Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

"One time, there this this lake and uh, it was right outside of town. We used to go fishin' and swimmin' and canoein' in it, and uh this one November this flock o'ducks came in and landed on that lake, and uh the tempurature dropped so fast that the lake froze right there and then the ducks, they flew off ya see and took the lake with them and uh, now they say that lake is over in Georgia..." Idgie Threadgoode


Never have a read a story with the most interesting and charming characters like this novel. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg is one of the most heartwarming novels I have read in a long time. I have loved this movie for years and never realized it was a book until a random viewing to the Simpsons. That's right I said the Simpsons! Who would have thought I would ever read a book that I discovered because of the Simpsons?



Apu: Quick, name your favorite movie, book and food.
Manjula: The answer to all three is Fried Green Tomatoes!


Like the movie, this books leaves you with a happy feeling. One of the appeals for me was reading about another time, a small town family as they grow through the good and the bad and the changing world around them. The characters are so easy to sympathizes with and you can't help but cheer for Evelyn as she learns of the Threadgoode family and learns more about herself than ever thought possible. If you haven't read this book or seen the movie, they are a must!!! Go to your locale library or movie rental place now! You will thank me later. You can also find the movie on Netflix instant streaming right now, so go watch it! I know I will!

I give this book a big 5 of 5 stars and I"m already planning to read it again one day!!!!
Are you reading yet?

Up Next, Marley & Me by John Grogan and Walk Away the Pounds: The Breakthrough 6-week program that helps you burn fat, tone muscle and feel great without Dieting By Leslie Sansone.
I hope to start the Walk Away the Pounds program tomorrow, if you haven't discovered her walking dvd/videos you should, they are great for anyone wanting to get fit or stay fit.

A Pile of Books Awaits....Thanks to my obsession with paperbackswap.com

A while ago I made a post about the book swapping network, paperbookswap.com, since then I have become obsessed! So far I have traded 15+ books! This is great except for the pile of books sitting in the living room floor yelling "Read ME! Read ME!!" And every time I get a new one in the mail the screams gets louder........I promise you I'm not crazy, at least not totally crazy.

With all that being said I now have plenty to keep me reading in the next few months. But I would still love book suggestions. Currently I'm reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg and hopefully will be finished and have my review posted by the end of this week.

The Lonely Hearts Club

Have you ever been sick of boys or dating, I know I have! Ha Ha Ha! This is story is about Penny Lane ( noticed the Beatles references yet?) , who is just plain feed up with the whole romance thing and decided to nix it all together at least until she is out of high school ( if only most high school girls were that smart!) Along with her friends and of course the Fab Four ( the only guys allowed) Penny begins the Lonely Hearts Club but love finds her anyway!!!!

I actually really liked this book, it was heartwarming, fun and there wasn't too much drama. I don't like teen novels where it's drama drama drama, it makes me nervous. I also felt it was easy to relate to, what girl do you know that doesn't love to love love or love to hate it? (say that 5 times fast, I dare ya! ) Plus, it was a very fast and easy read! In case you haven't noticed this is my 3rd book in two days!!! I originally picked this book up because of the review from Stephenie Meyer, if you don't know her all I can say is Twilight. She highly recommended it on her website in December 2009 and there was a review from her on the book's dust jacket. I read it because of what she had to say, "A must read for anyone who's ever fallen in love-or sworn it off completely. A funny, fantastic debut!" Oh yeah did I mention this is Elizabeth Eulberg's first novel?

My favorite part of this novel though was all the Beatles references, who doesn't like the Beatles! I was singing through the whole thing! I'm singing now....
"...... We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
We hope you will enjoy the show,
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Sit back and let the evening go.
Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's lonely,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band....."

Beatles + story I can relate too = 4.5 stars!

Maus II and Cook This Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide

After spending way to much time reading The Sweet Far Thing, it hasn't taken much time for me to catch up and be right on track for March. Since my post last night I have read TWO books!!!! They were easy and fast reads but it still counts! First, I read Maus II this is an autobiographical/biographical graphic novel by Art Spiegelman. This is the second in a set ( the first being Maus) focusing on Spiegelman's relationship with his elderly father and him interviewing his father about his time in Nazi Germany, before, during and after the war. He was a Jewish. He tells the story thorough the face of animals; Jews=Mice, Germans=Cats, American=Dogs and French=Frogs. How very Fitting.

I liked the way he told this story, there are so many holocaust survivor stories out there and because it's a graphic novel it's different. You don't just visualize the story but you see it through the panels. I have include an example to the left, this page is showing what his father when through when first arriving at Auschwitz, did I mention that he was a survivor of Auschwitz? This book as well as the first in the collection are, I think, good ways of reading about the Holocaust and what people really went through. I wouldn't recommending it for anyone younger than 12-13 because it can be graphic and doesn't hold back. It's also not for the faint of heart! However, I still like it and plan on reading both stories again one day. These books get 5 stars of 5!




On a Lighter note, I also read Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. This book was a real eye opener about what you might be eating and not really knowing what's in it. This is mostly a cook book and shows you how to get the most out of your food without all the calories. One of my favorite features of this book is how it compares the restaurant food with with a similar recipes that you can cook at home. In most cases it saves you over 500 calories!!! Whoa! This is one of a series and I plan on reading the others as well including Eat This, Not That ( the original), Eat This, Not That:Supermarket Survival Guide and Drink This, Not That. Hopefully, these will be just as informative and helpful. I plan to buy this book and use it often. 5 of 5 stars.

The Sweet Far Thing and Reading list for March

So I FINALLY finished The Sweet Far Thing!!!!! Much like the other two books in this trilogy this book was really really slow and dry. There was only one thing that kept me reading, Gemma's love interest Kartik. I just really wanted to know where those two ended up, for most of this book thought they were at odds, very much love/hate relationship. So even that couldn't hold my interest enough to read faster. As far as a good or bad ending to the story, it was both. I found the book way to long and full of mindless detail, there was much that could be left out of this 75 chapter book! But the conclusion of the story itself was rather decent. I ended the story, I wasn't wanting more. This series had the potential to be amazing but the author's need for drama brought it down. I wouldn't really recommend this book or the series, it wasn't nearly that good. I should have just stopped at the first book, I really liked the first book. The book gets 2 of 5 stars and the series gets 3 of 5 stars.

So I can finally get to my reading list for March. I have gone to library and checked out these books: The Lonely Hearts Club (Elizabeth Eulberg), Maus II: A Survivor's Tale (Art Spiegelman), Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (Fannie Flagg) and Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide ( David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding). Tune in to find out which one I'll read first....

Romancing Miss Bronte and Paperback Swap

Love the Bronte Sisters? How about a novel written about their own love lives? Be on of the first to get a FREE copy of Juliet Gael new novel Romancing Miss Bronte. Random House Publishers is offering a limited quantity of free copies to anyone who signs up! I found this deal on the blog southernsavers.com, follow this link and it will tell you how to get to the Random House site to sign up.
http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/03/free-novel-romancing-miss-bronte/

Also, My cousin has shared a website in which you can trade books.

"The website is called "Paperback Swap". You sign up for free, and you post books that you are willing to part with. If someone "orders" your book, you send your book to them. They don't pay you. After they receive the book you get a credit to your account. For each credit you earn, you can "order" any book. For free! They say postage on a typical paperback runs about $2.35. So, for each book you send for under $3, you get a free book. Basically you are paying postage for your books. Yay!

To ship the book, you print postage on a piece of paper, and wrap it around the book (like a present) and drop it in the mail. You don't need to buy an envelope or box or anything!"

Here is that site http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php They also have DVD swap and CD swap.

What to do in March....

Thought I'm still not done with The Sweet Far Thing ( I assure you I will get there! ), I'm already thinking about what to read next. And frankly, I haven't got a clue. I have a pile of books on the shelf that need, no WANT, to be read but not sure if I'm ready for those books. So I want to know, is there anybody out there that has a super awesome book that I HAVE to read? Tell me, I really want to know!