Book Review: Girls in White Dresses

Girls In White Dresses was the second book I downloaded on my Nook!

After seeing it on a pin of "20 Books for 20-somethings" I decided to download it.

It has been one of the best books I've ever read! I LOVED IT! I want to read it over already. GIWD is about a group of 20-somethings that have graduated college, look for jobs, move, find relationships, fail at relationships, don't find relationships, get fired, find other jobs, get married, don't get married, have families, get dogs, everything. It follows a cute group of friends, but features short side stories of other friends that the girls have from work, college, or through their boyfriends even. It is realistically written and I liked (although as I'm typing it, I sound so morbid) that things didn't always work out for them. The girls often struggled, one was out of a job for months and couldn't find anything (I found her particular story endearing), one could never find a guy she liked enough to be serious with, and some struggled in many other ways. There were also major success stories including finding "the one", moving apartments, and even having children for some of the characters.

If you're a 20-something, which I know many of you are, Girls in White Dresses is worth a read or download. I truly felt like I was a member of this group of girls living in New York City and I even found myself laughing out loud at times when the girls were in crazy situations. I also appreciated that the girls in this book were all SMART. They were driven and realistic and not going on crazy shopping sprees in New York City like you read in so many other 20-something books.

Amazon's review had a line that I loved, "Through it all--through drunken nights and hungover mornings, evil bosses, cancelled engagements, and that time Mary lost her mind and named her newborn baby Gertrude for three days--their friendships remain a constant."

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and I hope you'll find that you enjoy it too!

xxKatie

Book Review: Georgia Bottoms

I had seen this book reviewed on Amazon awhile ago and pinned it to my "Books"board on Pinterest after it got my interest. Over a year later, I have finally been able to read it and I was a BIG fan!

It's a sassy and steamy book about Miss Georgia Bottoms of Six Points, Alabama. She has quite the love life and "rotation". I don't want to give too much of it away for those of you who will want to read it, but I definitely recommend it. 

Not a major literary work, but a fun, easy, light read--perfect for vacation! It's among the first for-pleasure books I've read in awhile (read: spring break-ish) and I really liked it. I actually read it during the flight home for Thanksgiving. It was a quick page-turner and had some big drama turning points in the story that were funny and wild. 

I'd put this book along the same lines as Dorothea Benton Frank books with a quirky Southern flair about a woman who you can't help but like! I want to look into reading some of Mark Childress' other books after picking up Georgia Bottoms now for sure!

xxKatie

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Book Review

Mom and I went on a Mother-Daughter-Date the other day to go see "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (whatever you do, DON'T SEE IT!) and as a preview, we saw snippets of a movie coming out soon called "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". 

The trailer looks adorable and the preview indicated that it was based on a book. Since the trailer made us want to see it, I decided I would try to read the book before I saw it.

The next day I got it, interestingly enough from the high school "summer reading" table in Barnes & Noble. It's 210 pages and I read it all in 3 hours. Not because it's written poorly (it's actually written well from the point of view of a high school freshman) or anything like that, but I got sucked in and what else do you do at the beach when it's cloudy?

It's definitely a good read. I completely understand why a school would indicate it as a "summer reading" book. It's very similar to "Go Ask Alice" (which I am EXTREMELY familiar with--I wrote a HUGE paper on it last semester for a literature class I took!) since the book is a compilation of letters. I did enjoy the book but I'm not sure I would recommend it to anyone other than high school/college students. I know it's a book my mom wouldn't really like and I wouldn't give it to anyone younger than college. 

Has anyone else read it? Did you school require it as summer reading? Are you excited to see the movie?

xxKatie

Weekly Gratitude

1. I am so thankful my parents were willing to send my little sis down South for a few days and we could indulge in a sisterly weekend in South Carolina!

2. I am thankful that the weather is starting to cool off! It's dare I say it, chilly in the morning! That's the thing with South Carolina weather; even though it starts oh-so cold in the morning, it'll end up being a PICTURE PERFECT day just like yesterday!

3. I am thankful that it is FINALLY OCTOBER! Welcome to the month of birthdays!!!!! So many of my favorite people have birthdays in October. Speaking of birthdays...I just ordered two gifts last night! Buying birthday presents for other people is one of my favorite things! I LOVE the feeling of knowing when you got the perfect gift for someone!

4. I am thankful that one of my best friends told me to read, "He's Just Not That Into You". It really is eye opening. I've been tweeting and writing down some of the better quotes in it as I'm sure y'all have seen. It's an eye-opening book and I'd recommend it to get a very interesting perspective on dating and relationships and boys and girls.

5. I am thankful for my cowboy boots. Those little suckers are pretty much the perfect shoes for this in-between weather and look SO fabulous with skirts and dresses and pants.

6. I am thankful for Luke Bryan! I get to his is Tailgates and Tanlines concert October 15th and it is getting me through all this crazy schoolwork and tough projects. (Read: I'm in the middle of the world's longest research proposal...)

7. I am thankful for Sharpie Mark It markers. They are making my life colorful one saying at a time. They are also helping me color code my month. Here's to trying my best to keep my life organized.

8. I am thankful for Etsy. It is so much fun to look for all my friends' gifts that way! Plus I know the vendors are excited to get the orders and I look forward to shopping for friends and family that way!

9. I am thankful for the advice of my peers and mentors. I ask for advice a lot from my friends, co-workers and long-distance ladies (you know who you are) and I ask often. I appreciate all the help that y'all are able to give me.

10. I am thankful for the days I feel healthy. I tend to take those for granted, and I feel like I'm on the cusp of getting sick unfortunately. I'm trying my best to drink water and tea and stay on the healthy side of things!

xxKatie

"You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important."

I LOVED THE HELP!

I read The Help during spring break of 2010 and absolutely loved it! My Momma read it at the beginning of last year and recommended it to me and everyone she knew. It spread like wildfire at school, within our family and everyone else who heard about it! The whole time we were reading, we all agreed how great of a movie it would make!

Needless to say, when I saw it about a week and a half ago, I LOVED IT! It was so well cast, with amazing costumes and of course a DE-LISH caramel cake! Anyone remember Caroline's Cakes that I've written about? Well it makes one BIG cameo in the film! 

We cried, we laughed, and enjoyed every minute of this movie! It lives up to the book (I did like the book more!) and I'd happily see it again! Have you seen it yet? If not, go now!!!

xxKatie

Dorothea Benton Frank

Y'all, I love to read. I've said this before a million times, but this summer I've been able to really get into a few books and have most recently (meaning in the last 6-ish days) found such a fun writer: Dorothea "Dot" Benton Frank! On my second to last day at the beach I finished this book, Lowcountry Summer and definitely recommend it! Sweetly southern, fun, and a quick read, this book had everything I wanted to read about during the summer...AND made me majorly crave fresh biscuits and be back at Carolina!

I connected so much with the characters, most of which hail from Charleston, and some even go to USC! Dot often writes about Columbia, Charleston, Folly Beach and a few other South Carolina hot sports! All the titles are different places in South Carolina or topics related to SC. Everytime I would read about USC I'd flat out squeal on the beach. This writing reads just like she's talking to you with funny asides and comments about characters.

Two days ago I started Bulls Island and I'm about 90 pages in. This one is far more dramatic but still has a lot of the charm and wit that Lowcountry Summer had too! Momma found it hardcover for just $7 while we were at the beach and I wasn't about to let it go! We also picked up another book, but it immediately took the backseat to Dot book #2! 

Ever read a DBF book? I'm a new fan but can't WAIT to read more!!

xxKatie

Beach Bound: Books, Nooks, and Everything in Between!

Books are an absolute must have for me while I'm at the beach! Like I said a few days ago, I tend to get a little bored along the coastline because I'm not a good beach napper. There is decent people watching and I always laugh when the lifeguards signal each other from stand to stand. A million years ago when I was a little kid, we joked around that they were all putting in their lunch orders!

"I'll take a cheesburger, no mustard!"

Anyway since I like to hang out on the beach and manage my tan, I enjoy bringing books with me on my trips! I currently am reading 2 books (which is rare. I always read one and go onto the next one after I finish completely!) but they're very different. One is all about economics and why people make some of the decisions they make while the other is about a woman in South Carolina beginning to re-evaluate her life upon the arrival of her 46th birthday.

Nudge is my economics book that I mentioned. I'm about halfway through, but the information is pretty dense so it's not exactly pleasure reading. I'm learning SO much from it and I really enjoy econ. If you're interested in business/economics/reading as an undergrad, my professor from the spring semester made sure to tell us to check it out!

Lowcountry Summer is the second book I talked about! I knew I was going like this book when they said that the son in the novel went to the University of South Carolina along with his cousin! Obviously it's going to be a good read. I'm only twenty-some pages into this guy, but I'm excited to see what other SC references are in it!

Now I haven't quite jumped on the bandwagon of e-readers, but I'd definitely suggest these two books for download as well as The Art of Racing in the Rain, which I read earlier this summer. That was an easy read and would make a good beach book for sure! 

What summer reading have you done? Anything I have to add to my lists? Do you like to read on the beach or are you a napper? Let me know!

xxKatie

Summer Reading: The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein on Friday. I bought it on Friday as well. Spending the better part of the day reading this book I couldn't put it down. To preface this review, TAORITR is easily in my top 3 books ever. I'm not a pet owner (however I plan on getting a Westie eventually) but this book made me understand so much about owning a dog.

I don't want to give too much away because I want everyone to go out and read this! A very brief summary, but this novel is about a man named Denny who adopts a mix-breed dog named Enzo (named after a famous race car driver, there is a big racing theme) and their life together. The beginning is rocky but it goes through their entire shared life from bachelorhood to old age. 

Never in my life have I cried as much in a book as in The Art of Racing in the Rain, but I also couldn't put it down. The last 15 pages were straight tears as were other parts of the story. It was a WONDERFUL book whether you're a dog owner/lover/anything or not. I absolutely recommend this book to any and everyone so please go out and snag this book or download it on your kindles and nooks ASAP! There is no question in my mind why this is a NYT Bestseller! 

xxKatie

PS: This book is the first book I've read this summer. Keep an eye out for other book reviews. I have 4 more books currently on the shelf ready and willing--it's just the beginning!