Memoirs Are Made Of This

Okay, I enjoyed this. It was kind of fluffy and light, but it was what my brain needed before bed this month (Yay, I'm into December and even though it's now barely January, I'm still in December). I liked Venus. I liked the story. It reminded me of a cross between The Devil Wears Prada and The Nanny Diaries. It reminded me of my life when I worked for the downtown corporate office. I had just come back to Vancouver and was figuring out my life - my job, my friends, what exactly it was I was doing...

It hasn't been donated yet, so if you're in Vancouver and you want it, I'll give it to you. Or if you're heading this way sometime in the next few months, I'll keep it. It's hard cover, I'm not mailing it. I hate how expensive postage is.

You Have To Kiss A Lot Of Frogs

Um, You Have To Kiss A Lot Of Frogs? It was a frog. But not a magic frog. I tortured myself and finished it, because I kept hoping it would get better. Somehow. But it didn't. It's gone. I can't believe I spent $4 on it. Ugh. Maybe I'm too far removed from it...I don't know...because it got some good reviews on Amazon. But I didn't like it. It was just not me.

31 Dream Street

Oh look, we're into July! This is the book that ended the book diet and all challenge rules pertaining to said book diet. I picked it up for a whole $2 at the big box bookstore one evening. And I read it all the next night.

Lisa Jewell's 31 Dream Street is a typical British chick-lit book. It's set in London and, predictably, it made me homesick. Of course it did. I don't learn! It wasn't horrible, but it also wasn't the best chick-lit I've read recently. I felt like the lives the people in this book were living were more normal and less high-drama than a lot of books. I had trouble keeping the characters in the house straight for the first ten pages or so and then it sorted itself out. It was predictable, but how it got there wasn't. But in the end, the puzzle pieces all fell together.

I liked the use of the letters to set the scene and I liked the quirky characters. There were some I didn't like much and some I really wanted to meet...

It was a good, quick, easy read. Perfect for the beach. Or the couch. I still have it and it's going to get donated unless someone (local) wants it. I think it would be perfect for a wet, rainy, Vancouver Saturday or Sunday. With a cup of hot tea and a little plate of chocolate covered McVities digestives. Yum.

Goddess for Hire

Okay, before I start, I owe the Fred Factor a few more words...I think I hit post and I wasn't finished or I saved it to finish later, but I hit post by accident (I can't remember...it was too long ago) because I told you nothing other than read it!

The Fred Factor is a motivational book (I've decided) that bases its message on the story of Fred the Postman. Basically Fred provided exceptional customer service to the people on his route - held onto their mail while they were away, kept an eye on their property, was super friendly and very devoted to his job. The message is that we can all be a Fred in some way, every single day. I loved the book. I loved the message. I did not like the Christian Bible stuff that snuck into the last pages, but I'm willing to overlook it because I liked the rest of the book so much...and I've been asking myself almost every day since I read it "Was I a Fred today?"

On to Goddess for Hire. Which is a totally different kind of book. Try chick lit. Bad chick lit.



Basically unemployed, spoiled Maya who lives in LA is the incarnation of the goddess Kali. And she keeps it a secret while tries to harness her powers. At the same time her family (of doctors) is trying to set her up with an Indian husband. Who she hates. And he hates her. Do you get where this is going?

I don't recommend it. It's in the pile for the thrift store. I finished it over 10 days ago and kept forgetting about it. I didn't really like it...I didn't hate it, but it was too mindless for me...

Bonus Book: 29

Okay, so not the best picture, but whatever.

This was a super fast read. As in I got it at the library at lunch time yesterday and I was done around J's bedtime last night. And I'd done stuff in between like, you know, making dinner, tidying the house, going to the park, playing with J, J's bedtime routing...etc.

The premise of this book reminded me very much of Freaky Friday, although the author, Adena Halpern, says that book had no influence on this one.

A grandmother wishes she could be 29 again (for one day) on her 75th birthday. And she wakes up the next morning and she's 29. Life was different for her than the last time she was 29 - she's single and when she was 29 for real she was married and had an 8 or 9 year old daughter.

She gets to relive being 29 and spend the day with her 25 year old granddaughter. Her very glamourous, fashion designer granddaughter who happens to have a very handsome, single, millionaire friend.

Anyway. The day is full of adventure and some long standing personal relationship issues are resolved. And it pretty much ends happily ever after. And I'm okay with that. It was a good get-lost-in-another-world kind of read. Perfect for a rainy Sunday or a day at the beach or a long plane ride.

Out of interest I took a peek at the book club questions, which were pretty standard, but I thought about number five for a long time...

5. Lucy is thrilled at the chance to spend a day with her newly young grandmother. Think about your own grandmother-can you imagine doing the same with her? What do you think she would have on her "to do" list?

My grandmother and I are somewhat like Ellie and Lucy (except there's no way I would ever be a glamourous fashion designer!). She was married a full 13 years before I was (in terms of age, not real time) and by the time she was my age today, she had six kids aged 3 to 16. When she was 24, she had four kids aged 5 and under. When I was 24 I was living in London, doing whatever the heck I felt like doing on a daily basis...I travelled, I spent money frivilously, I regularly had a few too many alcoholic beverages...that said, I'd love to have had the chance to spend a day with her...I've heard stories...I've seen letters to and from her parents when she was in her late teens. I think she'd be a lot of fun. I think we'd probably get up to a lot of trouble, but I think it would be a day worth remembering! My grandmother is pretty outspoken and very open minded today - I'm sure there are many things she'd like to do that she didn't have the opportunity to do 50 years ago!

So yeah, this book was a fast read. And it was just brain candy. But it was good. I liked it...it was nice to go on a silly vacation with Ellie!

Bonus Book: I Remember You

So, this book wouldn't count for my little challenge, since I went out and bought it. I KNOW! I needed a book though. We were going to a wedding and I was getting my hair cut before we left and I needed a dress. So I went to get the dress before my appointment. And it was quick and easy and I had an hour to kill and nothing but my wallet, my phone and a pack of gum in my purse.

ANYWAY.

Brit Chick Lit. Seems fitting seeing as I wrote about chick lit being my guilty pleasure books for the 30 day challenge today!

The not having a book with me excuse actually worked out quite well as we were away on holiday for three days and this was the perfect book to read on the ferry and in the morning before Alex woke up - what can I say, my body is used to my usual pattern and wanted me to be up at 6:30 even though we were on VACATION. Alex, he didn't have that problem.

Can I just say that I love how there is a section of this book that is rewritten pretty much word for word? On purpose. And it confused me, because I was sure I hadn't succumbed to my sometimes bad habit of reading ahead to see what happens later because the suspense is killing me now...and I hadn't, it was just there twice.

So, basically (no spoilers here, the back of the book has more details) Tess moves back to the town she grew up in because her life fell apart. The only person (her age) she knows is her childhood friend Adam. And then she becomes an old lady (figuratively) and figures out who is she and turns herself young again. Ha! That's horrible Shannon, it sounds like it's some kind of magic book. It's not. It's a fairly close to some kind of reality that's not my own kind of book.

Ignore me. And if you like the occasional chick lit book, I recommend this one. It's not overly cheesy or unbelievable or gooey-lovey-dovey. It was a good weekend read!

And yes, I will be reading more Harriet Evans as my busy painting and parenting schedule allows.