It's an ex-pat theme

I must want to flee the country, because I can not get enough of these "girl reinvents herself by moving abroad" books. I just finished English as a Second Language by Megan Crane.

This one lacks Paris (sigh) but instead has Alexandra heading off to a Master's program in England.

The characters are fun, and do a realistic amount of partying, drinking, hooking up, and other recognizable, if questionable, decision making.

The love story is good, although a little unresolved for me (who would happily see every story ended with "and they lived happily ever after.")

Although these books send me into a little "it's looking less and less likely that I will move into a flat in Vienna" tailspin, it's nice to know that I can at least read about other girls doing just that.

TV Guide - It's a magazine now

I am a magazine junkie. And I love TV. So it's probably no surprise that these two obsessions have to together with my subscription to TV Guide.

No more the tiny Reader's Digest guide of old, today's TV Guide it a glossy weekly magazine.

With it, I am up to date on what's happening with my shows and I know what to program into my Tivo.

Am I embarrassed that I subscribe to TV Guide. A little, but knowing I'm not missing anything more than makes up for it.

I love France

What is there not to love about France?

French men, French food, French cheese, French clothes...these things are all magical. So who doesn't like a chick lit book set in Paris? It's the best of all possible worlds, really.

One such book? The Art of French Kissing by Kristin Harmel.

It's one of those "girl changes her life dramatically and pretty much all goes well" but with Paris and lots of sexual tension.

An enjoyable, escapist read.

Random cable TV

Everyone says there's no good TV on in summer, but I have to disagree. Okay, I'll admit that my standards are low, but I think there are quite a few legitimately enjoyable cable series that come on when the network shows are off.

One of my current favorites is My Boys on TBS.

It is a half hour comedy about P.J. and her group of male friends. It's funny and light and I enjoy it despite the lack of any good romantic progress.

The first season is for sale now, and the current one is on TBS and can be watched online.

Enjoy My Boys, the perfect summer show.

Debs are always fun

Leisure Girl is back from vacation where she had a string of less than enjoyable books. These were actually bad enough to put down after fifty pages or so with the realization that life was too short to read boring things.

One exception to this streak was The Ex-Debutante by Linda Francis Lee. This was an enjoyable story about a Texas debutante who has escaped to Boston, only to be dragged back into her family and their society life.

The characters and Texas society-ness were fun

She also has a book out called The Devil in the Junior League, which had to be added to my libary list just based on the title. I've been in the Junior League, after all.

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.

More guilty pleasures - tell all books

In my defense, I very rarely read any sort of celebrity penned or true life gossipy book. Also, I got Tori Spelling's sTori Telling out of the library, so at least I didn't actually spend money to read it. That makes what I'm about to say a little better, right?

I actually kind of like Tori Spelling. I do admit to enjoying her reality show. And she seems pretty nice on it. A little air head-y at times, but someone you would enjoy hanging out with. Plus in my high school days I was a huge 90210 fan. So when I heard she'd written a book I had to give it a try.

And I read it all in one sitting.

That's right, I couldn't put it down.

The 90210 stories, how she got together with Dean (while they were both married to other people), and of course, her horrible horrible mother. Riveting. And the writing was fun and she continues to come across as likeable.

Okay, it's not War and Peace, but it was a nice way to wile away a summer afternoon.

Girls in books make bad choices

Leisure Girl is married, but even if she weren't, she would know that it's a bad idea to start pal-ing around with your ex-boyfriend and lying about it to your husband.

I spent much of the book Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin cringing as the (happily?) married main character made various horrible, car wreck-esque choices regarding her passionate (difficult? sleazy?) ex-boyfriend and sweet husband. Still, I couldn't stop reading to see how it was going to end.

I have enjoyed other books by this author although she seems to specialize in characters who are kind of awful, but you don't quite wish would be hit by a bus.

Chick mysteries = awesome

I am a fan of mysteries, and especially enjoy them when they star a spunky female protagonist (who doesn't enjoy those?). I can read about their various plucky activities and near death experiences while comfortably curled up on my couch.

I recently stumbled onto such a book with Killer Blonde by Laura Levine. It is a part of a series of books starring Jaine Austen as an occasional P.I. and solver of murders. A type of person books would have us believe exist in droves, although I personally have never met one.

The book was cute and I enjoyed the character. I am going to order some of her other books for some mindless and sleuthy summer reading.

Run, don't walk...

Okay, fine. You can totally walk, unless you're being chased by some kind of rabid dog. At which point it's your call. But however you get there, you should most definitely go to the theater to check out "Iron Man".

I know, I'm a little late to the "Iron Man rocks" band wagon, but I just managed to go see it this weekend.

I am a fan of the comic book/super hero movie genre as a whole, and "Iron Man" is the best of of those movies I have seen.

Robert Downey Junior was great and it had a fast paced story and good action (if you're into that sort of thing...which I'm generally not, but it was very entertaining in this movie).

Leisure Girl (and husband) highly recommend this one.

Friday night movie wrap-up

Leisure Girl spent Friday night in a fairly typical manner. Curled up on the couch with the lovely husband, some (bad) Chinese food, and a few movies from Netflix.

Last nights picks were August Rush and Over Her Dead Body.

August Rush: I had been waiting for this movie for ages. It had literally been on the top of my Netflix queue for months. And yet, when questioned by my husband as to why I had been so hot to see it I could only come up with "I like Keri Russell?" (And of course I do, Felicity was awesome). Still, Keri Russell's coolness was not enough to carry this fairly slow movie for me. Not much romance (which is a crime when the two leads are so cute) and a LOT of music. It was a disappointment.

Over Her Dead Body: This movie, on the other hand? Such an enjoyable surprise. My expectations were, to be honest pretty low. I don't think of Eva Longoria as particularly funny and I hadn't heard anything about this movie from when it was in the theaters. But it was funny! And it has the always adorable Paul Rudd who I would run off with in a second were my husband not sure to object. I recommend this one for some lighthearted, entertaining fun.

Why live your life when you can live theirs?

There are so many ways to escape your life. Although not particularly a video game girl, I love living an alternate life as a Sim.

I played the original Sims when it came out and now am quite a fan of Sims 2 as well as its various expansion packs.

I like the god-like quality of playing the Sims 2. You can create beautiful people, make them fall in love and have children, and then eventually kill them off when they bore you. I admit, I especially love the dressing them and doing their hair aspect, which reminds me of playing with Barbies.

Plus the Sims lets you be you, but a better version. Sim Leisure Girl is always fun and outgoing. It's much easier to get her to the gym than me, and she and her husband get to relax in hot tubs and take romantic vacations. So discover your alternate, or improved, personalities by playing Sims 2.

Gossip Girl - Guilty pleasure in any form

Gossip Girl is really everything you could ever want in terms of escapist teen themed entertainment. I was introduced first through the TV show and I must admit that it is my true love. I have since branched off into the books, however, and have found them to be also enjoyable.

Gossip Girl on TV is amazing. Fabulous characters wearing amazing clothes. It fills me with a longing to wear hair bows and plaid. Plus it is narrated by darling Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame. I have a special warm spot for Blair because she is so fabulous at being a bitch. So entertaining and angsty. I am planning on buying the first season when it comes out. Have you not seen this yet? Seriously? What's wrong with you?

After being obsessed with this show like I was still in high school, I of course, turned to the books. The characters are different from the show, but if you can get past that (and I can, barely) they are fun and gossipy and just generally enjoyable. Plus there's a bunch of them, so you don't have that "This was great but now there's no more!" feeling.

Both TV show and books are perfect for summer frivolity. What are you waiting for?

The internet makes TV better

Leisure Girl loves her television, so why not use the Internet to make watching television even more enjoyable? It's all about leisure multi-tasking, after all.

A few websites that make this easier:

1. My Soju: I have already blogged about the wonders of Asian television. But enjoying these wonders is all thanks to this website. Only a scant few series are available on Netflix (something that is sure to change as soon as Korean Drama fever sweeps the nation) and if you want to purchase them you can plan on spending around $150 each. Yikes. But My Soju lets you watch them for free! Magical.

2. Television Without Pity: This is perhaps my favorite internet site ever. Recaps of all your favorite shows in case you miss them and each one is filled with the snarky mocking that makes for real television enjoyment.


3. Network sites: I recently had a Tivo meltdown (shocking, I know) that painfully coincided with all of the season finales. Thank goodness you can now watch shows you missed on the network's websites.



4. Amazon: Even I can only watch so many shows. And sometimes I am just too impatient to get the series disc by disc on Netflix. Then my obsession forces my to buy whole television series on DVD. When I do this, it's usually from Amazon.

Fairytales for Grown-ups

I love discovering a new author who already has a number of books under her belt. What a nice surprise. You read something you like and then you can go back for more. Such has been my new love affair with Patricia Wrede.

I first met her when I stumbled across Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country (Such a good title!) It was fabulous and entertaining. Her books are a mix of young adult and big people books, although for the life of me I can't tell the difference between the two. Her books are all fantasy-ish and have a fairy tale quality that I love. I have also read her Enchanted Forest Chronicles and yesterday finished my current favorite, The Raven Ring. They're all so fun and escapist. I will be returning for more this summer. You should all do the same.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Disneyland? No. Guess again.

Sephora? Well, possibly, if you have a really big gift certificate.

Bed? I can't argue with that.

But I digress. I am referring to one of my very very favorite places.

The library.

What a marvelous place the library is. Want to read this book? Sure! Take it! No charge at all, we know you'll bring it back. Such an amazing concept.

Sure there are still many (many) books that I buy. Because the library doesn't have them or I want to own them or I must read them now, now, now. But thanks to the library my Amazon bills are only equal to the GNP of a very small country and not, let's say, all of Europe.

I just feel so peaceful in a library. It's nice to be reminded that there are lots and lots of interesting books out there. And despite my irrational fear that causes me to stockpile books like the end of the world is coming, it is very unlikely that I will ever run out and have

Nothing To Read

(my personal phobia).

So let's lift our glasses and say

"To the library!"

Does reading People make me dumber?

Leisure Girl admits, she is more than a People magazine reader. She is a subscriber. And People does not come cheap. I am currently spending almost $120 a year to be caught up on celebrity gossip. But I just can't help myself.

I have tried not to subscribe, I really have. But I just end up buying it every week anyway because there is something on it that catches my eye (Britney's insane! Someone's addicted to drugs! Exclusive wedding photos). So really, by subscribing I'm saving money, right?

Every Friday I am so happy to get the mail and see People. I curl up on the couch and find out what's happening in the world. Or at least in Hollywood. Okay, I might have been totally clueless about the whole tomato/salmonella thing until I saw a sign at a restaurant, but I know who's breaking up.

Although some part of me suspects it might be wrong, I have an insatiable curiosity about famous people. You know how some people look at tabloids and say "Who cares? Who even wants to know that stuff?" The answer is - I do. People magazine is yummy and escapist and nothing but fun. I heartily recommend it.