Magazine Junkie

The other day I realized that I subscribed to a LOT of magazines. I think it's because I like to get things in the mail....and I'm a serial page-tearer-outer.

My go-to magazine is definitely Entertainment Weekly. I'm a pop-culture junkie and this magazine totally feeds the beast with all kinds of fun entertainment tidbits. I also really appreciate it for their book reviews...most of the time they're spot-on with their reviews and frequently introduce me to up and coming books. It's also a handy reminder for trashy TV that I need to put into my DVR queue.

Domino no longer exists and I'm still bitter about it. It was all about "living with style" and featured everything from home decoration, clothing, healthy recipes, etc. Ever since I received my cancellation notice, I have received Glamour magazine in its place. When I was younger I loved this magazine, but now I think it's a waste of paper. It seems to be the same articles with different words every month. Every now and then there's a good article, but it's a little too YOU GO GIRL! for me.

I really look forward to receiving Sunset  every month. It's geared towards West Coast living and always has really great suggestions on new places to visit, new things to do, easy to understand wine education, and really great recipes. I tear a LOT of pages out of this magazine. I anticipate being a long-time subscriber to this magazine...even when I'm not living on the West Coast.


I get lots of lifestyle magazines, so of course I have to get a couple fitness magazines too. I subscribe to Self and received a gift subscription to Women's Health. Women's Health kicks Self's butt. Maybe this is due to my own ignorance about the publication, but I did not realize that Self is not solely fitness oriented and is more women's-wellness centered.. A lot of the articles are geared towards older women (i.e., I'm not their demographic). Also, I find that they have Glamour's problem...same story with different words. Women's Health is great because they not only give great workout tips, but interesting health articles. I find myself quoting them a lot.


And then there are the fashion magazines. Specifically,
Bazaar and Lucky. Bazaar was a gift subscription and I have surprisingly enjoyed it. I can't afford anything in there, but it's fun to read articles about 23 yr old socialites who are muses for Dior and Marc Jacobs. And Lucky is a mainstay for me...they seem to be going through a transition period right now and are overhauling the magazine, so I have up/down feelings about them. BUT, I can always count on them to include items that are priced for the everyday person...and not a multi-millionaire.


Last, but not least...there's Real Simple. Every month this magazine is crazy thick and throws my mailman for a loop because he can't fit it into our tiny mailbox slot. This DIY magazine makes me want to organize my home office and line the shelves of my overly large closet. Then when I'm finished with that, I will fashion a pencil holder out of pipe cleaners and an old soup can. Next, I'll finish the day off with an amazing low-cal dinner (that only cost $5) for a large group of friends where everyone will praise how crafty and wonderful I am.

TUESDAY TOP THREE: Post-Apocalyptic Novels

Over the past couple of years I've discovered that I have a new genre of books that I loooove. I used to be strongly on the side of romance, girly books and fantasy-lite (think Chronicles of Narnia vs. Lord of the Rings). But as I've gotten older, my tastes have matured :)

I don't know if Post-Apocolyptic is the proper genre name for these books, but it's what makes sense to me because these are all "major-event-changes-the-landscape-of-the-world" style books. Way back long time ago, I would have turned my nose up at these books because they were too dense...

Sweet Valley High...The Wakefield Twins are back!!

I just read about this on one of the blogs that I frequent and kinda started squealing at my desk.

The Wakefield twins are back!!!!
Do you remember Sweet Valley High? Because I was a slave to those books. Romance / Chick Lit novels for a teen in the 80s/90s. AMAZING.

Well, the author has written a follow-up book, Sweet Valley Confidential. And it releases tomorrow!

Entertainment Weekly has already read and reviewed it and it didn't get a great score, but let's be honest, it's Sweet Valley High. It's not going to be in Oprah's Book Club.

I'm pre-ordering on my Kindle right now and will be powering through the book I'm reading now so I can tackle this right away.

EW.com Review is here: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20475516,00.html

BTW- I'm equally excited for the movie adaptation that is supposedly being made out of these books. I feel like I read an article somewhere that Diablo Cody (who wrote Juno) is doing the screenplay.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I mentioned wanting to read this book (and its series) a while back and I recently finished the first book. This book has gotten nothing but rave reviews and recommendations, so I was really excited to dive into it. I feel really bad saying this, but I didn't really love it. The individual pieces of the book were all great, but overall something just didn't mesh with me.

The story itself was very original and broke free of the typical formula that we tend to find in mysteries. The main reason for that is definitely because our narrator was an 11 year old girl, Flavia. She's a funny little girl...very quirky, witty, and cheeky. I previously compared Flavia to Nancy Drew, but after reading this I see her as more of Harriet the Spy. (That's not to say that this is a juvenile book, because it definitely is not.)

There were aspects of this story that I found really charming. Flavia rides her bike, which she has named Gladys, everywhere. She is at constant war with her older sisters, Ophelia and Daphne. We're introduced to your typical, eccentric British characters that exist in the peripheral of Flavia's life (but who I imagine will play more prominent roles in later books). Also, the author does a wonderful job of painting a portrait with words. I could really visualize the story he was telling.

Audiobooks. Give em a try.

I've mentioned before that I read as I ride the bus to work...well, once upon a time I walked to/from work and my music selection really started to grate on my nerves, so I had to find something else to distract me as I walked. Enter the world of audiobooks.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society audio book was recommended to me by a good friend and is now one of my top recommends. I think if I would have simply read the book, then I would have liked it - but being able to hear the voices of the book come alive really made me love this book. It's also worth noting that the audio book version won an Audie Award. Apparently this is a big deal and is equivalent to winning an Emmy for an audiobook.

Wish List

A while back I finally smartened up and realized that Amazon has a Wish List feature. Since I'm frequently trolling Amazon for new books, I figured their Wish List function would be a good way to keep track of the books I want to read. But sometimes I get a little "Add to Wish List" crazy and have to go through and clean out books.

On a recent review/purge of my Wish List, I noticed that there are some books that I've had in there for a looong time. I don't have any good reason as to why I haven't read them...I want to, but it's just that other books have come along and taken precedent. And there's the tiny issue that some of these books I want to read - but I don't want to pay for. HELLOOO library.

Anyways, here's a showing of some books that have been on my Wish List for a while:

I Think I Love You by Allison Pearson

This was a Digital Book Club selection chosen by the only other member of the club (shout out to Candi!) and it was really a cute book. I felt like I really needed a book like this after the heaviness of Swamplandia!

Brief Description: Our main character, Petra, is a 13 yr old girl in Wales during the 70s...and she is OBSESSED with David Cassidy. The first half of the book tells us about Petra and her group of 13 year old friends. Their favorite magazine, The Essential David Cassidy magazine, is offering a chance to meet David for the lucky girl that answers all the questions correctly in the Ultimate David Cassidy Quiz. The last half of the book has Petra as a 38 year old recent divorcee who stumbles upon a letter (that her mother hid from her) telling her she won this contest to meet David Cassidy.

An Idiot Abroad

Let's take a break from books and focus on one of my new favorite TV shows.
An Idiot Abroad on the Science Channel.

In case the video doesn't work, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpePyoqbtJ0

If you're like me, you probably didn't know the Science Channel existed. Somehow Ethan and I stumbled across this show (and channel) one lazy Sunday. The show is produced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who also produced the British version of The Office. The idea behind the show is that they're sending their friend, Karl, to visit the 7 wonders of the world.

But there's a catch...

Bossypants

Let's talk about a book that is coming out soon that I'm super jazzed about...

Tina Fey's new book: Bossypants. Releases April 5.

Hopefully the "reviews" of the book are indicative of the humor inside the pages:

"You'd be really pretty if you lost weight." (College Boyfriend, 1990 )
"Tina Fey is an ugly, pear-shaped, overrated troll." (The Internet )
"Mommy, where are my pretzels?" (Tracy Morgan )

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR BOSSYPANTS:
"I hope that's not really the cover. That's really going to hurt sales." (Don Fey, Father of Tina Fey )
"Absolutely delicious!" (A Guy Who Eats Books )
"Totally worth it." (Trees )
"Do not print this glowing recommendation of Tina Fey's book until I've been dead a hundred years." (Mark Twain )
"Hilarious and insightful. Laugh-out-loud funny -- oh no, a full moon. No! Arrgh! Get away from me! Save yourself!" (A Guy Turning into a Werewolf )

A Vist From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

 

There's a lot of buzz surrounding this book because it's getting nominated (and winning) a lot of literary awards. Usually this makes me want to run far, far away because books that are on award lists are typically over my head and make my brain hurt. I think I decided to give this book a try because a portion of it was based in San Francisco during the 70s....kind of a lame reason, but it's the little things that will draw me into a book.

Favorite Book!

Before I moved out to San Francisco, I typically read trashy romance and chick-lit style books. Then I moved out here and realized those kind of books aren't necessarily deemed "cool" enough to read out in public. Keep in mind that I read when I ride the bus to/from work and this was also pre-Kindle so all books are displayed loud and proud.  Because I didn't really want to display my bodice-ripping book cover on the bus and feel the weight of people silently judging me (and I know they were bc I was silently judging them for their book choices) I switched up what kind of books I was reading.

Flavia de Luce = New Nancy Drew

I have had the Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie on my list of books to read for a while now. But for whatever reason, I've had other books take priority and I haven't gotten to it yet. Just recently I realized that it is a series....whaaaaat? You know I love a good series!! 

So I did some research and found out that Flavia is the new Nancy Drew. Growing up I was a Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys whore. I can remember finding my first Nancy Drew book at the school library and reading it at lightning speed. Then when I was introduced to the real library, I remember pulling all the ND and HB books I could find and having a stack of books balanced between my hands and chin trying to convince my mom that I need to check all these books out. 

Now that I've been enlightened about these books, I'm immediately re-prioritizing them to the top of the list.

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how I feel about this book. There are so many facets to this book that threw me for a loop, so it's hard to nail down one thing that I loved or hated about the book.

Quick synopsis: Swamplandia! is about a family of alligator wrestlers and their theme park. The matriarch of the family (and star performer) has passed away and the family has to cope with her death and also keep the park alive in her absence. Each family member has a very unique way of coping with the impact of their mom's death. The son, Kiwi, goes to work for a rival "hell" themed waterpark, World of Darkness. The sister, Ossie, believes she can communicate with ghosts and eventually falls in love with one. And our 13 yr old main character, Ava, is trying to take her mother's place as a championship alligator wrestler and simultaneously deal with Ossie dating a ghost.

Books I Wanna Read Next

I am constantly on the look out for new books to add to my Amazon wish list. I rarely read a book that I haven't already read numerous reviews on or have had someone personally recommend to me. And I've found that the best way for me to find new books to read is either through Amazon or magazines.

My go-to magazines for books are typically Entertainment Weekly, People (for chick-lit), Time, and any of the other 5 magazines that appear in my inbox on a monthly/weekly basis. Another resource that I'm finding valuable is GoodReads.com. It's a combo social networking / book review site. People register books they've read, want to read, give reviews, and there's even a function that allows you to set up book swaps with people from across the US. I prefer to keep the books that I really like, so swapping books isn't really my thing - but I can see how people get into it.

ANYWAYS, here's a list of books that I'm really looking forward to reading (with a tiny description of each):

I Think I Love You / Allison Pearson
A young girl's obsession with David Cassidy

The Book Thief / Marcus Zusak
A story about a young German girl's relationship with her foster family, friends and books.

Before I Fall / Lauren Oliver
(Young Adult book) A popular, mean girl dies and gets to relive her last day and reflect on how she could have made better choices.

The Radleys / Matt Haig
A vampire family is trying to live a mainstream life (but their kids don't realize they're vampires, so it puts a kink in their plans.)

Call Me Irresistable / Susan Elizabeth Phillips
ROMANCE NOVEL! Best author in this genre! No description will do the book justice. Just go read it.

Blameless / Gail Carriger
3rd book in the Parasol Protectorate series (see earlier post)

The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger

Every time I go home to Mobile, my mom has put aside a stack of romance novels that she thinks I might like. I usually blow through these books fairly quickly and then I forget about them. But on my last visit to Mobile, these books appeared in my room.

I've mentioned before that the books I REALLY like have a certain formula: it's a series, typically has paranormal activity (witches, vampires, daemons, etc.), and among other things, there's a romantic relationship. SIDE NOTE: these books are not of your trashy romance variety...there's definitely some there, but it's not overly smutty.

Also, I've only read book 1 and 2 of the series (Soulless and Changeless), but I have the 3rd book queued up on my Kindle. The 4th book comes out this summer FYI.

Now that you have all the background, let me get into the books themselves.

Digital Book Club

One of my work-friends (shout out to Candice M!) and I have started our own little Digital Book Club. It actually first started pre-Kindle after I discovered Candy had an appreciation for post-apocalyptic books and I introduced her to The Hunger Games.

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison Review

I can't even remember how I came across this book, but I had it on my Amazon wish list for a while and was dying to read it...but I didn't want to physically buy a copy and my library hold list was already crazy long. Then I got a Kindle. Enter obsessive book buying / hoarding.

Needless to say, this book was well worth the wait. I've never read a book about life in prison, much less life in women's prison and this book was definitely an eye opener. The only idea I had of time spent in prison is what I've seen on Lockdown on the NatGeo channel...and that's not a very flattering portrayal. Now the prison that the author went to is couldn't come close to being on Lockdown because it was minimum security and almost the prison that Martha Stewart  went to...but even so prison is prison. It's no fun either way you have it.

Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I just finished this book...MEH.

I really wanted to love this book. It has everything I'm into right now: paranormal, romantic/historical storyline, a trilogy, up and coming author, etc. But I'm going to be honest...it didn't really ring my bell. Don't get me wrong, I'll still read the 2nd and 3rd book in this series - but I'm not going to sweat the release date for it (like I will be for The Twelve/Justin Cronin...spring 2012 can't come soon enough.)

Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders by Kate Torgovnic

I should preface this post with a warning...I'm a sucker for any show on the CW or ABC Family. And one of those shows is Hellcats. It's about a Memphis cheerleading squad and their quest to make it to Nationals. Obviously this show is geared towards teeny boppers, but that also means it's right up my alley (Bonus fact: 1 of the main characters is from High School Musical and the other is from a early 2000 pop duo, Aly & AJ). Anyways, this show is inspired by a book. Once I found this out, I freaked out and pulled out my laptop and looked it up on Amazon so I could add it to my Wish List.

On to the book....it was surprisingly good. It's not going to win any awards or be a bestseller, but it was a fun story and you can tell the author put a lot of thought and effort into the book. And sometimes you just need to read a fluff book. You know what I mean? A good story that doesn't hurt your brain or make you have weird dreams.