Book List 2006

I don't read nearly enough and the problem is that there are not many books that really grab my attention. It is funny because this is the exact reason that my little Ma hates to read, he says the stories are just not that interesting or "it wasn't what I thought." Clearly, he gets that from me. The only thing I truly love to read are books or magazines about crafting and martha stewart type things. I am trying to "get out of my comfort zone" (I hate that saying), so I have added books to my Amazon list that might be of interest to me. Some scrapbooking, of course, some not (surprise!). The preliminary list:

1. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey - I hear about this book everywhere and I think the only reason I haven't picked it up is because it has that Oprah's Book Club sticker on it. I have a problem with that. Also, I am afraid it is too much of a "feel good" book and I hate when that part ruins the story. Last year, I read The FivePeople You Meet in Heaven and surprisingly loved it, so I have to give this one a chance too. Maybe the story will be wonderful and have just enough twinkle of deep thinking goodness.

2. Scrap City: Scrapbooking for Urban Divas and Small Town Rebels by Paul Gambino. Now, I am by no means a diva in an respect, but I love the concept of this book. According to the description I saw it is for the girls who are sick of all the goody goody pages. Yay! I love the cute, don't get me wrong, but I swear, sometimes I go thru a scrapbooking magazine and by the time I am done, I have a cavity!! Blah!! Every child can't possibly be god sent and everyones life can't be that blessed. It is nice to see some other perspectives and celebrate that. Also, it is intriguing to me that a guy names Paul Gambino in NYC is writing about scrapbooking, not your typical scrapbooker, eh?! Doesn't come out til April.

3. Framed Memories: Creative Scrapbooking Projects for Your Home by Stephanie Inman. I like this idea of keeping your projects out in the open for others to see. Plus, I am a person with bare walls, so this seems logical. With my pictures getting better every month, I really want to have pictures that I love all over the house, so I can see them everyday and feel happy. Happy that I love those people, happy to remember a particular day or time, happy that I took the picture and it looks great....just warm and fuzzy all over. I really hope that this book has great ideas that are not only fresh, but can be accomplished by the average person. I hate when the projects are too hard!

4. Love Smart by Dr. Phil. Say what you want, but I like Dr. Phil. My family, including little Max, using mock me for it, but I really do like his no nonsense approach to things. I think the one thing I have always hated about therapists and shows like his was that they would simply do the "poor you" routine or just ask, "how do you feel about it?" It would drive me nuts. At least he tells people when to call it quits, when they need to lose weight and just to get over it. I hope this book is the same. I am not a fan of the self help, but I am reading this one...cover to cover.

5. Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren. This book includes all the great postcards for the Post Secret blog and I love that one. Some of them will shock you, some make you think and some are just creepy weird. I like the concept and some of the artistic work on them are wonderful. I think it is the ultimate coffee table book. I had a discussion with a friend once about what books to place in a bookcase you know everyone would see, knowing based on the selections that people would have a glimpse into your personality. This book is a definite in the personality bookcase.

6. Home Rules: Transform the Place You Live into a Place You'll Love by Nate Berkus. I love this guy, he is too cute. I want to see this book first to make sure there are enough pictures and that the ideas in the book wouldn't cost me thousands. I would hope that it would include homey little touches that an average person could use and that the colour schemes are wonderful.

Well, this is a start to the list. And as I was posting I was reminded as to how much I despise blogger's picture posting system, it just plain sucks. Too bad I am just too cheap to pay for a blog service, oh well.