Monday, September 29, 2008

What I've Been Reading

I love to read, and since I spend 1 1/2 to 2 hours on a bus every day, I go through a lot of books. And since my opinion on everything is so important to the world, I've decided to review some of the books I've read recently. I promise to keep the reviews short!!

I read pretty much anything. I don't have a specific genre, but I do tend to go through phases. Recently, I've been in a "let's read true stories about someone else's life" phase.

Waiter Rant by A. Waiter - The title says it all. It's full of stories about a guy's life in the restaurant biz. Bad customers, the crappy tips they leave, and the gross stuff servers do to bad customers who leave crappy tips. I should mention that there is some nice stuff too. I picked up the book for two reasons. 1) I spent my college years as a server, so I feel A. Waiter's pain and 2) I've been reading his blog for a while, and I figure if I've been reading some one's blog forever then I should buy his book. It's all about support, people. If any of y'all write a book, know that you'll sell at least one copy!! Overall, it was good. Quick read...pretty funny...it's probably most enjoyed by other victims of the restaurant industry.

Audition - Barbara Walters - Laugh all you want, but I LOVE Barbara Walters. I even DVR The View everyday while I'm at work. I remember staying up late on Friday nights, as a kid, just to watch 20/20. The book was good. She's met just about everyone in the world, so the book had a lot of history in it. There were some dry parts, but the chapters about her early life and the problems she had with her daughter were great.

The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections of Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal - Laurie Notaro - I love an author with a creative title. It's the second book I've read by Notaro. I think her first one, The Idiot Girl's Action Adventure Club, was better, but this is an entertaining read. Several LOL moments. There is something about reading about hilarious/embarrassing things that happen in other people's lives that just speaks to me.

My Horizontal Life, A Collection of One Night Stands and Are you there Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea - Chelsea Handler - Chelsea Lately is another show on my DVR list, and these two books are HILARIOUS. The people on the bus around me probably thought I was crazy because I was laughing my ass off while reading them. I think Vodka is better than Horizontal Life, but both are, in my opinion, must reads. The titles alone make them worthy. They're fun, light, silly, a little vulgar, but mostly they're just fantastic. I think I should track down Chelsea Handler and convince her to be my new best friend.

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen - It doesn't fit in the overall theme of my current phase, but I have to include it because I was shocked by how much I liked it. I decided to read it because of the first line, "I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other." It was about a man telling the story of his life working in a traveling circus during the Great Depression. I highly recommend reading it.

I'm currently reading Jennifer Weiner's Good in Bed. I have a soft spot in my heart for all things chick lit. So far, I really like it, but I'll have to give you more of a review next time! Since I'm about halfway through Good in Bed, I need some new suggestions. Like I said, I tend to go through phases (like the time I read every Nicolas Sparks (The Notebook- sigh) book back to back or the 5 months I spent reading nothing but Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper - omg so good) or the year I spent reading Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series), but then I overload on one author/genre and need something new and fresh. Anyone have any must reads for me to check out?

4 comments:

Astarte said...

I liked Vodka very much! Horizontal is on my list of things to read. I may try Water for Elephants. I wasn't sure, but if you liked it, I'll stick it on my list, too. My Sister's Keeper was my favorite Josi Picoult book, too! I find her others a little predictable, but still fun to read.

You should read Eat, Pray, Love. It was really, really insightful, and made me think about myself a lot. Hmmm... recently I've also loved My Life With Asperger's. It's by the brother of the guy who wrote Running With Scissors, and is very straightforward and goes quickly. I've always wondered how people with these mental differences see the world. Also very good, 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa. VERY good.

We should totally start an online book club.

Kristi said...

an online book club would be so fun!!

I did read Eat, Pray, Love. I really liked the 1st part, but kinda struggled through the last half. Hmm...I wonder if that means that I like to eat more than pray and love...that can't be good!!!

MaryB said...

A good chick lit read that is relevant to the sate of the economy is All is Vanity. Gave me bad dreams, but made me feel better about some of the monetary restrictions the hubs keeps us under.

I loved Vodka, and Eat, Pray, Love. Loved Water for Elephants.

I like just about anything by Philippa Gregory.

Have you read the Bourne trilogy? The movies sucked (like sucked ass!)compared to the books - Story lines so dissimilar...

Have you read these already:
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan?
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons?

If you meet up with Chelsea and become fast friends, willyou call me and let me join you two for lunch or drinks or something? PLEASE??

Izzy said...

Thanks for posting book reviews -- I'm always searching for something new! I used to spend an hour on a train to work and went through many reads. A few of my favs:

- Bright Lights, Big Ass: Jen Lancaster
- Citizen Girl: Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (Nanny Diaries authors)
- Self Matters: Dr. Phil (I was going through a rough patch LOL)

Great blog!