So far... not much progress!

Ok. So, no posting yet. Have any of you read your books? I am hoping so! I forgot to get Our Bastard Tongue from the Salls, so I am hoping to pick it up soon. I know Romano finished (and enjoyed) The Geography of Bliss... and I will send it along shortly.

Love and miss you guys!
A

The Books of the Year

Aaron and Jelena, this is going to spoil your Christmas/Hanukkah surprise a bit, but here's the impetus for Hot 'n Sassy Grubs...

My gift to you all this year is a selection of books that made me think of you -- books I think you each will enjoy. I've written notes to each of you inside the books -- marking things I think you will enjoy and places where I thought of you.

But... there's more!

So, when you are done with you book, send it on to the next person on the list. That way over the year we will all read some of the same books. And this is the place to chat about them (and other stuff, too).

Here are the books:

For Jelena... Wesley the Owl: the Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl
I chose this because it is a sweet and lovely story, and you are both sweet and lovely!

For Aaron... Wine and War: the French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
Let's see: wine, war, and a good adventure story. Sounds like Aaron!

For Ruth... French by Heart: an American Family in La Belle France
The author is a friend of mine, and her family's adventures in France are fun and funny.

For John... Cooking for Kings: the Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef
This book is great and even has recipes from Careme's kitchen -- which I am sure John will make for us all.

For Terra... Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan
Terra is going to Japan for the first time this year, and this is one of the best books I read before my first trip. It's written by Bruce Feiler, one of my favorite writers.

For Romano... the Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World
This book was written by Eric Weiner, a writer I met at a conference this summer. It is fascinating, funny, and really interesting, too.

And Ruth and John gave me... Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
I'm excited to read this, too!

So, I will post an order in the sidebar to the right. When you are done with your book, send it on to the next person in the list.

The 100 Page Test
I will give just about any book 100 pages. But if by then I'm not enjoying the book, I stop reading and move on to something else. No one will be hurt if you don't enjoy every book on this list -- or if you have to invoke the 100 Page Test.

Oh, and one more thing...
You can tag your comments about a particular book with the book title. That way as you are reading a book, you can see all of the comments people have made about a particular book over the months.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! And Happy Reading!

I'm first!

I made it here first. so there. Looking forward to New Years 2009 already.

There may not be grubs in the picture, but at least we've got Hot, Sassy, and Santa Dog (you can figure out who's who).