Book #41 - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I have mixed feelings about Eat, Pray, Love. And I blame those on the millions of opinions I received about this novel before starting it. Who hated it, who loved it, who thought Gilbert was selfish, who thought she was brilliant... the list goes on and on.

So when I began reading, I tried to do so with an open mind. If anything, I didn't love or hate Liz; I was jealous of her experiences (not the life she was running away from). Honestly, how amazing would it be to travel the world for an entire year!

My favorite section of the book was definitely her time in Italy. Being able to travel aimlessly throughout such a beautiful country and eat whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, sounds divine. But the part that I was most envious of was her immersion into the culture and ability to learn the language. I've always longed to be bilingual, and one day I will be, but Liz's ability to leave it all behind for a year and simply follow her heart made me wish I could be in her shoes.

I also enjoyed her spiritual journey throughout India and Bali. Since I've not had much exposure to eastern practices, it was hard for to understand what she was trying to accomplish. However, I could relate to her longing for greater relationship with God. It seems she met so many characters along the way - at times I wonder if this was truly non-fiction - and that she truly accomplished what she set out to do when she left her life in NYC for a year of self-discovery.

Book #40 - Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts edited by David Baggett and Shawn E. Klein

I came across this collection of essays in the bargain book section of Barnes & Noble a couple of years ago. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and since I can't re-read any books as part of this challenge, I decided to pick up Harry Potter and Philosophy in order to gear myself up for the release of HP7 Part 1 next month.

The only ethics/philosophy class I ever took in college was regarding ethics in journalism, so my knowledge on the subject was somewhat sparse. But the authors of the essays in this collection apply their passion for philosophy to their passion of Harry Potter. It's enlightening and interesting to see these academic interpretations of the themes within my favorites books. Like Hogwarts, the book is divided into four parts, with essays that touch upon the key values of the four houses: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor.

These essays uncover the deeper meanings within Harry's adventures, as well as the relationships within the first five books (it was published before the completion of the last two novels.) Although I've loved reading every book in this challenge, Harry Potter and Philosophy took me back to the critical reading and thinking I've been lacking since college. Learning about Aristotilean ethics, reading observations on feminism, racial discrimination and morality or just discovering what dementors have to do with happiness in reality, were all scholarly treats found in this collection to satisfy any Potter buff.

The Final Month

I know, I know, I am getting smoked by this reading challenge. Obviously the only way I could read 58 books in the next 25 days would be to develop super powers. However, I've decided to re-evaluate my mission, and I think hitting 50 is a pretty good goal. Besides, no one runs a marathon without running the half first, right?

So be on the lookout as I finish my final books (and posts) in the coming weeks. More to come!

Book #39 - Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch

My friend Jamie and I often spend our lunch hours sitting in silence reading. It's a good way to get away from the craziness at the office and have a little down time. She recommended that I read Time of My Life because she "looooooved it." So I decided to take her advice and pick it up.

This novel follows the standard formula of the main character not liking her current life, and wonders what it would've been like if she married her college boyfriend instead. Jillian is then magically transported back seven years, to the time when she's still living in New York City with her then-boyfriend, Jackson. As Jillian tries to avoid meeting her real husband, Henry, she realizes that her life then maybe wasn't as amazingly perfect as she remembered.

I liked that it was not only about second-guessing your choice about who to marry. But it gives us a glimpse into what it would be like to do things differently with your friends or interacting with your parents in a way that's more beneficial to your personal growth. Jillian finally understands what I think we all know deep down: there is no "perfect" life -- no perfect husband, perfect house, perfect family, perfect job. And only when we stop frantically trying to find or create that scenario, can we truly be happy.

Book #38 - The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares

I have long been a fan of Ann Brashares. I absolutely adored The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants novels and I'd been wanting to read some of her other works for a while. I read a blurb about The Last Summer (of You & Me) in one of the many magazines I receive each month, and I decided to place a hold through CPL.

I am always captivated by a good coming-of-age story, and that's exactly what this book is. It follows two sisters, Alice and Riley, and their very different friendships with their summer neighbor, Paul. The three have been spending the summer together on a fictional island near Manhattan for as long as they can remember. Paul and Riley have always been best friends; Paul and Alice have always wanted to be something more.

At times, I almost felt as if I was reading a Nicholas Spark book (and lord knows I love those, too). There was the perfect mix of love, longing and sadness in The Last Summer (of You & Me) to create a great novel. We watch as Alice and Paul transition into their new relationship, and can sympathize with Riley as she gets left behind. I don't have a sister, but this novel made me truly feel the bond between Riley and Alice, and it made me sad that I could never experience such a special relationship with one.

Book #37 - Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

What? Another Bride Quartet novel, you say? Yes, I can't seem to help myself! When I saw the third installment was available, I knew it wouldn't be long before I headed to Cleveland Public Library and requested it for my reading pleasure.

The third novel follows the story of Laurel, the baker of Icing by Vows, the wedding planning company owned and operated by the four friends. Like its predecessors, Savor the Moment quickly sets up Laurel's happy ending; after years of searching for Mr. Right, she realizes he's been under her nose all along. Actually this story line began in book #2, but I don't really mind. There's just so many feel-good wedding elements crammed into each novel, it makes a bride-to-be like myself automatically interested.

We follow Laurel as she tries to sort through her trust issues (created by her father, surprise, surprise), her new relationship and the constant work that inundates Vows. Like all of the other novels in the series, all ends as you'd expect, which is the good and bad thing about Roberts' work -- we all want the girl to get her guy at the end, but sometimes we also liked to be surprised. As we read more and more about the four friends, Roberts does continue to develop them more and more, making the reader feel like you've become a part of this intimate club.

Book #36 - Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

I don't think I ever read Beezus and Ramona as a child. So to be safe, I decided to pick it up, especially after reading an interview with its iconic author Beverly Cleary about the release of the movie.

One thing that Cleary mentioned in the interview was that she wants the story of Beezus and Ramona to remain a timeless one. That's why in the book (and the movie) they're aren't any indicators of what year or decade it is; discussions of the latest technologies, like TVs or cell phones. Instead, Ramona and Beezus occupy their time reading books, dolls and playing games with each other and friends.

What I found particularly interesting about this book is that like most children's books, it tries to teach the reader a lesson. But what makes it different, is that the lesson doesn't hit you across the head. Instead, you learn something -- like how to be patient with your siblings, or why it's okay to be different -- in a more organic way.

I think Cleary has definitely achieved her goal. The story of these two sisters will remain one that children will read for another 50 years, without feeling dated or irrelevant. It's heartfelt, cute and best of all,Ramona's antics are just as entertaining as any of the latest games and TVs shows out there today.

Book #35 - Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs was recommended to me by my boss. Not because she had read it, but because she read about it and its entire chapter devoted to "Saved by the Bell." A whole section on Bayside and Bayside alone? Sign me up.

I like non-fiction books where the chapters are episodic. It's much easier to read, and you don't feel like you need to keep reading because something just got good. I like books like that too, but sometimes it's nice to step away from the paperback.

I felt like I could've read this book in college for a class. Klosterman's observations on mass media and its impact were not only thorough, but they also included sound arguments and insightful comments. And best of all, it was FUNNY. How could a discussion on your hatred of John Cusack (not as a person, but his characters) not be funny? Obviously the SBTB chapter was my favorite, but I also enjoyed his account of traveling with a Guns 'N Roses tribute band.

I think the review on Amazon sums it best: "There's quite a bit of intelligent analysis and thought-provoking insight packed into the pages of Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which is a little surprising considering how darn stupid most of Klosterman's subject matter actually is." Pick it up if you want to be intellectually stimulated and entertained at the same time.

Book #34 - Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

I have been a fan of Gossip Girl the TV series since it first began airing a few years ago. So when I saw that young adult novels were a part of this challenge, I knew I had to read the novel that inspired one of my favorite guilt pleasures.

The book is very different from the show -- the main characters are pretty similar, but their family lives are a little bit different. I was shocked at how graphic and inappropriate the novels were, especially for a young adult book. However, I guess that makes sense, taking into consideration the content on the show.

It was an entertaining, easy read. von Ziegesar creates characters that are as intriguing on the page as they are on the screen. Blair is devious and you hate to love her. Serena is mysterious and you are left wanting to know more and more about her. The male characters fall a little flat in the novel -- Nate, Chuck and Dan are much more interesting on the series, but they still serve their purpose in the book: to cause drama between all of the girls.

I'm looking forward to reading more of the Gossip Girl books. If the characters get into only half of the trouble they do in the series, I'll be in for a good time, for sure. XOXO, you know you love it -- I definitely do.

Book #33 - The Host by Stephanie Meyer

I'm probably like every other Twilight fan in American who read The Host in hopes that it would be similar to the beloved Edward/Bella saga. Although it was nothing like Twilight, I still enjoyed this novel by Stephanie Meyer.

The Host is a novel about aliens taking over civilization, or more specifically, taking over all the human bodies on the planet. Melanie, the main character, is one of the last surviving humans; at the beginning of the novel she's captured and an alien soul is implanted into her body. However, she is what's called a resistant host, and her human mind/soul is not completed erased when Wanderer (the alien soul) takes control. For the first part of the novel, we follow the internal struggle between Melanie and Wanderer; she can't understand why this host is so troublesome, when every other one she's inhabited has never caused such headaches.

While trying to solve her problems with her resistant host, Wanderer is persuaded by Melanie to leave alien civilization to search for a hideout in the dessert that her Uncle Jeb told her about at a child, and what could now be the home to her soul mate Jared and her younger brother Jamie. Once the pair finds the hideout, we follow Wanderer's struggle to be accepted by the remaining humans and to try and coexist with them without getting killed.

The writing of The Host was not much better than the Twilight series. It was still very lengthy with a lot of superfluous information. The book could have been 200 pages shorter and still told the same story. Shoddy writing considered, Meyer did write an entertaining novel. I'm glad I didn't give up on this book after the first 100 pages (because trust me, I thought about it). The plot caused me to think about what life would be like if everyone I loved were gone, but it appeared as if they were still here. The daily emotional torment that Melanie and the remaining humans endured seemed to be too much at times -- hoping that they would be reunited by some stroke of luck or fate.

But like all good pieces of entertainment, I was happy to know that when I put down the book, there would be no aliens and I could go back to my life as it was, after that mini-escape into science fiction.