Happy 4th

Leisure Girl is off to celebrate with her in-laws and will return on Monday.

Meg Cabot rocks, Part Two

Okay, I know, you've heard it all before.

But Meg Cabot is a fiction writing goddess who should be enjoyed by all.

Unwilling to read young adult books? (What on Earth is wrong with you? Seriously, you're making a mistake.) No problem. Cause darling Meg writes for grown-ups as well... I know, she's a renissancce woman.

She has two great series. One of them is about Heather Wells, a former pop singer who has various romantic tribulations and solves mysteries.

The other is the Queen of Babble series. A delightful series and just lots of fun.

She also has lots of free standing books. My personal favorite, which I even enjoy in re-reading, is Boy Meets Girl.

In conclusion (and I promise this is the last I will talk about her until her next, doubtlessly fabulous book comes out) Meg Cabot is one of the high points of my reading life. Enjoy!

Meg Cabot rocks, Part One

It is time to devote two whole blog entries to one of my very favorite authors, Meg Cabot.

There is literally nothing this woman has written that I have not enjoyed. Plus she does both young adult books and big people ones as well. She is clearly an author after my own heart.

Today I will focus on her YA contributions.

She is most well known for her Princess Diaries series. I have only recently started reading these, and I don't know how I missed them before. The character is great - and it's about a girl who becomes a princess. High points for being good fantasy fodder.

Some of her stand alond books I love include Jinx, which is about a girl with magic powers (one of my favorite plots, ever, since I am waiting patiently for my own magical powers to kick in any day now), How to Be Popular, and Pants on Fire. They are all so fun and well written. Totally not put downable.

She has a couple other supernaturally series which are all good. I especially liked the Mediator series which is about a girl who can talk to ghosts.

I have to hope, of course, that everyone is already reading her books, but if you've somehow been in a coma and missed them, please run out a get a bunch. You will be a happier person for it.

Everything by Pixar is good

Leisure Girl knew that the only sensible way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon was taking in a matinee. So she stashed some Kit-Kats in her purse, grabbed her husband, and headed off to see Wall-E.

I am predisposed to love Pixar movies because they are, in a word, awesome. And Wall-E was no exception. So cute and fun and, although the movie only has about 20 lines of dialogue throughout, the plot and the characters are great. I laughed and cried and said "awwww..." as much as you could want to in any movie.

The husband and I enjoyed it significantly more than the children who surrounded us, most of whom spent the movie repeatedly asking there parents what was going on.

Recommended for adults, or at least really smart kids.