Good Old Fashioned Books

With our lives being so busy these days we don't always take time to sit down and read a good book. Well with Borders going out of business, it kinda made me sad and think about recent books I have read.

I enjoy reading, but I guess you could say I do it in phases. I will read like four books in one month and then won't read again for three months. I know there are a lot of people like that, others who hate reading and those who (like my mom) can read a whole book in a day.

Everyday I see tons of people on the subways with Nooks and it makes me want one. While eReader's are great, there is still something about a book in your hand that makes me feel good (cheesy I know). For those of you who don't ever enjoy reading, think of someone else who enjoys it while you read my post.

Remember my post the other day about the good old fashion postal service/mail? Well, you can use books to spread love and kindness too. Think of a friend you could buy a book for whether it is their birthday, anniversary or just to show them you were thinking about them. I'll give you a few recommendations of books I have recently read and other ones I read a while ago, but still love.

I just finished "Then She Found Me" by Elinor Lipman. While it was a good book, it wasn't extremely captivating. Some of the reviews said once you started reading it you wouldn't put it down. I hate to break it to you, but that's not exactly true. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad book at all, it's just not the most amazing book I have ever read either. I do recommend it though if you are looking for an easy read.

The book is about April, a school teacher in her late 30s, who was adopted at birth. After her parents death, her birth mother Bernice tracks her down. Her mother is an eccentric local talk show host and very different from April. Throughout the book April learns to let her mother in her life and falls in love along the way. In 2007 they made a movie about it starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick and Colin Firth. After watching the trailer I can tell you right now that the book and the movie are not the same story line, but I still want to see it eventually.

Another AMAZING book is "The Help" by Kathryn Sockett. I read it last summer when my friend Cami highly recommended it. It is one of my favorite books now. If you haven't heard of it, I recommend you buy it right now. Once you start reading it, you don't want to set down. I read the whole book in just a few days.

It is set during the '60s in Jackson, Mississippi while the Civil Rights movement was taking place. You hear the viewpoints of three different women who form an uncommon friendship in those days around their socially risky secret writing project. It is a #1 New York Times Bestsellers and has a movie being released August 10th.  Emma Stone is playing the Main character Skeeter. I can't wait to see it!

An amazing author is Jodi Picoult. She has written about a dozen books and they are all amazing. Recently I read "Plain Truth" and "Salem Falls." They were both amazing. Her books are longer in length, but are worth every page and minute you spend reading them. When I start one of her books, it's hard for me to put it down. I highly recommend anything she has written.

One book that encouraged me to move to New York is If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You by Kelly Cutrone. She owns her own Public Relations Firm called People's Revolution and has the show "Kell On Earth" on Bravo.

While there were a few parts of her book that discuss spiritual beliefs I don't agree with, the rest of the book is amazing. I felt as if her and I were the same person at times.  She just released a new book called "Normal Gets You Nowhere" that I have been dying to buy!

Of course I love cookbooks so I will let you in on some of my favorites. I absolutely LOVE Ina Garten. Any cookbook by her is amazing. Here are a few I love: "Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?," "Barefoot Contessa Family Style," and "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics."

All of her cookbooks come with lots of pictures and easy to read recipes. While some of her dishes at first glance appear to be complicated, they are really quite simple once you read the recipe and cook it. She breaks everything down so it is simple and delicious. Buy any of these cookbooks and you will be extremely happy with your purchase.

I hope you like my requests. You'll have to let me know what you think of them once you read them. Also, let me know some of your favorite books and cookbooks so I can check them out too!



(p.s. If you want to be awesome and help me out in New York, order items I post on my blog by clicking on the links directly from my blog. When you buy items I link to Amazon, I receive a comission and these days I can take all the extra income I can get haha.)