WWW Wednesay

What have I finished reading? Savvy by Ingrid Law. I started this while proctoring an exam for a friend and ended up reading the rest of it in one day. I really enjoyed it, although I felt the author overly used metaphor. It counts towards by 100 book challenge and Newbery challenge.

What am I currently reading? I'm still plugging along with The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I'm having a hard time with it though. I've been told that the book really picks up once the new tenant at the apartment building moves in, but it is difficult for me to enjoy a book where I don't like the characters, especially when the author appears to be using them as mouthpieces for her own philosophy instead of actually having a plot for the first half of the book. I truly don't understand all of the fuss, and I'm a little disconcerted that my boss (who loved the book) said it reminded her of me. Perhaps she meant it did in the sense that she feels I hide my light under a bushel, and not that I'm a smug know-it-all with a chip on her shoulder. Considering we're friends and socialize away from work I'm guessing it is the former. Oh, and I haven't had a chance to go back to Homer P. Figg yet either.

What will I read next? I'll finish Homer P. Figg and then I'm unsure. My sister returned three of the books I had lent her, none of which I have read, so I might crack open Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella. After The Elegance of the Hedgehog I will need something light.

So disappointing.

This week's topic: what are three books you thought you would like, but ended up hating? Once again, thanks to Lost in Books for this idea.
For this topic I stuck with books I actually finished, as opposed to ones I stopped reading because I disliked them so much.


First up, we have The Ghost Writer by John Harwood. The problem I had with this book was the ending. I literally said "What the hell?" and then went back and reread portions of it trying to figure out what had happened, and if I had missed something. I was never able to figure it out. Extremely disappointing and confusing.

Next we have Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. I had never read anything by Grisham and I thought this short little funny book about Christmas would be a good place to start. Wrong! First of all, it isn't funny. Secondly, none of the characters struck me as either likable or sympathetic. In my review on Shelfari I called the book pure drivel.

Finally we have Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews. Hoo-boy! This book suffers from a horrible identity crisis. The cover synopsis presents it as a tale of jilted woman gets revenge and finds true love, but this is not the case. The book starts off that way, and then turns into a lame murder mystery, and then has the main character end up with the dullest and stupidest leading man ever, after virtually no sparks whatsoever. Absolutely awful book.

Hmm. Interestingly enough, I read all three of these books during my miserable time living in Fayetteville. I don't think that really played a role in it though since I read so many books there that I loved, including A Year in Provence and A Walk in the Woods. But these three were stinkers.

5x5*

or I felt like making lists!

5 Things I am Sick and Tired Of
1. Back pain. Yoga and massage therapy are helping, but I still have a grouping of constant knots in my back muscles concentrated around my right shoulder and at the bra level. I know I am lucky that it is muscular in nature as opposed to skeletal or nerves, but it really stinks.

2. Feeling under-appreciated at work. This is more from the standpoint of the faculty members and students themselves instead of my boss. It may be primarily in my head, but it isn't a nice feeling.

3. Politicians who pay lip-service to valuing education but then refuse to fund it or other educational organizations.

4. Worrying about money. There never seems to be enough.

5. The fact that being a conscientious shopper means paying more for just about everything so that you can get products that don't support slavery (chocolate companies), or companies that treat animals inhumanely (most meat companies), or the company that brought us Agent Orange and now brings us GMO (Monsanto), or the petroleum industry (plastics).

5 Things I've Loving Right Now
1. The new season of Doctor Who. I just hope that the final episodes aren't weep fests waiting to happen.

2. My local farmer's market. I wish that we had one year round, but I know that's really hard for such a small area. I go almost every Saturday, and the roast chicken I made yesterday with the locally, organically, and humanely raised chicken was the best I've ever had.

3. My sister and her adorable children are in town for a visit this week! Sadly because of work I will only see them in the early evening when they are cranky, but they will still be fun.

4. My dog. I love him all the time of course, but he just got groomed and so is extra soft and fluffy right now, making him more like a living teddy bear than normal.

5. We have a chipmunk colony (well, there are at least three of them) living in the backyard and they are so much fun to watch.

*Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference.