My summer of reading….

I love reading, but I must admit, it seems to be a summer thing for me, and maybe you as well. I know that summer tv really sucks, so there needs to be something to do at night…so reading it is.

Before I start sharing my summer 2011 book review, I should take a step back and share a few things.

I don’t really like hard cover books. I usually wait for the book to be available in softcover and then I buy it. I usually take books on vacay with me, and hardcover books are not great travelling companions. Also, I have to admit, the price of hardcover….

I am also possesive with my books. I barely break the spine in my books, and on the odd occasion I lend a book out I have to ask the person, “are books your friend?” It sounds crazy, and maybe it is…but it is my craziness. I also don’t like when my books are not returned. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I wish it didn’t.

Okay…back to books. My summer of reading started in May when I went to California. I had been waiting very patiently for the soft cover of Emily Giffin’s book The Heart of the Matter to come out. I bought it for the trip. This is Emily’s fifth book, and the first one “Something Borrowed” was a movie that came out right around the time I bought the book.

The cool thing is, that even though the books are different stories, she throws in a reference from a previous book. It is very subtle and if you were a first time reader of her books, of course you wouldn’t know. I almost wasn’t expecting the reference, so when it was woven into the story I liked it.

I finished that book before the flight home, so I needed something to read on the flight home. So, in the bookshop at the airport, there was another soft cover book from another chick lit author I enjoy, Jennifer Weiner.

This book is called Fly Away Home. It also has an interesting twist. While I was in LA, the whole Arnold and the housekeeper saga began and this book is about a Senator who has an affair with an intern. In her acknowledgements at then of the book she says that this book came out 10 years ago, “before Silda Spitzer, Elizabeth Edwards, Dina Matos McGreevey” which we could add Maria Shriver to that list as well.

This book is very well written and I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who enjoy Jennifer Weiner books.

Then I asked the question on facebook – what is everybody reading? The repsonses were amazing. I realized that I need to add some new authors and novels to my repetoire…..so…I embarked on a journey with “Sarah’s Key”.

It wasn’t a long journey because the book was so riveting, I finished it in less than one day. I started it on a Wednesday night and I stayed up until 1:45 am on Thursday night to finish it. I posted about it several times on facebook and so many others have read it as well, and also couldn’t put it down. A friend of mine admitted that she was late to come to my birthday party because she was reading it that day and couldn’t put it down.

If you haven’t read Sarah’s Key yet, go out and buy it, find someone to borrow it from and read it, you won’t be disappointed.

On Friday after I finished the book, I had to google more about the historical events in the book. It is a novel that is based on the real events of Vel D’Hiv.

I will continue my book reviews another time, it is time to log off and read before bed. I am currently reading A Secret Kept by the same author as Sarah’s Key – Tatiana De Rosnay.

to be continued…….

Purple Profile – you are a purple person if:

While trying to de-clutter the ‘messes’ in my life, I came across this magnet in one of the boxes of stuff…..most of it seems to hold true for me.

“You are imaginative, sensitive, artistic and sophisticated. You have noble ideals and a keen appreciation of the cultural.

You are alert, demanding, foresighted, confident, resourceful, spontaneous, and highly independant. You take delight in the beautiful, the gracious, the sensitive, but maintain an attitude of critical appraisal.

You are active in the support of things you believe in, and are concerned with the pursuit of truth and human values.

You take chances and believe that you must do so to make the most of what life has to offer.

Purple is an exclusive colour, mystical in quality, blending the two extremes of the spectrum, red and blue. Traditionally, purple represents splendor, dignity, royalty, rank and wealth.

Purple is a unique colour, and it is a truly unique individual who holds it dear.”

Today is your day

I have been watching “Why not, Shania Twain” on OWN and it has been very interesting watching her journey from her personal hell back to recording and now performing again.

This new song, which has been played on the local stations a lot lately, really spoke to me yesterday morning in the car on the way to work. So much so that I found myself crying while driving. Not out of sadness, but out of understanding about what the song means. What it meant to Shania personally and what we can take out of listening to it in our own lives.

Today is your day

You got what it takes you can win,

Today is your day to begin.
So don’t give up here, don’t you quit.
The moment is now, this is it
Because today is your day
And nothing can stand in your way
And today is your day
And everything’s goin’ your way

Oh today
Today
Today
Today

When somebody throws sticks and stones
All they can break are your bones
Cause life’s gonna kick around
And kick you again when your down
Because today is your day
And nothing can stand in your way
I said today is your day
And everything’s goin’ your way

Yeah today
Today
Today
Today


Just take one step at a time
Oh I promise that you will be fine
Today
Today
Today
Today


I say today