that I find it extremely riveting and hard to pull away from at times. I can pull away easily during the battle scenese, but when the author starts to really examine the hearts and souls of these men and what they were going through it really makes it hard to put the book down.

I hope to finish this book in the next week or so... and I can't wait to finish and see what the men went through when they finally raised that flag and how those who made it home felt upon hitting the soil again.
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Current Music: Bob Seger - "Turn the Page"