Ones to read and ones to skip…. The Best and Worst of 2007

Here’s my best and worst list of 2007. I will say that I don’t have great recall of the books I read early in the year so there is a chance there are some really good ones or really bad ones that don’t make this list.

Best Chick Lit:
1. The Dog Walker (#73)
2. The Spinster Sisters (#100)
3. Room For Improvement (#39)
4. Happiness Sold Separately (#85)
5. The Godmother (#86)
6. Dedication (#66)
7. Fourth Comings (#62)
8. Alphabet Weekends (#16)
9. Joyride (#43)

Best Fiction:
1. The Rest of Her Life (#70)
2. What the Dead Know (#23)
3. The Kindness of Strangers (#6)
4. Lost and Found (#99)
5. The Faraday Girls (#80)
6. To The Power of Three (#27)
7. Catching Genius (#18)
8. Between, Georgia (#38)

Best Nonfiction:
1. In An Instant (#20)
2. Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited (#93)
3. Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture (#89)
4. Louder Then Words (#78)

Books to Avoid:
I Take This Man; Whitethorn Woods; Summer People, Wine, Tarts & Sex; I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell; The friends we keep; The Saturday Wife; Durable Goods; The Dominant Blonde;

102. Heiress for Hire

This was a quick, cute and quite predictable read I got from the library yesterday...

Here's the description from BN.com:

Chicago socialite Amanda Delmar thought spending the summer in Cuttersville-Ohio's most haunted town-would be a hoot, until dearold-Dad cut her off. Now Amanda has to do the unthinkable and get... A JOB. Her attempts at joining the job market would crack up farmer Danny Tucker, if he weren't so turned on by the skinny, bronzed blonde. Hiring Amanda to babysit his baby girl may not be the smartest thing Danny has ever done. But seeing how she and her couture-clad poodle bring a smile to his shy daughter's face makes it all worthwhile. Now all Danny has to figure out is how to keep Amanda at arm's length, when she has already wriggled her way into his heart.

101. Always and Forever

I liked this one - it was a pretty good chick lit read. And it was long, which is a plus when I'm buying the book! :)

Here's the description from B&N:

When the going gets tough...

In the Irish town of Carrickwell, with its lush, endlessly rolling hills and authentic country tranquility, three women's lives are anything but calm. There's Mel, a compulsively ambitious mother/publicity manager at a high-powered PR firm -- living proof that balancing motherhood and a full-time job is no walk in the park. The hot-headed, indomitable Cleo, just out of college with a degree in hotel management, would like nothing better than to modernize and revive her family's dwindling hotel -- but faces a constant battle with her old-fashioned parents. And finally, there's the stylish, sweet-tempered Daisy, a self-consciously curvy fashion buyer for an upscale clothing boutique, who has been struggling -- and longing -- to have a baby with her absolutely perfect boyfriend. Although unconnected, these three women have one thing in common: they all need a break from their stressful lives.

...these tough gals hit the nearest spa!

So each one sets out for a little R & R at the new Clouds Hill spa, built by an American woman with her own secret turmoil. It is there that Mel, Cleo, and Daisy meet -- their worlds and troubles colliding -- forming an intimate bond that helps them to realize what matters most in life, always and forever.

100. The Spinster Sisters

This was a good chick lit read. I definitely recommend it along with Ballis' other books. The characters are realistic, not stupid, fluffy, annoying women like you find in a lot of these types of books.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Jodi and Jill Spingold are the Spinster Sisters. With a radio show, speaking engagements, DVDs, and two bestselling books, they've built a thriving cottage industry helping other single women find happiness. Their futures have never been brighter-until Jill turns out the lights on Jodi by announcing her engagement.

Jodi is stunned. How can they be the Spinster Sisters if one of them is married? Complicating things is her own love life, involving three vastly different paramours offering three different kinds of happiness-none of which Jodi is sure she wants. And her ex-husband, backed by his lawyer girlfriend, may be angling for a piece of the Spinster Sisters empire.

Now, Jodi must make some tough decisions, keep the business afloat, and get to the altar to stand by her sister-even if means that from now on she'll be single all by herself.

99. Lost and Found

I liked this one, a lot. The back cover of the book is misleading so the story wasn't what I expected, but it was a page turner for sure. I was drawn into the various characters and really couldn't put the book down.

Rather than the misleading description, here's a review from B&N.com:

Twelve contestants on a round-the-world scavenger hunt compete for reality-TV fame and a million-dollar jackpot. The latest reality-TV show to go into production, Lost and Found is down to its last six pairs of contestants. Cameramen and sound crew trail each duo as they careen through international airports lugging a parrot in a cage, an aviator helmet and a ski pole, en route to clues that will lead them to other equally hard-to-travel-with objects. What with jet lag, drastic time-zone changes and the grueling challenges of the intermittent daredevil rounds (milking rattlesnakes, being buried to the neck in hot sand), relations between team members are frayed: 18-year-old Cassie and her newly slimmed-down, long-widowed mother Laura are NOT TALKING about the baby Laura carried unnoticed to term and gave up for adoption; Juliet and Dallas, former child stars, find the spotlight isn't big enough for both of them; Carl and Jeff, brothers both recently divorced, disagree as to whether their lifelong joke-meister routines are appreciated by the others; Betsy and Jason, former high-school sweethearts reunited for the trip, learn that they've long outgrown each other; Trent and Riley, techno-whizzes who caught the dot.com wave and bailed in advance of the crash, are having trouble with the mundane; and Justin and Abby, both "ex-gays," now born-again Christians, discover that their marriage to each other hasn't put a stop to "sinful desire." As the teams decode rhymed clues that send them from a Cairo nightclub to a Shinto palace in Japan, and further on around the globe, the show's producers manipulate contestants' exhaustion to orchestrate juicy confrontations for the cameras. Told fromdifferent characters' points of view, this novel manages, despite its madcap premise and full-frontal exposure of crass American greed, to deliver several sympathetic characters. Given the high-concept premise, Parkhurst (The Dogs of Babel, 2003) has avoided the pitfall of simply engineering a joyride, and written a funny second novel that surpasses her first.

The story doesn't include details from all of these characters but does alternate between first person accounts from 7 of them. I would have liked to see a little more from some, a little less from others, but in the end, it was a really good book and I definitely recommend it.

98. The Dominant Blonde

This was the third book I've read by this author and by far the worst of the three. Last night's read - also by Kwitney - was really good, this one, not so good.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Blond and a size ten for the first time in her life, Lydia may actually have gotten this love thing right this time. Or not. After a run of bad career and dating decisions, Lydia Gold is ready for a vacation from her life. So what if the Caribbean resort's a little shabby and the boyfriend's not the lover of her dreams. This time around, Lydia's experiencing what it's like to have someone madly in love with her.

But when Abe doesn't return from a scuba dive, Lydia discovers some decidedly unsavory facts. Abe has embezzled three million dollars of her family's money. And he may not be as dead as she's beginning to wish he were.

Lydia's best chance for finding her missing boyfriend is Liam MacNally, a rugged, sexy former NYPD search and rescue diver and reluctant romantic. Liam wants nothing more than to sit on the beach with a Hemingway novel in one hand and a beer in the other.

But sometimes it takes a little danger to bring you to your senses....

97. Flirting in Cars

This was a really cute chicklit read for a cold winter Friday night. Kinda predictable, but most chick lit is, I thought the male lead was a really interesting character and pretty uncommon in the chicklit realm.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

An accomplished journalist, Zoë Goren can't drive and she doesn't cook. But that's never been a problem in Manhattan, where the streets are filled with taxis and takeout restaurants, and a busy single mother can find everything she needs right at her fingertips. In fact, Zoë can't imagine living or working anyplace else. But when Zoë's daughter is diagnosed with dyslexia, she decides to make the ultimate sacrifice, moving two hours from Manhattan in order to enroll Maya in an excellent school for children with learning differences. Stranded in a rural paradise, Zoë must grapple with isolation, coyote howls, and the lack of good delivery services. But when she decides to overcome her fear of driving and take lessons, she meets Mack, an unnervingly attractive townie, back from the war in Iraq and trying to adjust to civilian life. With a budding new romance and a reporting gig for the local paper, Zoë just might survive in the wilderness of small-town America after all.

96. Nice Girls Finish First

This one was incredibly predictable, but cute. I got it for $3 at the discount book store and it was definitely worth the sticker price. :)

Here's a description from B&N.com:

From the author of the zany debut, American Idle, comes a hilarious novel about learning how to be yourself-even if it kills you.Kirby Green didn't get to be a Vice President of Marketing by being nice. But when she fires her entire staff within a few weeks (they all deserved it, really), her new boss is hardly impressed. Wanting to prove his point, he issues a bet: If Kirby can get someone-anyone-to call her nice, she can take that long-awaited dream vacation to Italy with her best friend, Jules. If she can't, she can kiss the Coliseum goodbye. Oh, and her job too. Now Kirby has exactly thirty days to bully someone into saying she's nice-and to show her boss who's boss. If she doesn't fall hard for him first...

95. Mommy Tracked

This was a quick, cute chick-lit read. The characters all had flaws which made them less than perfect and therefore likeable.

Here's a description from B&N.com:

Praised for her “smart, funny, sexy, and refreshingly real” novels, author Whitney Gaskell delivers a warm, witty, and wise new story of four women coping with the challenges of motherhood, men, and each other.

For Anna, Grace, Juliet, and Chloe, the idyllic town of Orange Cove, Florida, is home…but even in paradise,balancing the challenges of motherhood and life is never easy.

With a son in the throes of the Terrible Twos, divorced restaurant critic Anna has too much on her plate to reenter the frightening world of dating—no matter how expertly her new admirer wines and dines her….Grace has three beautiful daughters and the perfect husband, yet she’s increasingly obsessed with one nagging flaw: her excess baby weight…. Ambitious Juliet is desperate to make partner at her law firm. Fortunately, her husband stays home with their twins. But at the office, Juliet is finding more than work to occupy her time....When newest mom Chloe gives birth, her husband seems indifferent to parenting their son. Chloe is so overwhelmed that she finds herself slipping into a nasty habit she thought she’d overcome.…

Filled with humor, charm, and richly developed characters, Mommy Tracked illuminates four friends’ intertwining lives—and their joys and mistakes along the way.

94. Big Boned

This was the sequel to Size 12 is Not Fat and Size 14 is Not Fat Either. It was cute. I didn't like it as much as the first two, but still a quick, cute read.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

Cabot's cute third crime fest featuring Heather Wells, teen pop sensation turned 20-something college student (last seen in 2006's Size 14 Is Not Fat Either), tackles the recent graduate student union controversy at NYU-like New York College head-on. Heather is paying her tuition by working at the college's Fischer Hall, a residence hall nicknamed "Death Dorm" after several recent murders. She's also semisecretly dating Tad Tocco, her remedial math prof, while pining for her neighbor and true love, Cooper, a PI who's not happy about Tad but has difficulty expressing his feelings. When Fisher Hall's interim director, Dr. Owen Veatch, is murdered, Sebastian Blumenthal, a Graduate Student Collective protest leader, becomes the prime suspect. A tip that Blumenthal is innocent leads Heather into some tight spots. Thankfully, Tad has coaxed her into working out occasionally, and she's more than able to squirm out of trouble while never losing that perky princess Cabot vibe that keeps fans coming back for more.

93. Identical Strangers - A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited

This was a really good book - an amazing story and it was filled with lots of interesting stories about nature versus nuture.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Elyse Schein had always known she was adopted, but it wasn’t until her mid-thirties while living in Paris that she searched for her biological mother. When Elyse contacted her adoption agency, she was not prepared for the shocking, life-changing news she received: She had an identical twin sister. Elyse was then hit with another bombshell: she and her sister had been separated as infants, and for a time, had been part of a secret study on separated twins.

Paula Bernstein, a married writer and mother living in New York, also knew she was adopted, but had no inclination to find her birth mother. When she answered a call from the adoption agency one spring afternoon, Paula’s life suddenly divided into two starkly different periods: the time before and the time after she learned the truth.

As they reunite and take their tentative first steps from strangers to sisters, Paula and Elyse are also left with haunting questions surrounding their origins and their separation. They learn that the study was conducted by a pair of influential psychiatrists associated with a prestigious adoption agency. As they investigate their birth mother’s past, Paula and Elyse move closer toward solving the puzzle of their lives.

In alternating voices, Paula and Elyse write with emotional honesty about the immediate intimacy they share as twins and the wide chasm that divides them as two complete strangers. Interweaving eye-opening studies and statistics on twin science into their narrative, they offer an intelligent and heartfelt glimpse into human nature.

Identical Strangers is the amazing story of two women coming to terms with the strange andunbelievable hand fate has dealt them, an account that broadens the definition of family and provides insight into our own DNA and the singularly exceptional imprint it leaves on our lives.

92. Water for Elephants

Again, after a slow start this one was a really interesting and different book. I especially love the ending!

Here's a description from B&N.com: As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

91. Magic Hour

This one started off slow, but ended up being a good read.

This review pretty much sums up my feelings toward the book:

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case. Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters' professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia's name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who's never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl's parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl's perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah's torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice's past and creating a home for her. Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

90. Hopeless Romantic

I bought this one because it looked good, but more importantly because it was long. I read books so quickly that it only makes sense to buy them if they are on sale or really long. At over 500 pages, this met the "really long" criteria.

For the first 75 pages or so I was regretting my purchase because I really didn't like the main character, but, once she got her act together, the book got much better.

Here's a description from B&N.com:

Laura Foster is a hopeless romantic. Her friends know it, her parents know it - even Laura acknowledges she lives either with her head in the clouds or buried in a romance novel. It's proved harmless enough, even if it hasn't delivered her a real-life dashing hero yet. But when her latest relationship ends in a disaster that costs her friendships, her job, and nearly her sanity, Laura swears off men and hopeless romantic fantasies for good.With her life in tatters around her, Laura agrees to go on vacation with her parents. After a few days of visiting craft shops and touring the stately homes of England, Laura is ready to tear her hair out. And then, while visiting grand Chartley Hall, she crosses paths with Nick, the sexy, rugged estate manager. She finds she shares more than a sense of humor with him - in fact, she starts to think she could fall for him. But is Nick all he seems? Or has Laura got it wrong again? Will she open her heart only to have it broken again?

89. Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture

My name is Stacy and I'm a Starbucks-aholic.

Yes, I can admit my fondness for their beverages, as overpriced as they may be. So of course, this book caught my attention on the shelves of Barnes & Noble. But I think it is safe to say even those who hate the 'bucks or don't really care either way would find this book interesting. Part one looks at the rise of the coffee industry and Starbucks in particular and part two looks at all of the reasons people hate Starbucks and whether or not they are valid. On top of that, the author is pretty witty and filled the books with fun footnotes and interesting stories.

Here's the description from B&N:

STARBUCKED will be the first book to explore the incredible rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the caffeine-crazy culture that fueled its success. Part Fast Food Nation, part Bobos in Paradise, STARBUCKED combines investigative heft with witty cultural observation in telling the story of how the coffeehouse movement changed our everyday lives, from our evolving neighborhoods and workplaces to the ways we shop, socialize, and self-medicate.

In STARBUCKED, Taylor Clark provides an objective, meticulously reported look at the volatile issues like gentrification and fair trade that distress activists and coffee zealots alike. Through a cast of characters that includes coffee-wild hippies, business sharks, slackers, Hollywood trendsetters and more, STARBUCKED explores how America transformed into a nation of coffee gourmets in only a few years, how Starbucks manipulates psyches and social habits to snare loyal customers, and why many of the things we think we know about the coffee commodity chain are false.

88. The Quickie

I'm not sure how I feel about this one... in the end I liked it, but it took until the third of three sections for me to actually feel sympathy towards the main character. Which means I had a hard time caring about the storyline until that point. But again, in the end, I liked it.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Lauren Stillwell is not your average damsel in distress. When the NYPD cop discovers her husband leaving a hotel with another woman, she decides to beat him at his own game. But her revenge goes dangerously awry, and she finds her world spiraling into a hell that becomes more terrifying by the hour.In a further twist of fate, Lauren must take on a job that threatens everything she stands for. Now, she's paralyzed by a deadly secret that could tear her life apart. With her job and marriage on the line, Lauren's desire for retribution becomes a lethal inferno as she fights to save her livelihood--and her life.Patterson takes us on a twisting roller-coaster ride of thrills in his most gripping audiobook yet. This story of love, lust and dangerous secrets will have listeners' hearts pounding to the very last page.

87. Crazy in Love

Cheesy, predictable fluff. Which was exactly what I needed to read this week...

Here's the description from B&N:

Flynn Daly is turning thirty. And thirty is the age where she has to, gulp, get a job. Not just any job, but a job working for her real estate magnate father, a man who's tired of supporting his daughter through her many careers. So when their great-aunt Esther Goodhouse, proprietress of a historic inn nestled in Nowhere, New York, dies, Flynn finds herself smack dab in the country, contending with a hotel staff that's unsure of their new boss, a scruffy, sexy ex-policeman named Jake Turner who's convinced that Esther's death wasn't as natural as it seemed, and the ghost of Aunt Esther herself, who starts showing up in Flynn's dreams and undoing all the personal touches that Flynn tries to make to her new home.

86. The Godmother

I liked this one a lot and highly recommend it.

Here's a review from B&N:

While 30-something Londoner Tessa King questions her no-strings-attached lifestyle, she also witnesses her friends' difficulties in marriage and parenthood while playing godmother to their broods. Nick and Francesca battle to keep their sullen teenager out of serious trouble; Billy, a single mom, can't break ties to her now remarried ex-; Helen and Neil, fairy tale parents to twin boys, are hiding something; successful Claudia and Al struggle to conceive; and Ben and Sasha have no plans to have children. But Ben also happens to be Tessa's best friend, and perhaps the love of her life. When tragedy eventually strikes the group, bonds are tested, and Tessa is forced to re-examine what she thinks will really make her happy. A painful look into the fears, doubts and desires that make and break marriages, this debut novel from Londoner Adams is notches up from the usual chick and mom lit fare.

85. Happiness Sold Separately

Oddly enough this is the second book I've read with this title. Two very different stories, this one is chick lit at its best. The character is smart, funny, realizes her flaws and is honestly working to improve herself, not just sitting around feeling sorry for herself and being totally oblivious to her own role in her life traumas. I highly recommend this one for any fans of the cheesy chick lit genre. :)

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Dream boyfriend not included.
When she moved to New York, Ryan Hadley imagined living the big-city-sitcom kind of life with all the trimmings -- great apartment, dream job, and a swept-off-your-feet, how-awesome-is-this-guy love. Of course, her real life is only so-so: not outstanding, nor bad enough to require medication. Ryan spends her days at a dreary data-entry job with wannabe-rocker Will, nights at her favorite dive bar with pals Audrey and Veronica, and her spare time daydreaming about the ideal -- but sadly, fictional -- man: if only Mark Darcy wasn't claimed by Bridget Jones.

Some assembly required.
But two promotions and a record deal later, Ryan's three closest friends are suddenly moving on up -- while Ryan seems to be treading water. Then Charlie, her college ex and super hottie, appears out of the blue with a success story of his own and more than a little baggage in tow. In a New York minute, Ryan realizes that one doesn't live off a maxed-out credit card and a year's supply of squashed Ho Ho's without learning a few important life lessons. She's ready to squeeze a five-year-plan for success into just a few crazy months. After all, why be a big-city girl if you're not going to dream big -- and reach for the stars?

84. Celebrity Detox

This is Rosie O'Donnell's book about her return to fame, recapping the past year and her experiences on The View. As a regular viewer of the show it was pretty intriguing to read her perspective about life behind the scences.

Here's a super long description of the book from B&N.com:

That’s the thing about fame. If you live like a famous person, you will pay the price. And it’s a high price, and a dangerous game, because fame, the drug can sneak up on you in increments. You don’t notice the increments, that they’re increasing until you’re so far away from ever making eye contact with another human being and being "real," that you don’t even know you’re not "real" anymore.

When O’Donnell’s mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1973, ten-year-old Rosie believed that fame could cure her. Though she was still a kid, she had already grasped the cultural connection between talent and money. If she could become famous, the funds would pour in - and buy her mom the miracle cure that could save her life.

Rosie’s mother died, but the bond in her daughter’s mind between stardom and hope survived, propelling 0’Donnell into a career as a talk show host and passionate philanthropist.

At times funny, at others heartbreaking, but always intensely honest, CELEBRITY DETOX is Rosie’s story of the years after she walked away from her top-rated TV show in 2002, and her reasons for going back on the air in 2006. In it, O’Donnell takes you inside the world of talk show TV, speaking candidly about the conflicts and challenges she faced as co-host on ABC’s The View. Along the way O’Donnell shows us how fame becomes addiction and explores whether or not it’s possible for an addict to safely, and sanely, return to the spotlight. She reveals her everyday interactions with her family, and the pressures of being both an ordinary mom and a "personality." She tells of the lifelong admiration she has had for an entertainment icon and of her complicated friendships with her TV colleagues - and talks openly about some dark passages from her own past.

Chronicling the ups and downs of "the fame game," Rosie O’Donnell illuminates not only what it’s like to be a celebrity, but also what it’s like to be a mother, a daughter, a leader, a friend, a sister, a wife - in short, a human being.

I came on The View. This is the story of how it all happened, off stage, on stage, how we struggled to make the show, and then so much more than that. This is an account of what it means to make a show, and a friend, and an enemy, or two. This is about where we went wrong, and right. It’s a story about stars and celebrities and one woman - me - going off air four years ago and then trying to re-enter orbit, not knowing if she can. It’s the story of wondering whether I could give up the addictive elixir of fame and then go back, wondering if it’s possible to sip instead of slug. It’s a story about so much - how Barbara Walters started out as a sort of mother, and me a child willing to obey, and where we finally ended up, months later - after all the Trump dump and divisive ways of the world we are in, we have still, and nevertheless, at the very end, we have found a way to talk. We found, I have to hope, a friendship that, like any other friendship, is both compromised and connected.

83. Hot Pink

I got this off the bargain table at Barnes & Noble and it was worth the $3something I paid for it. A cute chick lit but quite racy, overall I like the story and it was a decent read.

Here's the recap from B&N.com:

When Chloe Chisolm realized she was more infatuated with her boyfriend's apartment than with her boyfriend, she had no choice but to add him to her jam-packed list of exes. All this Minneapolis web designer wants now is an erotic fling with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome. But when a very eventful elevator ride with a seductive stranger ignites a steamy affair, she finds herself plummeting back to earth. For Rocco Vinelli is not only driving Chloe wild with uncontrollable desire, he also happens to be melting her hardened heart.

82. Ana's Story

As all of the press has said, this was a really good book. Geared toward teens, it was a fast but powerful read. I highly recommend it.

Here's a description from B&N.com:

"I want to be in a house without shame. I am tired of the bruises that cover my body and the darkness in my heart. I wish my parents were here. Protect me, Dios."

This is Ana's hope for the future. Her mother, father, and youngest sister all died from AIDS. Ana is seventeen, a mother, and HIV-positive. But Ana is bravely living with HIV—not dying from it. With incredible spirit, strength, and determination, she struggles to break the cycles of silence, abuse, and fear. She wants a brighter future for herself and her child. This is Ana's story.
Based on her work with UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean, Jenna Bush has written a powerful and personal nonfiction account of a girl who fights against all odds to survive. But Ana's experience is not unique. She symbolizes many children in peril and puts a face on the shocking statistics—according to UNICEF, 2.3 million children worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. Millions more suffer from abuse, poverty, and neglect. Jenna's message of hope and call to action will inspire you to make a difference for children like Ana. This book also includes resources for helping others and where to get help if you need it.

81. Blind Submission

This was a cute one... I could totally relate to the main characters love of books!

Here's a review from B&N:

Memoirist Ginsberg (Waiting; Raising Blaze) gracefully transitions into fiction with a fresh twist on the aggrieved publishing assistant. Angel Robinson is a voracious reader excited to land a job at the prestigious Lucy Fiamma Literary Agency in San Francisco, but she quickly finds herself overwhelmed in the maelstrom of an office. Angel, forever lugging manuscripts home, discovers she has a knack for turning mediocre manuscripts into moneymakers, a talent Lucy handsomely capitalizes on. When an anonymous submission set in a Bay Area literary agency is e-mailed in, Angel begins hammering it into salable shape. At first, the parallels between the manuscript and her life are innocuous enough, but as subsequent chapters appear in her inbox and she corresponds via e-mail with the author (coyly called "G. A. Novelist"), the story begins to reveal intimate details about Angel's life and to contain thinly veiled threats. Could her foundering writer boyfriend be the culprit? A jealous co-worker? Another of Lucy's clients? A game of e-mail cat and mouse unfolds as Angel continues working on the manuscript and her dragon-lady boss angles to sell it. Though not nail-bitingly suspenseful, the plot is twisty enough to keep readers guessing to the end.

80. The Faraday Girls

I liked this one - a lot! And I own it if anyone is interested in borrowing it.

Here's the B&N description:

As a child, Maggie Faraday grew up in a lively, unconventional household with her young mother, four very different aunts, and eccentric grandfather. With her mother often away, her aunts took turns looking after her–until, just weeks before Maggie’s sixth birthday, a shocking event changed everything. Twenty years later, Maggie is living alone in New York City when she receives a surprise visit from her grandfather Leo, who brings a revelation and a proposition: He’s preparing a special gift for his daughters and needs Maggie’s help. When the Faradays gather from all parts of the world to celebrate Christmas in July–a longstanding tradition–Maggie uncovers unexpected family history and learns that the women she thought she knew so intimately all have something to hide. Written in McInerney’s trademark warm, heartfelt prose, The Faraday Girls is a sweepingand affecting family saga.

79. The Choice

I read two books at B&N today... I was just in a reading kinda mood. :)

The latest Nicholas Sparks book was up next. Like his others it was a great love story with some sad twists and turns on the road. In a lot of books I read or movies I watch I get annoyed when things happen too fast. When the characters don't get to know each other well enough or have time for a story to really develop before they are in love. For some reason, I don't get annoyed when things happen so quickly in Sparks' books. Maybe I've come to expect it? I don't know. Anyway, this wasn't my favorite of his, but like the others, it was a good read and a good story.

Here's the description from B&N:

Travis Parker has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life-- boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies--he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing redhead seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him . . . and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn't help. Despite himself, Travis can't stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heart wrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?

78. Louder Then Words

This was a really good book. I'm pretty fascinated by autism these days. Everything Jenny McCarthy writes makes so much sense. I don't think what worked for her son is a "cure" for every child with autism but she's very right - if it is a possibility that it will work for a child then doctors should be sharing this information.

Anyway, here's the description from B&N:

Known for her extreme honesty about the everyday trials of pregnancy, motherhood, marriage, and divorce, Jenny McCarthy has developed a national fan base that has taken her to the New York Times bestseller list for a total of twenty-three weeks. USA Today ranked McCarthy's first two books as the fourth and fifth bestselling baby books in 2005. But few have known that her son, Evan, has autism. In Louder Than Words, she takes this revelation to parents across the country, starting a dialogue on this complex condition, much as Brooke Shields did for postpartum depression in Down Came the Rain.

Writing with the raw humor and honesty that has made her so popular with women across the country, McCarthy shares her son's symptoms and her attempts to sort through the maze of conflicting medical theories. With Louder Than Words, McCarthy sheds much needed light on autism through her own heartbreak, struggle, and ultimately hopeful example of how a parent can shape her child's life and happiness.

77. Amber Brown is Not a Crayon

At work we have pictures of children's artwork on the walls and one of them was a child's version of what this book cover could look like. I mentioned a fascination with this particular drawing and the next thing I knew someone ordered the book for me as a gift. :)

It was super cute and now I totally understand the title (she got teased and called a brown crayon since her name was Amber Brown).

Here's a description from B&N: Amber Brown and Justin Daniels are best friends. They've known each other for practically
forever, sit next to each other in class, help each other with homework, and always stick up for each other. Justin never says things like, "Amber Brown is not a crayon." Amber never says, "Justin Time." They're a great team--until disaster strikes. Justin has to move away, and now the best friends are fighting. Will they be able to work it out before it's too late?

76. Room for Love

So here's the latest...

Jacquie Stuart has just turned thirty-two and she wants to do a major rewrite on her life. Her salary at a snarky film magazine barely covers her mortgage, her bratty sister has staked permanent claim to her couch, her best friend is in an obscenely happy marriage, and the only guy who really gets her is gay. Worst of all, she keeps falling for broke, self-involved commitment-phobes. Needing moonlighting money, Jacquie gets the idea of investigating a new dating trend—looking for Mr. Right in the “Roommate Wanted” ads. After a bunch of colorful near-misses that bring her into the slums of the East Village, the brownstones of Brooklyn, and the dingier digs of the Upper East Side, Jacquie thinks she's finally found the man she's been looking for and stuns her friends by moving out of her beloved apartment—and into his. Complications ensue when her live-in love reveals some alarming imperfections, the irresistible artist who dumped her wants her back… and what is up with the mystery man living in the charming one-bedroom she left behind? Jacquie has been looking for love in other people’s homes all over town, but could the key to her happiness lie right under her very own roof?

It was quick, and cute, pretty much what i look for in a weekend read at Barnes & Noble. :)

75. Immediate Family

It's mid September and I've now reached the number of books I read in the entire year last year. Oh my... anyway, this was a good one. Kinda surprising yet kinda predictable, but overall a good read.

Here's a review from B&N.com that totally agrees with my feelings on the book: Fifteen years after graduation, four close college friends are dealing with family and romantic relationship issues. Entertainment news reporter Stevie is afraid to commit to Ryan, a documentary filmmaker who's crazy about her but is rapidly losing patience (her life only becomes more complicated when her hippie mother reveals that her father is a Seventies rock star believed to have been involved in an act of violence years earlier). Emerson is a publicist and divorced mom who falls for someone "unacceptable" in her dying-and still meddling-mother's social circle. Literary agent Franny has the proverbial ticking biological clock. And advertising executive Jay is married to the gorgeous and pregnant Vivienne, whose unorthodox suggestion will change her, Jay's, and Franny's lives forever. Goudge's (Otherwise Engaged) novel starts out with a bang and remains compelling thanks to the four interesting main characters and a few genuine surprises, but other developments are not so surprising.

74. Lime Ricky

This one was so-so... the plot wasn't all that great, but it had it's good moments and definitely hooked me. Here's a review from B&N.com:

A gorgeous California chef and an equally gorgeous New York fireman marinate in their hormones as murder stalks The Cooking Channel. Burning curtains in a borrowed apartment lead to the cute meeting between talented chef-turned-set-supervisor Gretchen Darrow and Air Force-vet-turned-fireman Rick Pellucci in Winters's latest romance (after Just Peachy, 2005). Burned by an unhappy affair with a personal trainer at the lush California resort where she whipped up delicious lo-cal for the demanding rich, Gretchen has fled to New York and a new life working in cable television on something awfully like the real-life Food Network, where celebrated TV cooks and their enablers vie to become the next Emeril, Mario or Martha. When scented candles left lit by Gretchen's spacey actress cousin Dana ignite the drapery, it's big, hunky Rick who douses the flames. Sparks fly immediately between the two, but the flames of their lust are quickly doused by misunderstanding. By incredible coincidence, Rick is the brother of Romeo Ramero (aka Brett Pellucci), The Cooking Channel's leading culinary stud. Gretchen's dessert-diva boss Susanna has ordered Gretchen to secure her a guest spot on Romeo's primetime show, leading Rick to think that Gretchen has the hots for his shorter, oilier brother, who has appealed to Rick to find out who's been sending Brett death threats. The misunderstandings begin to clear up only after a bitchy agent is poisoned at a big party in Brett's lavish ski-chalet. Gretchen and Rick begin to explore each other's magnificent anatomies in stolen moments in elevators and pickup trucks, never quite getting it completely on thanks to roommates who barge in and elevator doors thatinconveniently open. Just when Gretchen thinks she's solved the murder, she discovers How Wrong She Can Be. The sex is hot, but the plot barely simmers.

73. The Dog Walker

This one got mixed reviews online but I liked it - a lot. In fact, it will probably be one of my favorites of the year when this whole list wraps up in December.

Here's a description from B&N:

Part voyeur, part dreamer, Nina Shepard, a Manhattan dog walker, has been around the block, so to speak, a few times and yearns to find that something -- or someone -- she can be passionate about. She may not have a boyfriend or a real purpose in life, but she does have a job that offers her one great opportunity: the keys to her clients' apartments. And with these keys, Nina has the freedom to cross several foyers -- and a moral boundary -- and gain access to their lives...where she just might find the things that are missing in her own.

Enter Daniel, a man she thinks she knows from snooping far past his doorway when she comes to pick up Sid, his Weimaraner. Except for owning a designer dog (rather than a stray from the pound), he seems perfect in every way. Now if only she could meet him.

For anyone else that might seem simple, but for Nina life is complicated. Claire, her best friend, is an actress who loses every audition due to nervous sweats. Bono, a sullen and sarcastic eight-year-old, is neglected by his U2 groupie mom, one of Nina's clients. Mrs. Chandler, her eccentric neighbor, would rather discuss Barry Bonds than why the IRS is hounding her. And Isaiah, Nina's ex-con dog-walking colleague, champions the rights of pit bulls. And, of course, there are the dogs themselves: Wallis and Edward, the spoiled dachsunds; Che, the stone-deaf beagle; Safire, the bulldog who stares at walls; and Nina's own beloved mutt Sam.

But it is Daniel who holds the key to Nina's heart. One moonlit night on a pier overlooking the Hudson River they are pulled into the treacherous waters of love. What she doesn't know is that Daniel is an imposter, pretending to be what he is not. And by the time she learns who he really is, after mishaps and mistaken identities, deception and lost dogs, it's too late. She's fallen for someone she never would have expected.

The Dog Walker is the hilarious and heartwarming story about one woman's quest for fulfillment. It is about city life -- any city, all cities -- and the struggle to make real connections. It is about allowing oneself to love fully while being fully oneself. And finally, it is about life itself: unpredictable, joyful, and not to be missed.

72. Emily's Reasons Why Not

This was very worth the $3.99 I paid for the hardback version of the book. It would not have been very worth full, hardback price. It was a quick, cute read.... and that's about it.

Here's a description from B&N.com:

Hollywood publicity pro extraordinaire Emily Sanders is hitting thirty -- hard -- and she wants the life her best friends seem to have: house, kids, perfect man. But finding true love isn't easy in L.A., where image is everything, and where every beauty pageant winner is an eight in a sea of nines, who all wish they were Julia Roberts.For Emily, boyfriend material has always come in many strange shapes and incarnations -- beautiful young surfer god, aging music executive, boss's boss's boss, and a baseball player with two cell phones (one of which she does not have the number to).With her confidence rapidly heading due south (like everything else on her body), it's time to find a smart, sharp-eyed psychotherapist to help her get past her surefire method for choosing the absolute worst man. With a little help, maybe Emily can learn to narrow her focus from looking for Mister Right to looking out for Mister Wrong. Because she knows that, eventually, "the one" comes for every woman ... even for a disarming, unflappable player in the mad, mad world of entertainment, with the edge of an insider and the heart of a dreamer.

71. Heart, You Bully, You Punk

This one was quirky. I can't really describe it and do it justice. I liked it even though the ending wasn't happy. It wasn't sad either, just left things up in the air, but I was OK with it. I'm going to stop trying to analyze the book - and my feelings about it - and just let this review from BN.com do it for me:

"Prickly" Iphegenia Julia Esker, a math teacher at a private Brooklyn high school, is the guarded figure at the heart of this accomplished, lovingly crafted and somewhat suffocating novel by Cohen, whose previous books include the novel Heat Lightning and the poignant memoir Train Go Sorry. Esker (she goes by her last name) begins tutoring a brilliant and potentially troubled math student at home after Ann James's fall from school bleachers ("I was kind of nudged from the inside") leaves her wheelchair-bound with two broken heels. Ann adores her teacher and wants her father, the kindly, semimarried restaurant owner, Wally James, and Esker to get acquainted. Though Esker has lived a hermitlike existence for nine years, ever since her beloved Albert Rose, then 22, married the girl his family expected him to, Wally is able to get past Esker's defenses and make her, momentarily anyway, "baskingly, destabilizingly happy" in this odd tale of love and loneliness. As if Esker's natural resistance to happiness weren't enough, the Prospect School frowns on her nascent relationship with Wally, and Wally's wife (and Ann's mother), who left three years ago to act in independent films, visits at Christmas. But this slim novel is short on plot, which leaves Cohen room for enchantingly poetic observations and romantic similes, a sustained metaphor of physical injury, and characters who compulsively take their own emotional temperature. Small gestures carry great weight, and images and details reverberate throughout, as tension builds, not organically from situations, but from Cohen's descriptive layering. One wishes her characters-especially Esker-would stop thinking so much about how to live and just start doing it.

70. The Rest of Her Life

This was a really good read. Similar to a Jodi Piccoult book. I highly recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

In The Rest of Her Life, Laura Moriarty delivers a luminous, compassionate, and provocative look at how mothers and daughters with the best intentions can be blind to the harm they do to one another.Leigh is the mother of high-achieving, popular high school senior Kara. Their relationship is already strained for reasons Leigh does not fully understand when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy -- the effects of which not only divide Leigh's family, but polarize the entire community. We see the story from Leigh's perspective, as she grapples with the hard reality of what her daughter has done and the devastating consequences her actions have on the family of another teenage girl in town, all while struggling to protect Kara in the face of rising public outcry.Like the best works of Jane Hamilton, Jodi Picoult, and Alice Sebold, Laura Moriarty's The Rest of Her Life is a novel of complex moral dilemma, filled with nuanced characters and a page-turning plot that makes readers ask themselves, "What would I do?"

69. Little Beauties

This was a really quick read. And a quirky read as well. Told from three perspectives - a woman with OCD, a teenager who is about to have, then has a baby and the unborn child, then infant. Who is the reincarnated wife of the stranger who helps deliver the baby in the back of his car.

Yeah.

But despite being a pretty bizarre story, in the end, I liked it.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

Diana McBride, a thirty-four-year-old former child pageant contender, now works in a baby store in Long Beach. Between dealing with a catastrophic haircut, the failure of her marriage, and phone calls from her alcoholic mother, Diana has gone off her OCD medication and is trying to cope via washing and cleaning rituals. When pregnant teenager Jamie Ramirez enters the store, Diana's already chaotic world is sent spinning.

Jamie can't stand being pregnant. She can't wait to get on with her normal life and give the baby up for adoption. But her yet-to-be-born daughter, Stella, has a fierce will and a destiny to fulfill. And as the magical plot of Little Beauties unfolds, these three characters' lives become linked in ever more surprising ways.

68. Summer at Willow Lake

This was actually the first book in the Lakeshore Chronicles series but I read it last. I really like these books, yes, there is always a predictable, happily ever after ending, but the characters seem realistic and the stories are well written. And, of course, I do like happily ever after, even if it is predictable.

Here's the review from B&N.com: The latest contemporary from Wiggs (Table for Five) is a quiet, character-based romance set at the Catskills camp that Olivia Bellamy is renovating for her grandparents' 50th anniversary. Helping out is contractor Connor Davis, who initially doesn't recognize Olivia as the girl whose heart he broke a decade before at the very same camp. Now, both hold grudges against the other that hide their insecurities; although he's become successful and sophisticated, Connor believes Olivia's social status puts her out of his league, while Olivia remains buried in her awkward-little-fat-girl memories. The narrative switches off between present-day action and the summers Olivia and Connor spent at Camp Kioga, filling in the spaces of their relationship with each other and with their dysfunctional families. Wiggs's storytelling is heartwarming, but avoids schmaltz, and her chick-lit-ready leads seem older than their 20-some years, adding weight to their stories. Happily clutter free-no subplots to take attention away from the intelligent, appealing couple-this book, first in a series, should appeal to romance and women's fiction readers of any age.

67. Durable Goods

The online reviews for this one are mixed, as our my feelings about it. I didn't disklike it but didn't like it all that much either. It was well written but the story line was pretty depressing but the ending did indicate a better future...

Here's a description from B&N.com:

"Sometimes life is so hard and then, bingo, it's like happiness is pushing at your back, waiting to come out of your front...." On the hot Texas army base she calls home, Katie spends the lazy days of her summer waiting: waiting to grow up; waiting for Dickie Mack to fall in love with her; waiting for her breasts to blossom; waiting for the beatings to stop. Since their mother died, Katie and her older sister, Diane, have been struggling to understand their distant, often violent father. Diane escapes into the arms of her boyfriend. Katie hides in her room or escapes to her best friend's house - until Katie's admiration for her strong-willed sister leads her on an adventure that transforms her life. About Durable Goods Christopher Tilghman has said, "Elizabeth Berg's prose and passion come at us with all the deceptive strength of her heroine." Written with an unerring ability to capture the sadness of growth, the pain of change, the nearly visible vibrations that connect people, this beautiful novel reminds us of how wonderful, and wounding, a deeper understanding of life can be.

66. Dedication

This was a really cute chicklit read... I was pretty hooked from the start and read it in one sitting (I know that's not really that unusual but...)

Here's a review from B&N.com:

The team behind The Nanny Diariesand Citizen Girlreturns with another breezy chick lit portrayal of a woman wronged and, eventually, empowered. When Kate Hollis's childhood chum Laura calls from their Vermont hometown and announces the arrival of Jake Sharpe, a mega rock star and Kate's high school sweetheart, Kate jumps on a plane from Charleston, S.C. (where she's a sustainable development consultant) and makes for idyllic Croton Falls. Through it's been 13 years, Kate still has a primal need to confront not only the boy who abandoned her before the senior prom, but the musical pirate who used her personal life as fodder for his most celebrated songs and cheated his high school bandmates out of deserved recognition and royalties. Chapters switch back and forth between the present and the pivotal middle and high school years where Kate (then Katie) and Jake did the first-love thing: readers get to see Jake's growing he's-just-not-that-into-you-ness and how (surprise!) their Zima-fueled love (it was the '90s) was idealized. While one spends much of the book wanting to shout at Kate to give it up, go back to Charleston and get on with it, McLaughlin and Kraus do get the nagging need for closure in even the shallowest relationships comically right.

65. Dockside

This was a sorta sequel to The Winter Lodge which I read earlier this year... actually, there was another book in between that one and this one that I'll have to get to soon. It's a "sorta sequel" because it deals with the same town and characters who are connected, but each book focuses on different people in the town. Like the Winter Lodge, this was a quick, good, but like all romance novels, predictable read. But, hey, what more can you ask for on a Sunday night?

Here's a review from B&N.com:

Wiggs returns to the town of Avalon, N.Y., and the shores of picturesque Willow Lake with the fourth installment of her popular Lakeshore Chronicles (after The Winter Lodge). Nina Romano, single mom and ex-mayor of Avalon, is just a bank loan away from realizing her lifelong dream: restoring the Inn at Willow Lake, a historic lodge once owned by the wealthy Bellamy family, and turning it into an elegant retreat. Then she finds that Greg Bellamy has beat her to the punch. Greg and Nina have been sparring since the night Greg decked the West Point cadet who had gotten her pregnant at age 15. Now, nearly 20 years later, Greg is the divorced dad of his own pregnant teen. Predictably, Greg is clueless when it comes to running a hotel, and the only person in town qualified to act as general manager-Nina-refuses to take the position. Wiggs's uncomplicated stories are rich with life lessons, nod-along moments and characters with whom readers can easily relate. Delightful and wise, Wiggs's latest shines.

64. The Saturday Wife

This one was so-so... I didn't love it, and at times I thought about putting it down but I had that "once I start it, I need to finish it" feeling and in the end I'm glad I did. There was a good moral to the story and it did provide an interesting perspective on what it means to be an Orthodox Jew.

Anyway... here's a description from B&N.com:

With more than half a million copies of her novels sold, Naomi Ragen has connected with the hearts of readers as well as reviewers who have met her work with unanimous praise. In The Saturday Wife, Ragen utilizes her fluid writing style--rich with charm and detail--to break new ground as she harnesses satire to expose a world filled with contradiction.Beautiful, blonde, materialistc Delilah Levy steps into a life she could have never imagined when in a moment of panic she decides to marry a sincere Rabbinical student. But the reality of becoming a paragon of virtue for a demanding and hypocritical congregation leads sexy Delilah into a vortex of shocking choices which spiral out of comtrol into a catastrophe which is as sadly believeable as it is wildly amusing.Told with immense warmth, fascinating insight, and wicked humor, The Saturday Wife depicts the pitched and often losing battle of all of us as we struggle to hold on to our faith and our values amid the often delicious temptations of the modern world.

63. Love, Suburban Style

This was a quick, cute read...

Here's the description from B&N:

Fed up with her moody teenage daughter, Meg Addams decides what they both need is a good dose of suburban wholesomeness. But when they leave Manhattan behind for Meg's humble blue-collar hometown, they find it crowded with wealthy strangers and upscale boutiques. Settling into a creaky fixer-upper, Meg finally spots a familiar face right next door--and it belongs to none other than Sam Rooney. The would-be love of Meg's high school life is now a single dad, her daughter's new soccer coach--and a neighborly ghost-buster whenever things go bump in the night. With three kids and an undeniable attraction between them, Meg and Sam are in for some heart-racing, wee-hour encounters that have nothing to do with spirits...but everything to do with hearts.

62. Fourth Comings

The latest in the Jessica Darling series and was a really good read. I liked it better then Charmed Thirds, I can't quite identify why, but I did. Again I feel like I can identify with Jessica's struggles to make choices. Rather then covering a year, or four years like the last one did this book chronicles a week in Jessica's life.

Here's the description from B&N.com:

At first it seems that she’s living the elusive New York City dream. She’s subletting an apartment with her best friend, Hope, working for a magazine that actually utilizes her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with Marcus Flutie, the charismatic addict-turned-Buddhist who first captivated her at sixteen.

Of course, reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés. She and Hope share bunk beds in the “Cupcake”—the girlie pastel bedroom normally occupied by twelve-year-old twins. Their Brooklyn neighborhood is better suited to “breeders,” and she and Hope split the rent with their promiscuous high school pal, Manda, and her “genderqueer boifriend.” Freelancing for an obscure journal can’t put a dent in Jessica’s student loans, so she’s eking out a living by babysitting her young niece and lamenting that she, unlike most of her friends, can’t postpone adulthood by going back to school.

Yet it’s the ever-changing relationship with Marcus that leaves her most unsettled. At the ripe age of twenty-three, he’s just starting his freshman year at Princeton University. Is she ready to give up her imperfect yet invigorating post-college life just because her on-again/off-again soul mate asks her to... marry him?

Jessica has one week to respond to Marcus’s perplexing marriage proposal. During this time, she gains surprising wisdom from unexpected sources, including a popular talk show shrink, a drag queen named Royalle G. Biv, and yes, even her parents. But the most shocking confession concerns two people she thought had nothing to hide: Hope andMarcus.

Will this knowledge inspire Jessica to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who’s gripped her heart for years? Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life.

61. Guilty Feet

This was a re-read, one of my favorite cheesy red dress ink books.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

What would you do if your boyfriend told you that you were going to end up like your mother? You'd walk out on him...and that's just what Jo did to Dan. What if he didn't make any effort to get you back and, according to your upstairs neighbor, let your downstairs neighbor take your place? You'd be madder than a wet cat. What if, on top of all that, you lost your job? Wouldn't that be enough to make you wish you were someone else…and maybe just crazy enough to create a new email account so you could have an online flirtation with the lover you still wished was anything but ex? Well, Jo did that too…. That's when her life really went nuts. All her friends suddenly had unsuitable but great-in-bed new boyfriends. Her mother decided to try sexual experimentation. Then Jo's dad moved in. In times like this, anyone might find the safety valve of an Internet alter ego was the only thing keeping her going, even if that alternate identity was romancing her own unrepentant ex-boyfriend. At least on the Internet the only thing that can get dumped is data. British import Kelly Harte takes her chronicle of the life of this slightly overwhelmed London single into the electronic age with inventiveness, humor, passion…and absolutely no guilt at all.

60. Case Histories

Ok... so below is a description of this book, something that was not found anywhere on the copy I read. I bought this one at the discount bookstore for $4.98 with my only knowledge of it that it was a national best seller and had a ton of praise all over it. This meant I was a bit confused for about 1/3 of the book. I still enjoyed it, but I have to say knowing what you are about to know by reading the description would have helped a lot.

Here's the description from B&N:

A triumphant new novel from award-winner Kate Atkinson: a breathtaking story of families divided, love lost and found, and the mysteries of fate.

Case One: Olivia Land, youngest and most beloved of the Land girls, goes missing in the night and is never seen again. Thirty years later, two of her surviving sisters unearth a shocking clue to Olivia's disappearance among the clutter of their childhood home. . .

Case Two: Theo delights in his daughter Laura's wit, effortless beauty, and selfless love. But her first day as an associate in his law firm is also the day when Theo's world turns upside down. . .

Case Three: Michelle looks around one day and finds herself trapped in a hell of her own making. A very needy baby and a very demanding husband make her every waking moment a reminder that somewhere, somehow, she'd made a grave mistake and would spend the rest of her life paying for it--until a fit of rage creates a grisly, bloody escape.

As Private Detective Jackson Brodie investigates all three cases, startling connections and discoveries emerge. Inextricably caught up in his clients grief, joy, and desire, Jackson finds their unshakable need for resolution very much like his own

59. The Bright Side of Disaster

This one was predictable but still a cute, quick and good read. I recommend it. :)

Here's a review from B&N:

Ditched by her partner right before she gives birth, a young mother must decide whether to take him back or give a new love interest. In the realm of adult responsibilities, Houstonian Jenny Harris knows her fiance, Dean Murphy, comes up short. A retirement-benefits analyst who performs in a half-baked cover band, Dean still receives monthly checks from his well-heeled parents, smokes more than he should and moons over other women. He meets Jenny, in fact, while chasing a friend of hers, but when that doesn't pan out, they settle into a live-in relationship, and he proposes marriage. Getting pregnant before the wedding, Jenny frets about Dean's ambivalence toward impending fatherhood, especially after his peculiar response to a pretty coworker's death. While Jenny quits her job at an antiques store and organizes a garage sale to prepare for their child, Dean clings to band practice and gigs at local dives. One night he walks out, leaving her with a breakup note and a baby due any minute. Daughter Maxie brings unexpected joys and burdens, which newly single Jenny shoulders with the support of her divorced parents, best friend Meredith, other mothers from her childbirth class and an attractive neighbor named John Gardner. A pediatric nephrologist who has taken up renovating and selling houses, John has an uncanny knack for appearing when Jenny needs him most. Nurturing, attentive and good with Maxie, he keeps Jenny company in a blackout and paints her garage when she decides to start an antiques business. His unobtrusive courtship culminates in an evening of margaritas and salsa dancing. But then Dean returns, seeking reconciliation. Jenny's decision will come as no surprise, but this debutnovel offers credible descriptions of first-time motherhood, affecting characters and situations and low-key charm.

58. Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl Learned from Judy Blume

I've read novels by more then half of the authors that contributed essays to this book and after reading the essays I can see where a lot of the ideas for the novels came from. This was a good read, although I do think it had a few too many essays... by the end everyones story seemed a bit the same and I feel like I skimmed through the latter ones and didn't enjoy them nearly as much as the first few essays. Overall though, a good read and a must for anyone who was a Judy Blume fan!

Here's a review from B&N:

For millions of American girls growing up, Judy Blume's awkward, self-conscious characters became surrogates, allies, and comforters in their silent struggles. The 24 essays of Everything I Needed to Know about Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume honor an unconventional mentor who has entertained readers even as she teaches them. The topics touched here are as wide and deep as Blume's fiction: divorce, bullying, peer pressure, menstruation, weight issues, sibling rivalry, and racism. The contributors include Meg Cabot, Beth Kendrick, Julie Kenner, and Cara Lockwood.

57. Queen of Babble in the Big City

This is the sequel to the Queen of Babble, and another cute, fun and smart book by Meg Cabot. It's a fast read full of current references and real life dilemas punched up a notch to make them the stuff of chick lit. This one ended with a cliff hanger which means a third Queen of Babble book is sure to follow!

Here's a description from B&N.com:

Lizzie Nichols is back, pounding the New York City pavement and looking for a job, a place to live, and her proper place in the universe (not necessarily in that order).

When "Summer Fling" Luke uses the L word (Living Together), Lizzie is only too happy to give up her plan of being postgrad roomies with best friend, Shari, in a one-room walk-up in exchange for cohabitation with the love of her life in his mother's Fifth Avenue pied-à-terre, complete with doorman and resident Renoir.

But Lizzie's not as lucky in her employment search. As Shari finds the perfect job, Lizzie struggles through one humiliating interview after another, being judged overqualified for the jobs in her chosen field—vintage-gown rehab—and underqualified for everything else. It's Shari's boyfriend Chaz to the rescue when he recommends Lizzie for a receptionist's position at his father's posh law firm. The nonpaying gig at a local wedding-gown shop Lizzie manages to land all on her own.

But Lizzie's notoriously big mouth begins to get her into trouble at work and at home almost at once—first at the law firm, where she becomes too chummy with Jill Higgins, a New York society bride with a troublesome future mother-in-law, and then back on Fifth Avenue, when she makes the mistake of bringing up the M word (Marriage) with commitment-shy Luke.
Soon Lizzie finds herself jobless as well as homeless all over again. Can Lizzie save herself—and the hapless Jill—and find career security (not to mention a mutually satisfying committed relationship) at last?

56. The Good Neighbor

This was another really good find at the bargain bookstore. A mix of history and the present and the story told from both the husband and wife's very varied perspectives. I really liked this one a lot and definitely recommend it.

Here's a review from B&N.com:

In his fourth novel (after The Adventures of Flash Jackson), Kowalski tells the story of Francie and Coltrane Hart, who buy a large, 150-year-old house in rural Pennsylvania, initially as a retreat from their life in Manhattan. The new environment appeals greatly to Francie, an intelligent woman longing to revive a talent for poetry that's been dormant since she began taking psychotropic medication. For Colt, a successful stock trader whose main pleasure in life is work, the house is a way to impress his co-workers. The history of their new abode's original tenants is revealed in physical remnants and via nearby neighbor Randy Flebberman, who has looked after the place for the 25 years that it has been uninhabited. While Francie and Flebberman work to befriend each another, Colt remains difficult and insensitive. Ultimately, a clash of values occurs, with dramatic and enlightening results. Kowalski, a gifted storyteller, pulls the reader in, making this book hard to put down. His use of historical digressions also creates a compelling story-within-a-story. While the dialog at times seems mundane and clich d, the characters do rise above stereotypes, and Kowalski succeeds in creating a novel that flows effortlessly.

55. Around the Next Corner

This was a discount bookstore find and a great one at that. I really enjoyed it and thouroughly recommend it.

Here's the description from B&N -

For Deena Munger, the transformation to underappreciated housewife was subtle and gradual. Not that she didn't love her family dearly, but Deena was starting to wonder: When did I disappear? And how come I never even noticed? Then one day she stuns her family by volunteering to raise a puppy for K-9 Eyes for the Blind. Suddenly, Deena's once-stable life is turned upside down. And, it turns out, this rambunctious, impulsive ball of fur could actually be the damage control she needs to save her family, her marriage, and her self.

54. The Friends We Keep

The cover of this one and the description on the back were a bit deceptive, making it seem a bit more serious and a bit more like it was a life long friendship that the story was chronicling. That wasn't the case, and the resulting book was OK but nothing spectacular.

Here's a description from B&N -

Meet Sophie, Eva, and John. In college, they did everything together. Then they drifted apart.

Now, twenty years later, they're about to reunite to compare lives, talk about the past, and plan for the future. But will it bring them closer together or tear them apart?

Sophie was accustomed to living her life on the straight and narrow path. She married an MBA, morphing into the perfect wife and soccer mom. Now, with her son grown and her divorce final, she can finally become the woman she was meant to be—whoever she is.

Eva's passionate temperament was certain to lead her down the road to becoming a poet—not an aggressive, sophisticated advertising executive with a trail of lovers in her wake. Smart, powerful, and too busy for anything deeper than sex, Eva likes everything on a temporary basis, until she meets a hot, young thing who could destroy the only friendships she truly treasures.

As a selfless lawyer, John gives his all to pro bono work, never thinking about his own life. He'll get to marriage and kids later. Besides, there's only one woman he's ever been truly crazy about, and for twenty years, he's carried that torch painfully alone. Or has he?
What starts as a warm reunion soon gives way to old insecurities, hidden passions, romantic misadventures, new secrets, and shocking betrayal.

With The Friends We Keep, Holly Chamberlin introduces three friends who could be your own in a winning novel about growing up, moving on, and keeping close to those who remind us of where we've been and where we still hope to go.

53. Second Chance

While the online reviews aren't so great, I enjoyed this one. It is not like the chicklit of Jane Green's past and I think that's a good thing. I liked the mix of characters, the mix of voices and the real life story. Yes, it was a lot of drama impacting a lot of people all, but more and more I'm thinking that is real life too.

I couldn't find a description on B&N.com so here is a review from Amazon:

Tom Fitzgerald, a Brit living in the States, is only 39 when he kisses his wife and children good-bye and boards a doomed train. In the wake of his death, his friends, some of whom haven't seen in each other in nearly two decades, come together to remember him. Despite one night of passion, Holly and Tom remained best friends, and she thinks she is content with her picture-perfect life despite a lack of love for her husband until she reconnects with Tom's charismatic, introspective younger brother. Olivia takes a chance on a man Tom set her up with shortly before he died. An actress in L.A., Saffron has fallen in love with one of Hollywood's sexiest stars, but she is growing tired of waiting for him to leave his loveless marriage. Paul and Anna couldn't love each other more, but her inability to conceive a child mars their happy marriage. Peopled with her trademark likable, sympathetic characters, Green's latest is sure to have wide appeal.