Hi everyone! I'm having a bit of a job dilema...but as of Monday I'll be working somewhere for the next 2 months (and each choice has Friday's off. How happy am I?!?) So seeing as how I'll have free time, I thought I'd share my reading list with ya'll.

I love to read. Everytime I'm sitting around with nothing to do, I pick up something readable.In Greensboro, when I was at Neil's, waiting for him to finish dinner, I'd read...well, whatever was lying around - usually the only reading material Neil owned. As it is now, I don't get to read "it" anymore, so I'm not quite as full of good jokes, or up on the latest power ties! :)

I just finished a book I bought entitled "Getting Over It". I bought this one at Barnes and Noble b/c it was labeled Summer Reading and the woman character had a cat named Fatboy, that was the male adoration in her life! It must've been fate! :) The book was very "Bridget Jones Diary"-ish and it ended happily ever after, so I liked it! It was about a woman who makes bad choices in men, dislikes her job, and whose father dies suddenly. The father dying catapults her life into turmoil and disaray so much it's funny. For a light, feel good summer beach book...I reccommend borrowing it. :)

Which leads me to a great book, they may or may not be ruining as a movie! In preparation for Mardi Gras 2000, I began looking for a book to read on the plane. I borrowed a copy of "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" from my then roommate, Chris. (Who's now engaged as I understand from sources who heard it from the witch Neil lives with)It was wonderful and fanciful, if you could ignore the feeling of needing to call Child Services during the flashback scenes.It was SO nice to imagine being raised in a fun environment like that one, and in the same respect to have friends you've know so long and so well to help you through the times described. I don't think the movie will quite be able to capture the colorful characters and the emotions of the book (even if Ashley Judd is in it). I enjoyed this book so much, I gave it to my two closest high school friends that year as a Christmas present. I think this summer I may re-read it, for the feeling you get when you read a favorite book.

I've been trying for months to read "The Summons". My mom always tells me it's wasted money for me to buy a book. I do truly agree with her. (Although I might buy Ya-Ya, since the copy I borrowed moved out with Chris, the traitor. :) ) Take "Getting Over It" for instance. I knew I'd have free time Friday lying on the beach (for which I'm peeling and itching, so don't be TOO envious), so while I was waiting for Karen to get off work Friday I went to Barnes and Noble and ended up buying it. By Monday morning, it was finished. I get very engrosed and "lose" myself in books, so I usually end up forfeiting all other "free time" things in order to finish a book as if I were watching a movie. (In the case of Harry Potter, since I was so distraught at the time and wasn't sleeping, I figured reading the book Jill got me for Christmas might take my mind off Neil. Finished the series in 7 days.) So, when The Summons came out, I decided $25 on a hardback was ridiculous, and put myself on the waiting list at the library to read it. When my turn came around a series of events kept me from picking it up. The first Sat., they called to tell me I could get it as I was on my way with mom and Jill to the shore. Sunday was a family thing of some sort. Monday I was too tired after work to go. Tuesday Jill and I went to the Yankees game. Wed. and Thurs. the library didn't have A.C., so they were closed. Friday they close early (before 5pm) and Saturday was my cousin Rachel's shower in PA. When I called Monday, they'd given it to the next person. :( So, hopefullyI'll get a chance again before the summer is over! :)

I bought my Dad "The Blue Nowhere" for his birthday. He began reading Jeffrey Deaver's books and got me hooked. (Although "The Bone Collector" was one of my least favorites) Now, we just buy a book and when one finishes, the other gets it. I swore I had read this one, given the cover, but upon reading the back description, realized I had not. I'm guessing since it was a present I should wait until he reads it first...but he'd better hurry up (or hide it, b/c it's just sitting there next to his chair begging to be read! :) )!

I saw the "Oprah" during a Book Club session where a group of Book Clubbers met the author and were discussing "The House of Sand and Fog". I thought it sounded very intriguing, but upon asking a friend who had read it, she dissuaded me fromm reading it. I have seen it at the library and passed it in bookstores and I think this summer I might give it a shot. Hey, if I start it and hate it, I can stop. (Unless of course it's like "The Pledge" - Jack Nicholson movie where I kept hoping for it all to make sense at the end, and when it finally ended all I could think of was "Well, there's an hour and a half of my life I'll never get back!")

I was browsing Borders tonight, as mom and whoever would like to join her - either Gloria from work, Jill or I, and came across The Beach House by James Patterson. The summary sounded interesting, so I might try that one sometime this summer too.

Speaking of Borders, one night while we were there in Feb. or so, I came across a diet book called "Eating Right For Your Blood Type" by Paul D'adamo. I was intrigued. When I went back tonight, it was listed as a hard to find book, as it might be out of print. I'm facinated by the explanation of how this works and figure it might have some scientific merit to it.I might try it this summer, if #1 I can find the book and #2 can find out my blood type! :) (No one in our house seems to know. Except upon further inspection Jil''s Baby Book reveals she's an "A" and Dad's Dog Tags reveal he is as well. If mom knew hers, I might be able to use Mendel and figure mine out...but alas, no info yet. :) )

Speaking of dog tags, another summer reading is going to either be "We Were Soldiers" or "Nam: Vietnam Experience 1965-75". For those of you who don't know, my father was a member of the Special Forces in Vietnam, returning stateside, I believe, in 1968. Even though he doesn't admit it, I believe this experience has shaped alot of who he is today. It is hard to understand excatly what it must have been like to see and experience the things he's has. Although I will never know what it was like first hand, and my father will not talk about it (he comments on occasion, but usually things like "I was there when I was in Nam", etc.), I am hoping to gain some insight into who he is, by examining some of what he experienced.

So, there's my Summer reading list. How much of it I'll get through, and what I'll add or delete still remains to be seen. I hope you all have a wonderful summer (not that I won't write again, but I might not mention it!). And remember...always wear sunscreen! :) Well, I'm off to find someone to "peel me". My back is itching like crazy! :)