March 2011 In Review

How is it already the end of March? I guess the time flies by when you spend most of it reading and reviewing books or hopping to other book blogs to check out what other people are reading! 

Here's what I've read this month: 
*Numbering starts where I left off last month. Links link back to my review*

29. Immortal by Gene Doucette *Blog Tour stops here April 10!*
30. Losing Michael Malone by Nicholas Kasunic
31. I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson
32. Switched by Amanda Hocking
33. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
34. The Frugalista Files by Natalie P. McNeal
35. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
36. 50 Jobs in 50 States by Daniel Seddiqui
37. The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
38. Palm Trees on the Hudson by Elliot Tiber *Review coming soon*
39. When Colors Bleed (short stories) by Estevan Vega
40. Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagara Salesman by Jamie Reidy
41. Pulled by Amy Litchenhan *Review coming soon*
42. Leave Me Alone, I'm reading by Maureen Corrigan (audiobook) *Review coming soon*
43. Wither by Lauren DeStefano
44. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte *Review coming soon*
45. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein *Review coming soon*

Book In Progress:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand for the Readalong at A Literary Odyssey. 

Stats Year To Date:

• 45 books read out of 123 (my 2011 reading goal): 36 percent complete
• 8 books out of 40 (my 2011 goal to read from my own collection): 20 percent complete
• Number of pages read (excluding indexes and appendices I don't read): 13,036 pages

At this rate, I could meet my reading goal by the middle to end of August!

Double Feature: Waiting on... & WWW Wednesday 3/30

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to showcase upcoming releases that bloggers are eagerly waiting to get their hands on and their noses in. 

This week's pick for "Waiting on" Wednesday is Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America by Jeff Ryan. Here is the book's description courtesy of Amazon:
 The story of Nintendo's rise and the beloved icon who made it possible.

Nintendo has continually set the standard for video-game innovation in America, starting in 1981 with a plucky hero who jumped over barrels to save a girl from an ape.

The saga of Mario, the portly plumber who became the most successful franchise in the history of gaming, has plot twists worthy of a video game. Jeff Ryan shares the story of how this quintessentially Japanese company found success in the American market. Lawsuits, Hollywood, die- hard fans, and face-offs with Sony and Microsoft are all part of the drama.

Find out about:

* Mario's eccentric yet brilliant creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who was tapped for the job because was considered expendable.
* Minoru Arakawa, the son-in-law of Nintendo's imperious president, who bumbled his way to success. 
* The unexpected approach that allowed Nintendo to reinvent itself as the gaming system for the non-gamer, especially now with the Wii.

Even those who can't tell a Koopa from a Goomba will find this a fascinating story of striving, comeuppance, and redemption.  

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait a while to read this book. It isn't slated for release until August 4, 2011. I keep checking the publisher's Net Galley page hoping for it to appear, but as of this writing, it has not.  

WWW Wednesday is a weekly event sponsored by Should Be Reading that asks readers three very important questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next? 

Here are my answers this week:

1. What are you currently reading?

• I'm still reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged for Allie's Readalong at A Literary Odyssey. 
• Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan (audio book)
• Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein

2. What did you recently finish reading?

• Pulled by Amy Litchenhan *Review coming soon!*
• Wither by Lauren DeStefano *Review posted yesterday.*
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte *Review coming soon!*

3. What do you think you'll read next? 

• The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
• Beautiful Artifacts, Heartbreaking Relics by Joshua Boeringa
• One of the many library books I have checked out right now. Title to be determined. 

Review: The Ice Princess

The Ice Princess
By Camilla Lackberg
Translated by Steven T. Murray
Published by Free Press, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-2174-7
Review copy provided by the Publisher

I'm really not sure where to begin my review of Camilla Lackberg's The Ice Princess. The USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Literary Review, among others lavished the book with praise. The Daily Telegraph declared it "A must read." Lackberg's sales numbers are equally, if not more, impressive. According to the press release I received from the publisher, Lackberg is a number one best seller in several European countries and she is the seventh best selling novelist in Europe, with books translated into 35 languages. 

But (you had to know that was coming, right?), I just don't see what all the the fuss is about. The book was just okay. It wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't 'a must read' in my opinion. I didn't find it suspenseful, nor did I find it intense. It was just a book that needed to be read because I had started it, not because I wanted to finish it. Here's why.

The narrative of the book didn't make any sense to me. Is the book supposed to be about Erica, the 30 something biography writer temporarily living in her childhood home in Fjallbacka to go through her parents' possessions after their tragic deaths? Is the book really about Alex, Erica's childhood best friend and the woman found dead in a bathtub of frozen water, hence the title The Ice Princess? Is the book really about Patrik, the detective investigating Alex's murder who is also a childhood friend/secret admirer of Erica? Or is the book really about the myraid of other characters whose points of view who randomly pop up into the narrative? 

I think that's why I just couldn't get into the book. The narrative involved way too many views from too many characters. There was no suspense for me because the narrative showed me where the major players were coming from through the random narratives dispersed throughout the main narratives of Erica and Patrik. If Lackberg focused on one or the other and readers could only see the world from their eyes, I would have probably found the book more gripping and interesting. I got bored knowing too much about way too many characters. 

I also felt as though way too many characters were given back stories and motives. I had no interest in Patrik's comb over wearing jerk of a boss who was banished to small town detecting after too many incidents in a larger city. Why was his assistant even necessary? It seemed as though her only purposes were to show how much of a jerk the boss was because he was always ogling her and so Patrik had someone to talk about Erica with; however, Patrik's narrative already shared his thoughts on Erica so these scenes were rather redundant. The storyline about Erica's sister Anna and her abusive husband Lucas really had no point in this story. It didn't solve anything; it just produced more questions that weren't answered by the end of the book. 

I get that this book is supposed to be a series (Oh joy! Another crime solving book series! At least it doesn't involve vampires...), but the story and narrative just didn't work for me. The characters themselves are well developed and believable and the author does do a wonderful job of maintaining the plots and subplots in intricate and even surprising ways. But, the characters and plots weren't enough to make this a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it!), I give this book three stars. 

For more information about Camilla Lackberg, check out her website.

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors that Deserve More Recognition

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme organized by the bloggers at Broke and Bookish. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is:

 Top Ten Authors that Deserve More Recognition

10. Angie Sage:  Author of the Septimus Heap young adult series. 

9. Elizabeth Brundage: Author of psychological suspense thrillers The Doctor's Wife, Somebody Else's Daughter, and A Stranger Like You. 

8. Masha Hamilton: Author of 31 Hours and The Camel Bookmobile. She's written other books, but I haven't read them yet.
 

7. Sam Savage: Author of Firmin and The Cry of the Sloth.

6. Jeffery Deaver: Author of over two dozen mystery thrillers including Garden of Beasts and The Sleeping Doll.

5. Margaret Atwood: An author of many genres, including poetry, short stories, children's books, novels, and non-fiction books. Two of my favorite Atwood books are The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake.

4. Jason Letts: Author of the Powerless: Fantasy Adventure Series (YA) and the Inevitable Trilogy (YA paranormal romance).

3. Kazuo Ishiguro: Author of one of my favorite books, Never Let Me Go, The Remains of the Day, and others.

2. Ian McEwan: Author of one of my favorite books, Atonement. He has been publishing amazing literature since 1975.

1. Carlos Ruiz Zafon:  I absolutely loved The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game. I can't wait to read The Prince of Mist.

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #1)

By Lauren DeStefano

Published by Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-4424-0905-7

Copy purchased at Borders

What's it About? Courtesy of Goodreads:

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Lauren DeStefano's first book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy, Wither, is one of the most talked about books in the book blogosphere these days and with good reason. This book is amazing! Every day last week I came home to a new book blogger raving about this book on my Blogger Dashboard. My excitement finally grew to be too much that I started frantically calling bookstores trying to find a copy. My local Borders came through for me and put a copy on hold until I could get to the store. (Note: I did call the two independent bookstores in my town first, but neither of them had a copy. Both offered to order a copy of me, but I just couldn't wait that long.)

Technically, you could say that Wither is just another young adult dystopian novel to add to the dozens of young adult distopian novels, trilogies, and series that are flooding the market these days. But, I'm here to tell you that it's not. 

This is a fresh and original concept - In the search for perfection via genetically engineered children, society ends up killing off its children at a very young age through an unsuspected side effect: an incurable virus that kills like clockwork. Not only is this an intriguing premise for a novel, it is also a topic that is relevant in today's technologically and medically advanced world and in understanding world history during the early to mid twentieth century. The eugenics movement was popular in America and abroad, especially in Nazi Germany, in the early to mid 1900s.

The characters are solid and three dimensional. It is easy to get caught up in Rhine's story as she still mourns the deaths of her parents and being kidnapped and brutally ripped away from her twin brother Rowan by the Gatherers hired by Vaughn Ashby, a mad scientist bad guy looking for wives for his son Linden. I doubt the wives were meant to make Linden happy. I think the wives were meant to distract Linden so he doesn't catch on just how much his father manipulates him and his life. 

Which leads me to another amazing part of this book: the characters' relationships are so real they practically jump off the page. The dynamic between the sister wives: Rhine, Jenna, and Cecily; is especially charged and powerful. Their age differences - Jenna is 18; Rhine is 16; and Cecily is 13 - and backgrounds - Jenna was a prostitute (this is never outright stated, of course, just alluded to); Rhine left school after her parents died to work to support herself and her brother; and Cecily grew up in an orphanage - create tension and forge friendships and emotions all at the same time. Rhine and Jenna slowly become friends and both look after Cecily as a younger sister, even though she is a jealous brat sometimes who just can't wait to sleep with Linden.

 

The plot and storyline move quickly and is wholly engaging, so much so that I really forgot to question what I was reading to ensure that I actually thought it was plausible. One of the reviews I read before reading Wither was posted by Delphyne at The Book Den. She had many questions with the book and had trouble suspending her disbelief. I got so engrossed in the story that I forgot to think about any of the issues she brought up in her post. Maybe once my awe wears off a bit, I can revisit Delphyne's blog and have a good conversation with her about these questions!

Needless to say, this book packs a serious punch, especially at the end when you realize the book just came out and it will probably be a while before you can find out what happens in the next installment. *Sigh* On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it), I give it a five.

Blog Tour! Review: When Colors Bleed

When Colors Bleed 
By Estevan Vega
Published by the Author
eBook copy provided by the author
What's it about? Courtesy of Goodreads:
WHEN COLORS BLEED is a collection of short stories by the author of ARSON. This collection features three unique stories with universal themes of love, loss, and regret. Watch the colors bleed.

BABY BLUE:
Casey never had any luck with men, even though she was employed by one of the finest clothing stores in New England and saw attractive, “sure kinds” strolling through her section every day like clockwork. At twenty-three years old, she has given up on her dreams of the spotlight, of finding love, and of ever getting out of the small town she reluctantly calls home. But one rainy afternoon, Thomas Rayford, a very unusual and kind stranger, stumbles into her life looking for an odd, baby blue suit. One thing is certain: Casey, the twenty-three-year-old dreamer stuck in a line, will never be the same.

VANILLA RED:
From his cold hell in Block C, a nameless man unfolds this twisted tale. This is the story of a man who becomes something else. A man who had a father once. A man who loved once. “They want to know why. They want a reason,” he confesses. “But nobody likes the reasons. They’re like unwanted children or cancers with no cure. A reason is a justification, an excuse so we can’t be blamed. But I know what it is I’ve done, and there is no reason that can take it back.” So begins Vanilla Red, a confession, a story, a prayer, or perhaps a drip of dark truth in the batter of humanity. Take a look inside and tell me what color you see.

THE MAN IN THE COLORED ROOM:
Colin awakens in a room, jittery, afraid, and confused. He knows not how he got here, who brought him, or why. And the only thing waiting for him is a hot cup of coffee and a seemingly flawless room that bleeds colors. As an architect, he understands that no room is perfect, but somehow this anomaly has crawled through the cracks and pushed the limits of perfection. No seams. No lines. No windows. Enter a bald man in a suit. Once he steps through the door, he makes the colors disappear with the push of button. His name is Jack, and he claims to be a friend. Still unsure of anything, Colin wages war with his mind, with a dark truth he isn’t ready to accept, and with Jack. In the moments that follow, Jack asks Colin a series of questions, questions that will reveal the where, the how, and the why of his arrival. 

I first discovered Estevan Vega at my local Borders. My boyfriend and I stepped into the store and immediately a voice called to us, "Hey, come over here and check out my book!" We turned to discover Estevan Vega and a woman at a small table just off to the side of the store entrance. Estevan thrust a copy of his young adult book Arson into my hands and eagerly waited for me to read the description on the back. When I was finished, I looked up at him and said, "This isn't really my type of book," I paused, "But I'm going to take a chance and buy it." I told him that I was an aspiring writer myself and that I hoped someone would take a chance on me someday. Besides, he was really selling himself and this book to anyone who walked into the store. I was impressed.  He autographed a copy and I proceeded to the register with a new book to read. I started reading it as soon as I got home and I quickly devoured it. I loved it. To read my review of Arson, click here. 

I forgot about the book and Estevan Vega in the eight or nine months since this encounter as dozens and dozens of books have since passed through my hands. Until one day about a month ago when I saw a tweet from Estevan Vega. He was looking for reviewers for his short story collection, When Colors Bleed. If Arson was any indication of Vega's talent as a writer, I had a feeling I wouldn't be disappointed by When Colors Bleed.  

And I wasn't disappointed. Vega writes about the nitty gritty of life. He dares to air the things most people won't talk about: their loneliness, their sadness, their pain. He doesn't sugar coat or trivialize the frailty of human emotions and life. His characters are raw, believable; they are the type of people we can empathize and sympathize with.  

I enjoyed all three stories in the collection, but if I had to choose a favorite, I would pick Baby Blue. I easily found myself caught up in Casey - her lack of luck in love, her loneliness and inability to find companionship, even at her job surrounded by people all day in the department store. When other clerks laugh at the strange man who comes in once a week to try on the same clothes and to look longingly at a baby blue suit, Casey doesn't. She feels a connection with him that she can't quite explain. This man, Thomas Rayford, is not the strange, crazy man the other clerks think that he is. He has his own struggles and demons that he just can't escape, but Casey finds out about them much too late.  

I cannot say enough about Estevan Vega's writing ability, strong narrative voice, and his ability to create believable, flawed characters and put them in believable life situations that just jump off the page at the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, so much, in fact, that I wish there were more than three of them in the collection. On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it!) I give When Colors Bleed four stars.

Do you #fridayreads?

Friday is my favorite day of the week and it's not just because it ushers in the weekend, although that certainly does help. Friday is my favorite day of the week because I get to share what I'm reading and see what thousands of other readers are reading across the globe thanks to the Twitter hashtag #fridayreads. 

Created by @thebookmaven, #fridayreads brings readers together to discuss what they are reading, what they have already read, and to find new books to read. You don't have to be reading a conventional book or eBook to participate; magazines and audiobooks count too!  

When I first saw #fridayreads on my Twitter feed, I was ecstatic! Finally, I thought to myself, there is a trending topic that I would actually use! I've been a faithful #fridayreads tweeter ever since. 

Reading is a solitary activity. With the exception of reading a funny passage out loud to my boyfriend, I read alone, in silence. I know very few avid readers like myself and even fewer who immediately identify themselves as such. Thanks to Twitter and #fridayreads, I've met dozens of book lovers and avid readers that I call friends. We share our thoughts on books we've read and are currently reading and we swap book recommendations. My already ridiculously long 'to read' list grows every Friday thanks to all the participants and the intriguing books they read. 

I love reading. If given the choice between reading and just about any other activity, chances are, I'd choose to read. Thanks to #fridayreads, I won't run out of books on my 'to read' list any time soon. 

Are you on Twitter? Tell the Twitterverse what you are reading today and every Friday. Don't forget to include #fridayreads in your tweet!

WWW Wednesday - 3/23

WWW Wednesday is a weekly event sponsored by Should Be Reading that asks readers three very important questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next? 

Here are this week's answers:

1. What are you currently reading?

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand for the Readalong at Allie's blog A Literary Odyssey
• Pulled by Amy Litchentan
• Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan (Audiobook edition)

2. What did you recently finish?

• Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagara Salesman
• When Colors Bleed (short stories) by Estevan Vega *Review Coming Soon!*
• Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True Story of the Mob, Judy Garland, and Interior Decorating. *Review Coming Soon!*
• The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg *Review Coming Soon!*

3. What do you think you'll read next?

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain
• Beautiful Artifacts, Heartbreaking Relics by Joshua Boeringa

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Pet Peeves

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme organized by the bloggers at Broke and Bookish. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is:

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves

10. The inundation of trilogies and series in fiction. It seems like no book stands alone these days. I have to wait months to read the next installment of a story that could probably have been told in one, larger book. 

9. The "must read" books that everyone raves about. If everyone is talking about it, there has to be something wrong with it. That's my theory and it's proven true. Everyone urged me to read the Twilight Saga and there was a whole lot wrong with that. Vampires don't sparkle. 

8. Speaking of vampires... I'm so OVER them. I don't want to see, hear, or even think about another vampire book. 

7. People younger than I am (I'm 28) publishing memoirs. There is no need for Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, or Bristol Palin to write a memoir. They've barely lived! Besides, they will probably be embarrassed by and/or regret its contents later.
 

6. Manufacturer defects. Several years ago, I bought a copy of Scarlett by Alexandria Ripley only to discover that several of the pages in the middle of the book were bound upside down. I flipped the book upside down and kept on until I discovered that the next 50 pages were missing from the book. It also annoys me when the pages are not cut properly and page corners stick out and are stuck together. 

5. Books that Change Names. Right now, I just read Love & Other Drugs, which was previously known as Hard Sell:The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Why do books have to change names?

4. Books that smell bad. I love the smell of books. One of my favorite things to do is stick my nose right into the middle of a book and take a big whiff. A bad smelling book is just gross.
 
3. People who mark up and bend pages in library books. Grr! If you want to write in the margin or bend back pages, do it in your personal copy, not the public's copy! 

2. Store markings on books. I recently went to a store closing sale for a local Borders. After scanning each book I purchased, the clerk removed the Borders sticker (yay!), but made a mark in black sharpie marker over the barcode so I couldn't return the book to another Borders. I had to stuff my hands in my pockets in order to keep myself from reaching across the counter to steal his marker.

1. People who get upset when the book doesn't follow the movie. The movie should be compared against the book it was based on, not the other way around! Get angry at Hollywood, not the author!

Giveaway Winner!

We have a winner! Congratulations to Lisa at Book Him Danno who won an autographed copy of Losing Michael Malone by Nicholas Kasunic. Thanks to everyone who entered! 

Review: 50 Jobs in 50 States

50 Jobs in 50 States: One Man's Journey of Discovery Across America
By Daniel Seddiqui
Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60509-860-9 (PDF edition)
Copy provided by the Publisher via NetGalley
What it's about courtesy of Goodreads:

For several years after graduating from college at USC, Daniel Seddiqui failed to find clarity about what he wanted to do with his life. To make matters worse, he couldn’t seem to land a job – and failing to receive an offer after over 40 interviews, Daniel decided to try a new strategy. Following his dream to explore the diverse cultures and industries offered in America, he embarked on a seemingly impossible quest: to work at 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks.

This book tells how Daniel fulfilled this incredible dream. Working as a baseball scout in Massachusetts, a coal miner in West Virginia, a meteorologist in Ohio, and so on over the course of his life changing journey, he explains how he learned to adapt to each state’s unique circumstances and challenges. With vivid stories of his experience across fifty jobs (and the long drives in between), Daniel shares the lessons he learned about perseverance, risk taking, adaptability, networking, and endurance. From tales of the extraordinary kindness of strangers to the uncomfortable reality of having to sleep in his car, Daniel’s experience is an inspiration to anyone looking to break into the job market or to even just to follow their dream. 

I jumped at the chance to read this book. It is a modern day account of a man's realization of the American Dream! For a while now, I've thought that the quintessential American Dream was a thing of the past. Then, Daniel Seddiqui comes along with this amazing story of struggle, perseverance, and success that I couldn't help but jump up and down a bit inside.  

When readers first meet Daniel, he is at the lowest point of his life. He's been on over 40 interviews, but hasn't landed a job. His degree in Economics went unused as he served as a volunteer coach for various collegiate sports programs and moonlighted at retail jobs to pay the rent. As the years passed since his college graduation, his parents grew more and more disappointed in him. Why couldn't he just get a job?

In the face of epic failure, Daniel comes up with the idea to travel the country and work one job in each state - job that reflects the culture and economy of that state. 50 Jobs in 50 States (in 50 weeks!) was born. 

If he thought his parents were disappointed in him before, well, they hit a whole new level of disappointment once they heard about this. His father was adamant that he'd be back home within three weeks, an utter failure. And why couldn't he get a real job like everyone else and stop being a disgrace to his family and alma mater? But Daniel knew he really didn't have anything else to lose so he threw himself into the work of finding 50 different companies that would hire him for one week. 

What transpires is a beautiful and wildly entertaining coming of age/finding yourself story that showcases the best humanity has to offer: determination, perseverance, and kindness while simultaneously showcasing the myriad of careers and cultures America has to offer.

Readers follow Daniel as he zig zags across America. He works as a park ranger, baseball scout, and lobster man. He learns how medical equipment is manufactured, how maple syrup is made, and how thoroughbred horses are bred. He works as a golf caddy, modeling agent, coal miner, and as a high school football coach. He sleeps in the backseat of his Jeep, relies on sympathetic YMCA staff to take showers, and the kindness of strangers for a warm bed, hot meals, and connections for the next state. 

Soon, the media starts to catch on to Daniel and his expedition. His story is on CNN and Yahoo! news. He makes local and national news appearances. People start to take notice. He gains his parents' pride. People start recognizing him along the journey. People write him fan mail, thanking him for being such an inspiration and sharing their stories of defeat, failure, and loneliness. This support makes the difficulties and uncertainties of these 50 weeks well worth it for him. 
  
This is a great book. I couldn't help but get caught up in Daniel's struggles and his idea of working 50 jobs in 50 states. I learned quite a bit about this nation and even gained a few 'dinner table topics' that I love so much... "Did you know exactly how thoroughbred horses are bred? You don't? Well...." My only complaint is that there wasn't more to the book. I wanted more about the jobs, the social experiences, his thoughts. I know that if Daniel wrote more, the book would probably be rather large and lose a good deal of its appeal to readers, but still, I want to know more. 

On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it!), I give this book a four.

Review: The Rules of Survival

The Rules of Survival
By Nancy Werlin
Published by Dial Books, 2006
ISBN: 0-8037-3001-2
Library Copy
What's it about? Courtesy of Goodreads:

For Matt and his sisters, life with their cruel, vicious mother is a day-to-day struggle for survival. But then Matt witnesses Murdoch coming to a child's rescue in a convenience store, and for the first time, he feels a glimmer of hope. When, amazingly, Murdoch begins dating Matt's mother, life is suddenly almost good. But the relief lasts only a short time. When Murdoch inevitably breaks up with their mother, Matt knows he needs to take action. But can he call upon his hero? Or will he have to take measures into his own hands? A heart-wrenching portrait of a family in crisis, this is Nancy Werlin's most compulsively readable novel yet. 

This is a young adult book that deals with child abuse. That's why I requested it from the library. I had to see how the author, Nancy Werlin, created a young adult story focused on such a heavy, and often taboo, subject. Overall, Werlin handled it well. She didn't sugarcoat anything; she detailed the emotional and physical abuse Matt, Callie, and Emmy endured at the hands of their emotionally and mentally unstable mother, Nikki.

Sexual abuse is mentioned; Nikki toys with the idea of reporting her ex-boyfriend Murdoch for molesting Matt, even though it didn't happen. It was another method she could employ to terrorize him for leaving her, just like she followed him, staked out his house, and called his phone at all hours of the day and night just to breathe heavily until he hung up. It never actually happened. I think this would have been a completely different book if sexual abuse was also an issue. For some reason, I don't think I would even consider the book as young adult if sexual abuse was involved. That would have just pushed it over young adult/adult threshold in my eyes. 

The book is told from Matt's point of view as a letter to then nine year old Emmy. Matt wants to explain their family's troubled past to her before he goes to college, but knows that she is too young to understand. So, he writes a letter that he isn't sure when Emmy will read or if he will ever give it to her at all. 

The most compelling part of this story is the bond between Matt, Callie, and Emmy. The fear of their mother brought them together when it could have very easily torn them apart. Matt and Callie grew up way too fast and do everything in their power to protect Emmy. The bonds between these siblings is a thing of beauty in a story so ugly. 

There were a few plot holes in the story and a few character motivations I didn't quite understand or believe. For example, if Murdoch would confront a stranger in a convenience store about the way he was treating his son, why would he walk away from three children he got to know because he dated their mother? I don't understand how he could have just walked away like that. Why did Aunt Bobbie and Matt and Callie's father, Ben, finally get involved? I doubt it could have been because of Murdoch. Aunt Bobbie and Ben didn't even know him. Besides, they knew Nikki was crazy for years and never bothered to step in for the well being of the children. I am willing to let these issues slide because it is a young adult book. Answering these questions probably would have made the book a lot heavier and darker than a young adult book should be. 

It was a decent book. I read it in just under two hours on a Sunday afternoon. I'm really torn about the book overall though because it sits on a very fine line between young adult and adult fiction, at least in my mind anyway. On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it!), I give it two stars. 

Does anyone else read/review young adult books differently than adult books? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Readalong: Atlas Shrugged Post 1

I'm participating in my first Readalong with Allie at her A Literary Odyssey book blog. Allie's goal is to read her way through 250 of the classics! What a great idea, right? I kind of wish I thought of it first... 

Anyway, my first readalong is of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. This is a book on my book shelf (Yay! It counts toward my goal of reading 40 books from my collection!) and one I planned to reread in anticipation of the movie, well Part I anyway, hitting theaters on April 15. Here is the trailer:




I purchased and read my way through Ayn Rand's fictional works in 2005. I was blown away. Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead quickly became two of my all-time favorite books. Needless to say, I was eager to take the book off the shelf and get reading. Once I did, I was blown away all over again. I kept reminding myself that I know these characters and what is going to happen; the book hasn't changed in the six years since I read it last, but I was still surprised with each new development. I laughed out loud, marked passages, and even teared up at times reading Part I of the book. I don't remember being this in love with the book the first time around. 

The best way to describe Atlas Shrugged is in the words of its author, Ayn Rand, "It is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder- and rebirth- of man's spirit."

Business isn't business as we know it in this novel. The book is set in a dystopian America where the government is in control of businesses, dictating how and when they can operate through a myriad of laws and regulations that make it so everyone has a right to a business, even if he or she doesn't have the right tools, background, or know how. Instead, everyone has a right to a livelihood and if that means a successful, hardworking business person has to give up parts of their business for the sake of other's livelihoods, that is what should happen. Making money is taboo in this society. Business owners are scorned if they should mention that making money is their primary aim. Businesses should be about the social welfare, providing for all. A company can fail to keep contracts and deliver goods on time, as long as they tried; their failure is not blamed on them, but on no one because the failure was due to an 'act of God.' 

And then, there are business people like Dagny Taggart, Chief Operating Director of Taggart Transcontinental, the once mightly railroad that is now in jeopardy of collapsing due to the social reform measures, the dog eat dog and equalization bills passed by the government at the urging of social reform minded businessmen like Jim Taggart, head of Taggart Transcontinental and Dagny's brother. 

Dagny enlists the help of Hank Rearden, a fellow business person and creator of Rearden metal: a cheaper, lighter, more durable form of metal that could revolutionize industry. Dagny sees success for Taggart Transcontinental in Rearden Metal; she can fix the worn out track and improve train speeds significantly. Society is against Rearden Metal; it is deemed unsafe, unreliable, and a danger to the people. All of these fears are unfounded though and simply stated in vague ways to make the people believe that the metal is unsafe, unreliable, and a danger. Why? Because the government sees it as a monopoly. One man in control of such a resource is a detriment to social welfare, which is more important than technology, transportation, and infrastructure for society. 

At times it really does seem that it's Dagny and Hank against a world of absolutely craziness and idiocy that is incredibly hard to fathom. And then I wonder if, maybe...just maybe, it isn't that hard to fathom. The world in Atlas Shrugged is depressed, rundown, and on a collision course for disaster. Today, America is slowly climbing out of the 'Great Recession.' Neighborhoods are full of empty houses due to record high foreclosure rates. Businesses large and small are closing their doors, leaving prime retail space vacant. Millions are unemployed or underemployed. It seems like the rich keep getting richer while the poor keep getting poorer. Will there ever be a day when social welfare always wins against large corporations? To a point, I think that companies have responsibilities to the public. Companies can't dispose of their waste in rivers and lakes. Companies shouldn't utilize federal funding to save themselves from bankruptcy AND pay top employees millions of dollars in bonuses. But, should there ever be a day when innovation like Rearden Metal is stifled because someone in Washington, D.C. says it isn't good for society? I don't think so. 

Here's something to think about. According to Wikipedia, "In the wake of the late 2000s recession, sales of Atlas Shrugged have sharply increased, according to The Economist magazine and The New York Times. The Economist reported that the novel ranked #33 among Amazon.com's top-selling books on January 13, 2009." When this book was published in 1957, it was panned by critics. Approximately 50 years later, it's one of the top selling books on Amazon. 

This post contains my thoughts on Part I "Non-Contradiction" of Atlas Shrugged. (This is the first 312 pages in my edition.) I haven't read any further so that my post could reflect my thoughts thus far. These thoughts are subject to change as I continue reading. Stay tuned for Readalong Post 2 on April 8, which will cover Part II "Either Or."  

Favorite Quotes of Part I:

"'I think that now that you've reached college age, you ought to learn something about ideals. It's time to forget your selfish greed and give some thought to your social responsibilities, because I think that all those millions you're going to inherit are not for your personal pleasure, they are a trust for the benefit of the underprivileged and the poor, because I think that the person who doesn't realize this is the most depraved type of human being.'

Francisco answered courteously, "It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.'" page. 97

"'Well, I've always been unpopular in school and it didn't bother me, but now I've discovered the reason. It's an impossible kind of reason. They dislike me, not because I do things badly, but because I do them well. They dislike me because I've always had teh best grades in class. I don't even have to study. I always get A's. Do you suppose I should try to get D's for a change and become the most popular girl in school?'

Francisco stopped, looked at her (Dagny) and slapped her face." page 98

"Miss Taggart says-quote-I expect to make a pile of money on the John Galt Line. I will have earned it. Close quote. Thank you so much." ~Dagny Taggart page 220

Book Blogger Hop: 3/18 - 3/21

 

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at her Crazy-For-Books book blog. The hop takes place every weekend and features a new topic or question for book bloggers to discuss or answer. It's a great way to meet other book bloggers and find new books to add to the 'to read' list!

This week's question comes from Somer at A Bird's Eye Review:

 

"Do you read only one book at a time or do you have several going at once?

 

Great question! I'm on a monogamous reader. I read one book until the last page before moving on to the next book. However, I have been reading two books at the same time this month because I'm participating in Allie's readalong of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand at her blog A Literary Odyssey. I am reading  a bit in Atlas Shrugged in between reading other books. I don't want to get too far ahead of the readalong.

What about you? Share your thoughts! If you have a blog, join the hop! Post the link on the Linky on Jennifer's Book Blogger Hop post and don't forget to wish Book Blogger Hop a belated happy birthday!

Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched (Trylle Trilogy #1)
by Amanda Hocking
Published by the author
Third paperback edition 2011
ISBN 978-1453688969
Book purchased from Amazon

Book Blurb on Goodreads:  When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth.

With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of. 

It seems like everyone is talking about Amanda Hocking. She is a self publishing success story. At the age of 26, Amanda Hocking is a millionaire, living off of the fruits of her writing labor and preparing to buy her first home. In cash. Talk about living the writing dream, huh? What an inspiration. I've had a copy of Switched for a few months now, but hadn't really given much thought to reading it until I stumbled across this article from the Huffington Post. Now, I had to read this book. And once I started, I just couldn't stop. 

The premise is intriguing. It's a unique twist on the classic "awkward high school girl is different' theme. Wendy isn't the typical acne, bad hair, and all the wrong clothes type; Wendy is a troll (spelled Trylle in the book) with the ability to persuade people with her mind. 

(And, no vampires! I'm tired of vampires.)

Enter Finn Holmes, who I kept calling Huck Finn in my head. I'm not sure why. Finn is the new kid in school with a penchant for staring at Wendy in a very creepy way. It turns out that Finn is a Trylle tracker, sent to retrieve Wendy and return her to the Trylle mother, Queen of Forening, the most powerful Trylle town. That's right, Wendy is a Trylle Princess!  

Wendy is thrown into the Trylle world and must quickly master the rules, the hierarchy, and the facts and faces of 100 guests that will be attending her coming out ball. Finn is there every step of the way, quizzing her on the faces and what fork to use. She makes friends with Rhys, the human boy who lives in the room across the hall from her in the palace, and Willa, a changeling like Wendy, who shows her the ropes for the ball. 

Hence the title Switched. Wendy is a changeling; she was switched with a human baby at birth. It turns out Wendy's mother wasn't too far off when she accused Wendy of being responsible for the disappearance of the son she thought she was having.

The book follows a predictable formula and I can definitely see how her obsession with movie director John Hughes (writer, director, producer in films like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Curly Sue) influenced her writing. Even though the story line was predictable, I enjoyed it anyway, which, I must admit, is unusual for me. The best way to describe my liking of this book is in two words: guilty pleasure or cheese read. It's an addicting, easy to digest book that can be devoured in an afternoon. It probably won't win any literary awards, but it is definitely still worth reading. 

I'm curious to see how Wendy tackles the challenges of being a Trylle Princess and if the social hierarchy of Trylle society keeps her and Finn apart. I'm sure that I can guess how things turn out, but I'm choosing to ignore those thoughts and wait to read it for myself. I also hope that the other two books in this trilogy have fewer grammatical and typographical errors. That's a big turn off to me as a reader, especially when there are two glaringly obvious errors on the first page of the book alone.

Overall, I liked this book. It was a fun story and it was fun to read. On a scale of one star (I hated it!) to five stars (I loved it!), I give it four stars.

Double Feature: "Waiting on..." & WWW Wednesday!

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to showcase upcoming releases that bloggers are eagerly waiting to get their hands on and their noses in. 

This week's "Waiting on" Wednesday here at Feeding My Book Addiction is The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer. Here's the book blurb on Goodreads:

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses for the school play Lysistrata-the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war-a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least, over the women. One by one throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light.

As she did to such acclaim with the New York Times bestseller The Ten-Year Nap, Wolitzer tackles an issue that has deep ramifications for women's lives, in a way that makes it funny, riveting, and totally fresh-allowing us to see our own lives through her insightful lens. 

I read Lysistrata in an Ancient Literature class in college and loved it. I had no idea that Ancient Literature could be so fun and hilarious! As soon as I read the description of Meg Wolitzer's The Uncoupling, I knew I had to read it. As soon as possible. Unfortunately, I have to wait until April 5, 2011.


WWW Wednesday is a weekly event sponsored by Should Be Reading that asks readers three very important questions:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next? 

Here are my answers this week:

1. What are you currently reading?

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand the Readalong at Allie's book blog A Literary Odyssey.
• The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

2. What did you recently finish reading?

• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
• The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life by Natale P. McNeal *Review posted!*
• The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin *Review Coming Soon!*
• 50 Jobs in 50 States: One Man's Journey of Discovery Across America by David Seddiqui *Review Coming Soon!*

3. What do you think you'll read next?

• The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain 
• Blindness by Jose Saramago
• When Colors Bleed by Estevan Vega

Author Q & A w/ Nicholas Kasunic & Giveaway of His Novel

Last week, I posted a review of one of the best books I've read in a while: Losing Michael Malone by Nicholas Kasunic. This is the debut novel for the author, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. It is a beautiful, poignant, emotional story that focuses on five types of pain: passion, potential, intimacy, disease and love. 

Here is the book blurb from Goodreads:

Suddenly, everything in life was no longer a validation of hope, a confirmation of being, a beckoning of an omniscient smile as if all that had occurred in the world had fallen like dominoes in order to bow to a particular moment or succumb to, by all other means, a nonsensical realization. The charm of life was no more than a trail of seduction that birthed its most prized possessions of reality hurt, terror, suffering, impurity, hopelessness. The unknown. In Losing Michael Malone, five characters search for happiness in a time of suffering. Emma is blind to the sunshine that gleams around her each and every day. Maddie witnesses a drained and exhausted marriage. Jack is without solitude in a life of inner conflict and self-loathing. Love and compassion rip and tear through the life of Kathryn. Michael hurts too much to feel anything. Through all of the pain of passion and disease, this cast of characters is on a collision course towards each other no matter how much they'd like to run away. It all contributes to the narrative of what we refer to as life. Nothing keeps us from it, and everything tries to take it away.

After reading the book, I asked Nicholas if he would be interested in doing a Q & A session for Feeding My Book Addiction and he agreed! I'm pleased to introduce you to him and announce a giveaway! Thanks to Nicholas, Feeding My Book Addiction will be giving away a signed copy of Losing Michael Malone! Stay tuned for more info on the giveaway plus how to enter after the Q & A. Let's get started! 

Q1: What is Losing Michael Malone about?

Losing Michael Malone follows the lives of five different characters, each of them living in various aspects of "pain"--the pain of passion, potential, intimacy, disease, and love.

To borrow from the prologue: "there is not necessarily a story to these people. Moreover, there is a feeling to them, a much needed provocation of sensibility... Their end, however, is quite noteworthy."

I've decided that happiness, the hardest emotion for me to capture in one moment, is the comfort that might be found after all of these terrible things--pain, depression, heartbreak, melancholy... poverty, disease, hatred... 

Q2: On your website, you indicate that you know quite a bit about pain because of your medical condition, CRPS. What is CRPS and how did it impact Losing Michael Malone?

CRPS stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a condition that plagues the nervous system with a phantom, at times crippling pain. There are some successful treatments (daily physical therapy to exhaust the overactive nerves, ketamine Infusions to reboot the entire system), but for many cases, finding a way to cope without relief is the only option in living.  However, as this diagnosis covers a wide variety of vague symptoms and degrees of seriousness, I should feel guilty for saying that I am some kind of authority on pain. I have, however, experienced enough of it to continually pass out, vomit, and become completely debilitated to near paralysation, while losing everything I had to this pain.

Because of this ever-present reminder of my detachment to the rest of the world, I am severely concerned with what innate feelings and emotions make up our human experience.

I am no more of an expert than anyone else when it comes to hurt. But when I was able to describe and articulate some of my feelings or my anguish or my abstract observations, they become a little bit more bearable. 

Q3: What do you want readers to come away with after reading this novel?

I can only hope for readers to feel something, anything--for, with, because of-- my characters and their story.

I am privileged to struggle with my shallow, selfish reality and am lucky to panic over my lack of "purpose" and despair over life's "meaning". It is this very depression and futility that I want readers to feel, most of which I assume to have food, shelter, and a life limited to the simple fear of death. But most of all, I hope this read brings them some small sense of peace and comfort with their, but more importantly others' existence.

I'm cringing at this preachy and vague answer, but I hadn't intended a predetermined mission for Losing Michael Malone. It is a simple piece of writing narrated by much of my own introspection and truthful emotion.  

Q4: What are you studying at the University of Pittsburgh?

I am currently in some short story classes and a gender-based crime class. One of the required readings is the best short story compilation I've ever had-- The Art of the Short Story (Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn).

I really like Pitt. Really nice in the summer too, though most students only get our cold, grey winters (which I also love).

I remember my freshman composition teacher, Jennifer Lee, had us write the longest grammatically correct sentence we could. If I had to pinpoint the time I realized how much I liked words, it would be then. That same sentence I wrote later that day made it to the final editing phase, then got broken up.

But yes, I like Pitt and even moreso Pittsburgh.

Q5: Do you see writing as a career?

Is it still a career if I don't make any money?

Um, I'm still writing, and I'll still try to publish work in the future. Because truthfully, though I condemn the validation, I need it to keep writing sometimes. But on the other hand, writing has settled in me in some sort of way, so I can't see myself stopping any time soon. So I guess even if I get a job (which I need one desperately) writing will still hopefully be my career. 

Q6: What is your favorite fictional character and why?

Oh man.

The first that comes to mind is Dostoevsky's underground man. I will never be able to get him out of my head, and maybe I don't want to.

The second is Amelie from her self-titled movie.

Liz lemon from 30 Rock might be, but I think I'm just in love with Tina Fey overall so that doesn't count.

But my favorite? I tried thinking of a good one to say, because I love so many of my experiences when I read.

Boo Radley.

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters as Family

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme organized by the bloggers at Broke and Bookish. Today's Top Ten Tuesday is:

Top Ten Characters I'd Want as Family Members:
 

10.  Bone Boatwright from Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. I want to rescue her from the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of her stepfather and give her a safe and happy home. 

9. Mira Ipswitch from the Powerless Fantasy Adventure Series by Jason Letts. Mira is intelligent and resourceful. She's the perfect go to girl for any of life's problems.

8. Marmee March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. She's one of my favorite mothers in literature.

7. Hawkeye Pierce from MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors by Richard Hooker. He's a gin drinking, shenanigan pulling, nurse flirting, army doctor who always seems to save the day. A fun hero! Every family needs one, right?

6. Ramona Quimby from the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Ramona is the little sister would keeps life interesting.

5. Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Scarlett must be the belle of my blog because she keeps popping up in so many posts. She's on this list because, with her, we would never go hungry again. 

4. Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. Who wouldn't want to call Forrest family? He is loyal, genuine, and has a big heart. 

3. Kristy Thomas from the Baby Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin. Kristy has great ideas. Get it? Kristy's Great Idea is the name of the first book in the series. Seriously though, she'd be a great cousin. She can play sports, hang out with the little kids, and has great ideas.

2. Enzo Swift, the dog from The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. He'd be the perfect literary pet.  

1. Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. He's dashing, daring, and always there for you when you need him.

My eReader Has a Cover!

I am the proud owner of a Kate Spade Nook cover! I've had my eye on this particular cover for a few months now, but just couldn't afford or justify spending $85 on a cover for my eReader that I rarely use. Until today.  Someone mentioned that the Kate Spade covers were 75% off at Barnes and Noble. Check out the sale here.

I left work and immediately drove to my local Barnes and Noble. For just under $22 (after tax), I walked out of the store with the best cover ever (at least in this blogger's opinion): 

*Yay* I'm so glad I bought this!

Here's what it looks like on the inside.

Written on the inside cover.

Does anyone else have an eReader cover they absolutely adore? Post pictures on your blog and share the link. I'd love to see more covers!

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon : April 9

I'm finally going to do it. I'm going to sacrifice sleep, sanity, and an entire Saturday to read for 24 hours straight in the next Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon coming up on April 9, 2011. Who's with me?

(Technically, I won't be sacrificing a Saturday. It's 
usually one of my best reading days. It just sounded good with all the 's' alliteration in the sentence.)

If you are interested in signing up, click here. The read-a-thon also needs cheerleaders and volunteers to handle prizes, marketing, and other administrative stuff too so there's plenty of opportunities to be involved!
 

Review: The Frugalista Files

The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life
by Natalie P. McNeal
Published by Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-373-89229-7
Copy purchased from Amazon
What's the book about? Courtesy of Goodreads:

 Natalie McNeal opened her bills in January 2008 to find that she was a staggering five figures—$20,000!—in debt. Young, hip and gainfully (if Dilbert-ly) employed, Natalie loved her lifestyle of regular mani/pedis, daily takeout and nights on the town, but clearly something had to give.

And so The Frugalista Files was born. Through her blog, Natalie confessed her spending habits to the world—and it turns out she wasn't the only one having trouble balancing the budget! From the drastic "no-buy" month that kicked it all off to the career gamble that threatened to put her deeper in the hole, The Frugalista Files shares Natalie's personal and professional transformation from cubicle rat to take-charge career girl.

It is possible to get ahead without giving up on the fabulous life. This is personal finance in peep-toe pumps—the empowering true story of one woman's personal and professional transformation and your ultimate guide to living the Frugalista lifestyle, too.


I was instantly drawn to this book. I'm pushing 30 and have a staggering amount of debt. My student loans alone are almost double Natalie P. McNeal's total debt. If this woman could eliminate her debt without completely sacrificing her quality of living or ending up in a cardboard box by a freeway on ramp, I figured she could teach me a thing or two and I could be on my way to being debt free too.

Well, not quite. It turns out that the Frugalista Files is just a diary of McNeal's first year of living the frugalista life. When readers meet her, she is over $20,000 in debt due to her car, student loans, and bi-weekly mani/pedi habit, buys new outfits for every occassion, which includes 'kicking it' on the weekends with lots of dinners out and booze, and spending over $1,300 a year on just her hair alone. Once she starts realizing just how much she is spending, (well, charging to her credit card) and just how deep her debt hole is, McNeal vows to get out of debt. 

She decides that February 2008 will be a 'no spend' month. Her only approved expenses were bills, food bought from a grocery store, and gas. She blogs about the experience for the Miami Herald, where she is a city reporter. Because of her job and its connections, she finds herself on CNN and writing freelance articles for major US publications. 

And that is where Natalie McNeal's story stopped being so appealing to me. It was no longer an 'average Jane' story. Her life circumstances and connections seriously increased her chances for success with the blog and the extra income helped her to get out of debt. I kept reading though. I wanted to make sure that Natalie McNeal stuck to her frugality and paid off her debts. 

I was disappointed that there wasn't more substance to the book regarding how she got debt free. I know that limiting yourself to one drink at a bar, eating before leaving the house (rather than when you're out and about for the night) finding cheap parking, shopping at TJ Maxx, and preparing food at home rather than eating out will save me money. She didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know. I'm not sure if my disappointment is because the hype about the book led me to believe that it was something it wasn't or if it was my brain thinking that a memoir about getting out of debt would have some useful, practical tips.  

I was also disappointed in some of the writing. When using the number one in a sentence, it is spelled out, not typed as 1. Also, I found the text speak and emoticons rather annoying. The writing should be strong enough that I know when to laugh out loud or smile. I shouldn't need the author to blatantly tell me how or what to feel. I think the reason why these small things bothered me so much is because McNeal is a journalist. I felt like she should know better.

Overall, I wasn't impressed with the book, but I didn't hate it either. I'm definitely going to give her 'no spend' month idea a whirl this spring. I wonder how much extra cash I could add to my credit card bill or student loan payment. If I can save a few hundred dollars by doing a 'no spend' month, reading this book will definitely be worth it.

On a scale of one (I hated it!) to five (I loved it!), I give The Frugalista Files two stars.