Shopaholic and a Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Becky Brandon is at it again. But this time around I find the story a bit more heartwarming. She and Luke are expecting. And I suppose I can relate. When you're expecting, you can't help but want to get anything and everything for the baby. But you do realize the reality of things and restrain yourself to an extent. Not so with Becky. She is a shopaholic, you know. She also wants the celebrity obstetrician that she overhears a fellow shopper talking about. Unfortunately this new celeb ob-gyn happens to be an ex of Luke's. But that doesn't stop Becky b/c she wants to go where the celebs go. We follow Becky as she shops in the name of the baby. Becky goes through a lot in this book that I'll blame on hormones. ;) As does everyone else in the book. What is not hormonal is the ex trying to sabotage Becky and Luke's marriage. As Becky goes into false and then real labor, we find out why and how Luke falls in love with Becky - well, we know b/c we've been with them since the beginning... And now there is a new little being to join them. Now you don't think I'm going to give it away, do you?

Now I'm wondering if I should read Confessions of a Shopaholic. Not that I'm ever going to see the movie. I'm pretty sure that the book is based on the movie. Then that would be a condensed version of the the first few books, I think. Eh, not really interested.

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory

As with the other books I've read from Philippa Gregory, I am so tempted to run out and read factual books on the lives of Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots and all the others. I want to find out what actually happened and what didn't. I want to see how true to life is the story that Philippa Gregory has woven. She really is a wonderful storyteller. It's amazing how she is able to weave and fill in gaps of history. I mean, what would happen if she fabricated everything. It is a piece of fiction, isn't it? But it's based on facts. There really was a Mary Queen of Scots. There was a Queen Elizabeth. Speaking of which, I want to re-read The Virgin's Lover and compare notes. lol Anyway, it's not like someone is going to come and say Philippa Gregory is a liar and made up stuff.

In this book we follow Mary Queen of Scots during her days in England. She is the "other Queen" that is supposedly the rightful Tudor heir to the throne. As repeatedly said, Mary Queen of Scots is a queen three ways: she was married to the prince of France, she is daughter of the Queen of Scotland and she is the grandniece of Henry the VIII. She is held prisoner for conspiring to murder her husband, the Scottish prince, in order to marry her current husband, Lord Bothwell. Inquiries are made in the Elizabethan court and she is put under the 'house arrest' under Lord George Talbot, a man loyal to the throne. George Talbot, eventually loses his heart, his wife and much of his fortune in caring for this young queen as she plots to regain her freedom.

2008 Book Challenges

I'm pretty proud of myself for completing both the books challenges. And actually keeping track of the books. We all know I am not the most organized. hehe But I actually did it! Woohoo! Of course it did take me a while to transfer the list here. Since obviously I didn't remember to log my books here. I may even be missing a book. But now that it's been almost a month, I forgotten what that books is. Gee, how typical....

So here are the lists of books that I've read for 2008! Happy Reading for 2009! Believe it or not, I'm doing alright!

Title Challenge

A - Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer
B - Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
C - Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
D - Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs
E - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
F - Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
G - The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
H - Holy Guacamole by Nancy Fairbanks
I - If Cooks Could Kill by Joanne Pence
J - Jessica Z by Shawn Klomparens
K - Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
L - The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
M - Murder on the Menu by Miranda Bliss
N - Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
O - On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
P - Paint it Black by Janet Fitch
Q - Quicksand by Iris Johannsen
R - The Snow Empress by Laura Joh Rowland
S - Step on a Crack by James Patterson
T - Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
U - Until the Day You Die by Tina Wainscott
V - Vanishing Point by Marcia Muller
W - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
X - The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton
Y - You've Been Warned by James Patterson
Z - Zapped! by Carolyn Higgins Clark

Author Challenge

A - Air Apparent by Piers Anthony
Two to the Fifth by Piers Antrhony
B - Cooking up Murder by Miranda Bliss
Dead Men Don't Have Munchies by Miranda Bliss
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett
C - Latte Trouble by Cleo Coyle
Decaffeinated Corpse by Cleo Coyle
Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle

Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark
Hitched by Carol Higgins Clark
The English Breakfast Murder by Laura Childs
Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot
Unpredictable by Eileen Cook
D - The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver
E - Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich
F - Cold Mountain by Charles Fraizer
Death a l'Orange by Nancy Fairbanks
Chocolate Quake by Nancy Fairbanks
Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein
Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke
Mozzarella Most Murderous by Nancy Fairbanks
Turkey Flambe by Nancy Fairbanks
French Fried by Nancy Fairbanks
Sympathy for the Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer
Dim sum dead : a Madeline Bean catering mystery by Jerrilyn Farmer
Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
Bridget Jones' diary by Helen Fielding
G - The Appeal by John Grisham
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerristen
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
H - Prior Bad Acts by Tami Hoag
April Fool Dead by Carolyn Hart
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
I - Third Degree by Greg Iles
J - Pandora's Daughter by Iris Johansen
The Golden Valkyrie by Iris Johansen
K - Rage by Jonathan Kellerman
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury
The dim sum of all things by Kim Wong Keltner
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
L - Made in the USA by Billie Letts
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts
M - Saturday by Ian McEwan
N - Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble
O - The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
P - Double Cross by James Patterson
7th Heaven by James Patterson
The Sixth Target by James Patterson
Stranger in Paradise by Robert Parker
Two Cooks A-Killing by Joanne Pence
The Lake House by James Patterson
Red Hot Murder by Joanne Pence
Sundays by Tiffany's by James Patterson
Courting Disaster by Joanne Pence
Q - Behind Closed Doors by Tara Taylor Quinn

R - Witch Hunt by Ian Rankin
The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte by Laura Joh Rowland
S - Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steele
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline
Sisters by Danielle Steele
T - Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
U - Black out : a novel by Lisa Unger
Beautiful Lies by Lisa Unger
V - Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
W - Dead Time by Stephen White
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
The guy not taken : stories by Jennifer Weiner
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
What Lies in Shadow by Tina Wainscott

X - A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
Y - The highly effective detective goes to the dogs by Richard Yancey
Z - The Book Thief by Mark Zusak

The Baby Chronicles by Judy Baer

I chose this book blindly. First off, I knew it was chick lit but I didn't realize it was Christian chick lit. Secondly, apparently it is a part of a series. I didn't realize that til I finished the book. I saw a comment on the back cover about The Whitney Chronicles. Bummer. I prefer not to read books out of order. Oh well.

As far as the Christian chick lit is concerned, I didn't feel as though it was overtly religious. It wasn't til the end that religion is mentioned more. So that didn't really bother me.

It was a nice cozy book about 3 women who want to have babies. Whitney, who decides to have a baby after 2 years of marriage, and is pleasantly surprised by one. Mitzi, who has been on fertility treatments after trying for a long time and is surprised with triplets. Kim, who is adopting due to health issues - breast cancer and depression - which would make a pregnancy an unwise decision. We go through their trials and tribulations as they talk, laugh, play and work. Towards the end of her pregnancy, Whitney's faith is tested she almost loses her husband. It is Mitzi who helps her see her way back.

And of course there is a fairy tale ending where their amazing boss restructures and renovates their office so that the 3 women can make their own hours and bring their babies into work with them. Where can I find a job like that?

STori Telling by Tori Spelling

Here are some thoughts that I had shared with my IRL book club. Please excuse the choppiness of the incoherent thoughts. lol Then I added some more to flesh it out.

I agree, I did get the feeling that I was reading fiction rather than a real story. It didn't seem real. The outrageousness of what her life just doesn't seem possible. But what do I know? I'm just a girl from a lower middle class working family. Her life could be the lives of all those celebrity children and they do not think twice about it.

I never thought of her much and when I did, it was like she said, Tori Spelling, oh, Aaron Spelling's daughter. Truthfully, I didn't think much of her either. I didn't think she was that pretty. I know, very catty of me. And now that she says in her book that she was constantly trying to make comedic gestures to stand out in the crowd, I simply thought she wasn't that good an actress. That she got her roles (apparently like everyone else thought) b/c of her daddy. Tori says that she didn't get her roles b/c of her dad. That she got it on her own, based on her ability. Maybe. I'm not really buying it. Maybe I'm being a little hard. Maybe her dad's name got in her foot in the door and she is the one who kept it open. But the thing is, even according to her, she hasn't done so well. So maybe she isn't that good? She tells about these movie roles that keeps getting cut, pilots that keep being shot down. She's doing a show now that's not really a show. It doesn't require acting ability. People just want to look into her life. That's not acting. I actually think it's kind of sad that someone would allow cameras to monitor their life. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm a nosy one, too. I totally want to peek into their lives. Yes, I'm a total perv. lol But are they so desperate for attention. That's my take on it.

I didn't realize she did that many TV movies. I think I've seen a few movies that starred her. Well, I didn't actually watch them. You have to love the info button on the remote control. lol Come to think of it, I thought Shannon Doherty and Jennie Garth were the queens of TV movies. Why not Tori Spelling, too?

Her relationship with her mom was just weird. There had to be something more. Since it was Tori Spelling writing her own memoirs, I doubt that she would portray herself in a terrible light. While I will believe that she is a nice person, I think it highly unlikely it was a totally hangup on her mom's part. There had to be something else going on. Like Michele had said, that I'm sure her dad had something to do with the poor relationship between mother and daughter. Saying that they were Hansel and Gretel while the mom was the witch. A little weird, don't you think? And it makes sense that there would be a jealously issue btwn her and her mom. I'm sure that her mom had a bloated sense of self, too. So when Tori came into herself, became her own person, there was someone to compete with.

I think it was Michele who said that her mom didn't train her for real life. But she didn't really have a "real" life by any standards, normal standards anyhow. Having designer Halloween costumes is not real life. Having a 10,000 sq ft house is not just a large house. Based on what BBC moms have said, 3000 sq ft is a big house. Then D tells me that my cousin's ginormous mansion like house is 5000 sq ft. You can bowl in her bedroom! A 10,000 sq ft house must be super gigantic! That is not real life or realistic. Okay, it's real life to her, but seriously, not realistic. I have to laugh at her reminder that the house Aaron Spelling is known for (I can't believe it has 100 rooms and is an acre big!) is not the house she grew up in. That it was simply a large house, but not as large as the Manor. Even having a 10,000 sq ft home is not real life. Getting a BMW for your 16th birthday is not real life. Having a beyond luxury condo when you're 22 and simply paying $1000 is not real life. Oh, I could go on.

As far as that inheritance, I can see how being left $800,000 out of so many millions can seem not right. Especially in light of how her father could buy a million dollar piece of jewelry at the drop of a hat. I mean, I do not expect my parents to leave me anything. I wouldn't expect it, but it just seems different in her case. I guess simply because they had so much money. That said, I totally agree with Rebecca in what she (Tori) thought about being a SAHM and wife. Maybe if Tori Spelling wasn't hundreds of thousands in debt, the inheritance or therelackof wouldn't matter. I guess the $800,000 seemed like a slap in the face. Kind of like 'leaving a nickel for the waiter for poor service' philosophy. But I wouldn't mind that kind of slap in the face. lol $800,000, that's a pretty penny. I could do a lot of damage with that kind of money. :P But when one continuously builds up debt without forethought, I guess $800,000 is piddly. I think she says that it would have been nice if her dad gave her enough money to cover her debts. What good would that have done? She would have just gotten into debt again. More on that in the next set of thoughts....

I had to chuckle about her being satisfied with spending $25 at Forever 21. I've caught a couple of episodes of Tori & Dean Inn Love last year when I still had time to watch television. ;) I am reminded of the planning for her son's first birthday. Ummm.... that is not how someone thinks or throws a party when they have "no money." Not by a long shot. She is so not a normal person no matter how she thinks she is now. One does not have to have a customized cake. One does not have to have monkeys even if the theme is monkeys. One does not have to have the party at someone else's house when one's own backyard will suffice. One does not have to invite everyone under the sun. One does not have to have a circus at a one year old's birthday party. And that's all I caught. I think I must have missed a lot more since Michele says the party must have cost $10k. I guess I think her a little frivilous and self-entitled. Okay, I'm being a little hard. But it wouldn't have mattered how much money her father left her, even if just to cover her debts, she would have continued to have debts and still not be able to be a stay home mom and wife that she seems to think she could be.

So instead, she decides to air out all her secrets by writing a tell all book and having a reality show. Well, obviously, she doesn't consider them secrets since she's telling everyone. I remember catching another episode where she goes to off to do a talk show shortly after the baby is born. How is that putting the baby first? It wasn't like she was doing it for the money. It was to promote her career. To me, despite what she says, it doesn't seem like she wants to simply be a stay at home mom and wife.

Wow. So, okay, I had a lot to say.... lol

Shopaholic and a Sister by Sophie Kinsella

Oh, Becky Bloomwood... what can I say? She drives me crazy. I really feel like shaking her. She really is addicted to shopping for simply the sake of shopping and doesn't seem to learn. That said, she is charming, good hearted and really means well. In this, 4 or 5th book in the Shopaholic series, Becky and Luke are on their yearlong honeymoon trip around the world. And of course, Becky considers it a world shopping trip. But I can see how easy it is to shop and not know how much you have purchased when you have everything shipped home. Hmmm... I suppose that's why D didn't want to sent things right to the room although the Disney resort offered that privilege. Anyway, when they returned home, she ended up with 2 trucks full of stuff! Whew! And while they are away, lots had happened - her best friend Suze had twins and found a new best friend, and her father found out that he had a daughter that he didn't know about! Becky is excited to find out about her new sister and imagines wonderful bonding over shopping. Becky has a rude awakening. Imagine Becky's surprise when she finds out that her half-sister is a no frills person who hates shopping and everything else she thinks is fun. Yes, hates! They part on a poor note when they each say not so pleasant things to the other. Then things come to a head when Luke finds out Becky promised his PR firm would work on a hotel opening for a man with a poor reputation. A reputation that Luke does not want his PR firm associated with. And Becky places Luke in this dilemma when during their last days of their honeymoon, the man helps Becky get a coveted 2ooo euro "Angel" bag with a long waiting list. Luke leaves Becky for the hotel opening on a poor note. And Becky, in her devastation, goes to find her sister in order to learn to be more like her. Becky learns that she and her sister are more alike than they realized.

everyone worth knowing by Lauren Weisenberger

Jaw drop with what the PR world is like. Is it really like that? Do you really, I mean, is it really a PR person's job to go to the clubs and party all night long? Wow. Why couldn't I get into that? Nah, not my style but one could dream, couldn't I? Similar to Devil Wears Prada where a girl who seemingly knows nothing about the biz gets a dream job. Instead of being the assistant to the top editor in fashion, in everyone worth knowing, Bette lands a job with an up and coming PR firm and ends up partying with the hottest celebs and socialites. A bit over the top, but still fun to read about. Bette, daughter of two hippies, niece to a gay columnist uncle, impulsively quits her boring job in the bank world. She needs to find herself. Her uncle helps her land a job with a former assistant who has opened a PR firm. And what is her job? To go to the hottest nightclubs, to socialize with celebrities and socialites, to go to the hottest restaurants, to plan parties for companies like Blackberry and Playboy, and to fly first class to other countries. Poor Bette. lol All the meanwhile, her best friend is engaged to someone she cannot stand, she is constantly the subject of an online gossip column - and not in a good way - for her "relationship" with young, hot, wealthy bachelor and she is interested in Sammy, the bouncer, who has issues of his own. It all comes to head at the Playboy party where Bette finds her best friend's fiance making out with a former schoolmate and the party is crumbling around her. All's well that ends well. Bette finds love with Sammy who opens up a hot new up and coming restaurant. Her best friend breaks up with her fiance and starts anew. Bette decides she will write a romance novel, her secret guilty pleasure.