According to a Source by Abby Stern

Boomer and I took a few days off and went to a little coastal town to do some extreme relaxing which meant lots of reading (me), playing video games (Boomer), eating and wandering around (both of us).

We also watched a couple of documentaries on Netflix: The Lion in Your Living Room (about house cats) and Two Days in April (about four college football players preparing for the NFL draft). On Youtube, we watched the most fascinating documentary, The Year of the Quarterback - the Brady 6, about the 2000 draft when Tom Brady was drafted #199. Six other quarterbacks were drafted before him! This documentary shows what happened to all of these other six quarterbacks (none of them are still playing).

Anyway, this was one of the books that I read during our trip. It was a perfect blend of fluff and just enough depth.

Ella is an ambitious entertainment journalist working in Hollywood. In order to keep her job, she needs to report as much juicy celebrity gossip as she can. This pressure starts to interfere with her family, friends, and dating relationships. What cost is she willing to pay in order to keep her job?

If you're looking for a summer, beach-type read, consider this one!

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

If you're looking for a fun, summer read, this is certainly a good candidate.

Harper and Tabitha are estranged identical twin sisters who are opposites in how they live. One lives on Martha's Vineyard and the other lives on Nantucket. Because of some family circumstances, they end up switching places.

It's like a grown-up version of The Parent Trap that takes place on islands.

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

Graham is married to Audra and they have a special needs son, Matthew. Audra talks to everyone and welcomes most everyone into their home (even the doorman when he needs a temporary place to stay). Audra is so friendly that she even befriends Graham's ex-wife, Elspeth.

Quirky, funny, and tender. Don't expect too much plot and closure from this book. The fun of it is in meeting all of the characters that come in and out of Graham and Audra's apartment.

My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul

Pamela Paul is the Editor of the New York Times Book Review. I wasn't sure what this book would be about. "Bob" stands for Book of Books, and it's a notebook that she's recorded every book that she's read. I thought that it might just be a list of books that she's read and maybe how they've affected her.

But no, she takes us on her journey as a reader. This is really an ode to books and to reading. Yay!

I liked the short chapters. I would read one chapter and then read something else so that each chapter could sit in my mind by itself for awhile until I moved on to the next one.

Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist by Debra Jaliman, MD

To follow after The Little Book of Skin Care, I checked out Skin Rules as well just to compare what another skin professional says.

This was practical and very easy-to-read. However, I did prefer The Little Book of Skin Care because it didn't suggest using surgery and expensive procedures to fix skin problems.

The Little Book of Skincare: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin by Charlotte Cho

I was talking with a friend who has three older sisters. She described how each relationship is different and who she is closest too. It sounded neat, having all of those sisters, but really, I think one sister is enough for me. One older sister who tells me that I don't match, that my socks look funny, that I really don't understand anything about relationships, etc.

Anyway, it was my sister who let me know about this book. It's all about skin care, specificially the Korean approach to skin care. Charlotte Cho describes a ten-step process for caring for your skin. She writes in a clear and slightly whimsical style. I read it in an evening!

This book may or may not change my life. The jury is still out. But, I can tell you that I don't think I was ever really taught how to care for my skin! So I'm trying out the steps outlined in this book, and I will see if it helps.

Celebrating My 1,000th Post!

Yay! Welcome to my 1,000th post!

I started this blog ten years ago. The reason behind it was that I come from a very artsy family. My dad creates stained glass pieces, and now he makes pens! My mom quilts, and my sister is just all-around creative. I read. They actually had a physical product to show for their hobbies. But I didn't have anything tangible to show for my reading (not even a stack of books because most of my books come from the library!). I decided to start this blog to document all of the reading that I do.

I love getting lost in a book. I love learning new things about myself and the world and people. Reading (both fiction and non-fiction) actually helps me in my work as well. Reading still remains the number one way for me to relax and enjoy.

Thank you to you, my fellow readers, for checking out my blog, and sending along recommendations! I hope I've helped you find some good books and steered you away from not-so-good books. :)

I'm including my very first post below just for fun.

April 25, 2007

Welcome to my bookshelf.

I like to read. I wonder if you knew that.

I read paperback books because they don't hurt as much if I roll over them in bed.

I read because it makes me feel more connected to who I am. I like taking in new stories, new information, and new ways of thinking about life. I enjoy having a parallel story sitting in my head while I go about my day. I like reading something that changes how I look at myself and the world around me.

The purpose of this blog is to keep track of the books I have read and my thoughts on them. This blog will not be retroactive. Books described here are books that I have just finished. So welcome to my bookshelf. Enjoy.