How is USA so good?

I swear that until a few years ago I never watched the USA network, except for a few late night and over-run movies.

But in the last couple of years, they have come up with some great original series.

My personal favorite (also loved by my husband) is Psych. In it, two friends pretend to be psychics and solve mysteries. It's so funny and different.

They also have the (slightly less) great Monk, Burn Notice, and In Plain Sight. All of them are enjoyable, plus they're all new in the summer when not too much else is.

My only complaint is their bizarrely short seasons. I am always thrilled when I see new shows are going to be coming on, but they often show about six episodes and then disappear for another four months.

Still, try them and I promise you will not be disappointed.

Fun girly goodness

Great summer reading is hard to come by. It's got to be escapist and a good read and just a little trashy. Chasing Harry Winston , by Lauren Weisberger, falls into all of those categories.

It's the story of three friends trying to make changes in their personal and professional lives all the while flitting around with boys and travel and jewelry.

These are all good things. My only complaint is that none of the girls are particularly likeable. I generally wanted things to turn out well, but I wasn't really invested in any of the characters. Perhaps I am just too far removed from fabulous women in New York.

This book is by the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which totally rocks, in both book and movie form. If you've somehow missed that one, read it first.

Japanese game shows rock!

So I may be one of the two people in the world who has been enjoying "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" this summer.

The show itself is kind of lame, but I do so love the parts when they compete in Japanese game show competitions. I have loved Japanese game shows ever since watching them in a hotel room in Hawaii.

So the show is worth watching especially if you can fast forward to just the game show parts. The rest of it is your typical reality show fare of stupid people arguing.

Look! They often dress up in costumes. Who doesn't enjoy that?

My all time favorite young adult books

When I was young, I completely fell in love with Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness Quartet . It's made up of Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant.

It's a kind of fantasy-ish series about a girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can become a knight. There's magic and kissing, which is, of course, the perfect combination.

I have found this series to hold up well. I not only read it a million times as a kid but have reread it several times as an adult. So enjoyable.

Christy is a little like 7th Heaven...

Leisure Girl has been alone for the last week or so while her husband has been traipsing around the country.

I have spent these nights curled up in bed by eight watching Christy: The Complete Series. This is one of those shows (think 7th Heaven, Doctor Quinn) that I usually find a little too wholesome/slow. But I wanted to try it because I like Kellie Martin, the main actress.

All in all, it was quite fun. At times a little slow or preachy, but the characters are relatively enjoyable and it has the two guys fight over one girl aspect that I love (and is so often found in Korean TV).

The series is based on a book by Catherine Marshall, which I have now added to my library queue.

Unfortunately, the series ended with a cliff hanger, but they they made a mini-series to follow it up. I've heard the mini-series is awful (and has different actors) but I must have closure, so watch it I shall.

I thought The Manny would be juicer..

So when I first saw The Manny by Holly Peterson I thought it looked too frivolous. A shocking admission, given some of the things I've admitted to reading, I know.

But I finally got it from the library, and got past my prejudice enough to read it.

The result? Mixed.

It's fairly well written, but none of the characters are quite well developed enough that you really care what happens to them. The main character stays with a lousy husband for pages and pages and pages. Why? Clearly, life's too short.

There's a romance, but even that is a fair amount of build up for not much action.

Plus there's an endless in-depth (one of the few things that is) work sub-plot. Please, if that's what I was interested in I would be actually working, not reading a book called "The Manny."

All in all? Not too frivolous for me, maybe just not frivolous enough.

Sometimes I cheat on my couch

It's no secret that Leisure Girl enjoys her couch.

But, I must admit, my heart also belongs to another.

I love my bed .

One of my favorite things in the world is to wake up (late, obviously), make some breakfast, and bring it back to bed where I curl up with a good book.

I also love movie watching in bed. If it weren't for the Tivo only being hooked up downstairs, I might never get up. Also the couch also has the close to the kitchen benefit.

What makes my bed so wonderful?

- I bought my mattress from Angel Beds, which sells tempurpedic knock offs. So unbelievably comfortable.

- Lots and lots and lots of pillows.

- Lovely sheets. I am especially fond of the Martha Stewart line at Macy's.


Not my bed...but it looks comfy.

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.