More with Meg Cabot? Seriously? Do you owe her money?

I know. I’ve blogged about her before. Repeatedly.
But seriously. I love Meg Cabot.

She’s just so good. And her series are so fun. Plus I just love series. Cause you like them, and then there’s more of them. Ingenious.

The Kindle and I just finished reading her 1-800-Where-R-You series. Well, we read four out of five. Because for some reason the middle one is not available for the Kindle. Grrr…

And they were so good. I just love her writing and her characters. Always fun and fiesty, with just enough added romance. They're about a girl who gets hit by lightning and can then find people who are missing.  And she has various adventures.  And a cute boy.  A nice addition to her stable of good books.

Who doesn’t love smutty vampires?

So in my search for post Twlight books (and the rereading brought on by watching New Moon and having ensuing age-inappropriate Jacob lust) I was looking for another enjoyable vampire series.

I did not find anything quite as engrossing as Twilight, but did find the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost.

These books are about a half vampire/half human named Cat. She hunts vampires and has various special powers. She meets up with a vampire named Bones and although she’s sworn to hate all vampires she ends up falling for him (I know…shocking). The books (there are four with a fifth coming out this year) follow them as they fight people and have kinky vampire sex. Always a good time.

Still, they’re a good read. I’ve been enjoying reading things far removed from reality at the moment as a break from being a constant baby mama and vampires/ghouls/whatnot fits the bill.

Looking for love...

I think it takes guts to decide your life is interesting enough to write an autobiography when you're only in your 30s. That said, Bridget Harrison's Tabloid Love is realtively interesting, if somewhat unfinished.

It's the story of the author - a British writer who comes over to work for a New York newspaper and the various romances she has.

I ended up wishing it were a fictionalized account so I could have a more satisfying ending, but it was fun.

More fun with Lee Nichols

A little bit ago I blogged about a book by Lee Nichols that I had liked. I have since read two more by her and enjoyed both of them.

Wednesday Night Witches is about three women with various girl type problems who also end up having magical powers (and who hasn't been in that situation, after all). It was fun and girly, plus I always enjoy the addition of magic.

I also read Tales of a Drama Queen, which I think is her best known book. It was fun, but like the Shopoholic series you spend the whole book wanting to reach in and slap some sense into the main character as she makes a series of bad choices.

Both were a good time.

Surprisingly disappointing

I was so excited when I finally got American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld from the library, after waiting for ages. And yet it was such a disappointment.

It is the thinly veiled fictional biography of Laura Bush. Not normally a topic that would interest me, as I am not huge fan of the current first family. Maybe this was what stood between me and liking this book? But I found it slow and just not generally interesting.

I have just loved her other two books, Prep and The Man of My Dreams, so I was sure this would be a winner as well. What happened?

How have I not blogged about Jennifer Cruise yet?

I don't know how I haven't written about Jennifer Cruise yet, since I absolutely love her. I think I've read everything she's written and it's all SO fun.

Last week I thought I had stumbled across a book of hers I had missed, much to my glee. I started Bet Me and realized a little way in that I had, in fact, read it. But it was good enough that I read the whole thing again and enjoyed it the second time around as well.

Her books are totally fun and frothy but are also well written and really absorbing. Read something by her! You won't be sorry.

Cute book, too much stand-up

I am predisposed to like all British chick lit, which is why I got all the way through the (oddly long) book Snap Happy by Fiona Walker. It seems like a book I would have like more - romantic mis-understandings, happy ending. The off putting factor was that the main character was supposed to be a stand up comedian. This led to lots of "comedic" one liners that were mostly lame or too pun-y, even for me.

A delightful vacation read

Having returned from my travels, I have many tales of books, movies, and television I have enjoyed (after all, it's not a vacation unless there is time for leisure).

An especially good book I found was Hand-Me-Down by Lee Nichols. I enjoyed this one enough that I immediately began scouting Amazon for other things she has written.

It's the story of Anne, who lives in her sister's shadows and is trying to make her own way while being attracted to her sister's ex-boyfriend.

It's a little long, or perhaps I was distracted, because it took me forever to finish. Still, it's a cute story with good characters, and, of course, a happy ending.

Quick - read this book!

I love finding a great book. It is just the best feeling, and one I had recently when I read Jane Austen in Scarsdale by Paula Marantz Cohen.

Such a fun and interesting book. The requisite love story, plus a surprisingly involving plot about the main character's work as a high school guidance counselor. It's well written and I was more interested in the extraneous characters in this book than I am in the main characters in others I have read.

She has a couple other novels out that I have put on my library hold list. Hopefully they are all good.

So, go out and read this one.

Jucier than Desperate Housewives

Reading The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives is a lot like reading People Magazine.

It might not have a ton of literary value, but it's fun and gossipy, and the characters in it are vaguely horrifying.

It is the story of a very wealthy neighborhood and all the scandal that is lurking underneath the surface. (Hint, it's a lot)

All in all, a good time.

Am I a broken record?

Oh my goodness, stop talking about Katie Fforde.

But I can't, because I just love her.

I just finished Restoring Grace, and it was another winner. British, house remodeling, and romance. What more can a girl ask for.

Perfect for curing up in bed with.

Girly short stories

I am not a huge short story person, as I like to spend more time with my characters. It is sometimes enjoyable, however, especially since I am going through a no attention-span having period.

The stories in Girls Night In are generally pretty solid. They are by a lot of chick lit authors I already like, plus the book introduced me to some new ones whose books I am now going to check out.

Expanding my chick lit horizons is, of course, always a plus.

Writers love New York

It's not that I don't think New York is a great city. I get a little tired of the books written by/about women who are completely obsessed with it, though.

Momzillas by Jill Kargman is such a book.

It is very New York centered, and the author tries a little too hard with her trendy dialogue.

Here's a sample: "I know, I know: most peeps loathe their MiLs; it's the rule and not the exception. MiLs bug DiLs. They get up in their bidniss."

Do people in New York not just talk like normal people? It has been a while since I've been there.

The book is fun, though, and about child raising in the city. If nothing else it served to make me very glad I don't live there.

More Katie Fforde, more!

Practically Perfect is the second Katie Fforde book I've read in a relatively short period of time. I seem to be on some kind of roll.

She's just SO good, I want to devour everything she's written, but I am trying to pace myself.

Practically Perfect was another winner. British...house remodeling...true love...dogs...it has everything a girl could want.

So recommended. I just don't think you can go wrong with her.

Do I want to move to Wyoming?

I occasionally go through phases where I want to move into the country to a small town. I think it would be fun to have lots of land and know your neighbors and not be in a city or suburb.

The Quality of Life Report, by Meghan Daum is about a woman who does exactly that, moving from New York to the middle of the country and small town America.

I always like to be able to virtually do something by reading about it without actually having to make some huge life change on my own.

The book was good, though the heroine is one of those dumb girls who makes bad choices which as a reader gets a little frustrating. Still, it has managed to stave off my need to move, at least for the time being.

Not all YA fiction is created equal

In the realm of young adult fiction, there are definitely different levels of goodness. I am a fan in general, but there are definitely some with writing that is less good or simpler plots.

I recently read Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski. I have read some of her adult books and liked them. Plus, I couldn't resist the plot about a teenager who develops magical powers.

It was a bit like a less interesting Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Plus, the main message of the book is that you can't use magic to fix or change anything in your life. I have to believe that's not true, otherwise, what's the point of having magical powers?

So it was only so-so. That said, I have already requested the next in the series. I have low standards.

Stephenie Meyer does adults

I know, this is my third post about something Stephenie Meyer has written. I am not obsessed, I promise.

But I just finished (well started, and then finished in the course of a day) The Host, her first novel for adults.

The book is about an Earth where parasitic aliens have taken over and take control of people's bodies. It's the story of one alien and her human "host."

For the first hundred pages of so I was really not into this book. I kept almost giving up on it, but decided I would read at least to page 100. The next thing I knew, I was on page 230 and totally hooked.

It's a little more science fiction-y than I am generally into and than her other books have been, but it's an engrossing story and a fast read, especially for a long book.

If you have liked the Twilight series, I think it's definitely worth trying, although you may have to give it a few chapters.

Can I be British?

What is it about British chick lit? It is somehow so much more interesting than its American counterpart (not that I don't enjoy the American version as well).

Still, there's something about their shops, food, and strange spelling (e.g. apologise) that I just can't get enough of.

My latest discovery? The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne. So fun, it's main character starts a business where she helps men do things like shop and throw parties and just generally whips them into shape. Plus it's the first in a series, which I always enjoy.

Do try it, perhaps with a cup of tea, and you will not regret it.

I love foodie books

It's no secret that I love chick lit. But I have a special place in my heart for chick lit that talks about food.

Although I am not much of a cook, I love food. I like to watch people make it and even better, to read about it.

So I especially enjoyed Sarah Strohmeyer's Sweet Love. It's the story of a woman whose mother is trying to get her together with her first love. She does this by arranging for them to take a cooking class together.

There's a nice story, some romance, and a lot of talk about cooking and eating desserts.

Be warned, I was forced to consume a lot of chocolate through the course of this book so I could keep up with the characters.

Katie Fforde is lovely

I first met Katie Fforde and her books years and years ago. I was living in London for a summer and read Stately Pursuits, and completely fell in love with it and her.

It is everything chick lit should be - fun and romantic and well written and British to boot.

I have enjoyed all of her books since then and spent part of this week curled up with Bidding for Love.

So enjoyable I did not want to stop reading it. City girl moves to the country, find new life, meets interesting people, and falls in love. It's the comfy mac and cheese of books.

A word of caution for readers - the object of her affection? Her cousin. I know. They're supposed to be "distant cousins" but it still kind of skeeved me out the whole time.