Bestsellers

After spending a mostly responsibility-free week in sunny Orange Beach, AL without ANY internet interactions (okay, I renewed a book and used Google Maps, but those don't really count), I'm wondering where August came from and why it's passing by so quickly. I start student teaching on Monday, and while I'm excited about the experience, I'm surprised that it's right around the corner. To prepare, I spent most of my summer reading YA and middle school fiction, but recently, I took a break and read books I wanted to read for me. Sometimes it's hard to tell because there's so much overlap (yes, I like faeries and I'm not a teenager), but here are three books I can confidently say that I really wanted to read without any reference to work or school. Woo.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

I'll admit that I saw the preview for the movie before I had ever heard of the book. That's usually how it goes, eh? And sometimes, most of the time really, I'd rather see the movie than read the book. Hey, if they've gone through the trouble of producing the thing, I should just see it, right? Yes, I know those are all horrible things to say and think, but I'm a book-is-always-better-than-the-movie kinda gal, so I don't mind saying them. In this case, I'm worried, though. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did read the book (on the beach, listening to the waves crashing, smelling the ocean air), and while I enjoyed it immensely, I think it will translate better to film. Apparently, I'm not the only one. I'm also worried because I don't know if Amy Adams can do Julie Powell - Julie seems like an edgy gal, with a stubborn and fiery streak, sometimes crude, and mostly frustrated, at least in how she portrays herself in the book. And Amy Adams is just so sugary sweet (in a good way, of course). Ah well, I'll go see it sometime soon and maybe post what I think.


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Oh, I have so much love for this book! First of all, I never thought I'd like a book written in letters (what's it called... epistolary?) as much as I did. I thought it would be confusing, especially with the introduction of a whole slew of characters, but it wasn't. I'd summarize it, but I really can't. Have you ever stumbled upon a bundle of letters in your parents' attic and just pored over them for hours? Or an old journal at an estate sale? I can't explain the fascination with it - it's just such an intimate way to see into a story, to get to know a group of people. It didn't hurt that I actually enjoyed the story part of it either. What can I say? I love books about books. :)


The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This one's at my bedside and next on my list. Rachel McAdams made me want to read it. Sorry, Audrey.