Saturday, March 6, 2010

THE NEXT THING ON MY LIST



            Meet June Parker.  She works for L.A. Rideshare, adores her rent-stabilized apartment in Santa Monica, and struggles with losing a few pesky pounds.
            But June’s life is about to change.
            After a dark turn of events involving Weight Watchers, a chili recipe and a car accident in which her passenger, Marissa, dies, June finds herself in possession of a list, “20 Things to Do By My 25th Birthday.”  Even though they barely knew each other, June is compelled by both guilt and a desire to set things right to finish the list for Marissa.
            The tasks before her range from inspiring (Run a 5K), to daring (Go braless), to near-impossible (Change someone’s life), and as June races to achieve each goal before the deadline, she learns more about her own life than she ever bargained for. 


WOW ! I really liked this book. At first, I thought it was going to be just another light, fluffy novel about a girl trying to change the world all by herself. But I was wrong. I will admit it. That's hard for me to do. But, in this case, I'm glad I was. June is a strong enough person to realize she can't complete these tasks by herself, although she does give it here best shot. What starts off as one single person trying to do these tasks soon snowballs into an adventure that involves her friends, family co-workers, Marissa's family, and a pregnant teenager.

We also get know Marissa although she dies early on in the story. Through her list we get to know what kind of person she was. I felt that she was sweet, kind, and very unselfish. The kind of person we all want in our lives. I don't have any kind of list to follow but I do pray everyday that I can help in some way to brighten someones day. Thank you Jill Smolinski. You've made my day.

Oh, and, by the way, the chili recipe on page 5, is DELICIOUS !

Friday, March 5, 2010

Books Are Like Candy Corn: Free Book: Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney

Books Are Like Candy Corn: Free Book: Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show by Frank Delaney is having a fantastic give away . The deadline is midnight March 13th, Hawaiian standard time.
Jo Jo at http://jo-jolovestoread.blogspot.com/ is having a great audio give away for "Black Hills" by Dan Simmons. This sounds like a great book !