My sister recently gave this book to Josie as an early Christmas present and let me tell you Josie LOVES IT!!! She wants it read to her three times each time before bed. If I try to sneak by with only reading it once or twice, Josie begins crying and tries to open it again. I kid you NOT!!! I am sure I would be stuck reading it all day but luckily Josie hasn't found the "secret hiding place". It is amazing how well she listens to the story. She does have other versions of this story. However, I think the reason she likes this version so much is because of the beautiful illustrations. The colors are so bright and each page has so much detail. I would recommend this illustrated version to anyone. It's worth the hardback price. Thanks Auntie Adri!!!!
is about a boy growing up during the early 70s. It's a journey we've all been through. For example: high school drama, horrible-want-to-poke-your-eyes-out-with-a-hot-iron-teachers, girlfriends/boyfriends, prom, embarrassed by your parents and how they acted in front of your friends...you get the picture. The boy in this book, Daniel, really kinda stole my heart. He tries to do everything so right and bad luck just seems to follow him around like a long lost puppy. Soon after moving to "loser-town" he meets up with Tim, his soon to be best friend. And, the storyline spirals from here. If you don't laugh out loud during the preperations for prom, the twin not-so-hot-dates, and the car ride to the prom...you may need to check your pulse. This book had me laughing from the beginning...but it had me crying at the end. It covers some very deep issues towards the end of the book and makes one really feel for Daniel and his friends/family. It is a beautiful book and I loved MOST of the characters in here. I look forward to reading many more books by Mark Childress. This book was so good I'd pay full price!
on my regular trips to Target and Walmart. I've recently decided to read as many Pulitzer Prize winning books as I can stomach. Because, let's be honest...not all of them are worth writing home about. I figured this would challenge me to break out of my normal reading genres. So, I trekked to my local library and checked out "The Road". Most people were drawn to this book because it's an Oprah book club book. I, on the other hand, usually run the other way from her picks. Oprah and I have VERY different taste in literature. To put it nicely, I think most of her picks are crap. But anyhoo, back to "The Road", it's very different from anything I would ever read. Some of the scenes in the book definitely showed up in my dreams because I couldn't help but think "what if". The dialogue was choppy and I hated that the book just seemed to end so abruptly. I did feel for the dad in his daily struggles to feed and protect his son. Overall I would have to say that I'm glad I rented this book instead of spending my (I mean Jeremy's) hard earned $. I would recommend this book as long as you don't have to spend $ on it either.
I never felt like I really connected with the characters. I was hoping 'God' would be an actual character, too, but 'she' was more of a mystery thru-out the book. Not only that, I never really understood the purpose for Faith's stigmata. I kept hoping Picoult would tie it all together in the end, but instead I was left going huh? I even read the last page twice trying to figure out the meaning.
is the third book by Jen Lancaster and it was just as good as the first two. I just love her humor, sassy attitude, sarcastic humor, and the way she is brutally honest. This is how I feel about Jen's books in a nutshell:
was a bit predictable but I would definitely recommend it to someone who is looking for a bit of mindless reading.
by Richard Russo. This isn't a book I would normally pick up and read. However, it was a selection brought to book club. So while shopping at my second favorite bookstore (my first being Barnes and Noble)-I spotted it for a whopping $1.50. I figured, why not, if I hate it...it only cost me one large, easy ice, diet cranberry limeade from Sonic. I can handle that. Plus, it's a Pulitzer Prize Award Winner (2002) and an HBO series; therefore, it must be worth something. 
Really light, fun, easy read. I love books that make me laugh. When I finished this book I actually missed the characters. I wanted to read more and see what was going to happen next in each of their lives.
is filled with sarcasm and witty humor. It was an easy comfortable read and look I forward to reading her other two memoirs. I've already bought them but I'm in the middle of reading other novels right now. So, I will let you know when I get to them.
is the second book written by Beth and I have to say I enjoyed this one just as much as her first. It was just as funny and a good recommendation for those who enjoy a bit of chick-lit every now and then.
because it was a simple read. It was a book I could put down and easily come back to and not feel like I was lost. The characters in this book were witty and very funny at times. I do feel the book could have been a little bit shorter.
and read the jacket...it didn't really seem like something I would enjoy reading. I have read the Twilight series and I am a HUGE fan!!! But back to this book, The Host. It took a good while to really get into this book. I would say after the first 100 pgs. did it finally become somewhat interesting. I definitely think that it could have been sized down about 200 pgs. But, I wasn't her editor. I probably will never reread this book. Am I glad I read it? Yes. I will say that if this were the first Stephenie Meyer book I'd ever read, I would have never read the Twilight series.
