Pack Up the Moon by Anna Partlin

This book sucked me from page one where the author’s main character Emma describes how her boyfriend can’t aim when going pee.  Anna’s characters are real, lively and bluntly honest. She even throws in a few cuss words and they don’t sound out of place either. I laughed a good number of times, cried, and felt like these characters were real live people.  Darn that it’s fiction!

I’m going to hunt down another of her books b/c this one is 100% a keeper!

This books is the story of Emma and in one moment your world can change and you feel like nothing can ever go right again when it does.  Not always they way you had originally pictured it, but it rights it’s self and you can smile knowing you’re alive.

Peony In Love by Lisa See

This is the new book by Lisa See whose one of my favorite authors!  This book did not disappoint. It is historical fiction about how an opera called The Peony Pavilion changed the lives of three wives and how it altered the course of China. This is a real opera and the three wives described really lived.

This book is about forbidden love, family with all it’s secrets, closeness and uniqueness.  I didn’t want this story to end.  I hate to give too, deep a review and end up spoiling it for the next person to read it, so if I like reading about China even though this has been fictionalized do please pick up a copy.

When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd

This book I discovered at the library and since I own another of hers I felt I’d try this one since it was shorter.  This book may be small, but it’s got a mighty message!  This is the story of Sue’s spiritual awakening from being a Baptist minister’s wife, to coming into her own spirituality and discovering the feminine side of God.

Through the shadowing of her experience with that of how a butterfly comes into being through going from being a caterpillar to hanging out in a cocoon to transforming into a butterfly.  This imagery is perfect for the topic of this book!  Sue doesn’t water down her journey making it look orderly and tidy, but lets us view the messiness of discovering your own personal faith vs what others want you to believe, etc.

I purchased a copy of this book this past week so I have my own. I’m glad I did.  I even purchased a copy for my mom for Mother’s Day. I am not sure how she’ll respond to this book, but I hope she’ll be open to it’s message.

Answered Prayers by Julia Cameron

A small little green book with a powerful message inside! This so far has got to be my favorite Julia Cameron book.  This is a book as if authored by God to us in answer to the classic prayers we pray.  I almost started crying from page one. Not sad tears, just eye opening reading.  Julia’s words were so poetic, blunt and beautiful.  I would purchase a copy of this book for family and friends a like.

If you haven’t read Julia Cameron yet I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of this book!

Bare: The Naked Truth About Stripping by Elisabeth Eaves

The title alone sucked me in. I’ve never even graced the doorway of a strip club, so this was like looking at the candy without having to pay for it. Looking inside the world of a few select strippers was fascinating. There were no holds bared in description. Each account was honest, raw, realistic and to the point. If I was ever fascinated by this line of work after reading this book the truthful light on this subject has been shone. No more curiosities here for me.

This book wasn’t an agenda book. The author herself spent some time stripping at the club featured in the book, as well as the strippers profiled who also danced at the same club. At one point I felt for the strippers, then the next I felt frustrated, that it was really just a vicious cycle they got pulled into, not knowing how to get out. Easy work, easy money, your own schedule. What more could a beautiful girl want?

I think the author took an honest level assessment of the industry. If you want to learn more about the topic, or like to read autobios I think you’ll enjoy this one.

God is No Laughing Matter by Julia Cameron

This book is Julia Cameron’s take on faith, God and religion.  Most of the time it felt like she looked inside my brain and wrote down my thoughts.  This book is quite a swift read, but the chapters aren’t ones you’d have to necessarily read in order.  As usual Julia has some exercises and questions at the end of her short chapters.

The more I read by her  the more I like her books!

The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler

I had previously heard of this book through reading other books and I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchase myself a copy. It was worth the money.  This book sounded shocking for me to read and in fact it wasn’t all that shocking.  It opened my eyes to how society views women’s most private parts and how to talk about it is such a taboo subject. We’re told to not talk about down there and that down there is EWWWW and oh yeah the only use for it is to make babies.  Eve’s book on the subject took my blinders off to a whole new world.  Rather then viewing that as a place I don’t want to deal with, that’s it just part of being a woman and not a place of wonder, well Eve has changed my mind on that!

This is a collection of interviews that Eve did with countless woman from all different ages and walks of life.  Each monologue is unique and set apart from the others.  The themes of them range from starting PMS, to dealing with being raped, to birthing a child.  Every monologue is dramatic, raw and beautiful.

If you haven’t read this classic I recommend finding a copy.  Don’t forget to pass it on to your boyfriend or husband because they just may appreciate and respect you that much more after reading this book.

The May Queen by Andrea Richesin

This book has a picture of a gorgeous young blonde on the cover.  Her blonde hair is slightly curly down the sides of her face.  She has big blue eyes peering out and her lips are slightly parted.  This unknown woman shows youthfulness and also her sexuality.

This book I’ve previously read before, but figured since I was finally turning the big 30 I should read it. So on my actual birthday I cracked open this book and reread it, or rather started to.  It’s a collection of essays written by different women who have just turned 30 or are in their 30’s.  Each essay is unique and different from the other.

The essay topics range from motherhood, being single, being married or a single parent, dealing with unmet goals, dealing with relationships, etc.

Even if you’re not turning 30, I highly recommend this book! It’s one of my personal all time favorites and a keeper!

Snail Mail No More by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin

This is the sequel to P.S. Longer Letter Later by the same authors. This sequel was just as wonderful as the first book, if not better. I like it how both authors wrote the part for the different characters so that one didn’t know what the other was going to write.

This book continues the adventures of Elizabeth and Tara*Starr.  The story almost feels real.  It’s beautifully and realistically written.

I definitely recommend these two titles.

P.S. Longer Letter Later by Paula Danziger & Ann M. Martin

For some reason YA or rather junior high fiction called my name the other night.  I had seen this book before and it always sounded like one I would like, so I bought it and it’s sequel.  This book is about two best friends Elizabeth and Tara*Starr who  are inseparable. That is, until Tara*Starr’s family has to move from NJ to OH.  The girls are heartbroken at being separated in the 7th grade.

Elizabeth is the shyer one, while Tara*Starr is the more creative and outgoing one of the two.  Both girls deal with changes in their own families lives.  For Elizabeth she has to come to terms with her father’s alcoholism and having to grow up a bit sooner then planned.  Tara*Starr learns that living in a new place and going to a new school isn’t so bad after all.  She also, learns that it’s o.k. to be a kid and actually get into trouble.

The two girls write letters back and forth expressing the new adventures their experiencing without the other, learning to let the other girl grow and change.  For those of you that like to remember junior high friendships in all their crazy glory I recommend this book. If you’ve read Ann M. Martin you sure will enjoy this book!