books i read last month!

i was almost going to take a picture of the photoshop cs5 book that i am reading for my class...but i would rather focus on the fun reading i have been doing!

1. the best american travel writing - 2010 - edited by bill buford
i kinda needed a book like this...short stories...well mostly short. there was a very long piece about traveling through siberia by ian frazier - it made me appreciate living in a major metropolitan city! i liked that most of the stories were not only about traveling, but they expanded on the history and/or culture of place.

2. spooky little girl by laurie notaro
i liked this book and breezed right through it...it was a nice break from my photoshop book! the main character, lucy, is having a really bad and confusing couple of days (boyfriend suddenly dumps her, she loses her job, etc.) and while she is trying to sort things out she dies in a freak bus accident. lucy then wakes up is a sort of dorm purgatory with a group of other "DS-ers" - the sudden demise folks that were not expected (and not ready) to be dead. the middle section of the book follows lucy as she comes to terms with being dead and her ghost training. in order for her to get into "the state" (heaven) she must go back to her life and complete a mission. in a sweet twist she is reunited with her grandmother, a fellow ghost who was kicked out of "the state" for stalking frank sinatra! there are some touching and funny segments dealing with death and grief. i also think the author is offering us (subtle) lessons about how badly miscommunication can hurt us all in the long run. 

3. i think i love you by allison pearson
i really really wanted to like this book...really. i heard the author interviewed on npr and thought that it would be a good read. although it did pick up towards the end i just could not get into the characters or the story. maybe if i was a little older and was a david cassidy fan myself it would have had more appealing? not sure.