I finished reading The Secret Life of Bees this morning and was satisfied with the book. I was glad I read it and found it a bit better than The Mermaid Chair. Neither of Sue Monk Kidd's books left me with any kind of lasting impression, so I wouldn't pick up another book of hers. It was a decent read, good moral, and a happy ending...but there's something about her that I don't quite love. I have heard raving reviews about this book, but it didn't live up to all my expectations of it being a fabulous story.

Up next is Good In Bed...a book that I borrowed from Ashley ages ago...and still haven't read!

Not to be outdone, I want to write about all of the books that I read, too, even though they are often crap. I just finished All or Nothing (as featured above). I LIKE TO READ ROMANCE NOVELS AND I AM NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT THE FACT!!! I am, however, sometimes embarrassed to admit the titles. I picked this book up the other day at the library on the new fiction display. It had a slow start, but became engaging enough, although completely formulaic. Romance themed novels are typically formulaic, but a little variety would be nice. Also, the main character is a survivor of the big C, which is an unpopular literary note for most of the BAMFs. I read The River Knows over the weekend. It was one of the worst romance novels I have read in a while. I typically love a period piece, but this was not the way to go.

I am almost half way through The Secret Life of Bees and it's mediocre. I am not all that impressed by the story, although I do find it enticing to finish. I want to know what happens to Lily and Rosaleen. I am not overly excited about this book, but it is an easy, non-thinking read...at least to me. These bees better have a damn good secret life...cause I will be seriously disappointed if not!

I finally finished Eat, Pray, Love tonight. I had put it down for weeks. Afterward, I googled Elizabeth Gilbert and went on her website www.elizabethgilbert.com. I was curious to see if she and Felipe are still together (they are, by the way). The other interesting thing I learned from her bio is that she worked at Coyote Ugly and wrote about it for GQ. These writings were sold and became the basis for the movie Coyote Ugly. Interesting, huh?

I finished reading Sharp Objects and really enjoyed this twisted murder mystery. The main character was so strong, yet weak and fragile, which I think is hard for an author to get right. The main character, Camille a journalist from Chicago, is a tortured soul who goes back to her small home town in Missouri to report on the murders of two young girls and the possibility of a serial killer on the loose. She encounters characters that are vivid and fucked up. Each person in this book has issues and the way that they deal with these issues is bizarre. After I finished, I thought that maybe the actual town was cursed. The book is violent, not like blood and guts violence, but self-hatred, sexual abuse and psychological violence. It is a great book and I can't wait for Gillian's 2nd book to be published. It is wonderfully descriptive how she makes you "feel" the pain of the main character and her eye-opening journey.

Up next is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

I finished reading Nature Girl and was taken away by how crazy the story got towards the end. Carl Hiaasen is truly insane with his characters. I did enjoy the book, but I wouldn't rush out and buy another one of his books. This is the kind of book that you read in moderation. I don't think that I could read about crazy insane situations over and over again! I did enjoy this quick, crazy read!

I started reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn and so far it is a griping page turner. This book was highly acclaimed by Stephen King who said it is, "An admirably nasty piece of work, elevated by sharp writing and sharper insights." The story is about a young woman reporter from Chicago who goes back to her small hometown because of a murder and a missing girl. I am only about 25 pages in and it is really good. It usually takes me more than 25 pages to get into a book so I think that this will be a great read for me!

I have picked out what self-help book I will be reading for BAMF's August book club....I will be reading Sex and the Perfect Lover: Tao, Tantra and the Kama Sutra by Mabel Iam. I am not a fan of self-help, not that I think I don't need any kind of help, but that reading a self-help book is not going to fix me, so to speak. I picked this book because I thought it might be fun and reading about sex is so much more entertainig than reading about self-esteem, how to make money and how to get yourself organized. The other choice that I was highly considering was Self-Help Nation: The Long Overdue, Entirely Justified, Delighfully Hostile Guide to the Snake-Oil Peddlers Who Are Sapping Our Nation's Soul by Tom Tiede. Don thinks that I should read Self-Help Nation because he thinks I will get bored reading Sex and the Perfect Lover...he doesn't want me wasting my time on reading things that I obviously don't need improvement on!!!

I started reading Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen this morning and the first 10 pages were really kind of slow. I didn't think that I was going to keep reading, but then...it picked up and I am really getting into the different characters and the story, that as of now, I am still unclear about. I know about the characters, but the plot or purpose of the book has not shown itself yet and I am anxious to figure out what the deal is! Will keep you posted!