6,521 pages to go … “Strip City”

“Strip City: A Stripper’s Farewell Journey Across America” by Lily Burana (328 pages) is one woman’s compelling quest to find closure before getting married.

Burana, a former stripper, has decided to mount a huge trip stripping her way across the U.S. I really didn’t know that much about the stripping industry before reading the book, so it was really interesting to get an inside look at the business.

The book dealt, not only with her experiences stripping, but her life outside stripping and some of the history behind the profession. Sometimes, I thought the book got bogged down a little by all the history, but it was still interesting nonetheless. I did find myself just wanting her to get back to descriptions of her trip though.

It really didn’t seem too biased, and it was an interesting to see her sort through her feelings about stripping within the confines of the book.

Definitely a recommended read, you’ll find yourself not wanting to put it down.

Thanks, Lisa, for recommending it to me!

Blurb:

” The ultimate road trip; a daring and disarmingly honest odyssey across America with an ex-stripper who dusts off her dancing shoes for a farewell tour. Burana writes with immediacy and candor; hard-won wisdom and hard-bitten humor; a novelist’s voice and a journalist’s eye.”

6,849 pages to go … “Tempted”

I have been addicted to the House of Night series since Book 1. Going on Book 6, “Tempted” by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (319 pages), the series seems to be running out of steam.

Usually, I can’t wait to read the next one  and would count down the days until it came out — this time, I read like 50 pages and then put it down … for a year. It wasn’t until the next book came out that I thought perhaps I should finish the last.

I still bought the new one, “Burned,” but I haven’t even cracked the cover yet. I think that I am ready for some part of the series to wrap up. The authors just keep adding, but not really solving anything. Each book only spans a couple of days at most, so they can’t cover that much.

The Casts have also been summarizing the other books A LOT. I can’t stand when authors do this. Either have a summary of the past books in a separate section, or just believe that people have read the other ones. I mean really, it’s annoying.

So, I am going to read Book 7, but if this series doesn’t pick up, I’m going to drop it, too.

(I am not going to put a summary, because if you are starting with Book 1, it would give stuff away.)

7,168 pages to go … “The Girl Who Played With Fire”

Continuing on with “The Girl” trilogy, I finished “The Girl Who Played With Fire” by Stieg Larsson (724 pages).

The first book of the trilogy, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” took awhile to get can’t-stop-reading interesting — a whole 200 pages.

“Fire” started off better, by far. It was more interesting from the beginning, but I was still able to put it down and forget about it. And wouldn’t you know it, after awhile it picked up, too. Guess where? Yep, 200 pages in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great story — one worth slogging through 200 pages for.

Larsson tends to go into the history of things too much, and the story can get bogged down by it. I think he really just needed some more editing. Perhaps because he died before the trilogy was published, I’m not sure, but for some reason it seems like editors didn’t touch it. But, for all I know the books could have started out at 1,500 pages each.

So if you are reading and seemed to have stopped, keep going, it is worth it. I am going to start the third book soon. I’ll let you know if it pays off. Can’t wait to get 200 pages in!

Oh, and expect a cliffhanger!

Blurb from the back:

“Mikael Blomkvist, crusading publisher of the magazine “Millennium,” has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation. On the eve of its publication, the two reporters responsible for the article are murdered, and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to his friend, the troubled genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. Blomkvist, convinced of Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation. Meanwhile, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous game of cat and mouse, which forces her to face her dark past.”

7,892 pages to go … “Max: Maximum Ride Book 5″

So I thought that after Book 4 of the Maximum Ride series I would stop. Well, I got two as presents, so I figured I would just go ahead and read them.

“Max: Maximum Ride Book 5” by James Patterson (309 pages) proved to be much better than Book 4 (don’t know how it could be worse). It seemed like he was trying to go back to the good times, but didn’t fully succeed in replicating the awesomeness that is Books 1-3. Really, if you decide to read this series, just stop on 3. If I remember correctly, it gives a bit of closure then, so just imagine that it stops there.

The plot leaves a lot to be desired, and the main character, Max, is really getting on my nerves. I kind of wish she would just die already. (Don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon though since the series is from her perspective.)

I still plan on reading Book 6, since it’s sitting on my shelf as I type this, but unless it completely blows me out of the water, I’m done with this series.

8,201 pages to go … “Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man”

“Home Improvement” is really where my love for Tim Allen started (I’m sure that’s where most people jumped on the bandwagon). And I have watched several of his movies since then, some good (“Santa Clause,” “Galaxy Quest”), some not so good (“Joe Somebody”), but usually Allen still amuses me. So I figured, under my boyfriend’s urging, that I would read Tim Allen’s “Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man” (272 pages).

Even though “Don’t Stand” was written in 1995, it really holds up. It was funny and entertaining, and a really quick read.

It did get a little repetitive in parts, but I’ll probably seek out his other books. Since this book was right before Santa Clause came out, I would like to read about his life after the movie, and the movies since then. I’ll probably pick up his other books.

8,473 pages to go … “A Dirty Job”

I always see Christopher Moore books, but I hadn’t really paid much attention to them before. So when I could get “A Dirty Job” (387 pages) from Swap Tree for something I didn’t want any longer, I figured, why not?

“A Dirty Job” ended up being pretty funny. Moore can be a little annoying sometimes, but characters tend to make mention of how ridiculous it can be. I liked how he would make fun of himself.

I am always interested in books about death and dying — so this seemed up my alley, but there was something about it thought that turned me off. Not enough to stop or dread reading it or anything, but I didn’t plow through it like other books that I’m interested in. It was just something to read.

It took a turn toward the really bizarre in the second half and I thought that he wrapped it up a little too neatly for my tastes, but overall it was just OK.

Book blurb:

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He’s what’s known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant — you know, the one who’s always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male.

But Charlie’s been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He’s married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child.

Yes, Charlie’s doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie — exhausted from the birth — turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel’s hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . .

People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It’s a dirty job. But hey, somebody’s gotta do it.

8,860 pages to go … “French Milk”

I recently read Lucy Knisley’s “French Milk” (194 pages, 97 count), a travel journal/sketch book about her trip to Paris.

“French Milk” was a big letdown. I expect something more like Craig Thompson’s “Carnet de Voyage.” Instead, it was just a couple of  sketches and photos with a complete run down of everything she ate and bought while she was in Paris. There really wasn’t a plot.

I wouldn’t recommend it.

What BooksAMillion.com has to say:

“Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve, visiting Oscar Wilde’s grave, loafing at cafes, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk. What results is not only a sweet and savory journey through the City of Light but a moving, personal look at a mother-daughter relationship.”

8,957 pages to go … “Privileged Information”

“Privileged Information”  (329 pages) was Stephen White’s debut novel ( in 1991) about clinical psychologist Alan Gregory. I picked this one up after reading his novel “Kill Me” out-of-order. I loved “Kill Me,” but like to read things in order so I decided to start from the beginning.

Well, the beginning actually isn’t that good. “Privileged Information” is a rather boring book that never picks up. I don’t know if it’s because White is introducing us to Alan and threw plot out the window or what, but it wasn’t enjoyable. Alan is super annoying — which might be a problem since he is THE character the series is based on.

I am probably going to try the next one and see if things pick up, if not, maybe White’s writing got better with age and I’ll read the ones after “Kill Me.” I really hope White isn’t just one of those authors where the one book I read was his only good one — which would be sad since “Kill Me” was so good.

Back of the book:

Alan Gregory is a clinical psychologist with a thriving practice in Boulder, Colorado. His life begins to unravel when one of his female patients is found in an apparent suicide and the local paper begins printing accusations from an unnamed source of sexual impropriety between the woman and Dr. Gregory. He launches a psychological and personal quest for the truth that rapidly intensifies when more of his patients die untimely deaths, and Gregory suspects not only that the deaths are related but that another one of his patients may be somehow involved. Lacking facts but roused by suspicion and troubled by seemingly random acts of terror around him, Gregory starts to fear for the safety of the people he loves.

9,286 pages to go … “Before I Die”

“Hey guys, I’m going to die … did I mention I’m going to die … I don’t have long … I’m going to die.”

I knew before reading this book that it was going to have a lot stuff like above, it is a book about a teen how doesn’t have long to live. But “Before I Die” by Jenny Downham (327 pages) was very annoying about it.

The main character, Tessa, whined ALL THE TIME. Perhaps this happens when you have been sick for so long, I don’t know. What I do know though is that is makes for one super annoying protagonist.

Tessa is super self-centered. I liked some of the other characters well enough to finish the book, but I was just glad for it to be over.

Back of the book:

Tessa has just months to live. Fighting back against hospital visits, endless tests, and drugs with excruciating side effects, Tessa compiles a list. It’s her To Do Before I Die list. And number one is Sex. Released from the constraints of “normal” life, Tessa tastes new experiences to make her feel alive while her failing body struggles to keep up. Tessa’s feelings, her relationships with her father and brother, her estranged mother, her best friend, and her new boyfriend, are all painfully crystallized in the precious weeks before Tessa’s time finally runs out.

9,613 pages to go … “Lost It”

“Lost It” by Kristen Tracy (288 pages) is a quick, fun coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who loses her virginity.

(I should have written this review sooner because I can’t remember that much about the book, except that I liked it, I think.)

Back of the book:

What would you do…

…if your best friend were plotting the annihilation of a small, furry neighborhood poodle? Or if your parents up and moved to an Outward Bound-type survival camp in the middle of the desert? How about if your grandmother bought you new bras and underwear — and you actually thought they were a teensy bit, umm, sexy?

Most people would not react well.

Tess Whistle’s junior year of high school is off to a fairly bizarre start. One might even say her life is spiraling out of control. But with her sense of humor firmly intact and her first real boyfriend on her arm, Tess is dealing with the ridiculous twists quite well, thankyouverymuch.

Just wait until her shoes explode.