Sometimes I wish All Consuming offered another option that didn’t include the exclamation point after “Worth consuming!” I mean, I’m not THAT excited about the book. That said, I found the book to be a fast and enjoyable read about a woman in her forties trying to figure out what she wants and she thinks it’s a house. Don’t get me wrong, I did like the book and sometimes had a hard time putting it down. It did get annoying in some parts but I got through them and it ended just like I was hoping, except one thing kept bugging me about a secret, and it bugs me still, probably always will. Does she ever tell her husband? You’ll know what I mean if you read the book.

You should see the reviews on Amazon.com about “French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris,” by Harriet Welty Rochefort. Seems like some of the people really resent this woman. This book is a second look an ex-patriot’s experience in France, her first being “French Toast.”

Rochefort writes about her observations as to why Americans are fat, about the significance of cheese, wine and bread in France, her cooking class and how French eat nearly the entire animal, entails included. She includes a few easy recipes at the end of some chapters, which I will probably never try. She also includes some interviews with her husband who frequently comes across as a snooty Frenchman.

I enjoyed almost the entire book although at times I had to remind myself not to take what she was writing personally, as she seemed to generalize quite a bit. It was good though. Read it and see what you think.

Very well written, very sad story about a girl who leaves the dreary life in a fishing village only to find out that life isn’t any better in the big city. Amazing amount of sadness in such a small book.

“Tea Here Now,” by Donna Fellman & Lhasha Tizer

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book which went over some of the history and preparation methods of tea. I enjoyed being introduced to the Asian tea rituals as well, but the book seemed to become redundant toward the second half with the discussion of harmony and enlightenment that can come from these rituals, making taking tea sound almost Yoga-like. That’s when I gave up on the book, just like I did with Yoga. I guess meditation is just beyond me. I ended up skimming the last half.

I really enjoyed David Baldacci’s “A Christmas Train,” even though in retrospect, it seemed sort of written for “Hollywood.” Maybe not blockbuster, but I can totally see a Lifetime made for TV movie made from this book. It’s a nice mix of mystery and love story combined.

Since Joaquin is crazy about trains, I’ve become interested too. One day I’d like to ride a passenger train to some destination. The author seems to have learned a lot about them so I feel like I got a good idea of what it might be like to ride the rails by reading this book.

I may have to lose weight before I go though.

For some reason, I’m constantly picking up books with homosexual themes. I’m not sure of the psychological reason behind this, but here is one that I really enjoyed. I’ve never read the author’s comic strip so I don’t know if it the book is along the same lines but it is sort of tragic and heartwarming and engaging, no matter what your preference. There are lots of really good reviews on amazon but I just wanted to say that you don’t have to be gay to enjoy this book.

While I enjoyed this book, I didn’t particularly like the way the author wrote some chapters as if they were performed by actors on a stage (you know like “Marie Antoinette exists stage left”). Occasionally found the book confusing.

I thought the book was very predictable, but it was a very easy read and it did have some memorable “bright ideas.”

Couldn’t get into this. Poirot has me spoiled.

I finally bought this for my son. Funny story and good illustrations. What more can you ask for in a kid’s book?