Category Archives: books

june books

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Didn’t do much this weekend but I have finished some books…

June
17. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, 448 p
I ended up really loving this book when I didn’t think I would at the beginning. It took me quite awhile to really get going — after about 3 days, I was only 50 pages in. But I happened to be reading it at lunch one day at work and about 5 people commented and told me how much they loved it. That inspired me to get moving! After the initial description of time/place/setting, etc. the story really picked up. I became really invested in Chiyo and her childhood and her journey to become a geisha that the pages finally seemed to fly by. I do have to admit that there were a few parts that screamed “trashy romance novel” to me but overall, I highly recommend this book. Thanks for the rec, Barry! :)
18. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares, 416 p
Couldn’t resist picking this up after learning that the girls’ stories from the first book continue on (thanks Sarah!). I enjoyed this installment much better than the first — maybe because I already “knew” the characters? But the funny thing is, I loved Lena and Tibby far more than Carmen and Bridget, which is the total opposite from my feelings at the end of the first book. I especially found myself wanting Lena to be happy so this book was torture. :( Anyone know when the third book is going to be released in paperback? I’m too cheap to spring for the hardcover. :P

I really need to find a nearby library. Books are pretty darn pricey! Not to mention that I don’t have anymore space on my bookshelf.

Next up: The Bourne Identity and then a re-read of the Harry Potter books to get ready for Book 6. SQUEE!

book challenge

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Book Challenge update…

May
15. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot, 387 p
Really cute chick-lit book. It was a little hard at first to get used to the way it was written — rather than a first person narrative, it was written through emails, memos, diary entries, etc. But I think the story made up for the novelty… Plus, I completely fell in love with the main character’s love interest, hee!
16. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, 304 p
I was sucked in by those darn commercials for the movie that I kept seeing while watching Gilmore Girls. Loved all the characters (especially Carmen and Bridget) but thought that their summer stories were wrapped up a little too neatly. I’ll probably pick up the second book out of curiosity. And possibly watch the movie too. :P

Next up is Memoirs of a Geisha recommended to me by Barry. :)

secret life of bees

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Book Challenge update…

March
12. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, 336p
I enjoyed this book but there were a couple of things that bothered me while reading… first, time seemed to move excruciatingly slow. There were pages and pages describing multiple events and it seemed as if weeks had gone by. Then all of a sudden the author would reference time and it turns out only a day had passed. Very minor but it was really jarring for me. My second issue was the way Lily and Zack were allowed to interact. I mean, it was the 60s and if I remember my history lessons correctly, black boys couldn’t even so much as *look* at a white girl for fear of inciting anger from the community. So I thought it was a bit unrealistic to have Lily and Zack working as a team and making trips downtown to do errands. Wouldn’t that have caused a stir? Regardless, I’d still recommend this book — I ended it feeling very hopeful and optimistic for Lily and her journey.

Wow, March was a pretty bad month for me as I only read 1 book! Eeek.

Just some random news that amused me…
It looks like Cookie Monster, my favorite Sesame Street character EVER, is going… healthy??? It seems like they’re going to make him eat fruits and vegetables and cut back on the cookies. !!! Hehehe.

OMG. I consider myself a Britney fan but I don’t know if I would be able to stomach watching this. I can’t stand that awful, awful Kevin Federline. What were they thinking by signing on for a reality show? They’re definitely NOT Nick and Jessica.

100 Days til Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!

50 book challenge

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So I got a voicemail message last night at 3am from my best friends telling me that they were at some deli in Hollywood and had just seen Adam Brody, Ben McKenzie and Rachel Bilson. (!!!) OMG. I. AM. SO. JEALOUS. I have to call you two back to get more details. SQUEE.

I’m participating in the 50 Book Challenge and I figured I am overdue for an update and reviews…

January
1. Fearless by Francine Pascal, 199p
2. Fearless – Sam by Francine Pascal, 200p
3. Fearless – Run by Francine Pascal, 207p
4. Almost Paradisee by Susan Isaacs, 530p
5. Fearless – Twisted by Francine Pascal, 214p
6. The A-List by Zoey Dean, 243p
A book equivalent of a show like The OC. Pretty mindless and fun. If not a little far-fetched. Or maybe I’m just not cynical enough?
7. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, 569p

February
8. The Last Juror by John Grisham, 486p
I’m still undecided on this book. I don’t know if I actually liked it or not. For me, it took a looong time for the story to get rolling, which almost made me stop reading a few times, but I liked the characters and their relationships too much to do so. An average Grisham effort.
9. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, 372p
Ehhh. Nothing about this book really grabbed me. I didn’t understand the characters or their motivations. There was action and suspense but… I finished it feeling very disappointed.
10. Bridget Jones and the Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding, 338p
For whatever reason, I didn’t like Bridget as much in the sequel (I loved the first book). She totally frustrated me! lol. A fun read though.
11. Deception Point by Dan Brown, 557p
A *much* better book than Digital Fortress. The characters were better developed and there seemed to be real tension and conflict between all of them. The story had me guessing all the way through.

I just picked up The Secret Life of Bees this weekend which I can’t wait to start…

The Sunday Brunch

1. Did you go to college? Yes, I went to the University of CA, Berkeley aka CAL.
2. Did you live in a dorm or an apartment? Both. I lived in the dorms for the first 2 years and an apartment for my last 2.
3. Who was your favorite roommate? My friend Shirley! We were roomies for 3 years.
4. What is your favorite college sport? Not a huge sports person but I’d have to say basketball.
5. Who was your favorite professor and class? My favorite professor was Bruce Cain. I took a few of his classes — California Politics and the Ethics of Politics. Both were phenomenal.

Hope everyone has a great week ahead!

harry potter 6 cover

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My Girl Scout cookie order finally came today. Mmmm, they are so heavenly. I got home from work, started watching TV, and proceeded to eat almost an entire sleeve of Thin Mints. Good grief. I need to practice some self-control.

The girls’ performances on American Idol were pretty disappointing tonight (I thought the guys were *much* better last night). I only liked half of the girls (Nadia, Jessica, Carrie and Vonzell) — the rest were very mediocre performances. Since I made a few guesses on who’s going to get voted off on the guys side, I’ll pick a few from the girls. Let’s see — my money’s on Amanda, Janay or Lindsay. They’re definitely the bottom 3 for me, anyway.

Did you all see the new Harry Potter cover? Just a few more months away!

it’s official…

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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is being released on July 16, 2005!

:D

206 more days or something like that. I’m sure I’ll be attending the midnight book release party so I can pick it up immediately. Hee.

Ok, off to do some work…

HP6!!!

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I’m sure this information has made the rounds already but I’m just so excited I *had* to blog about it…

JK Rowling has finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and her publishers are going to announce the release date tomorrow!!! Squee! Such exciting news. I really hope we won’t have to wait long — I’m thinking it’ll be sometime in June, just like Book 5. I know I’ll be at work tomorrow morning refreshing The Leaky Cauldron every 5 seconds. Hee.

Also at TLC, there are a couple of newly released pictures from Goblet of Fire and one of them is of Harry/Hermione. Whee! It’s a good day to be a fangirl.

OotP

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So I did end up buying my Harry Potter book at the midnight release. I just could *not* wait until the morning to get my hands on the book. I restrained myself from attending the actual party which started at 10pm — only because I took pity on the poor kids. I’m sure that I would have destroyed all of them in the Harry Potter trivia and I didn’t want to have that on my conscience. Heh. Anyway, I showed up around 11:30 and omg, I just about had a heart attack. There were so many people!!! All I could think was “Damn it! How long is it going to take for me to get my book?” I got in line to get my ticket and to my horror, I was number 500-something! I seriously had no clue this many people even lived in Emeryville. I ended up waiting about 2 and a half hours but I found myself being entertained by hilarious adults decked out in entire wizard outfits, the little kids running around pretending to cast spells on people, and even the completely stressed out Borders employees.

I got home at around 2am and I was so incredibly tired but I just *had* to start reading — I only read about 6 chapters or so and finally gave in to sleep. I have since finished the book and I think it’s fabulous. There’s just so much more tension and anger in this installment and that made it all the more exciting for me to read. My thoughts are much too incoherent and mixed-up to write a real review but I just have to say that Harry needs a huge hug immediately. And I’d like to be the one to give it to him. Heh. I’m kidding. Really.

Hmmm… just finished watching that show Driven on VH1 — they featured Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. For some strange reason, I am oddly fascinated by them. I mean, these two are only 17 and they’ve built an entire brand. That is just so amazing to me. Who knew the annoying little girls who played Michelle on Full House would be billionaires before their 18th birthday? Can you tell I really have absolutely nothing else to blog about? Can you?

harry potter day!!!

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HARRY POTTER DAY.

!!!!!!

I can’t wait. When I got home today, there was a message from Borders reminding me to pick up my copy of OotP this weekend. Pshaw. Like I would forget, you silly people! The message was really cool though because it was one of those pre-recorded messages and get this, it was the guy that narrates the Harry Potter DVDs! How cool is that?

Ok, fine. So maybe it’s not that cool. I find strange things amusing.

So I was going to wait until Saturday morning to pick up the book but I was reading this transcript of an interview with JK Rowling (beware! there are spoilers for OotP) and it just made me super duper excited. I think I may have to head to Borders for the midnight book party. I have no one to go with though since the boyfriend is going to be in Las Vegas for the weekend. Plus, I’m seriously going to look like a complete weirdo! I imagine many kids attend this book party, right? How weird would I look if I walked in. And by myself! Hmm. I’ll guess I’ll have to be quick — walk in, pay, walk home and pull an all-nighter reading the book. Hee.

Anyway, like I mentioned earlier, the boyfriend is going to be in Las Vegas this weekend for a bachelor party — I’ve given him a good amount of money so that he can win more money for ME! The deal is that if he wins at least $400, he’ll give me the money to buy an iPod. Eeee! I’m trying to send him good vibes so he can place smart bets and come home a winner!

Many thanks to Alie, Melanie, Reen, Linda and Nicola for helping me figure out how to disable direct linking. :) I got it to work on A Beautiful Reality. Go me. I haven’t customized it or anything so it only shows a red x — I think I will fashion an evil image to put in it its place. Heh.