The Candy Dish

The Giver

2010-03-20T18:44:00.001-07:00

The Giver by Lowis Lowry is a young adult book that simply states a very complex story. Jonas lives in a place where everything is the same. There is no color, no war, no hunger, and each set of parents is given one male child and one female child. Perfection. Until Jonas finds out that his role in life will be The Receiver of Memories. Jonas works with The Giver to obtain memories good and bad. The end of the book will leave each reader with a different fate for Jonas.

Hungry

2010-03-14T11:05:00.001-07:00

Hungry by Crystal Renn is not unlike any other book about anorexia and striving for perfection except for the fact that it is told by a famous plus size model. Renn started off in "straight" modeling, starving herself down to a minimal weight until she became sick and realized that she needed to bring her body back to where it naturally wanted to be.

Committed

2010-03-14T10:58:00.001-07:00

This is the follow-up book to Eat, Pray, Love from Elizabeth Gilbert. She ended up marrying her Brazilian lover whom we know as Felipe, but before she made that lifetime commitment she spent a lot of time researching the institution of marriage. There are a lot of historical facts included in this book intertwined with Gilbert's own ideas on love, children, and a woman's place in marriage.

Waiter Rant

2009-12-05T11:53:00.001-08:00

Waiter Rant written by The Waiter. The authors real name is not mentioned but if you search this book on Google you can find a picture of him. This is another book that started from a blog and I find The Waiters insights on sizing up customers and life quite smart. I think the author was born to be a writer and I look forward to hearing more from him.

Reading this book definitely makes me look at waiters and how I tip them much differently. I think a book of the same caliber should be written about the Retail Industry. That is where I spent many years and customers are just as bad.

Middle East Memoirs

2009-12-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Prisoner of Tehran is a memoir by Marina Nemat. I could not believe the conditions in the prison that Marina served in for two years and the conditions of her release. She started as a Christian, a small minority in Tehran, and during her prison stay was forced to become Muslim. I can't help but compare what was happening in my own life while she was struggling to live and keep her faith.

Other memoirs that I highly recommend on this topic:

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
My Forbidden Face by Latifa
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni
Persian Girls by Nahid Rachlin

Polly

2009-11-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

Polly is the main character in this book and the chapters are divided by Polly's relationships with men throughout her life. I forgot how fully emotions ruled my life as an adolescent but I clearly remembered so much of it while I was reading this book. I would recommend this book for a mom with a teenage daughter. Even if you think you can remember how you felt growing up I promise that this book will remind you how much you forgot.

The Imposters Daughter

2009-11-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I would sometimes read an Archie comic book but I was never too thrilled with having my story mainly comprised of pictures.......until Laurie Sandell drew those pictures. This book is the true story of Laurie and her relationship with her father and how that relationship affected her as an adult. I very much liked this book, it was a quick read so I actually went through it twice in one day. Laurie Sandell is a contributing Editor at Glamour magazine and you can visit her website at LaurieSandell.com

Jen Lancaster

2009-11-22T12:57:00.001-08:00

Pretty in Plaid is the latest installment in the memoirs of Jen Lancaster. Her other books include Bitter is the New Black, Bright Lights Big Ass, and Such a Pretty Fat. Jen's wit and sarcasm are like no other I have read. In Pretty in Plaid, Jen goes back to her days before she became a VP at Corp.com, lost her job, sold her belongings, and became a writer.

If you like David Sedaris then you will definitely like Jen Lancaster. Start with Bitter is the New Black and proceed from there. You can visit Jen at her blog Jennsylvania.com

A Long Way Gone

2009-11-22T12:51:00.001-08:00

Before reading this book I never would have known what it could possibly be like to live the life of a child soldier. Ishmael Beah brings to light a reality for so many children of war, kill or be killed. This is the war that was taking place in Sierra Leone in the early 1990's. While reading this book I was remembering where I was in my own quiet, safe, comfortable suburban life. It is hard to fathom that at that same time there were children across the world fighting a war.

The Middle Place

2009-11-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

"The thing you need to know about me is that I am George Corrigan's daughter..." This is the first line of the book. Kelly idolizes her father and as an adult still sees herself as just that.

This book by Kelly Corrigan is her true story of finding her place in life, from being a child to being a parent. She has a struggle with breast cancer while also dealing with her father's cancer. I promise that the book won't leave you crying all the way through. Kelly Corrigan delivers her story in a way that any one can relate to.

Greek Gods

2009-11-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

This is a Young Adult series of five books. You can follow the adventures of Percy Jackson a demigod who discovers that all the Greek Myths are actually true and he and his other demigod friends will have to protect the world by fighting monsters. The message of this series is to teach children (9-13) the stories of Greek Mythology.

Sarah Dunn

2009-08-13T03:31:00.001-07:00

Sarah Dunn's new novel Secrets to Happiness has the same wit and charm that her first novel The Big Love had. In The Big Love Alison's live-in-boyfriend leaves her for someone else in the middle of a dinner party, she has to come to grips with the fact that he may never return and would she take him back if he did?

Secrets to Happiness introduces us to Holly Frick. She wrote a book that bombed, adopts a dog with cancer, and meets a Buddhist. You will have to read it to find out how all of these things lead her to her happiness.

The History of Love

2009-08-05T16:32:00.001-07:00

The History of Love is a book within a book. A story of an old man who is living his last days and a young girl who is dealing with the death of her father and trying to seek out the writer of The History of Love. Many stories intertwine to create this book and at times you will be confused but follow through and it will all make sense.

READ IT

2009-07-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

This book is narrated by Enzo the dog. He wants to be human and is quite philosophical about life. The book is dramatic and humorous. Enzo will tell you about his owner and the trials of his life throughout Enzo's life. When I found out the book was narrated by the family dog I thought it would be, in a word-corny. It was anything but that. I highly recommend this book and I guarantee you will look at your own dog a little differently after reading it.

READ IT

2009-07-14T15:25:00.001-07:00

A 35 year old dead woman relives her life leading up to her death. I have never read a book quite like this one. Its part comedy, mystery, and drama all cleverly wrapped into one story.