Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Cubicle Next Door



The Cubicle Next Door

Siri L. Mitchell

2006 Christy Award Nominee Author


I enjoyed this book except for the fact that I didn’t like Jackie. How can I like a book and dislike the main character? Well first the writing was good and the story was excellent. I just found Jackie annoying and I didn’t like her. It’s kind of like the co-worker that does a great job, is a team player ect, basically the perfect co-worker but you just can’t stand them personally .


Synopsis: Jackie is thirty year old self described geek. As the systems administrator at the Air Force Academy she is going through life perfectly fine until she is all of a sudden forced to share an office with the new instructor Joe. She begrudgingly divides her office into two cubicles and turns to the internet to vent. Everything is all good until her blog highlighted on the evening news and everyone including its subject Joe begins to read. Will Joe catch on that the blog is about him and will Jackie ever open her eyes to what’s right in front of her?


I mean how am I supposed to like a girl that doesn’t like football? At that point I almost put the book down for good (just kidding... kind of*). Plus all that damn environmentalism talk got on my last damn nerve. I’m all for saving, conserving recycling but I HATE when people push it down your throat. I think a lot has to do with this whole “Green is in” trend BS the media and Al Gore is feeding us. (My views can be summed up here). Also, Jackie was way to naïve for me. It was obvious that Joe was interested, but I detested the way she acted. Like when she was getting ready for the ball I wanted to shake her and say get over it. Do people really act that childish for no reason? So I didn't really like Jackie at all, she just annoyed me too much.


But here is where I believe good writing and a good story saved me. Both were so good, that I kept plunging back into the book (albeit more slowly than usual). In the end I enjoyed the story and have to give kudos to Ms. Mitchell for a creating a unique character, one you typically don’t find in chic-lit be it Christian or otherwise.


The topic and location were also interesting and different. The Air force Academy/Military- Civilian angle was cool (coming from an Army Brat). Of course there is the idea that most endeared me to the book- the blogging aspect and while it was a little underplayed for my taste and blogging expertise, I still enjoyed it. For instance the blog wasn’t really that interesting to me. Second I think that it is unbelievable to think that Jackie could start a blog and not get caught up in the blogshpehere ( especially checking stats). As a blogger for the last 3 years, the blogshpehere is addicting from reading other people’s blogs to updating your own ( sometimes obsessively) and Jackie did none of that. Part of me thinks Ms. Mitchell made it that way so those who are not as technologically savvy could still enjoy and understand the book.


So, if you are looking for an interesting, unique story from and interesting and unique point of view with a cute ending, than The Cubicle Next Door is for you.




*In my world, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference is the kingdom.

Southern girls know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The People Next Door



The People Next Door
Bettye Griffin


What would happen if you were building your dream house, which you saved and searched for on a beautiful lake front only to find out that your ex and their new spouse just bought the house next door? That’s the premise in Ms. Griffin’s The People Next Door. Lisa and her husband Darrell have just bough a beautiful new house in St. Augustine/Jacksonville, Florida when they learn that Lisa’s ex-husbands’ and his new wife and children Suzanne are living next door.


I enjoyed this book a lot. To me it was a kind of a case study that touched on so many issues- class, race, love, family. The book alternates between the main characters of Suzanne, Lisa and also Flo and neighbor of Suzanne and Lisa’s who tries to befriend both of them with ulterior motives. This book is not chock full of drama like I’m sure many people were looking for, Rather it a story that looks at the situation instead and Ms. Griffin did an excellent job at portraying real emotions, real jealousy and real life situations.


My thoughts:

  • My favorite characters were Flo & Ernie- the do-anything to keep up with the Jones, nose neighbors. I really enjoyed getting an inside perspective on that dynamic of a person. We all know someone like that and as annoying as they were they were my favorites. Perhaps because they were so authentic. In the end though I enjoyed all the characters.

  • Many Amazon reviews indicated that this book was boring and slow and I completely disagree with that. This book is not your EJD, Sleeping with some else’s wives book. If you are looking for a book chock-full of craziness, drama and outrageous scenarios, this isn’t it. Rather this is a book that explores a nightmare come true, but the reality as the families are forced to deal with the situation- and realistically. Ms. Griffin also takes a look at the backdrop of each character’s life and examines class issues, jealousy, and family as well as a many other topics.

  • The interaction between the characters was right on to me as were reactions and emotional descriptions. I think Ms. Griffin hit the nail on the head in character development.

  • Apparently it seems that chapter titles and numbers are out. This is one of 4 books I’ve read in the past few months that instead of boring numbers, they used quotes. I enjoyed the clever quotes for each chapter which gave you an idea of what was coming up- gossip, family, friends ect.

  • I found this an interesting book and in a way a case study on the issue in the book and I really enjoyed that aspect.

Overall- if you are looking for some crazy family drama- this is not the book for you. If you are interested in reading a good book- this one is it.

Friday, July 20, 2007







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I’m saddened that book club # 2 has folded. Or at least our chapter.

Book clubs are hard, especially if it is not a close group of friends or group that is already bound together (i.e. sorority, church). This group started in the commuter bus I take to and from work. One of the women was an avid reader and we got to talking and last summer she asked me would I be interested in joining a Christian Themed- book club. I agreed, enjoying the idea of a more relaxed bible study setting.

She became a facilitator for Glory Girls and in November we had our first bi-monthly meeting. Our first book was Diva’s of Damascus Road, which I enjoyed and we had a pretty good turnout – about 7-9 women and afterward we went out to dinner.

That was out highlight- January there were 3 people, March just 2 and May no one showed up. I was the facilitator and no one arrived. I’m sure there a plenty reasons- people say they will come and they don’t , traffic and distance in a city like Atlanta to name a few. Book clubs are hard.

I found this one even more difficult because we had no say in the books. Although I have sat through many prolonged, heated discussions and votes on next months books, I still enjoyed the process. In this book club, the books were chosen by (drum roll please)… Walk Worthy Press, the publisher that facilitates Glory Girls. It’s frustrating to not be able to suggest these books to or to have any hope they will ever be read and I have not enjoyed the selections. I could name so many books that would have been better selections.

That sucks, doesn’t it? Most of the books were theirs and in my opinion a lot of good books, especially independent publishers don’t get a chance. For instance we never read a Kendra Norman Bellamy book and she has got to be one of the top 3 in Christian Fiction.

I’m sad to no longer meet and fellowship with the facilitator (although she did mentioned finding another group to join), however I’d rather start our own book club

Nearlyweds


Nearlyweds
Beth Kendrick
***** (5/5)

So this was my second book by Beth Kendrick this summer. I read tried to read My Favorite Mistake, but I just couldn’t really get into it* this one however was a totally different story and I read it all in one evening.


Nearlyweds is about 3 women who have their dream wedding one weekend only to find out weeks later that the officiant died before signing the marriage certificates so they aren’t legally married. To make matters even more complicated, the honeymoon period is long over and the women are wondering if this legal loophole isn’t a blessing in disguise. One evil step-daughter an even eviler mother-in-law, a crazy dog an self-insecurity are just some of the themes that makes Nearlyweds one of my favorite books of the summer.


First, I enjoyed it because it was an extremely original idea and interesting. The characters were varied and not all the clichéd characters you usually read about in chic-lit. The story is extremely fast paced and I got so into the book that I finished it in one evening. I really couldn’t put it down without knowing what happened to the women and their men. There were ups and downs, I was excited, happy, angry and sad, and in the end I was satisfied. I spent the evening reading a great book, with a great ending.


Sometimes I did wonder in the women were acting a bit childish and running away from their problems instead of facing it, but I think ms. Kendrick did a good job with character development and their history to make us really see the women’s side of the story. But I would have really enjoyed discussing that at a book club meeting to get someone's else take on the situation(s).


If you like chic-lit you’ll definitely like this book; however, even if you don’t care for the genre too much (but still enjoy it from time to time) you’ll enjoy it as well, because in my opinion it came off as a little more than just chic-lit.


*I think I couldn’t get into My Favorite Mistake because I was also reading Flies on The Butter and they had similar storied- women who ran away and were now reluctantly returning home to face something and blah, blah, blah. I’m really tired of that story line at the current moment.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Rise and Shine


Rise and Shine

Anna Quindlen

I waited awhile to get this book for paperback swap and I have to say this book was definitely worth the wait.


Rise and Shine is the story of two sisters Megan, a married mother of one, Katie Couric-esuqe morning show host (popular, lovable) and Bridget a single, dedicated social worker. One day Meghan utters something on air that changes her life and those around her. That’s the book in a gist. Check out the amazon.com for a better written one. I had trouble writing one, without giving away too many plot lines and this book is better going in blind.


My thoughts on the book:


  • The prose and insight was wonderful. I loved the introspection on NYC, her observations about class & race in NYC and the beautiful descriptions of a Jamaican vacation.


  • I loved the interaction between the sisters- it felt real, and I enjoyed reading it from Bridget’s (the younger one) point of view. (I’m the older sister).


  • I loved the characters from Leo (Megan’s son) to Tequila (Bridget’s secretary) Irving ( the boyfriend) and Aunt Maureen. They were likeable and familiar. Even Leo who sometimes sounded almost too good to be true.



  • Toward the last third of the book the plot got away from me a little bit. While the events were not completely unfathomable or anything likes that- they way they were brought together made me almost roll my eyes. However who am I to say it can’t happen? Up until that part the books is relatively fast paced and insightful. After that, I felt a little dazed.

  • I like endings where unanswered questions are answered and this one does that. Not necessarily neatly and perfectly but answered. I hate books where I am left saying “WTF does that mean”?

Overall : 4 and something stars. I enjoyed the book itself, the characters and the plot (minus the 3-4 penultimate chapters. I actually kind of skimmed through them, read the last chapter, and then returned to the ones I skipped to see if I missed anything, which I didn’t. A good read and an excellent addition to any bookshelf. It’s a mixture of intelligent chic-lit and little city lit ( books about the upper middle, upper class in NYC) This was my first Quindlen book and I am looking forward to more. This is one of those books I wish I could/would read in a book club setting and discuss it.


* Side note: I disagreed with so many of the reviews on amazon.com that my original review sounded like a defense of the book. This type review flowed much easier.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Death Around The Corner


Death around the Corner

C-Murder

***** ( 5/5)


I am not a fan of street-lit, worse yet I am not a big fan of rappers trying to act, much less writing. When I heard that C-Murder wrote a book- fiction no less, I rolled my eyes, hard. Then I happened to read an excerpt from the book in one issue of Vibe magazine and gasp! - It actually sounded good. Well written, grammatically correct, interesting. I was shocked and but still put off actually purchasing the book for a while. I mean any excerpt could sound good and be grammatically correct. Plus I didn’t’ think I could handle the looks on my friends faces when I would tell them what I was reading. However, that excerpt was good, it has a solid 5 star amazon.com rating, and so eventually I broke down and bought the book and all I can say is WOW.


At times I wondered if there was a ghostwriter (nope- at the end he tells the story of how, when, why he wrote the book) besides I’m not sure anyone at Vibe could write this well. I’ll admit, I went into this book very skeptical, looking for mistakes and anything I could find and I didn’t find anything. This book has it all character development (great character development) a good, solid plot, a good style, a viable theme, great , realistic dialoige, all that other stuff from HS English. However, most importantly it has a ( realistic) story and a purpose. It's not just glorifying like some of the other street trash lit that is polluting the shelves.


Death around the Corner introduces us to Daquan. Born and bred in the Calliope (CP3), Daquan gets an early and real introduction to the streets. He continues on this path as one of the youngest and most respected hustlers in NOLA, until he finds his passion, in music. DATC follows Daquan as he tries to make this transition from the streets to the studio. It’s a coming of age story for a totally different set. We had Flyy Girl & Coldest Winter Ever, I believe DATC will slip on the shelves right between those two as the quintessential ‘hood coming of age story. It’s a book cross between Boyz in da hood an ATL (that’s the best I could do- its closer to Boyz in da hood, but updated and for a different part of the world- A southern Boyz in da hood!)


It was a pleasant surprised by this I truly enjoyed this book. C-Murder is very talented writer I am actually looking forward to future works by him.


http://www.deatharoundthecorner.com


Please not that this is an urban book. The language and the descriptions are very real and gritty. This book is not for the faint of heart. That being said- this book is not vulgar either- Just real. Real talk, real language (profanity, use of the n-word and the h-word, street slang), real vivid streets scenes ( drugs, sex ext.) if you listen to rap music or are from the streets, hood, inner-city or whatever you call it- you will not have any problems, otherwise be warned.This book is probably rated R.


I am NOT looking forward to future Vibe books ( I read the excerpt from the next book- that is exactly what I was expecting). Maybe another publisher will pick up C’s next work.


*On another note I once wrote a homage to No Limit Records and my love for them circa 1998, on my now defunct LJ blog. Please click here to read it.


Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Eat, Pray, Love


Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert.

Liz Gilbert, 30- something and recovering from a devastating divorce decides to travel to 3 places that hold special meaning for her- Italy, India & Indonesia. Each locale has it’s own therapy for Liz’s sole- In Italy, it’s the food (eat) in India she spends time at a Ashram and practicing yoga & meditation & Prayer (pray) and in Indonesia she returns to spend more time with an “old friend” and finds a host of new ones ( Love).


I loved, loved, and loved this book. It is a memoir a travel guide/ travel, self- help with even a hint of philosophy and religious studies. Liz Gilbert does an excellent job narrating and making you feel like you is not only with her, both physically and spiritually but of explaining what she encounters and what she learns. Her voice is fresh and raw I felt like Liz was one of my friends from college. The best part to me is a cross between the insights and things she learns on this journey- not just about the places she visits, but about her and human nature. Before I read this book I never had any inkling to visit India or Indonesia (Bali) - I’m more of a Malaga, Paris kind of international girl), but I have since added both of these locations to my “Places to Visit Before you Die” list. It’s always fascinating (to me at least) to watch people’s growth and that is probably one reason why I did enjoy this book so much.


I highly recommend this book to any and everyone- young and old. This book offers lots of hope for anyone and everyone- no matter where you are in your life’s journey. The book begins with Liz on the floor in her bathroom, crying and praying after realizing her marriage wasn’t exactly going as planned. We follow her through a tumultuous divorce followed soon after by another heart wrenching heart break to the decision to travel to her travels and to her triumphs, both big and small along the way. This is very spiritual book- and it does touch on various religions which I enjoyed. It helps understanding the importance of all religions and just how similar they all are.


This is a definite must read. A perfect summer book for vacation and I’m sure that will pick this book up again several times again and again for inspiration, hope and love (and as a guidebook when I visit these places).

Friday, July 6, 2007

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2007/04/summer-reading-challenge-info.html

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Save Karyn


Save Karyn


Karyn Bosnak


I originally read this books about 3 years ago- they way it can be best enjoyed- outside, by the pool, on vacation with some great tropical drink (or and ice cold sweat) by your side. I enjoyed it when I read then, but decided to re-read it this week because I am in between books. The Birth of Venus from paperback swap has yet to arrive and the other book I’m reading- Death Around the Corner, while good, isn’t exactly “summer reading”.


The first thing I noticed about this book is I completely understand how Karny felt before she moved to NYC. That’s exactly how I feel right now. That is one of the best things about re-reading books again. You get a new experience each time.


The gist of this book is Karny Bosnak, 26 and she has the feeling that there is more to life than what she is experiencing now, so she decided to pack up and leave Chi-Town for NYC. She finds a job being a producer for a new Judge Judy Type show and she finds an apartment and Manhattan and so begins her saga. Upon moving to Manhattan, moving expenses set her back a little (lack of planning and emergency fund) and add that to her love of shopping and designer clothes, $800 highlights and hair cuts and things are quickly out of control. She even established a plan to help offset her American Express Balance and to get cash advances (AMEX is a charge and not a credit card so they don’t do traditional advances) and before she knows it she owes almost $25,000 in credit card debt. The book takes place a little over 2 years and is followed by a layoff, being fired, getting a so thought dream position on the Ananda Lewis show, a move to Brooklyn, new roommates and 9-11.


Karyn's writing is honest and it reads like chic-lit- very light hearted and fun. Each main chapter begins with the recreations of the month’s credit card statement(s) that really hits home exactly how she managed to get into that much debt.


After being let go from her job at Ananda Lewis , and bouncing around for a few months Karyn puts her story on Craiglist and jokingly (at first) ask for donations. Craiglist turns into her own website (www.savekaryn.com) and Within a few months it pays off and her debt is paid off, but the in between is a roller coaster ride filled with a new found celebrity status and the pitfalls that come with that. Of course people ridiculed her for what she was doing, but in actually she was a pioneer and figured out a way to use the web for her good. Besides, some other stuff people have solicited for online is much, much worse. I don’t agree with the whole thing, but it worked and I truly believe that she learned her lesson and that is what is most important.


Save Karyn is an open, honest and funny book about being young women, and are kind of the anti-theses for the Sex and the City Generation. It shows the reality of living the in NYC and the reality of life in general. I enjoyed it just as much as the first time (with a few more eye rolls for her naiveté and horrible money skills). Even at 19 (when I first read this) I felt bad for her and her mom. She talks about her view of money, possessions and designer clothes was warped from a young age (mom buys you stuff to help you fit in. With that kind of home money management, it’s no wonder Karyn never learned how budget or that if people like you for designer clothes – than they don’t like you and are not worth it.


In the end though, you know that Karyn learned her lesson and hopefully will pass that on and do a better job teaching her children money management. I just wish there was a little more off that in this. I mean- the Karyn Bosnak guide to Real Money Management. On her website and in her book she includes tidbits and things she has learned, but for the majority of us it’s called reality. For example- she discovers Old Navy and The Dollar store. I grew up in both of those even though I had a little of the designer stuff. A little more information espicially about Credit scores and such would have made this book complete.


This is a great book for a HS or college student as a warning or piece of advice. It’s also great reading for the rest of us.