Reading Reviews

*This is not a paid, or particularly good, book review.
I got  Bossypants by Tina Fey for Christmas from my mother in law. After I read it, I hope she didn't peek inside.
I think you have to have been a SNL fan to enjoy the book, and I hate to admit that I totally laughed out loud.

A lot.

She was funny in some very unexpectedly hilarious ways. I love the background information about SNL, and insider scoop on some of the writers. She is a brilliant comedy writer.

 I am also a huge 30 Rock fan. But there are a couple of pretty bad words, and some gross stuff, so I don't know whether I would recommend it for light reading. However, I had a kind of crappy end to the Christmas break, so it made me laugh when I needed it.

Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts was loaned to me by my neighbor one day a couple of months ago. I had actually read a couple of her Compassion International trip blog posts, and so I was interested in reading her book.
It took me over a month to finish it.

You have to slowly digest this book.

 I liked it. I didn't like it, or at least how I felt while I read it.

It was super depressing at times, but extremely hopeful in other chapters.

It is her journey to finding hope and joy through gratitude. It is a very raw and honest account, and it is often heartbreaking. I was thrilled to learn that she spent the proceeds of this bestseller buying land and helping to build a much needed facility for the children of the dumps of Guatemala. So I would say she is authentic in her sincere desire to follow Christ with her whole heart. I want to be her friend. She write in a way that jars the soul, but captivates the mind. I had to re-read parts. I've never read an author like her. It is a must read.

In a shockingly different tone, Paula Deen's book, It Ain't All About The Cookin' was given to me by my mom, I really didn't mean to read it. However, I love cooking shows, so I just kind of got curious. It turns out this lady has had quite a past. Extreme debt, panic attacks, agoraphobia, a ten year affair, and a lot of stories that I would have never believed about her. She is a hardworking woman, and she had definitely built an empire.

I also read another book, but I can't remember the name of it. That is sad, but it was just "okay".  I read it in a couple days, and I know it was set in Charleston, and that always sucks me in. I could have done without it, which is probably why I am too lazy to look it up. I gave it away with a bunch of other stuff when I cleaned out the closet under the stairs. I obviously wouldn't recommend it.

My daughter has just finished Old Yeller, and now she is reading Where the Red Fern Grows. Her teacher won't let her group read ahead of their assigned reading each night, and it is killing her. She absolutely loves those books, and I have got to say, I am jealous.

I remember reading those books (sandwiched between my avid reading of Sweet Valley High books) at her age.
I remember reading coming alive to me right around 5th grade. It was always so magical when a book would just transport me through time and space and you just felt like you were living it with the characters.

It rarely happens to me anymore, but I love it when it does!

What are you reading?