My favorite books!

summer is now upon us, and i bet you are gathering books to read on lazy days.  here's a list of authors and books that i read and reread a lot:



i discovered jennifer weiner about 5 years ago.  aside from being a cool girl from philly, many of her books' heroine's are ladies of, ahem, size like me.  my favorite book is little earthquakes.

incidentally, she has a new television series airing this summer called state of georgia starring raven simone.  should be interesting!




who doesn't love harry potter?!  i got hooked on harry after goblet of fire released in paperback (that's a dang long time!) and received the subsequent books the first day of release (thanks, amazon).  of course, part 2 of the deathly hallows comes out in a month, so you can bet i'll be there!

while i love the movies and their dazzling effects, you just can't beat the rich details of the books.  i think i enjoy imagining the characters and they usually are more exciting than any movie scene, in my imagination!



i read torey hayden's somebody else's kids as a reading requirement for a psychology class my last semester of college (exceptional children).  torey was a special education teacher and psychologist in a former life, and she shared her experiences in this books.  as a former social worker, i related to the stories and struggles of the children she worked with.  if you are a teacher or work with children, i highly recommend her books.  



i read douglas coupland's shampoo planet after my first year in college (nearly 20 years ago!) and was instantly addicted.  i related to his stories on gen X'ers and devoured his books as they were released.  two of my favorite books are microserfs and girlfriend in a coma.




ah, judy blume.  she was the beacon of coolness to us girls who grew up in the 70s and 80s (and beyond).  i read those books to rags (as evidenced that i had to buy all new "fudge" books for the boy as all of mine were missing covers and back pages).  she wrote about the hard things - periods, divorce, race relations - and above all friendships.  she has a few grown-up books - one of my favorites (and totally appropriate for beach reading) is summer sisters.  she hasn't written any adult novels for over a decade - it's time for a new one!



i also read a lot of oldies but goodies.

i must have half a dozen versions of the diary of anne frank, including a biography.  nearly 30 years later, i love anne and her musings.  after reading her words, i still wonder what kind of woman she would have grown up to be.

i picked up a copy of a tree grows in brooklyn by betty smith in a used bookstore for 50 cents many years ago.  i read that book until it literally disintegrated.  i also love joy in the morning - it's a little more obscure, but the story is dreamy.


i also love the little house books and reread these often.  i sorta named my daughter after laura ingalls wilder, that's how much of a fan i am.  (no really, she's named after a great great aunt.  who incidentally was named laura).  


i adore the tori miracle mystery novels by valerie malmont.  i think i borrow these books at least once a year from my library to the point that i'm considering buying a set for myself.  the author is another PA author, a native of chambersburg, and i enjoy imagining the area she writes about, which isn't very far from where i live.  


i also reread the alphabet mysteries/murders of sue grafton at least once a year.  i'm mostly through them now, i have to read b, c, d and e yet.  kinsey millhone is such a kickass gal, and i also enjoy imagining what her hometown looks like (it's based on real life santa barbara).  i wish i had her little apartment as my knit nook!




i guess you can tell i'm quite a bookworm!  if i'm not knitting, i'm reading!  i hope one of my favorites becomes one of yours!


the kids and i will be going to the library this year, as they have summer programming with stories, games, eats and crafts.  i missed taking the kids last year becos i was sick and it was so ungodly hot, but this year i plan on taking the kids all week (!!)  this should be interesting, chasing after the kiddos in a library!