The Cure for Boredom is Curiosity.

My friend Carol, who is unable to read more than one book at a time, cut her copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in half so she can easily transport it on trains and planes.

I used to be on top of what was going on in the literary world.
I used to know about the book before it was published.
All without the internet.
Now, I'm last in line.
HTF?

I just started this one, but it's too good to save until I finish.

Kiss My Tiara by Sarah Jane Gilman. I recommended Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress not too long ago. neebs, I think it may be as funny if not funnier.

OK, back to my book.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. My mother sent me home with a duffel bag full of books so my need to read is being appeased. Anyway, not too long ago I heard an interview on NPR with the author of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. With a title like that how could you not want to read the book? So I put the book on my Paperbackswap wish list and finally got it in the mail a couple of weeks ago.

Quick synopsis of the book -
Opal is a young woman whose entire life has been focused on getting into Harvard. Grades, test scores and extracurricular activities make her a shoo-in on paper. However, all this becomes obsolete when asked in her admissions interview "what do you like to do for fun?" Opal has no answer and spends the next few months getting a life, getting wild and finally getting her first kiss. In the end her life experience only leads her to question what's really important in life.

Sounds like it should be a fun read. Sounds like it should have some Judy Blume-goodness to it. Boy, was I disappointed. It was defintitely nothing close to Judy Blume-goodness. The book wasn't entirely bad. I just expected it to deliver more after hearing the interview. My first clue should have been that I wasn't into the book at chapter 5. My second clue should have been when I was hitting the end of week one and wasn't even close to being halfway through the book. *sigh* The title held so much promise.

Now my pop culture obsesssion enjoyed Opal's immersion into all things trendy from TV shows, clothes, actors and music. However, I realized around chapter 8 that the book was in essence another version of Mean Girls with the "Haute Bitchez" instead of the "Plastics". There was so much potential in a real story. It was annoying to read a paragraph and think "oh, that was in ___________ movie".

Overall, the book was a light and fluffy read. Funny in parts, enjoyable in others, but mostly lacking in oomph. If I'm going to recommend Judy Blume-esque books then I'd go with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or any of Megan McCafferty's books. I kind of wish I skipped finding out how Opal Mehta got kissed.

And I should be in bed.
But I just got my motivation to do a few house projects.
Luckily they aren't loud ones involving hammers and drills.
I'll save that for tomorrow.

I'm walking around the house with my new "Books to Read" basket and collecting the random books that I have everywhere. While I was at Target, I also purchased an underbed plastic storage container so that I can store all the books that I've read and posted on Paperback Swap. That way the cat won't decide to pee in a box of books and I won't have 20 billion books hidden around the house. That reminds me, I need to clear out all the ones I shoved under the couch.

Hmmm, now I'm wondering if I should have gotten another box. Anybody else read trashy romance novels like water? I've got a ton if anybody wants any. For the record, I do read books that don't involve heaving breasts and hot members, I'm just going through a trashy novel phase right now.


Anybody else watching Top Chef? It's driving me crazy to figure out where they shop at in San Francisco.

I just saw a news article where the publishers of Goodnight Moon have edited a photograph of the illustrator Clement Hurd for the new edition so that he no longer is shown with a cigarette in his hand.
*sigh*
I've read Goodnight Moon countless times and I've never noticed the cigarette in his hand. I know that kids are more perceptive than adults, but I'm not sure how many would notice the cigarette in his hand. I'm also not sure that children would find the picture of him smoking as inspiration to take up the habit. Are we so paranoid that the slightest thing could set our children off onto a road of destruction and mayhem? I'm sure they wouldn't approve of my parent's anti-smoking campaign. Oh well. I'm off to seek out an unadulterated copy of Goodnight Moon for my collection.

Just finished listening to Rage by Jonathan Kellerman.

Normally I like his books, but today this one just isn't cutting it for me.
I didn't like how it ended.
It also doesn't seem to be as well written as the others.
It could also have something to do with the fact that I listened to this one instead of actually reading it. I wasn't a big fan of the reader.
Off to the next one.


Oh, I should probably do a quick report on The Marker by Robin Cook.
It was excellent. If you want an exciting read, read this one.

Thank goodness. I finally finished The Secret Life of Bees. I had to force myself to finish, but I'm glad because it truly was a lovely story. By the last 2 chapters I had stopped thinking of home and my mom. I don't think I'll be rereading it anytime soon though. Way too depressing for me.

****************************************************************************
Now for the quotes:

" . . .some things don't matter that much . . . Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart - now, that matters. The whole problem with people is that they know what matters, but they don't choose it . . . The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters." (page 147)

" . . . it's something everybody wants - - for someone to see the hurt done to them and set it down like it matters." (page 185)

"In life there are things you can't get over no matter how hard you try" (page 188)

"We can't think of changing our skin. Change the world that's how we gotta think." (page 216)

"Have you noticed the more you try not to think, the more elaborate your thinking episodes get?" (page 271)

"You have to find a mother inside yourself. We all do. Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside." (page 288)

"I believe in the goodness of imagination." (page 300)

So one of my errands yesterday was to go to the library. I still need to get my own library card, so I'm using RTL's for the time being. I forgot to take a piece of mail addressed to me to prove that I am a Berkeley resident. I'll remember when I return the books I checked out.

I love reading. I also like not having to pay for books that turn out to be no good. When I lived in Richmond, I went to the library all the time. The library was right across the street. The library here is a wee bit further away, but not by much. I forgot how much I like the library. Yay for the public library.

The other thing that I got to learn about yesterday was the new check out system. Berkeley has installed a RFID system to make checking out books faster and easier. However, this has caused an uproar among Berkeley residents. I can't decide if it's good or bad. After waiting in a long line, it took me 2 seconds to check out my book choice. However, do I really want to be riding the BART with an RFID sending out a small radio frequency? I think it falls into the same line as the government having access to my library records. Just because I check out Catcher in the Rye or The Anarchist's Cookbook does not mean that I'm up to no good. Knowledge is power. It reminds me of the place in Berlin where Hitler had all the books he didn't want other people to read burned.

OK, off that rant. I love the library (RFID system be damned) and now I'm going to go read while I fix my Season Pass list.

I have mixed emotions about RTL going out of town for work - on one hand - PaRtY!!!!!!! I can sit on the couch and read without being interrupted every 5 seconds with "did you see that?", I can hog the bed, I can cook loads of onions and peppers, I can add spice to my taste, I can use up all the hot water, lots of good party time things; on the other hand - I can't sleep. Let's use last night as an example - I think I finally went to bed at 3, but I still woke up at 7. Which sucks when I've made plans to run all the errands I need to do.

Which is what I've been doing this morning. Did some grocery shopping at the Bowl. It's a local market that has some of the BEST veggies in the area. Fresh and not rotting already. Downside is that everyone knows this so it's packed no matter when you go. People are parked and waiting for hours before the doors open at 9. Which was me. And it was still a madhouse.

I did cheat a little and went across the street to Walgreens so that I could buy some shampoo and stuff. Which was a pain in the tushy. I used to be able to find a wide variety of brands at Walgreens, now I'm limited to about 7 or 8 brands of shampoo and it's stuff that I won't or can't use on my head. I just don't get it.

Went to B & N as well so I could get a trash book to read when The Secret Life of Bees starts weighing my brain down. I have melted chocolate for that little side trip. Just call me Blondie. The truth is that I was actually looking for a couple of other books which is why I stayed too long in the store. I should have realized that skipping the Berkeley store would have been a better option and just gone to Emeryville where I have three floors to choose from. Of course, because I'm looking for a specific book I'll still have to go to Emeryville.

Now that I'm back, I'm trying to figure out what my neighbor is doing. I think he's finally trimming the hedge between our houses. Yay! I did my side a while back.

And thanks for the smart playlist tip, although now I'm trying to figure out when I bought a Modest Mouse cd.