ONLY THE CLASSICS

So I'm really into reading these days (see previous blog post).  I've plowed through four books, which is good for me being a self-proclaimed non-reader.  I thought I'd give you a peak into my current library recently read.  

To preface my reveal I want to say why I've chosen the books I've read, or rather why they chose me. (deep, I know)  Since I'm not in such a light and fluffy season of my life (who is really? Newlyweds. Babies. High school girls "in love." Puppies. I digress...) I've been drawn to the more light and fluffy type of book, otherwise known as the "romantic comedy."  Yep, they come not only in movie form but also in book form!  Who knew?!  As the swirling of deep, heart-wrenching chaos continues to be a dominant presence in my mind and heart, I find reading mindless, mostly lovely, and always silly books a nice balm for my soul.  It's nice to escape take a break from my reality every once in a while and get lost in someone else's, which for the most part gets all wrapped up nice and neat-ish in about 200 pages or so.  I hope to venture into the more dramatic, suspenseful novels at some point.  My sister is constantly disappointed at my ignoring of her recommendations of State of Fear by Crichton or the sci-fi Ender series by Orson Scott Card.  It's just hard to branch out once you've found an area you so much enjoy!  Especially when you've recently purchased six new books from the going-out-of-business sale at Borders and have five more in your amazon.com shopping cart! 

Ok, here are the gems I've read that I feel are worth mentioning for those of you who enjoy a good break from reality every now and again:

(WARNING: major overuse of the phrase "super cute" and other girly statments in the following)

 

Full of It by Wendy French 

The abrupt ending of this book still does not hinder me from saying how fun it is.  It's all about a woman stuck in a funk and a mediocre life.  She has issues with filtering what she says to people...I can relate...thus the cover photo.  She goes through a big transition, through which she finds joy, structure, love, and discipline in the life she thought she was doomed to sludge through.  It's super cute and not deep in any way.  It's also set in the Portland, OR area, which was fun for me as I've been to some of the towns she talks about. 

London is the Best City in America by Laura Dave

Hard to get into a first, this book won me over by chapter two.  The title is a little ill-fitting as the book only talks about London about three times (ok maybe more), but it doesn't really matter.  London and Full of It are pretty similar in the fact they're both about a woman in transition who also just got out of an engagement. (ya, I forgot to say that about the first book.) The main character secludes herself to a small New England town to escape from her past life/responsibilities all the while working on a half-assed (for lack of a better term) documentary film.  This book has more drama involved as the woman is not the total focus of the book...it's her and her brother.  She, of course, "finds herself" while working through her brother's relationship drama, so it's all good.

Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

Loved this book!  It's super girly, which normaly is not my kool-aid, but I found it to be a sweet and fun touch.  It's all about two women who were BFFs in high school but became non-BFFs after a hardcore event their senior year. Both have very different families, interests, and future goals.  Twenty years later, it's time for a class reunion, and the meet-n-greet of it all creates drama and refound frienships.  I really like the way the author set-up the chapters, jumping back and forth from past and present...makes it more suspenseful.  This book for sure has the romantic comedy aspect but has a deeper dramatic aspect as well with the traumatic event that happened back in high school.  Plus this book makes you want to go out and buy expensive cosmetics...I didn't...but still.  I was bummed when the book was finished.  Fun stuff.  Read it. 

Dining with Joy  by Rachel Hauck

This has been my favorite of the four...though Hope in a Jar is a super close second.  This is Christian fiction, which I normally would stray away from as they can be super cheesey and unrealistic, but this one was only mildly cheesey.  Dining is about a woman who hosts a cooking show per the request of the show's former host, her father who died.  The hitch is that she can't cook, at all, though she is a great performer, so the show is super successful.  No one knows her secret, well except for the whole town she lives in.  She's got daddy issues galore, which affect everything as well as the sudden boom of the show's popularity.  Then, of course, a man enters the picture.  The book is pretty much about both characters, as they are both developed throughout the book.  The cheese presents itself through the drinking of an ice-cold "rootbeer" at a manly-man event and the "I'll be hog swaggled!" exclamations (not an actual phrase in the book, merely an example).  Every now and then a Bible verse or prayer will be included leaving you wondering if it really fit with the story line.  I like the innocence and purity of the cheese, though.  Regardless, it was a sweet book that left me wanting to read the other novels in this three-book series.  Read it.  It's good.