The List: Books

A little time has passed since my last entry and I feel a bit upset that I have not blogged lately. The last posts were so focused on inner discoveries & self worth that they have really plagued my attitude & mind. Making my TOP 25 list was probably one of my favorite things that I have done in quite a while. Obviously the most recent posts are evidence that I am at least attempting to really follow it & see results. The book area is actually progressing nicely as well. I thought that I might post my reading updates & book reviews through out the summer, who knows maybe one I read might encourage one of you to comment on it if you have read it or inspire you to pick it up yourself.

Books Read the Week of 6-4-2007:

1. Reflections & Dreams by Nora Roberts - Dramatic Romance - (This is actually two books in one.) Oh my gosh. Great romance. Nothing cheesy or two icky, these focused on two couples whose lives intertwine and definitely it focuses on that concept we all occasionally fall into: seeing what is right in front of you. The first is about a prima ballerina who has to give up the dancer's life of stage & fame due to an accident that finds her father dead & her mother crippled. She moves back home to help her mother & opens a studio of her own to teach young girls ballet. There is a huge house on the hill above the ocean that has always fascinated her & it just so happens that a young man Seth & his young niece Ruth (who's parents have past away recently) move into it. The niece is becoming an amazing ballerina herself who has idolized the main character (Lindsey) since the first thought of dance. She is withdrawn & shy due to her recent loss, and her uncle obviously loves her a great deal due to he moved her there so she could study under Lindsay, but he is a mystery at that. He falls quickly for Lindsay, but she is so hesitant. It is a wonderful story of believing in what you are made of, the choices/paths we choose, and letting go. (2) The second part of the novel is based on Ruth & the fact that she has progressed to prima ballerina after Lindsays tutilege and now resides in New York. Her story is more about what is in front of you, taking hold of the moment, but also realizing who is there to stand with you & understand that moment. The love story is quite funny & interesting as you see her realize her love for a teacher who once was the main dance partner of Lindsay. He loved her from the moment he first saw her dance but was too stubborn to acknowledge that it was love. Good book.
2. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - Young Adult Fantasy -this book was interesting. It is supposedly being made into a movie for 2008. It is about a young girl & her father, a 'book doctor' who repairs old or worn books. They travel a great deal, never staying in one place for too long. They both LOVE to read, books are their sanctuary. I totally understood that concept. But one day a stranger comes to call upon their door, a fire-eater named Dustfinger, who calls her father not by his name (Mortimer) but Silvertongue. Then the book becomes an odd twist, a seriously fantastical voyage. Where the daughter discovers a gift her father has: if he reads aloud from a book his words paint the most beautiful pictures in his listeners mind, only they aren't just painted, characters, items from the books he reads appear, now lost in this world & sometimes people, things from ours disappear into the books. Yes, he read a terrible villain out of book in the past & his past is about to catch up with him. I seriously reccommend this book. It starts a bit slow, but then you just get wrapped up in the journey you cannot put it down. It also has some of the best literary quotes at each chapter, each significant to what the chapter will hold. Impressive. This is a trilogy, so I will let you know how the other two pan out when I read them.
3. Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie - Humorous Romance -this is a riot! Jennifer Crusie does the best female main characters ever! This book is no exception. Her main character has had it with the males she normally sees. She has actually been engaged 3 times & called them all off. She is a career woman and seems to think she has no time for real romance. She wants a suit, stable, regular, boring male of the 90's. Her best friend convinces her to take a vacation, go hang out at a resort, meet some men, find the one and bring him back home. Needless to say she kisses a lot of frogs, and actually injures quite a few of them. But there is one, that she has deemed only a friend due to the misconception of who he is & what he does, needless to say there are a few surprises and wonderful self discovery on this roller coaster ride!

Well those are my books from last week. I start a new one today: Murder 101. Sounds pretty good, almost like an old Agatha Christie!

As for an update on some of the other TOP 25s, I am definitely becoming a 'worse magazine junkie'!! Just found that I LOVE British Glamour, so risque & is sized down to about 7 x 9 in paper size and thick. Perfect for a tote or small summer bag so it can go everywhere! I also have found Cook's Country to be a great cooking newsletter. Very descriptive & up to date.