I Kid You Not: Spring 2012 Reading List

I am not a celebrity follower.  While there are some celebrities I like, I don’t need to know what they’re up to at any given time.  And while I enjoy reading the trashy gossip magazines on rare occasions, I do it more as a sarcastic move—basically I read it for entertainment and don’t put much stock in their “truthfulness.”

I am also not one to pick up the latest biography.  I do enjoy one now and then but it’s usually about someone that means something to me, someone I like as opposed to the latest news-maker; usually it is not someone from my generation.  However, my latest biography read was Ellen DeGeneres’ Seriously…I’m Kidding.  Ellen (yes, she and I are on a first-name basis, even if she doesn’t know it yet) is one of the celebrities that I do love—she’s funny, she’s happy, she dances, she doesn’t follow the latest trends, nor does she seem to care what others think of her.  And yet, she’s a Cover Girl!

I have read Ellen’s other books (My Point…And I Do Have One and The Funny Thing Is…) as well—her latest is just as good, maybe even better.  Not only is the book funny and a great read, but there are many serious topics that she covers, topics that speak to me:

• Inner beauty
• Aging gracefully
• Clutter!
• Collecting lotion (it seems that Portia de Rossi and I have this in common)
• Mammograms (Okay, I have yet to have one of these, but what Ellen says about them in terms of the male species is hilarious, and true!)
• Happiness—what it is and to how to find it
• Holding on to the sense of wonder that children possess
• Living in the moment
• Being unique (sometimes I feel as if I’m the only non-same [though I wouldn’t say unique] person in an everybody-needs-to-be-the-same world)
• Yoga!
• Meditation
• The rudeness of being late (like Ellen, I don’t mind if people are casually late—what I really irks me is when people are very late and don’t even have the decency to let you know)
• The lack of common courtesy (another huge pet peeve of mine—see above, among many other things)
• How people cannot seem to have a personal conversation anymore thanks to technology
• Not being lazy (though sometimes, one just needs to be lazy; it’s good for the soul—her example is quite funny)
• Writing
• The over-consumption of society today (not that I’m without fault here—I’m talking to you, bags and planners)
• Being honest (yet another pet peeve of mine, when people are outright dishonest)
• Nature
• The most important point of her latest book (according to her)—I’ve already stated it, but it bears repeating—happiness!

Of course I can’t reveal the specifics of what she says about each of these points.  If you want to know more, you’ll have to read the book.  And if you like audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to it—she’s the reader.  She’s the only one who could do her book justice.  I highly recommend it to anyone who likes humorous stories, biographies, or just something fun.

In other book news, this seems to be the time of year when my favorite authors release new titles.  On my to-be-read list are:

• I’ve Got Your Number – Sophie Kinsella (finished this a few weeks ago)
• A Grown Up Kind of Pretty – Joshilyn Jackson (just finished reading)
• Another Piece of My Heart – Jane Green
• Garden of Happy Endings – Barbara O’Neal (her novels are centered around food, cooking, and baking—if you like these activities, I highly recommend her books—I highly recommend them anyway)
• Lone Wolf – Jodi Picoult
• The Shoemaker’s Wife – Adriana Trigiani
• The Song Remains the Same – Allison Winn Scotch
• Where We Belong – Emily Giffin
• White Glove War (sequel to Magnolia League) – Katie Crouch
• Where You’ll Find Me – Leah Stewart (author of a book that changed [current] my life)
• Defending Jacob – William Landay (my first read by this author)

I am quite busy with all of these books—hopefully it won’t take me forever to finish them.

Happy reading!