Don't Worry, I'm Not Dead. But My Computer Is.

Yes, it has been a very long time since I have written- I have yet again been plagued by the computer destroying fairy and so have not had access to my laptop. ( I do have access to computers all around me, though I've been too lazy to make the trek up to BYU to use said computers). I do have plenty of books that I want to write on though and throughout these dark weeks have written down comments that I want to write in each post. Hey, when I shelve for 20+ hours a week every week and don't listen to music because my ipod has a battery life of 1 1/2 hours, I think "deeply" (cue sarcastic laughing).

Best Baking Cookbook

I always check out cookbooks from the library with good intentions of trying out some of the recipes, but when it comes to actually cooking something out of it, I fail miserably. However, I actually came across this cookbook (Williams-Sonoma: Essentials of Baking) as I was shelving one day, took it home, actually figured out how hard it would be to make each recipe, and followed through in making several of the recipes. (It must be because I love bread, and there are tons of great bread recipes.) I highly suggest this cookbook above all others; I have made more things from this cookbook than I have any other.

Summer 2008 Reading List Thus Far

Sharon Creech
Meg Cabot (I know, I'm still in middle school)
Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
Chuck Palahunik
Frances Meyer
Christopher Moore
Lemony Snicket- I need to finish 10-13
Nick Hornby
Joanne Harris
Anita Diamant
Gail Carson Levine
C.S. Lewis
Jerry Spinelli
James Patterson
John Grisham
Janet Evanovich- I hear from old people at the library all the time that her Stephanie Plum series are hilarious
Eoin Colfer- I still need to read the Artemis Fowl series- I've been putting it off since roughly 6th grade

Right now I'm working on reading Fight Club- I'm about a 1/4 in, Ella Enchanted (which my student teacher Mrs. Spaulding never finished reading to us in Mrs. Foster's 5th grade class), Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, which I just started today, and am finishing up the latest book in the James Patterson Maximum Ride series. Crazy.

I'm On the Fence About This One

My friend came into work the other day and returned the book Dairy Queen, which I then asked if it was any good. Her response took a couple seconds, and then said (more or less), "Yeah...it was okay. There's nothing too special about it; I didn't really think it was good, but then there were times as I was reading it that I found I couldn't put it down. I mean, I knew that it wasn't that great, but for some reason I couldn't stop reading it. I guess that means it's good." I was intrigued and so instead of reading all the other books that were (and still are) piled on my desk, read this one instead. I found that her recommendation of this book pretty much sums it up. To give you a brief synopsis of what it's about, here goes: a girl who has 2 older brothers who play football, and a younger one who is destined for NFL greatness is set among a dairy farm in Wisconsin. She (D.J.) is forced (for lack of a better word) being the only one in her family who can milk the cows and take care of the farm due to her father's bad hip and her brothers' star careers in sports. As the book goes on D.J. ends up training the star quarter back of the rival high school's football team all summer and learns how to overcome her social awkwardness, inexperience with boys (other than her jock brothers), develops a voice (in the literal sense; she rarely talks), and learns to embrace herself and try out for her high school's football team. The first half of the book was mediocre, but once D.J. made the decision to try out for football, things picked up. My friend's opinion of the book sums up perfectly how I felt once I finished it. However, because the second half of the book showed promise, I'm now reading the sequel, The Off Season. I know. Go figure.

My Newbery Award Winners (winners and honor books)

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Holes by Louis Sachar
The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Cathering, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Shabanu, the Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
Knee Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I've read all of these books and love them all. There's no specific order to them, but they all are entertaining to read.

The Life of Marilyn From Her Own Mouth

As I was shelving books a couple weeks ago I came across this biography of Marilyn Monroe that caught my eye for three reasons: it was thin, had a pretty cover (yes, I judge books by their cover- you do too), and was written by Marilyn herself (with the help of a professional writer). I seldom like to read biographies or autobiographies just becuase I hate reading about facts and dates. However, I picked it up and started to flip through and found that each chapter is a little story and that there are no dates or typical "biography formatting" (cross references, footnotes, etc.).

I'm not a Marilyn Monroe lover and she has never been my idol (for dressing or acting like her), but after reading her autobiography I was surprised at how "normal" she is. The book covers roughly from her earlier childhood until her earlier stardom; I knew that she came from practically nothing, but I had no idea that when she reached her stardom she still had little to nothing and lived her life in humility (somewhat). I understand that this is one-sided being from her point of view, but I couldn't help but sympathize with her as she was seen only as a sex kitten which was forced upon herself and from which she tried to shy away. My heart broke as I learned that in the home of one of her foster parents, a tennant molested her and no one seemed to care to hear what he did.

I recommend reading this book- it puts another spin on Marilyn's life that gives her a more down to earth quality. It was a fast read, and the way that she jumps from story to story with each new chapter are like different flashes of memories.

Books I Can't Put Down

Adult Books
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
Angels and Demons (which is so much better than The Da Vinci Code) by Dan Brown
Women of Genesis series by Orson Scott Card

Teen Books
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Snow by Tracy Lynn
The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan
Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons: The Story of Phillis Wheatley by Ann Rinaldi
Anne Frank and Me by Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld
Alanna series by Tamora Pierce

Kids Books
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
From the Mixed-Up Files of Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
The Giver series by Lois Lowry
Holes by Louis Sachar
The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley
The Lightning Thief series by Rick Riordan
Shabanu series by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White

All of these books or series have either made me read them until the wee hours of the morning and/or have made me angry at the person who made me stop reading them to answer their quesiton/unimportant task they need me to accomplish. All of these books are phenomenal and heave resonated with me look after I put them down. I'm sure there are other books like that that have had the same effect on me, but I just can't think of them right now.