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?