Confessions of a Hollywood Star, by Dyan Sheldon

The third in the Lola Cep series. It was ok.

I read Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and My Perfect Life, too.

Pippi Goes On Board, by Astrid Lindgren

Indie Girl, by Kavita Daswani

A lovely, fun, but thoughtful story.

April 1, 2008
By
Alexandra Henshel - See all my reviews I very much enjoyed Indie Girl, and found the simple story of a girl who wanted to win a summer apprenticeship to a "West Coast Anna Wintour" had a surprising depth. Indira soon finds that Aarylin, her glamourous magazine editor boss, is only using her, and she must find the strength to deal with the loss of a hero, and the realization that hard work and talent don't always lead to success- that sometimes, life is unfair. Indie was a delightful heroine.

guess what- books!

Children's books
Betsy's Winterhouse by Carolyn Hayward

Adult Books
A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton

Bad Kitty and Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe

Bad Kitty , Michelle Jaffe

Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe, is a riotous sequel to the fantastic "Bad Kitty". Jas is in Venice, where her father is writing the definitive history of soap, and she is trying to keep out of Trouble. Of course, Trouble finds Jas, and the murder of a friend leads her into an exciting and dangerous mystery. Jas's loyal and long-suffering friends Polly, Roxy, and Tom make appearances, as do the Evil Henches, and Jaffe's laugh out loud writing shines through this romp. From delicious gelatos to kitchy tourist shops selling glassware, Venice is alive and very much a character in the book, which is a treat in itself. Jas's misadventures make for highly enjoyable reading, and the talented Jaffe serves her fans well with this book.

Just Listen, Sarah Dessen

More suburban teen rape melodrama (why the hell are so many of these freaking books about the same freaking thing?) but better done than most.

Good playlists at least.

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, by Jennifer Traig

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood

by Jennifer Traig

This was laugh out loud funny. Great. Loved the sister rearranging the wooden SANTA blocks to spell SATAN. Good stuff.

March 18

Children's books

The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton - I love the Borrowers so much. Wonderful to read about them again. (re-read)

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (re-read)
The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (re-read)

YA books
Bittersweet Sixteen by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White
It Had To Be You: The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily von Zeigesar

Adult Fiction
Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton
Death of a Prankster by M.C. Beaton
Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Malpractice in Maggody by Joan Hess (re-read)
The Clocks by Agatha Christie (re-read)


Adult Non-Fiction
Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson
Coal River by Michael Shnayerson
Creating Wire and Beaded Jewelry by Linda Jones, Gillian Haslam, and Jacqui Hurst
Wire & Bead Celtic Jewelry: 35 Quick and Stylish Projects by Linda Jones


Movies ( a thrilling new feature!)
Network
The Family Stone
The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio
Girl With A Pearl Earring

World Made By Hand, by James Howard Kunstler

Rash, by Pete Hautman

Pretty fantastic YA book. In 2074, Bo is considered dangerous because he calls another guy names for hitting on his girlfriend, and skips his daily dose of anti-agitation tablets, and wants to run long distance without all the protective gear mandated by the Child Satefy Act of 2033- well, it goes byond your standard dystopia and into where gov't legislation crosses the line from protection to imprisonment. Cool extra characters come in the form of Gramps, who brews his own beer and remembers when football was legal, and Rhino , a buddy at the McDonalds prison camp Bo ends up at. Add in the world's last polar bears, a sadistic prison guard, and an AI impersonating a lawyer, and you have a pretty great read.

YA 19

Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture by Andrew Heath and Joseph Potter

I felt like I'd read this before- maybe I had? kind of overly academic writing for what was blurbed as a general appeal book.

How many books with people/barcodes barcode tattoos/etc covers will I read in a year? Only the blog knows, man. Only the blog knows.

House Lust, by Daniel McGinn

Fantastic book about the insanity that has made shows like "House Hunters" block busters and about how competitive consumption crossed with a twisted interpretation of the "American Dream" has led to people buying and obsessively remodeling and furnishing larger and larger houses.

This book was fun to read, gave pause for thought, and included one of my all time favorite bits of trivia, about Robert Toll of the infamous Toll Brothers building group, known for their monstrous and fugly McMansions.

"Despite a net worth that's measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars, company founder Robert Toll lives in a 1750 farmhuose with bedrooms that are smaller than the master bathrooms of the homes his company builds." (p. 34)

Hah! Delightful.

20 all

Some more books

Children's Books

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, by Jeff Kinney

Sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, still funny and very childish and mean, but funny stuff.



Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion, by Loree Griffin Burnes

Sad, and breezes over how we and the kids who read this are all doomed, but seriously, how do you write about this stuff for kids? good try.



Youg Adult Books

Alice Macleod, Realist at Last, Susan Juby

Sequel to Alice, I Think, and a great teen girl book. I like Alice so much that I wish she were real.



Adult Fiction

24 Karat Kids, by Judy Goldstein and Sebastien Stuard
Pretty awful NYC working chick lit- Dr. Shelly Green starts at a fancy Manhattan pediatrician clinic, and suddenly feels she has to change her image, meets a new guy, yadda yadda. Tired and blah. Also, I HATED the end.

Adrian Mole, The Lost Years, by Sue Townsend
Another Adrian Mole book- I think I've read them all now. I hadn't missed much with this one, though. Your standard Adrian Mole book. Pretty good, though- a bad Sue Townsend book is still a million times better than most books.

February 9, 2008

Adult Fiction
'Salem's Lot, by Stephen King, 20 adult
Stormy Weather, by Carl Hiaasen, 18 adult

February 1, 2008

Children's books
The Moffats, Eleanor Estes (re-read)


Adult NonFiction
The Art of Polymer Clay, Donna Kato
Bead on a Wire, Sharilyn Miller

January 29, 2008

Young Adult Fiction
Extras, Scott Westerfeld
The Finnish Line, Linda Gerber

Adult Fiction
The Lost Decade and Other Stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read)
And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (re-read)
The Devil in the Junior League, Linda Francis Lee
A Year in the Merde, Stephen Clarke

Adult Non-Fiction
Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry: The Complete Guide to Turning Your Passion into Profit, Viki Lareau
The Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques, Jinks McGrath
The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson (re-read)
Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, Joe Queenan (re-read)

Falling behind on this, I am.

Ok.

Children's books
Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 20
Tennis Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19
Gemma, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 18
Traveling Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19
Thursday's Child, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 18
Theater Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19

Young Adult Fiction
Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr 14
Fresh off the Boat, Melissa de le Cruz 17
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083, Andrea White 17
Rainbow Party, Paul Ruditis 12
Song of the Sparrow, Lisa Ann Sandell 16
The Alchemyst, Michael Scott 16
The Poison Apples, Lily Archer 16
Yours, Sylvia, Stephanie Hemphill 12

Adult Fiction
Shopaholic and Baby, Sophie Kinsella. (re-read) 16
Murder with Puffins, Donna Andrews 16
Dust, Martha Grimes 17

Adult NonFiction
The World Without Us, Alan Weisman 19
The Ecology of Fear, Mike Davis 18
African-American Gardens and Yards in the Rural South, Richard Westmacott 17
The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David Shipler 20
Neither Here Nor There, Bill Bryson. (re-read) 19

Ethan, Suspended, by Pamela Ehrenberg

Fantastic YA book. Ethan is sent to stay with his grandparents in Washington, DC, while the dust settles down after he is involved in a cruel bullying incident, and while his parents' work out their separation. After a rocky time adjusting, he becomes a much more thoughtful person- it sounds awful the way I'm describing it, but it was really damn good.

9Q + 8P = 17 YA

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, Donna Andrews

I like her mysteries, but this one was a little not as funny as usual. Still, like the Meg Lanslow character and the supporting cast, and even her worst books are better than many author's best books.

Q8 + 8P = 16 Overall

The House of Elliot, by Jean Marsh

Goodish fun read about dressmakers in 1920's London. Loved the sound of the clothes. Book was ok.

6Q + 6P = 12 Overall