Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory

A slow start and a slow ending but a pretty good middle. Definilty not one of her better novels! It's told from the male perspective which is just fine. The only problem is the dragging at the beginning and the end.

I got quite caught up in the family dynamic and I was quite grateful that it wasn't as smutty as some of her others (ie. Wideacre trilogy or Wise Woman)

3 Stars

Misleading Advertising/Promotions

I am a graduate from the School of Business, I have a Management degree. I do understand the basic concepts of advertising and even the psychology of the consumer and blah blah blah. What annoys me to no end is the bait and switch tactic that leaves you feeling totally screwed.

A good deal is advertised so you go for it...oh you happened to choose the exception to the rule not the deal. But the idea that you are pulling the consumer in with one price associated with another product is ridiculous! Yes I read the fine print, numerous times but your fine print is misleading and refers to other fine print.

Also if the fine print is in relation to an asterisk next to something...don't you think it should be on the same page of the brochure???

Thankfully I am consumer savvy enough to realise that if a deal is too good to be true it usually is. It was. It annoys me nonetheless.

Something a Little Different

I am participating in a challenge on GoodReads that is intended to get you to read genres you wouldn't necessarily otherwise. It has worked! So far I have managed to squeeze something from my collection into one of the categories but this one was sitting on Ian's shelf and I gave it a shot.

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Why is this not my thing? Well to begin with it is a "graphic novel" which is in my opinion a glorified comic book. Yes it has more substance than Betty & Veronica or Archie & Jughead, but it is a comic book nonetheless.

The storyline is a man (the author?) interviewing his father to write a comic about his time in Nazi Germany. This book involves his father and mother running from the Nazis and tells of what life was like during Nazi occupation and once Jews (of which he is one) start being shipped off to the concentration camps.

Ofcourse it is somewhat disjointed since it keeps flipping back and forth from his father telling the story to the author and father and what they are actually doing (ie. going to the bank). This is the first ina series so I am sure that the other talk about life in the concentration camps and after as well. I won't be reading them to find out. Maybe if Ian had them on his shelf as well I would give them a shot since they are a super short read, but he doesn't so i will have live in wonder.

Another thing that bugged me about the book is how it was cutoff so severly. Yes I know this is a series but shouldn't there be some sort of closure? Or is it just a good number of pages? I digress...

My weekend

I went to a workshop on saturday to help me prepare for the first exam I need to write to get my CHRP (Canadian Human Resources Professional) designation. I was glad I went since it really helped me narrow in on the other things that I should focus on studying for the upcoming exam that is May 3 or 4th.

Sunday we went skiing and it was amazing. The hill had about 24cm of fresh snow and it snowed all day so powder galore. My legs are certainly feeling it today but that is a good thing. It was awesome!

I also did a bunch of reading as you can see below...


Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

This book is set circa WWI and tells the story of a woman whose sister dies. As the book progresses the circumstances surrounding such become more and more suspect.

I didn't care for the storytelling style of jumping around from point of views and also periods in time. The story itself was pretty good though.

3 Stars


If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

In order to read this book you need a pretty strong stomach for domestic violence. It is the memoir of Janine Latus whose sister was murdered by her abusive boyfriend. Reading the book though you see that the family history is quite troubled and Amy (the murdered sister) is not the only one who is subject to horrific abuse. This book was absolutley riveting and horrifying (in a repulsive sort of way) all at the same time.

4 Stars

What I've been up to...

Today was my first day back at work after a wonderfully relaxing Jamaican vacation. Unfortunatly the last day consisted of an extra four hours of sitting in the Montego Bay airport waiting for our delayed flight and resulted in us not getting hom until after 3am. Suddenly I am not feeling like such a chicken for booking off the extra day. I needed it to sleep in, do laundry and grocery shopping (yes that really did pretty much take the whole day).

But the great thing about the trip is I got a ton of reading done. So here are my reviews and yes I have given up on numbering them since I can never remember what number I am on and I am too lazy to look it up, I think I am around book 15 of the year.

Rhett Butler's People

A "sequel" to Gone With the Wind that tells the story from the perspective of Rhett rather than Scarlett. I actually really thoroughly enjoyed the book. The book stays true to the original charachters and storylines and I thought it was great finally getting a glimpse into the mind of Rhett Butler. No I am not saying this is the Rhett that Margaret Mitchell had in mind but a pretty realistic (ie. true to GWTW) one still if you ask me.

4 Stars

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-time

Christopher is an autistic 15 year old boy who lives with his parents. The dog of a neighbour is killed in an incident of foul play and Christopher investigates. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I fell in love with Christopher and was rooting for him and holding my breath as I read some of the mishaps that occur on his adventures in London.

4 Stars

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

This book was pretty good. It definitly points out some of the more seemingly ridiculous rules in the Bible/jewish law. I am pretty sure that many of these laws were never intended to be taken literally but it is entertaining to read about AJ experiencing them.

The book was a lot different from what I expected and I was somewhat disapointed in how he seemed to "give up" on the new testament. Yes I understand you are Jewish and therefore the Old Testament is more comfortable for you but I still felt a bit ripped off. That being said the complete immersion in the Old Testament was pretty funny and that is enough to make up for it in my eyes.

3 Stars

Shoe Addicts Anonymous

Yes this book truly is as fluffy as the title makes it sound. But hey what is a beach vacation without a good fluffy book?

I loved the book for the quick read, engaging characters and all the hilarious mishaps in the book. If you are looking for nothing serious and a good escape from reality then this is the book for you! I will add that I was annoyed by the ending though.

3 Stars

Interview With the Vampire

Boring! I thought the movie was bad, the book was only marginally better. Oh well live and learn, at least I had entertainment on the plane ride home.

2 Stars