What I Read Last Week

I read a lot of books that I really liked last week and I'm so excited to tell you about them!

I'm linking up today with Life According to Steph and Jana Says for Show Us Your Books.

1.

This book is hard to explain, so I'm going to let the synopsis on the back do the explaining for me:
The traditional and nontraditional couples desperate for a baby . . . the adoptive parents. . . the single mom. . . the two who want nothing to do with parenthood . . . This is a thoroughly modern story of the pursuit of family in all its forms - and of five very different ways of getting there. 

I didn't like this book at first because the story kept jumping around so much that it was hard to keep everyone straight. The chapters were really short, so just as I was starting to get to know one character, the book would jump to the next set of characters. I was about a fourth of the way through the book before I started to connect to the characters and enjoy the book. (On a side note: whoever designed the cover of this book owes me an apology. Thanks to them, I've had the song Rubber Ducky stuck in my head for quite some time now.)

2.

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, but I can't say that it's going really well. I'm really good at eating healthier for about 3 days and then I start eating sugar like I'm on my way to the electric chair. So I thought it might be time to explore this problem further.

I didn't really relate to the parts of the book where the author talks about people eating to escape the pain of their unhappy childhoods. The only unhappy thing that happened in my childhood was that I tried to get the Rachel haircut while still growing out a perm and my hair ended up looking like this:

But this book has other aspects to it as well. There's a lot of stuff about eating mindfully and giving out bodies the food they need as a way of loving ourselves. So I still found it helpful.

At first, reading this book had the same effect that watching The Biggest Loser always had. It made me want to eat junk food. I don't know what it is about weight loss shows, but instead of inspiring me to work out, they inspire me to reach for the potato chips. But after reading for while, I began to see Geneen Roth's point. Maybe it's not the best idea in the world to watch TV while eating (even though those Golden Girls episodes aren't going to watch themselves.) And I began to notice how many unhealthy foods I'm eating that I don't even love the taste of. If I'm going to eat something that's bad for me, I shouldn't settle for mediocre junk food that's bad for me. I should eat something really good, like double layer chocolate cake with buttercream frosting (which is probably not the take-away the author was hoping I would get from this book.)

I finished reading this book almost a week ago, and even though I can't honestly say it's totally transformed by feelings/attitudes about food, it did begin to change some of my thoughts on this subject. Since reading it, I've taken some baby steps towards a more sane approach to food. So I would definitely recommend this book. I would also recommend that you never try to have layers added to your hair while growing out a perm. No wait. Back up. First: never get a perm. EVER. But, if, you do, don't add layers to it. Trust me on this one. Heed the warning or you'll live to regret it.

3.

This is a book that I've read before. But it's been 13 years since I read it. My brain cells are totally occupied with remembering soap opera storylines that happened decades ago, so I have no mental space left over to remember books I read even a month ago. There's just no way I could possibly remember a book I read 13 years ago when I'm busy remembering how Marlena pushed Stefano off the roof when she was possessed by the Devil.

This book is another memoir from David Sedaris. It kind of jumps all over the place from childhood to adulthood. Just like with his previous books, I liked the chapters that featured his family much more than the other chapters. But I didn't like the book as much as I was hoping. It was worth reading once (or if you have a really crappy memory like I do, twice) but I don't feel the need to read it again.


4.

Since my brain is so occupied with soap opera storylines anyway, I decided to read a book about a soap opera star.

I was a little nervous about reading this book. Compared to Erica Kane, Susan Lucci's life has been so normal and stable. She had the same job for 41 years and has been married to the same man for almost 50 years. She's never fought off a bear, stolen someone's baby, or staged a prison break. So I feared her book would be dull. I'm happy to report that the book was still entertaining. It was filled with behind the scenes stories from the set of All My Children, never before told stories from her personal life, and a great introduction detailing the moment when she finally won an Emmy after 19 nominations. Although, reading the chapter still can't top watching the video of her Emmy acceptance speech:

5.

I'm a shallow reader, so I love discussing the cover of books. When my three-year-old niece saw the cover of this book, she said, "I don't know why that girl is trying to read a book while standing on her head." I tried to explain to her that the woman isn't standing on her head, she's lying down. But Sofie does have a point. The cover is odd.

I love Anne of Green Gables. It's my all-time favorite book. So I was filled with excitement when I found this book. The book started out weaving the story of Anne of Green Gables together with the author's life. About mid-way through the book it became mostly about the author's life, with occasional glimpses of Anne. I still liked the book because I found the author's personal story about having been adopted, as well as the story of her daughter's adoption, interesting. But if you're looking for a book that's pure Anne, you'll probably be disappointed by this book.

6.

And now we've come to my favorite book of the week. Bachelorette # 1 is a novel about a freelance writer who is given a magazine assignment to pose as a contestant on a dating show and then write about the dark underside of it (The book doesn't come right out and name the show, but it's clearly supposed to be The Bachelor.) The only problem with this plan: the woman in question is really a suburban wife and mother.

This book was pure entertainment. It didn't move me to the depths of my soul or make me grow as a person. It was just pure fluffy, mindless entertainment. And I loved every minute of it.  My only complaint is that there was no one in the book as crazy as Sarah from Charlie O'Connell's season of The Bachelor. Does anyone else remember her? She was the one who said, "Well, he clearly didn't pick me because I'm beautiful and people are racist against beautiful people." Or how about that woman from Travis's season who complained to him about how her eggs were rotting. Sadly, this book was lacking in the level of crazy I came to expect from The Bachelor. But it was still filled with pure fluffy, entertaining goodness!

And now it's your turn, dear readers. What books have you enjoyed lately?