The Book Challenge: April Recap

First of all, I would like to thank all of you that expressed your good wishes regarding my last post. I appreciate every single one of those thoughts and virtual hugs and I appreicate having every single one of you in my life. A twinge of sadness still hits me at the most random moments, but I am starting to feel much better and more like myself again.

In light of everything that happened last weekend, I remembered one of the reasons I love to read: It's an escape. Whether it's a different time, a different place, or a different emotional landscape that you're seeking, a book can take you there. Most of what I ended up reading this month was lighthearted, which turned out to be exactly what I needed.

21. The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne -- Adopted daughter of owners of a finishing school in London tried to revitalize the family business by updating the curriculum to reflect what millenial women really need to know. Much of her motivation stems from hoping to find out the identity of her birth mom & of course there are love interests along the way.

22. I Will Always Love You by Cecily Von Ziegesar -- Gossip Girl goes off to college and repeats a cycle of incestuous dating between S, B, V, C, D, N & Little J for the next four years. Seriously. That is all there is to this book.

23. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus -- Hmm. The sequel to The Nanny Diaries. I started off this book with high hopes and for a short time those hopes were fulfilled. But the more I read, the more I got frustrated with the protagonist. She seemed to have not grown up at all during the past ten years. As someone roughly the same age as her, I just could not buy it at all. She was ridiculous in her inability to have a grown-up conversation with anyone, including her husband. It got to be very annoying.

24. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella -- I have to admit that I had a hard time getting into this novel because I disliked the two main characters so strongly at the start. It did get better, sort of, but was still "meh" overall.

25. Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad -- Book number two in the L.A. Candy series, which was inspired by L.C.'s stint on The Hills. This book is as fluffy and lightweight as cotton candy. I read most of it while watching a marathon of The Hills. I probably should never have admitted that.

26. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot -- I picked up this book for the sole purpose of getting it signed by Meg Cabot. You can read more details about the signing on Forever Young, but I just have to say that Meg Cabot is so awesome & funny. I would love to hang out with her at a happy hour. This book was so funny at times that I actually chuckled out loud and slapped my knee while reading it. The story was told through a collection of e-mails, journal entries, voice mail messages & photos. I thought it would be off-putting, but it wasn't at all. I really enjoyed reading this one and plan on trying some of the recipes from it.