Shawna Kenney

In her debut book Shawna Kenney takes us through her life to get where she wants to be.

Shawna graduated early from high school and moved out of her small town to D.C. to become something big. After a co-worker told her she could go to college she soon realized there were bills to pay and that plastic money didn't cut it.
She did everything from wait tables, book music at a club, write papers for "smart kids", to becoming a dominatrix.

Shawna learns a lot during the time of her dominate career. Doing something she doesn't love, but doesn't hate either she saves money and pays off her debts, meets great friends, learns her limits, and then moves away to be what she wants to be.

This is a book about courage, and determination with a bunch of humor wrapped with it.

Guilt free motherhood

I LOVED Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile's book I was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids.
It's a wonderful book about "Reinventing modern motherhood". These ladies interviewed thousands of women (and some men) across the nation to find out what was going on with mothers today.

It seems that we are stretched out to our max (no duh) and it's all our fault (really?). These ladies shed light on somethings that women thought only they were going through. They help you analyze your stress and to do list and then evaluate it to slow things down so you can relax and be the mom you want to be.

This is one of the FUNNIEST self help books I have read. It's good advise packed with hilarious true life "dirty little secrets".

Six-Year-Old Skanks

I haven't been reading much and I haven't posted even longer. I have so many books thanks to Paperbackswap that I should be able to read a different book every week. However I've been trying to wonder outside of my normal reading genres. Sometimes I'm really please and other times I'm disappointed.

Stop Dressing Your Six-Your-Old like a Skank and Other Words of Delicate Southern Wisdom was one of those.

I thought this would be laugh out loud funny; something I could read through very quickly. Parts of it were LOL but they were few and far between. Although it does have all too true reasons why kids and parents are so screwed up now days, it was dry in more parts than not.

Herotica

Herotica is a line of erotica anthropology. All of the stories within the book are written by women. There is a wide variety of stories from mild to wild. There is bound to be something for everyone!

These are the 2 I've read so far.
Herotica 4
Herotica 5

Atrocious Lies

Laurie Notaro's fabulous tale I Love Everybody and Other Atrocious Lies continues along the life of an 'Idiot Girl'. Laurie never lets you down with her wit and willingness to poke fun of herself and her loved ones.

Jodi Picoult

My Sister's Keeper is about a girl who was created to be a perfect match for her sister who suffers from a rare form of cancer.

Each chapter of this book is written from a different persons perspective. One chapter will be from the mom, then Anna, then Kate, then the lawyer, etc. Any other book this might not have worked as well but in this one Jodi pulls it off spectacularly.

Along the way you learn about Anna (the "Designer" sister), Kate, and their brother. You learn the ins and outs of the family and how it came about that Anna is filing for medical emancipation. There is love, loss, separation, togetherness, and just enough humor.

This book is a great read for anyone but I really feel it makes you think even more if you are a parent or sibling.

Pleasant suprises

I don't know if its because the books I've been reading lately have been recommended to me and/or they are memoirs, biographies or autobiographers, but I haven't been truly surprised by a book in a while.

When I picked up A Perfect Day I remembered I got it in a swap on PBS but couldn't remember what it was about.

The book starts off with a man (Robert) looking out his hotel room window at a blizzard brewing. He's trying to figure out when he took "the first wrong step". The book then goes back 8 years to when it all started. The book follows Robert's life from marrying his fiance to getting his dreams granted, then getting them squashed almost as quickly.

There were two big surprises. If I had read a description about it the first one might have not been such a shock, but the second one probably will be to all readers. This book talks about life, death, love, and how easily they can all be great, okay, bad, and most importantly gone. Personally the book starts off okay, then gets a bit slow, but the writing made it very easy to continue (I read the book in two sittings). It's mainly a love story but it's not a cheesy one. I highly recommend picking this book up.

We Thought You Would Be Prettier

Laurie Notaro writes hilarious autobiographies about "The Dorkiest Girl Alive". With titles such as I Love Everybody and Other Atrocious Lies, There's a (slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell, and Autobiography of a Fat Bride, she is never a let down! Her books are quick, funny reads that sometimes hit a little close to home.

We Are Our Mouthers' Daughters

Link Cokie takes a look into the life of women in the home and work, through out the span of America. She gives candid stories about herself and her family to illustrate the importance women have had in the world, politically and on a home level.

I really like how Ms Roberts tells stories from her highly political and public life; she gives points from history and politics with out making it an overly political book. She tells the reader how important some women's roles have been in the development of this country and great companies.

Also giving examples of how women can juggle the home and work if need (or want) be, she points out that women should band together and not judge each other. Women have been doing great things in all three arenas of life and that together we are better than alone. Giving eye-opening facts about women's rights over the years I felt she was showing not only how far we've come but how hard and far we still have to work to stay were we are and farther ourselves even more.

Cokie's main message (at least to me) was that women are great at no matter what they do. We should stop giving each other guilt trips and start helping each other out. We are our mothers' daughters; we learned from our moms, they learned from theirs, and ours will learn from us. We should teach future women to be secure in themselves and their decisions, after all "Women are tough, we've managed to keep all the balls in the air for a very long time".

Confessions

Muffy Mead-Ferro takes us along the "confessions of a slacker mom". I thought this should have been a light, pee your pants funny read (I was thinking along the lines of Jenny McCarthy's books). Unfortunately I didn't find it so funny. It is an easy read, but I found Muffy to be a bit judgemental. I'm not sure if this was just the mentality I had while reading the book or if others have felt this same way.

Mead-Ferro takes her life of growing up on a ranch and compares it to the things kids have today. Although I agree with her on somethings (children shouldn't be babied with every fall; kids shouldn't have every single little thing they want) I almost always disagreed with her reasons. She doesn't feel her kids should be encouraged in school (actually in just about anything) because she doesn't want them to do things for her. She says that she will not be at the sidelines of her kids sporting events because she doesn't want them to try hard just because she's there.

Some people might agree with these things, but I personally didn't and found her way of wording them and their reasoning a bit pushy. I also don't think the title of the book and the point go together. I was thinking slacker mom; PB&J for lunch everyday, don't get your kid dressed until you leave somewhere, don't do the laundry until hubby is pulling in the drive, etc. It should have been called something along the lines of "Making your 2 and 4 year old fend for themselves: You can achieve it!"

Anthologies

Lesbian Parenting Living with Pride & Prejudice is a great book edited by Katherine Arnup. The book is a little outdated (1990s) and most of the women that wrote in this book are from Canada, so some of the laws are different than those of the states.

However, it is a great way to look at how things have, and haven't, changed in the last 10 years. Some of it is very moving, knowing that we have come a long way from that. Other times, its frustrating knowing we really haven't come all that far.

This book is broken into different chapters
Choosing Parenthood
Defining "Family"
Raising Children
Parents & Children: Reflections on Identity
Lesbian Parents and the Law

Each chapter takes a look into the different lives of women choosing if they want to raise a family, how they will get the child, and life there after. This book is a great way to see that lesbian parents (no matter how they became parents) are different yet the same in so many ways. It shows that no matter how you think, feel, or act, everyone deserves to be a parent if they choose to be.

Susan Andersen

Hot and Bothered by Susan Andersen is book 3 of 4 in the Marine series. The book starts with the murder of Victoria's father. She hires PI John Miglionni to find her brother who ran away after the death of their father. Little does she know that Mr. Miglionni is her long lost week long lover "Rocket". As the book progresses it follows Tori and Rocket's love hate relationship with each other. The love they once had is still there, but much has changed over the last 6 years they were separated.
H & B is a well written light read. Each page brings a different plot; steamy love scenes, life on the street, strong anger, and many love/hate relationships.

Jenny McCarthy

Life Laughs: The Naked Truth About Modern Motherhood and Marriage, is the last book of Jenny's 3 part series (Belly Laughs is first, then Baby Laughs). Although this was not my favorite book it was not a disappointment.

I have passed along all three of these books to all my friends. It does not matter where you are in life, they are great reads. Each book is short (250 pages or less) and has two to three page chapters for easy and quick reading. I highly recommend the first book for all pregnant mothers, no matter if they are first time or 5Th time moms.

Jenny gives the sugar free version of the truth to her readers. She can get a little racy and raunchy at times, but it's never too bad. She keeps you laughing on every page.

Life Laughs has chapters such as; The Mr. Potato Head Syndrome, Honey, Your Friend's A Bitch, Are We Our Parents?, and my favorite, Bleaching Your Asshole?? Jenny tells you the truth about whats to be expected with each stage of life, plus gives you candid self stories to make you feel like your not alone. It's like a smaller, funnier, What To Expect (about pregnancy, toddler years, and motherhood/marriage depending on which book you are reading of hers) with a few curse words thrown in there.

I think these books are a must have for ALL women.

Little Illustrations on Life

Ilene Beckerman writes and illustrates Love, Loss, And What I Wore. Quick little comments and sketches walk you through her growing up in the 40s and 50s in New York. She takes you through her first date, loosing her mother, moving in with her grandparents, getting married (twice), getting divorced, having kids, and playing with her first grandchild.
Showing the styles of the times, and how they impacted what was going on, this short, extremely light read, inspires you to reflect on your growing up, and what you wore.

Common Sense

The Death Of Common Sense; How Law Is Suffocating America by Philip K. Howard is a very short read (185 pages) about how laws are, well suffocating America. Howard talks about how laws were initially set up to protect us and do good, yet law makers are starting to get extreme. With no lee-way in our continuously growing rules there is much fault in most of them. He gives examples of when rules are just plain out of date, how small businesses are going under because they are getting fined for rules that apply to big companies, and of laws that group people together that shouldn't be.

One of the first examples he gives in the book is of NY nuns wanting to build a shelter for the homeless. The two fire-gutted buildings they had found were offered at one dollar each. The Missionaries of Charity set aside $500,000 for the reconstruction. The building would help sixty-four homeless men in a communal setting that included 4 floors. NY's building code requires an elevator in every new or renovated multiple-story building. The Missionaries of Charity explained that because of their beliefs they would never use the elevator which cost upward of $100,000. The nuns (after 2 years) were told the laws could not be changed.

Howard gives many examples like this in his book of how things are sometimes just a little too strict. Such as judges that have to rule by a grid sentencing that could give a murderer and a person with a first offense drug charge the same amount of time in prison. One of the simplest examples he gives is of how forest rangers used to have 1 slip of paper with the rules written on it that they could slip in and out of their shirt pocket. This paired with some common sense did the trick. Now, they have pages upon pages of rules and regulations to follow.

Gay Erotica

Quickies & Quickies 2 is a combination of the first two books about short short fiction on gay male desires.

When it says short, it means short, I don't think a single story was more than 2 1/2 pages long. That made this book enjoyable, because it was easy to pick up and sit down, I didn't have to worry about ending in the middle of something. However, it meant somethings got right to the point, or didn't get to the point soon enough.

This book covers any kind of erotic thoughts you could imagine. Truckers, clubs, relationships, one night stands, vacation, childhood fantasies, anything really. It covered stuff from the bizarre, to the tame and everything in between.

Courtroom Love

Solomon Vs Lord will make your heart swell and laugh until your out of breath all on the same page. Steve Solomon is a fly by the seat of your pants type lawyer, who takes up-holding the law seriously, even if its not the way most people would do it. Veronica Lord is a walking index card, with her life planned out to a T.

After fighting each other in the courtroom Solomon learns that Lord could greatly help him get in a high publicity murder trail. She decides to take it for herself when the two of them are forced to become partners.

Following these two through their love-hate relationship was a sexy, humorous, and heartfelt thriller.

Keeping Secrets

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a witty story of 18 year old Penelope Wallace living in England around the end of the war. The story takes place with Penelope meeting and being friends with Charlotte in the most unlike-her sort of way.

Taking place in only a short amount of time (about 8 months) Penelope learns a lot about life. Penelope, her mother, and brother struggle with maintaining the Magna House that was left to them after her father died in the war. She learns that her brother is more grown up than she gave him credit for, and that her mother isn't exactly who Penelope always thought she was.

She goes through crushes, working, school, pop-star love, then realises she's in true love while her heart is breaking.

Charlotte, with her almost complete opposite self, gives Charlotte the ride of her life.

This is by far one of the best books I've read in a while.

Escape The Night

I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I've heard good things about the author. I have to say I wasn't that impressed.
This book follows the life (and some deaths) of "Blackjack" Carey (Grandad), Charles Carey (Dad), and Peter Carey (Son). Blackjack Carey started out in the boiler room of a publishing company and worked his way to the top. His two sons also work at the firm, when Charles has a son of his own. The first 1/3 of the book is about Peter's childhood, the rest is devoted to his life as a young adult trying to find out why he can't recall an important part of his childhood.
The part of the book following Peter's childhood is a bit confusing if you aren't paying great attention. It uses their first and last name, Peter is named after Blackjack, and Peter's mother goes by two different names. Once you get about half way through the book starts to pick up nicely. Although the end is fairly predictable, it still keeps you turning the pages. Even though this book probably isn't one I'll read again, I will defiantly be picking up another Richard North Patterson book.

General Fiction

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler was made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, and I can easily see why. I wasn't a big fan of the book, but I wasn't making myself turn the pages, it was actually a very light and easy read.
The story follows a year in the life of Rebecca Davitch, who runs the Open Arms, her house that the family have used for parties since 1951. It takes you through her realising she isn't who she once though she'd be and her trying to get back to her college day ways. As you read how she answers her own question of where exactly things changed, you learn that sometimes, when you think something might have changed your life for the worse, it's actually exactly what you needed.

Light Reads

Babies & Other Hazards of Sex by Dave Barry is a wonderfully funny and light read. It can be comically off base, and sometimes scarily accurate. "How to make a tiny person in only 9 months, with tools you probably have around the home" is only the start of this book. Wonderful illustrations by Jerry O'Brien top the book off for a great read. This book is perfect for the child phobia people, a great gift for the guys in your life that "don't read" and a good laugh for moms of all stages.

Erotica

Erotic Confessions is a mixture of self help and nonfiction erotica. Its focus is on marriages and relationships that have lost their spark over a period of time, ranging from months to decades, and how to rekindle the flame.
Each section has a page or two of information about the theme of the stories in that "chapter". Each true story gives a brief description of the person or persons involved. With chapter titles such as "Imagination", "Amour, Amour", "Showing Off", "Professional Help", and "Sex, Sex, And More Sex" (just to name a few) there is something for everyone.

I really enjoyed these stories because they are all told from the people who have lived the experience. You get a first hand look at what was said, thought, and done. How they felt then, and how they feel now looking back on it. It's written in the way you'd tell a story to your friend, all the side glib included, making it much more real, easier to relate to, and imagine.

Extraordinary Togetherness

I've been skimming through this book just because I have it. It's a Prevention Health book for women and can be read cover to cover or by sections like I have. I would presume that it's a great book if you're looking for help in love, sex and intimacy, because it's given me a few fun facts about things with out me seeking them out. I think this is a good bedside book for all women. Here's the link

Three Junes

I'm not used to reading general fiction, so it took me a while to finish Three Junes by Julia Glass. I'm not one of those people that can pick up a book and not finish it (its one of the few things I can't do that with) so reading the book was a bit torture. However, winning me over in the end made it that much more of a triumph.



Three Junes is divided into three different stories. The first takes place in 1989 looking at the life, past and present, of Paul. A Scottish man who is currently traveling trying to define his self and what his past might have to do with it.



Next you step into 1995 and take a look at Paul's son, Feno. You learn how "Upright, upright, stay upright" helps him stay alive in a time when so many of his friends are dieing, how he vastly differs from his family, how everything isn't as it looks, and how he yearns for a love he doesn't realise he's ever had.



Four years later you meet a lass who over a weekend with a houseful of men realises that maybe her life will be fine, and come to conclusion in what she might want out of it. She also helps you put some pieces of Feno's story together, as they make friends in an unexpected way.



The latter of the two stories were a lot more enjoyable than the first, and made it a pleasant read. The ending makes you realise that even though you don't always expect a place to be "home" sometimes its the best place to be.