Oh Snap!

I don't know why I am picking up "celeb" written books lately. This is another one. And I am sorry to say, it sort of sucked! I know it was supposed to be a comedy book, but I just didn't like it. But then, in reading this and thinking about it a little bit, I realized that I don't really like David Cross's comedy. I prefer him as an actor (hello Arrested Development!) and that is okay. Luckily, this book was split into a trillion chapters about a million different subjects, so while nothing jumped out at me as something I enjoyed, at least everything was over pretty quickly. Don't bother.

Grade: C-

Yay to total crap reading! I really really needed this book. If you don't know, this book was "written" by Lauren Conrad otherwise known as that girl from Laguna Beach and The Hills. It's about two girls who move to LA from SB, go clubbing and get "discovered" for a reality tv show based on their boring lives. Sound familiar? I brought this book to NY with me last weekend and the sister and aloud to each other a la SF circa 2007 when we found an old Sweet Valley High book that we read to each other all weekend. Unfortunately, this book was a little longer and we didn't make it past chapter 5, but then when I got home, I jammed through it in like 2 days. This book was so trashtastic, that I can't even write about. We tried to figure out who was Lauren and who was Heidi, but in truth both characters are mixes of both of them. I think the characters were made up, but the scenarios are from real life. It was awesome. Plus, since it's part of a 3 book deal, there was a cliff hanger! YAY! Sequel to come in February. My name is going on the reserve list NOW!

Grade: C+

Ahh, Target. So much better then nearly every discounter out there in so many ways. I am also lucky to not know where the closest Wal-Mart to me is as I'll probably have to drive past like 20 Targets to get there. I can actually count on two hands how many times I have been to Wal-Mart in my life. Anyway, this isn't a post about Wal-Mart. It's about the 2nd floor of my local Target. Yes, I have THREE (3) Target's within 5 miles of my house that are more then one story. I know this already sounds insane, but it's not. It's a way of life for me. The floors aren't as big as "regular" Targets, which is why they are cut in half. And since I have been going to double decker Targets for like nearly 10 years now, when I do come across a flat one, I can't handle it. They are just too big and spread out. And in regards to the closest to my house, I don't know what it is about the 2nd floor. There is just NEVER a line to wait in, while the lines on the 1st floor are always like 5 people deep. Since I never buy too much when I go there (I always have goals, I never browse) I park on the bottom floor (easy in, easy out) and pay on the 2nd floor (never a line, so freakin' weird!) and then go back to the ground and leave. Yeah, yeah, I know there was no point to this post really. I just love the 2nd floor of my local Target.

http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/store_details.jsp?storeNumber=1408&startingLat=34.13618581126736&startingLong=-118.20550773866677&referringURL=%2Fsite%2Fen%2Fspot%2Fsearch_results.jsp%3F%26mapType%3Dstandard%26startAddress%3D90041%26startingLat%3D34.13618581126736%26startingLong%3D-118.20550773866677%26_requestid%3D349148

This was my bank when I was in New Zealand and I LOVED them! I know what you are thinking, a bank? Who cares?! And in general, I agree. It's just every time I needed them for something, the experience was just so nice! From opening my account to sending money to nearly crying when they cut up my ETPOS card when I closed my account. They were so great about everything. Some highlights included:

-Rarely if ever (I can only thing of one time) did I had to wait in line.
- I was trying to figure out how to send money to a company in NZ to buy something online and I couldn't figure out ASB's website so I went to my nearest location and the teller got out from behind the window and we went over to a general use computer and she showed me how to send money online to another bank account. God, we need a system like this in the US.
-For some reason I had to deposit cash into my account and I went to the window and the women told me that if she dealt directly with the cash the bank would charge me like $2 or something. BUT! if I put it in a deposit bag and then handed it to her, it was free (as usual there was no line). So weird, but so nice that they took the time to tell me.

When I went to close my account 6 months after my job ended and I asked the teller what she recommended I do since I didn't know when I was returning to NZ, she did recommend that I close my account, which I nearly cried at. But I saved all my paperwork so if I ever return to NZ it will be just as easy to open another account with ASB. God, I miss them.

http://www.asb.co.nz

You know me, if I see a movie I am even remotely interested in, I'll pick up the book. And hello, George Clooney and Jason Reitman (have actually seen all his movies and really like them a lot), how wrong can you get? I doubt I'll see this movie in the theatre because of my non-movie kick at the moment, but I am sure I'll get to it eventually. Anyway, so I picked up the book. I actually read something from this guy just a few weeks back and I hate it which should have been the first sign for this book. And yeah, it sort of sucked too. Lots of description that I couldn't keep straight. Characters from one city would pop up in another. Who was who? I did like when he talked about his family as that was like another plot in this and I wish they went into it more. This book was also a little dated as it takes place in airplanes and airports and all things related and there was this one part in it that we are now allowed to do anymore, but I can't think of it now, so that sentence was pointless. Anyway. I liked how he was trying to make it his goal of getting a million FF miles before he quits his job. Interesting. Anyway, this book did not make me want to see the movie more (duh) but it didn't turn me off to it either. So we'll see.

Grade: C-

This is Craig Ferguson's autobiography. He is Scottish and recently became an American citizen. It was an easy, simple read. Talks about why he loves America so much and why it was important to him to become a citizen. He still loves his country, but the book talks about all what America has given him. He worked hard but it sounds like a lot of his stuff is based on luck as well. He didn't start out wanting to be an actor, he just sort of fell into it. He had a booze problem, but "luckily" he cleaned up pretty fast and according to the book only went to rehab once, which compared to some other books I have read about people, that is insanely quick. But he was older and had things to live for. He hosts the late night show after Letterman now and really likes it. I sort of remember when there were all the tryouts and he was like the person who was supposed to least get it and now look at it all. Depending on where his career and life goes, I'll only have to assume that this is just part one of the auto bio series. He seems to really like writing a lot.

Grade: C

I love books about families that travel around the world. And while Americans are the least travelled people I know, it's always them who take their entire families on the road and then write about it later. Now is it that they take their families on the road more then most or are they the ones who just always have to cash in on a book later? I wonder. Anyway, I saw this book at Borders a few weeks ago and found it only at the LAPL system. It sat for 3 weeks and then when I couldn't renew it, I made an effort to read it in three days. And knowing the topic, I knew I could. And I did! Not all that surprising. Anyway, this is one of the better ones that I have read lately as this family wasn't in it for fame and while dad's that are obsessed with staying connected while on the road, that wasn't too main a point here. Plus, they wanted to cycle through Europe, which is always a nice twist. It didn't really work out as one of their kids had a major leg accident a few weeks in and like life, it didn't go as planned and things changed but the family rolled with it and kept on trekking, which was nice that they didn't dwell on it too much. They travelled around Europe, a bit in the Mid East and a touch on Africa. They travelled well around Asia and S. America to places that I have not been but definitely want to go and they made me want to go there more.

These parents don't know how lucky they are with their kids. Don't know how much is true, but the kids hardly complained and a big part of their trip was reading. Now I think my sister and I are good kids, but I don't know if even we could have done something like this at that age. I could relate to a lot of some of the situations they used after coming back from my trip. You don't need so many possessions. Home is where your stuff is. Seems like you are always looking for water and a bathroom. All in all, a good read. If you are into books like this.

Grade: C+

I really don't know why I picked this book up. I lamely watching the Lifetime movie based on this book a few weeks back and as always I always get sucked into college-y based stories. And while the movie pretty much sucked, I was like, as always, maybe the book will be better. Yeah it wasn't. The movie did a really good job representing the book. All in all, not really much happened. The book was like one long description of characters and situations, but nothing really meshed. Essentially the story is about being "accepted" based on who you are not who you try to be and just accept it. So that was a good overview, but the characters just sucked and there wasn't much to connect them all. Three kids from the same class and neighborhood all applying to college and then like the counselor at one random college that the kids visit but only one of them really wants to go there and does end up going. It didn't really connect. Nothing in this book did. It was all description and it was like, why do I care? The answer is, you don't. The book and the TV movie are one in the same.

Grade: C-

Ohmigod, I need to stop reading books I don't care about. Now that I am working, my time is more valuable and I just can't keep adding books to my list that I don't care about anymore. I don't even know where I got this title, but I would like to kill my past self for picking it up. I think I have read a story from this author before that I hated, but who care keep anything straight anymore. Anyway, I totally read a book just like this one when I was in Australia. Girl is in a family with all women and she is convinced there is some sort of lame curse on them that they can never keep a man. She of course, realizes that she is too "scared" to get close to someone and she blames herself for dudes leaving all the time because of this so-called curse. SO LAME! She leaves her old life behind and comes down south to be back with her mom, aunt and grandmother. The dude that left her a million years ago follows her and tries to convince her that he really loves her and that he'll live in her small hick town just to prove it. SO LAME. The women in her life want her to "fly" with some sort of mysterious stranger who is a writer and British. They go back and forth on each other and of course end up together even though it's sort of like why? Whatever.

Grade: C-

Whoo hoo! This book only took about a month for my request to come up at the library! NICE. Anyway, this was probably my least favorite out of all the Langdom books. There were waaaaaaay too many characters in this book and it was sort of a mix of too much science and not enough symbols and even the symbols were too science-y. The Masons weren't the best group to pick as they aren't super well known in the US and at the same time, no one cares. I wish they did a little more with the central geography of DC, but I could picture them better in the previous books in Rome and Paris even though I have been to DC more then both of those places. Something just seemed off. Also, I totally called two things in the book like the second they came on the scene and everything was wrapped up at the end. Usually I like when that happens, but at the same time in these books, I wish it didn't happen because you think these books would be a little more deep, but no, it wasn't. I don't know, read it, don't read it....Maybe don't waste your time and just reread a previous novel. Or go read Deception Point, which I quite enjoyed.

Grade: C-

I rarely like man memoirs and this was not one of them. Bring on Hornsby! This book was all, oh, boo hoo I am so smart and my parents are so weird and everything sucks (in the 70's and 80's). God, kill me now. Luckily, I jammed through this book quickly as well because WHO THE HELL CARES! The author talked about his high school years and then going off to Princeton and it not being what he thought he would be (are Ivy's ever?) and what he got out of the whole thing. Obviously a cushy writing career. Blah.

Grade: D+

This book was okay. A little to internet-y for my taste (but definitely good for the times) but I wish he talked more about the history of FREE and how it's come to what it is today. I mean, the author did a little bit, but he like jammed through that and talked a lot about what it means today to be free especially in relation to the internet. And he referred to his other job at Wired Magazines and his previous book. I wish he had made a joke in the book about people taking it out of the library and really getting everything for free (HOLLA!) Too many facts, not enough story. Whatever.

Grade: C-

This book was just sort of meh. No one was super like able, but no one was super hate able either. Girl's best (guy) friend is going to marry her cousin and most of the book was about her bachelorette party, which driving around Los Angeles, was probably my most favorite aspect of this book. The cousin being all pure and virginal and then coming out that she had done like one night of slutty stuff in her life was annoying because like who the hell cares? I got confused by everyone at the party with all the names and stuff, there was like 10 people. Who can keep track of that. And then the book was written in 3rd person, which for books like this I am not used to, so I had to like turn my brain a different direction when I picked it up everyday. Annoying. At least it was a pretty quick read.

Grade: C

Ofoto (now called Kodak Gallery, but who has time to type that whole thing in) has treated me very well over the years. For a long time, it was free to load up galleries but as with everything over the years, free has come to an end. BUT! instead of just paying a fee to keep your pics, you get something as well. Essentially you buy a product from their website and they keep your pictures. YAY! I got an email back in 2005 saying you had to buy one product a year to keep my albums up, so I bought a single photo for like $1.50. I didn't get any emails for a few years, so I didn't buy anything and I uploaded all my overseas pictures. And then of course, the second I get home, I get an email saying I have to buy at least $20 worth of stuff to keep my account. So I buy some note cards of my pictures for Mother's Day. For some reason, they have the wrong address for me in my account and I didn't check it before I bought. Like 2 weeks after not getting my stuff, I give them a call and even though it was my fault, they resend my order for FREE!!!! How freakin' awesome is that????? Major snaps from me. And since they are owned by Kodak, what are the chances they are ever going to fold? (Oh shit, I just jinxed myself....)

www.ofoto.com

I usually quite enjoy Hornby books and this book was no different except it is considered a "teen" novel. This would be a great read for teens who don't like reading. I bet after they read this book they would want to pick up more from Hornby. Good guy Sam (you know it's good when I actually remember the protags name after I have finished!) gets his girlfriend pregnant and the book is just generally about what he is thinking and feeling. There were some weird chapters where he like flashes forward and can see the future at certain points that were kind of weird, but if the book didn't have that, then it would have just been a general book, so the forwards made it a little different. I don't know if I really liked them a lot. But I did like the way this book was written as it was written how people talk and I love that. And I liked that the guy was generally good. Boys are always such douche bags in books like this that it was nice to see one that wasn't. He wasn't all good or bad, just normal. It's rare.

Grade: C+

A non-fic book on the price we pay by buying cheap crap in this country. It approached the topic very broad and for the scope did an okay job at explaining it, but it seemed sort of second tier when it come to research. Which is actually okay with as I am pretty second tier on everything in my life. ANYWAY. Like the author went to the IKEA factory and headquarters to do recon work on them instead of like say, WAL-MART. But it was okay because we still deal with their products in this country and it was a different angle then you would expect most things on this topic would be about. Anyway, I agreed with most of this book as I am definitely more into quality over quantity but I hate shopping, but I know how my mother shops and she is definitely who they were talking about a lot in this book. I liked the comparison over the author's friends book shelf. The one she got from IKEA, the movers told her that she had to take it apart before they would move it because they didn't want to be blamed if it broke, so instead, she just tossed it on the street. And then at her new place, she found an antique old bookshelf that it was assumed that she would take it whenever she moved again. The difference in products! And I loved the stories on the feelings we get when we "think" we've saved money. I know my mother feels that all the time when I see some of the shit she brings home. I always tell her she would be better off just giving me the money. HAHA.

Grade: C

This book was made into a tv show which I saw both in NZ and Australia and actually just finished up season 2 on dvd last night. The tv show was better. The book wasn't too racy which was good but she obviously didn't give names to anyone and it was kind of hard to keep track of A1 through 4. And she actually didn't talk too much about her actual job, more about about her friends, family and the boys she really dates and breaks up with, etc. It was more real life then job. So I was kind of expecting something different.

Grade: C-

Another hostel, of course in NZ! Rotorua is an eh city and for some reason I have been here 3 times (this and Wellington are my top places outside of AKL that I have been to the most in NZ) and I have stayed here twice. I really like it a lot! As a single, they have everything I like, plus they are technically a YHA, so their standards are a little higher then independents but unlike YHA's they actually have decently priced singles. Comfy beds, desk, chairs, mirrors and hang pins a plenty in the rooms. The kitchen is huge and clean, good parking and a great lounge with comfy couches. A little far from town, which is why I always hire a car, but you have to walk through this geyser park to get home, which is pretty fun. I always groan when I find out I have to go to Roto again, but then I perk up because I get to stay here again!

http://www.kiwipaka.co.nz/rotorua/rotorua.html

Even though I hated this authors last book (BACHELORETTE #1) I took both of these books out at the same time and wasted another week and read this one too. Not as bad as her other book, but at least I didn't come out of this book wanting to kill myself. Protag is a wedding cake "boutique" owner and for some reason like never makes cakes anymore and has all the time in the world to run around and hang out with her friends and try to make old boyfriends who are now getting married try to fall back in love with her and for some reason, they DON'T think she is crazy!!!! Anyway, how does someone "fall" into being a huge quasi-celeb cake maker in Boston and like never does anything? And the one time she does have to bake, she freaks out and fucks up. And she has her name on the store! If I was her head chef, I would not put up with that shit. Like nothing bad ever happens to this protag and everything works out! So lame. And she says she doesn't want to get married, but the second this awesome guy she starts dating says he doesn't want to get married anytime soon, she freaks out and dumps him. He didn't say NEVER, he just said not anytime soon. LAME. And I can't believe that her ex doesn't freak out when she tries to make a move on him, when he is engaged. He doesn't go for it (go him!) but he doesn't run away screaming that she is crazy, which she so is.

Thankfully, this is the last book I have in my stacks from this author and I will never take out another one again.

Grade: D-

Bob's Big Boy in Burbank is like one of my favorite restaurants ever. Outside on the patio on a nice day with breakfast or a sandwich is heaven. But it's not complete without a huge glass of water with CRUSHED ICE! The first time I went, they serviced it automatically but then a few times later, they served me normal ice and I was horribly disappointed, so now when they ask me for my drink order, I always say water with crushed ice. And I haven't had a problem since! So don't forget to specify if you ever go. Gotta be crushed! People laugh when I say that, but I don't want to make that mistake again. Better safe then sorry.

http://www.bigboy.com/