Book ~ "The 8th Confession" (2009) James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

From Goodreads ~ As San Francisco's most glamorous millionaires mingle at the party of the year, someone is watching - waiting for a chance to take vengeance on Isa and Ethan Bailey, the city's most celebrated couple. Finally, the killer pinpoints the ideal moment and it's the perfect murder. Not a trace of evidence is left behind in their glamorous home.

As Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder, someone else is found brutally executed - a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless. His death nearly falls through the cracks but when reporter Cindy Thomas hears about it, she knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been quite as saintly as everyone thought.

As the hunt for two criminals tests the limits of the Women's Murder Club, Lindsay sees sparks fly between Cindy and her partner, Detective Rich Conklin. The Women's Murder Club now faces its toughest challenge: will love destroy all that four friends have built? 

There are four members of the Women's Murder Club ... Lindsay, Cindy, Claire and Yuki.

Rich young obnoxious millionaires are mysteriously dying.  There doesn't seem to be any foul play and Claire, the medical examiner, can't find any cause for their deaths.  We, the readers, know, though, as the killer includes us in the killings.  Pet Girl is seeking revenge and she's getting it. Officers Lindsay and Rich are stumped until they get some clues from the past that may tie into the present.

A homeless guy named Bagman Jesus is found dead, beaten and shot.  The police have more important murders to investigate so Cindy, a reporter, takes it upon herself to find out what happened.

Yuki is a district attorney trying the case of a woman accused of bludgeoning her parents in their sleep.  After she gets hurt, she starts dating her doctor.

This is the eighth in the Women's Murder Club series (and the  ninth one I've read). Though it is part of a series, it does work as a stand alone.

I enjoyed the writing style and it went at a good pace. I liked the short choppy chapters. The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.  As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.

Some of the storylines, like Pet Girl and Bagman Jesus, were okay.  Other stories were a bit annoying and unbelievable.  Like Yuki dating the doctor.  It turns out there is an issue between them (which was a bit out there) and Yuki and the rest of the club, though they like Doc, didn't have any compassion about his situation.  Yuki had fallen fast and hard for Doc and behaved like a gushing teenager ... but once she knew Doc's secret, she didn't care anymore.  Very shallow.  Lindsay and Rich still have a crush on each other.  Keep in mind that Lindsay is living with Joe, who had disrupted his life to be with her in San Francisco and had proposed (she's stalled him).  Conveniently Joe is out of town for the next three weeks.  Rich and Cindy start dating and Rich suddenly forgets about Lindsay and she's jealous.  Seriously?

I thought this book was the worst of the series but will continue to get caught up on it.

Book ~ "Christmas Lights" (2007) Christine Pisera Naman

From Goodreads ~ In separate vignettes, we meet Katherine, who is taking care of her ailing husband; Julianna, juggling with construction paper, scissors, and rubber cement in a room full of high-spirited four-year-olds; Adrianna, struggling with the difficulties of marriage; Cassandra, the busy mother of toddlers; Victoria, searching for a love to call her own; Alexandra, a young woman waiting for word from her doctor about an uncertain diagnosis; and Isabella, discovering the gift of motherhood. The lives of all the women come together in a moving conclusion that perfectly captures the heart and soul of the holiday spirit.

Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and poignant, Christmas Lights celebrates the most significant aspects of the season. Small, beautifully designed, and full of festive cheer, it is the ideal gift for anyone longing to rediscover the magic of Christmas.

We meet each of the seven women in a chapter of their own and get to know their unique situation.  The last chapter is where they all come together and we see what their connection is.

There is quite a bit of talk about/with God ... the women are strong in their faith.  Though I'm not religious at all, I didn't find that it was rammed down my throat.

This is a nice quick book to read, especially around the holiday season.  It was just the right length.  I enjoyed it.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Book ~ "Fall Down, Laughing : How Squiggy Caught Multiple Sclerosis and Didn't Tell Nobody" (2000) David Lander

From Amazon.com ~ In the summer of 1999, David Lander revealed publicly that he suffers from multiple sclerosis - a secret he'd kept for fifteen years even while living and working in Hollywood's celebrity fishbowl. Diagnosed with the illness after filming the last episode of Laverne and Shirley, Lander continued to develop his film and television career while hiding his illness. His success was a testament to his physical and emotional strength and his determination to prove that those with M.S. can still enjoy fulfilling and challenging lives. Over the years, Lander tried everything to improve his condition: exercise programs, alternative medicine, support groups, the latest crop of designer drugs. Weaving his experiences against a backdrop of entertaining celebrity anecdotes, Lander offers a message of affirmation that will provide information and hope to millions of M.S. sufferers, their friends and caregivers.

Quick interesting read. Very inspiring!

Book ~ "Fishbowl" (2002) Sarah Mlynowski

From Amazon.com ~ Roommates Allie, Jodine, and Emma are about as different as three people can be. Allie is enthusiastic but immature; Jodine is cold and closed-off; Emma is a stylish good-time girl. Despite the fact that they get on each other's nerves, they get along well enough, even after Jodine wakes up one night to discover that their kitchen is on fire. With no insurance, the girls are forced to come up with creative ways to raise money, including throwing big parties at a local bar and offering a seminar for men hoping to meet girls. Meanwhile, each roommate has her own man troubles: Allie pines for her friend, Clint, while the cute repairman flirts with her; Jodine is bored by her loyal boyfriend; and Emma has fallen for a sexy guy she meets at one of their parties, only to discover that she's smitten with Clint.

There are four narrators in this book and I found it hard at first keeping them straight. But once I got to know the characters, it got easier. It's a funny story and I enjoyed it. It was cool to read a book set in Toronto, rather than the States.

Book ~ "Speedbumps: Flooring it Through Hollywood" (2005) Teri Garr

From Amazon.com ~ As Garr describes growing up on the fringes of 1950s and '60s Hollywood in a "gypsy showbiz family," studying ballet, ignoring school and sneaking into auditions pretending to be older than she was, readers will realize hers is a pretty familiar Hollywood story. She didn't sleep with Elvis or one of the Beatles but she was next door when her girlfriend went to bed with Elvis, and she sat in the recording studio during the making of Yellow Submarine. Garr worked her way from smaller parts (dancer in Viva Las Vegas and other Elvis movies) to bigger ones (Tootsie and Mr. Mom) until her career was finally on track. Alas, this is when she discovered she had no life—no husband, no baby—and started scrambling. She'd also developed a limp and some intermittent neurological tics. In 1983, a specialist diagnosed multiple sclerosis and prescribed the medication Garr has become a spokesperson for.

Not an overly exciting life story but worth the read.

Book ~ "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" (2004) The Fab 5

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy : The Fab 5's Guide to Looking Better, Cooking Better, Dressing Better, Behaving Better, and Living Better - Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez

From Amazon.com ~ A witty, yet sound manual based on the hit television show. A chapter is devoted to each star's area of expertise – Ted on food and wine, Kyan on grooming, Thom on decorating, Carson on fashion and Jai on culture. The pages are chock-full of color, including quality photos, "hiptips" and "straightguyFAQ" boxes appear on almost every other page. Each chapter contains one or more lists of five items, such as classics every man should own, elements of a perfect shave, and dishes not to order on a date. Underneath the humor and the occasional sexual innuendo are the book's strength and appeal: sincere, commonsense advice on how to be "you–only better."

Even though it's directed at guys, I found it interesting and funny.

Book ~ "An Idiot Girl's Christmas" (2005) Laurie Notaro

From Goodreads ~ It’s the most wonderful - and most dreadful - season of the year, when boxes of truffles attack your thighs, drunken holiday revelers stay long past their welcome, and your grandmother has conniptions at the department store over the price of hand lotion. Welcome to Laurie Notaro’s Christmastime. 

In ten brand-new stories and three previously published favorites, Notaro shares the sidesplitting daily disasters of the holidays, like finding herself on emergency feminine product recon at midnight on Christmas Eve; surrendering to the inevitable Horrible Gift Parade by simply asking for holiday dish towels and giant white underpants from Sears; battling the morons in line at the Seventh Circle of Hell, otherwise known as the do-it-yourself craft store; and trying to live down her reputation as the Most Unfun Christmas Party Guest Ever, due to an unfortunate misunderstanding involving a fake overdose and emergency paramedics. 

So whether you find yourself at the Dull and Smart Party or the Raucous and Stupid Party this holiday season, you’ll always know where to find Laurie - just follow the chocolate trail over to the cheese platter. She’ll be the one dialing the cops.

Loved it!

It's a quick read ~ I read it in a day. I really enjoy her writing style ~ it's sarcastic and funny.

Book ~ "Milkrun" (2001) Sarah Mlynowski

From Amazon.com ~ Jackie Norris' jaw drops when she gets an email from her boyfriend, Jeremy, telling her that he's seeing someone else in Thailand, where he has gone to "find himself." A harried 24-year-old copy editor at a romance publisher, Jackie decides to be proactive and speed up the process of getting over Jeremy by dating other men. But the men she meets are disappointing: a handsome stud she went to high school with is both rude and a lousy kisser, and it turns out that the goodlooking intellectual is still living with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jackie's roommate, Sam, separates from her longtime boyfriend and goes from being a devoted girlfriend to single girl extraordinaire, making Jackie envious. The only good guy in Jackie's life seems to be Jeremy's friend Andrew, but just as Jackie starts to fall for him, Jeremy reenters her life. Though at times annoyingly neurotic, Jackie is a likable heroine, and twentysomething singles will relate to her frustrating search for love in a big city.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style ~ funny and sarcastic. The character is very quirky and I felt at times I was sitting next to her with a glass of wine and listening to her go on and on (but in a good way!). There are lots of typos ~ very ironic given what Jackie does for a living.

I'm looking forward to reading more of her books. A couple months ago, I read her Bras and Broomsticks. Though it's directed at teens, it was enjoyable.

Book ~ "The Bad Girl's Guide to Getting Personal" (2004) Cameron Tuttle

From Amazon.com ~ We're talking relationships, Bad Girl style. Get real, get close, get Bad with anyone, anytime -- friends, family, lovers, of course, but don't forget your hairdresser, bartender, landlord, dry cleaner, taxi driver, boss, dog, and telemarketer. Discover when to prune your family tree, when to flirt, and when it's time to start or end a relationship. Special sections such as Can This Relationship Be Saved?, Notes to Self, and Personal Power Steering offer hundreds of smart tips and clever tricks with a healthy dose of Bad Girl wisdom. Witty, warm, and packed with sassy charm, this is why being Bad is so darn good.

Quick fun read.

Book ~ "Hunger Point: A Novel" (1997) Jillian Medoff

From Amazon. com ~ This novel attempts to unravel the familial and social pressures that drive two sisters into a life of serious food abuse. One survives, the other doesn't. Frannie, though she does not succumb completely to anorexia, is near the breaking point and Hunger Point takes us along on her painful and often funny emotional odyssey of rebirth, detailed with her family's embattled love and her own self-loathing. Food is not the only matter of the body that is treated brilliantly; the author's soul-baring depiction of both the miseries and pleasures of sex from a woman's point of view is unforgettable and occasionally terrifying.

Though it’s not a happy story, I enjoyed this book. I liked the writing style and felt for the main character, Frannie, and all that she went through.

Book ~ "Storm: A Motorcycle Journey of Love, Endurance and Transformation" (2000) Allen Noren

From Amazon. com ~ It's clear reading Allen Noren's travel memoir, Storm, that some trips just weren't meant to be. Yet take a really good writer, expose him to adverse conditions, toss in tragically bad weather, and what do you get? In this case, a beautifully written, stirring story that gets better and better as the journey worsens. A diehard traveler, Noren had been exploring the far corners of the world for years when he and his girlfriend, Suzanne, plotted out an adventurous, three-month route around the Baltic Sea. They considered traveling by kayak, by car, and eventually settled on the idea of riding a motorcycle (or rather, Noren settled on the idea and managed to convince his girlfriend that the bike would be the way to go). While Noren is completely exhilarated by the challenges presented by their used BMW, and indeed, feels totally one with the machine, Suzanne hates it from the get-go. Screaming down the Autobahn in the driving rain at 85 mph, stumbling upon a motorcycle rally full of crazed, alcohol-induced biker revelers, and camping out nightly after long days on the road doesn't hold the same appeal for her that it does for him. The tale works on many levels, but at its best Storm is a poignant account of two people whose dreams have begun to diverge. It is also an exploration of the reasons we travel, how those reasons can change, subtly at first, and then more dramatically, as we do. And finally, it is a descriptive travelogue, full of wonderful passages that bring the landscape of Sweden and Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to life.

Interesting journey about the places they went and the people they met. It’s a trip I’ll probably never make.

Book ~ "The Adventure of Food: True Stories of Eating Everything" (1999) Richard Sterling

From Amazon.com ~ A collection of true stories will make your mouth water while helping you better understand other cultures, through its touching, funny, and sometimes frightening stories of eating.

As with other compilation books, some stories are funny and some are rather boring.

Book ~ "Take Me With You : A Round-the-World Journey to Invite a Stranger Home" (2002) Brad Newsham

From Amazon.com ~ After two decades of travels around the world, Brad Newsham decides to pack his bags again to return the gift of magic that travel has brought into his life. His plan is to give a little of that back to someone he meets along the way - to invite a new untraveled friend to visit him, all-expenses paid, in America. Over 100 days, he travels through the Philippines, India, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

This is an excellent book! Brad travelled to many places that I have no plans to go - plus he did it very frugally - so it was interesting to read about his adventures. It sounds like he met a lot of interesting people along the way with the goal of inviting someone to his home for a month.

Book ~ "Shitting Pretty: How to Stay Clean and Healthy While Traveling" (2000) Jane Wilson-Howarth

From Amazon.com ~ International travel is rewarding and a great deal of fun but sometimes it exacts a price. Activities we take for granted--eating, bathing, and going to the bathroom--can range from challenging to risky in unfamiliar territory. Dr. Wilson-Howarth knows plenty about these quandaries, having spent eleven years running health clinics and doing research in the Himalayas. In Shitting Pretty, she takes a humorous, sympathetic approach to one of the most basic human activities, interweaving anecdotes from fellow travelers with sensible tips and techniques for how to avoid diarrhea, parasites, and scary diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and hepatitis. Dr. Wilson-Howarth covers the basics of how to eat and drink safely, explains symptoms and cures, and also tells why gastrointestinal diseases--the traveler's most common complaint--occur.

Quick read about how to protect yourself when you are travelling. The actual experiences of people are funny.

Book ~ "Last Trout in Venice: The Far-Flung Escapades of an Accidental Adventurer" (2001) Doug Lansky

From Amazon.com ~ Doug Lansky ventured from the peak of Kilimanjaro to Berlin's erotic Kit Kat Club to Sweden's 100 guest-capacity Ice Hotel (rebuilt each winter just north of the Arctic Circle) to a Texas cattle auction where the auctioneers "talk more and say less than a room full of presidential candidates" and lived to write Last Trout in Venice: The Far-Flung Escapades of an Accidental Adventurer. Some of his destinations are truly strange and, evidently for good reason, truly obscure though readers will definitely get a laugh from Lansky's tenure (one day) as a bellboy in Jules' Undersea Lodge (scuba access only capacity: four guests), 20 feet underwater.

Excellent book! His stories of his adventures are very funny. Much better than the Jennifer Leo series.

Book ~ "Kiss My Tiara : How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess" (2001) Susan Jane Gilman

From Amazon.com ~ Kiss My Tiara challenges The Rules and backlash books like In Defense of Modesty. Designed to help women 18-35 catch a life, not a husband, it's funny and politically irreverent, with chapters such as "Nevermind a Penis, We'll Take a Paycheck" and "How to Deal with Lunatics, Perverts and Right-wing Republicans." Like The Rules, it's based on wisdom the author received from her grandmother--except her grandmother was a feisty, gin-drinking feminist. Gilman is indignant at the mindlessness of aerobics classes, refuses to subscribe to the belief that thin thighs are more important than brains and chutzpah, and believes that if you have trouble asking for dessert you'll never be able to ask for a raise. Sprinkled with her grandmother's affirmative aphorisms ("If God didn't want us to play with ourselves, she would have made our arms shorter"), the book covers the gamut of a woman's world--relationships, money, self-esteem, sexual harassment in the workplace, and the guilt of ordering french fries. Gilman's is a sage, insightful, and witty voice in a confusing time that will make women laugh while teaching them to feel entitled, confident, and empowered.

Okay book ~ not great. Funny and crude in places.

Book ~ "Whose Panties are These? More Misadventures from Funny Women on the Road" (2004) Jennifer Leo

From Amazon.com ~ This is the second in a series of women's travel humor capitalizes on that phenomenon with more stories of female misadventure around the world. Readers laugh, cry, and commiserate with these women through their memorable mishaps such as gorging on Lebanese chicken to increase their breast size, battling tick paranoia in an Ozark campground, evading the demands of the Turkish mafia, getting even with a prank-fueled convention co-worker, and trolling for straight men in gay London.

As with Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write from the Road, some of the stories are funny but some are boring. It's a quick read, though.

Book ~ "Getting Thin and Loving Food : 200 Easy Recipes to Take You Where You Want to Be" (2004) Kathleen Daelemans

From Amazon.com ~ This sequel to the bestselling Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen, from the host of the Food Network's popular show of the same name, is as much of a self-help book as a cookbook. Chef Kathleen's secret to losing weight is a matter of behavior modification rather than self-deprivation: set a goal, meet it, reward yourself and repeat. The trick is smaller portions of protein on a plate loaded up with creative fruit and vegetable sides. Although the book's chatty, pep-talking tone can be a bit much, it's so full of great ideas readers won't mind what it's missing: extra calories.

Light on info, heavy on recipes. It came highly recommended in one of my fitness magazines but I found it so-so.

Book ~ "Thin for Life" (2003) Anne Fletcher

From Amazon.com ~ What a novel idea: if you want to know how to successfully lose weight, study the real experts--the people who have done it! Registered dietician Anne Fletcher did just that. She surveyed 160 "masters" who succeeded in losing at least 20 pounds and keeping the weight off for at least 3 years. This was the minimum; most lost far more weight--an average of 63 pounds--and more than one-third have kept the weight off for a decade or more. How did they do it? Thin for Life presents their success stories, strategies, motivation, inspiration, and tricks. Most had tried "many times and many ways" to lose weight before discovering what worked for them and how to prevent and recover from relapses. Fletcher compiles the "10 keys to success" that emerged most often, lets the masters speak for themselves throughout the book, and fills in additional, valuable information and resources. Whether you have 10 pounds to lose or 100, this book will help you do it--safely, effectively, and permanently.

Excellent book! It's not your usual "how to" book. It's filled with people's own experiences, tips, etc.

Book ~ "Sand in My Bra and Other Misadventures: Funny Women Write from the Road" (2003) Jennifer Leo

From Amazon.com ~ Travel writer, Leo, has collected 28 short and snappy travel stories. Many of these bite-size reminiscences chronicle personal ordeals endured in places with unfamiliar amenities, languages and/or cultures. For example, Christie Eckardt's elastically challenged underwear falls down in a Muslim country and Nancy Bartlett's "Panic, in Any Other Language," describing an embarrassing incident in an opulent Italian swimsuit boutique.

A quick read. Most of the stories are funny ~ a couple were boring and hard to get through.