This is Where We Live by Janelle Brown

This story is about a married couple - two aspiring artists, one in film, the other in music who both seem to be on the verge of success. Can their marriage survive once it turns out that neither of their careers take off?

This book was just okay. It starts out with very obvious and cheesy foreshadowing (a big earthquake followed by an aftershock) that made me a bit skeptical. However, I did read the rest of the book pretty quickly and it would be a good book to read while traveling.

But I only recommend the best to you, my readers, and this one does not make the cut.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The third and final installment in this trilogy. This one took me a bit longer to read, probably because it is longer than the others (500+ pages) but also because there's a lot more details about the Swedish government that got a bit tedious. Once I got past that though, it was smooth sailing to a nice and satisfying ending to the series.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

Two baby girls are born on the same day in the same hospital to very different parents, and their lives continue to be intertwined.

A bit predictable with unbelievable explanations for what happened. This book was just okay for me.

Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin by Kathy Griffin

Another book recommended to me by Notorious MLE written by comedian Kathy Griffin. She writes about her early life, career, and her personal life.

This book is crazy. Hehehe. I felt a mild affinity for her because she learns from her mistakes and is super honest about things. And she is funny, and somehow, there was an unexpected sweetness and tenderness to it. Warning though: she is quite crude and this book has adult content, so you young people reading this blog - please don't pick this one up.

About Grief: Insights, Setbacks, Grace Notes, Taboos by Ron Marasco and Brian Shuff

This is the most practical book I've ever read about grief. It doesn't take an academic approach or even a super-inspirational one. It's just a down-to-earth conversation about grief.

I could see myself giving this to someone who was grieving, and I could see that it might actually be very helpful.

I read this over the last couple of months and I'm not grieving any kind of loss right now (and in these moments, sometimes it's enough to just be thankful that most everyone close to me is healthy and here...with the awareness that that could change in a second) and I found myself savoring this book, only allowing myself to read one section at a time.

Grieving or not, this is a great book to read.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games take place in the future. There are twelve districts in the country of Panem. Each year, two kids from each district are chosen in a lottery to participate in the Games. They are sent to the Capitol, put into an arena (that could include a forest or desert, etc.), and the last one standing wins. Yep, they have to kill each other, and it's televised. The whole country is watching.

I had last Monday off from work and I spent the day reading and finishing this book. It's the first in a trilogy and I'm on the waiting list for book #2. I really liked this book, much more than I thought I might. It was clever and reminded me of Survivor. One of my first recommendations to you in 2011.

Ps: Thanks for the recommendation, Grace!

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

Sometimes I wander through the Children's Section of the library and pick up whatever catches my eye. We read such great books as little people (Where the Red Fern Grows, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Little House on the Prairie to name a few), so why is it that we stop reading them once were older?

The Penderwick family consist of a dad, four sisters, and a dog named Hound. They rent a summer cottage on a big property for three weeks. There, they meet a boy, two rabbits, and a gardener.

The one word to describe this book is: FUN! It was a light-hearted, but soulful read because the kids are thinking about some serious things amidst all of their adventures.