Bad Kim! Bad!

So I got super behind on my Google Reader and JUST NOW saw that I was tagged by the oh-so-awesome Trish of Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'? to particpate in a Bookworm Tag!

Crap! What is my deal!?!

Trish thanks so much for thinking of me girl!

SO here's the rules once you're tagged:

*Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The CLOSEST BOOK, not your favorite or most intellectual.

Driving Sideways by Jess Riley:

"He smells like aftershave that cost more than my brother's house. 'Leigh, it's so great to see you!' I hug him back in self-defense. 'Hi, Seth!' I squeak. I clear my throat. 'Wow, you look great,' I say. I feel incredibly grubby all of a sudden, like I was the one sleeping under a park bench and giving myself French showers for three days."

I’m tagging two people: Janssen from Everyday Reading, and Sarah from The Last Book I Read.

USA Today - Topselling Books

I'm getting in on the action with the latest meme heading around the book blogosphere, it sounded interesting.

Bold what you've read, italicize what you own, star (*) books on your TBR list!

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
2. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution - Robert C. Atkins
3. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
7. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling, art by Mary GrandPre*
10. Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson
11. The South Beach Diet - Arthur Agatston
12. Tuesdays With Morrie - Mitch Albom
13. Angels & Demons - Dan Brown*
14. What to Expect When You're Expecting - Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway
15. The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
16. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom
17. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey
18. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
19. Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - John Gray
20. The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
21. Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter
22. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
23. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... And It's All Small Stuff - Richard Carlson
24. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
25. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
26. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
27. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
29. The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
30. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
31. A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
32. Oh, the Places You'll Go! - Dr. Seuss
33. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz
34. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
35. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
36. Body-for-Life - Bill Phillips, Michael D’Orso
37. New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
38. Night - Elie Wiesel, translations by Marion Wiesel and Stella Rodway
39. Chicken Soup for the Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
40. The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw
41. Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer*
42. The Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield
43. Wicked - Gregory Maguire
44. Good to Great - Jim Collins
45. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer*
46. Eragon - Christopher Paolini
47. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells*
48. Your Best Life Now - Joel Osteen
49. In the Kitchen With Rosie - Rosie Daley
50. Simple Abundance - Sarah Ban Breathnach
51. A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer
52. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey*
53. The Testament - John Grisham*
54. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
55. Deception Point - Dan Brown*
56. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
57. Marley & Me - John Grogan*
58. Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter - Robert C. Atkins
59. Life of Pi - Yann Martel*
60. The Brethren - John Grisham
61. The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide - Arthur Agatston
62. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham*
63. For One More Day - Mitch Albom
64. The Polar Express - Chris Van Allsburg
65. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
66. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
67. What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, Sandee Hathaway
68. Love You Forever - Robert Munsch, art by Sheila McGraw
69. Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
70. A Painted House - John Grisham
71. The Rainmaker - John Grisham
72. Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
73. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
74. The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
75. Life Strategies - Phillip C. McGraw
76. Seabiscuit: An American Legend - Laura Hillenbrand
77. The Summons - John Grisham
78. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
79. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien (never finished it with dad!)
80. The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
81. Goodnight Moon Board Book - Margaret Wise Brown, art by Clement Hurd
82. The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger
83. Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson
84. The Giver - Lois Lowry
85. Embraced by the Light - Betty J. Eadie
86. The Chamber - John Grisham
87. You: On A Diet - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
88. The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson
89. Holes - Louis Sachar
90. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
91. The Shack - William P. Young*
92. The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger
93. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
94. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
95. The Seat of the Soul - Gary Zukav
96. Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
97. The Partner - John Grisham
98. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (yuk! Couldn't get through the audio version!)
99. Eldest: Inheritance, Book II - Christopher Paolini
100. The Broker - John Grisham
101 The Street Lawyer - John Grisham
102 A Series of Unfortunate Events No. 1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
103 The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver (didn't finish it cause I really didn't like it)
104 Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
105 The King of Torts - John Grisham
106 The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
107 The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans
108 Hannibal - Thomas Harris
109 The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama
110 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
111 The Glass Castle: A Memoir - Jeannette Walls
112 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
113 The Last Juror - John Grisham
114 The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
115 Left Behind - Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
116 America (The Book) - Jon Stewart and The Writers of The Daily Show
117 The Red Tent - Anita Diamant*
118 John Adams - David McCullough
119 The Christmas Box - Richard Paul Evans
120 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants - Ann Brashares*
121 Sugar Busters! - H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, Luis A. Balart
122 Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
123 The Power of Now - Eckhart Tolle
124 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life - Don Piper, Cecil Murphey
125 The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien
126 1776 - David McCullough
127 The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller*
128 Where the Heart Is - Billie Letts
129 The Ultimate Weight Solution - Phillip C. McGraw
130 Protein Power - Michael R. Eades, Mary Dan Eades
131 Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff
132 Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
133 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
134 Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson, David Oliver Relin
135 You: The Owner's Manual - Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz
136 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List - Patricia Schultz
137 Self Matters - Phillip C. McGraw
138 She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
139 1984 - George Orwell
140 The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
141 The Millionaire Next Door - Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko
142 The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory*
143 The Zone - Barry Sears, Bill Lawren
144 The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
145 The Lost World Michael Crichton
146 Atonement - Ian McEwan
147 He's Just Not That Into You - Greg Behrendt, Liz Tuccillo
148 Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
149 The World Is Flat - Thomas L. Friedman
150 Cross - James Patterson

My Score:
Read: 26 books on the list. Look like I need to start reading some John Grisham!

Driving Sideways by Jess Riley

Hmmm....where do I begin with this one? OK, the positives first. Driving Sideways was extremely entertaining. The humor was awesome and I found myself laughing out loud numerous times. I picked this one up because I had seen a ton of great reviews and it sounded like an intriguing storyline.

But about halfway through, I noticed I kept flipping toward the back of the book checking to see how many pages I had left. And you know that's never a good sign. Three quarters of the way through and I'm getting ancy. By the last couple chapters I was aggravated by the pointless and drawn-out circumstances, it needed to wrap up already. Gosh I feel bad saying that!

It was cute, but I felt like it lost a lot of momentum toward the end and had potential to be a bit more engaging. Sorry guys, I was a bit disappointed with this one.

But seriously, I swear I'm the only one who didn't really care for it - there are way better reviews out there. Check them out below!

Bookshipper

S. Krishna's Books

Booking Mama

Description: Leigh Fielding wants a life. Seriously. Having spent the past five years on dialysis, she has one simple wish: to make it to her thirtieth birthday. Now, thanks to the generosity of the late Larry Resnick and his transplanted kidney, it looks like her wish may come true.

With her newfound vitality (and Larry’s kidney) in tow, Leigh hits the road for an excursion that will carry her from Wisconsin to California, with a few stops in between: Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Rockies, Las Vegas–and a memorable visit to thank Larry’s family for the second chance.

Yet Leigh’s itinerary takes a sudden detour when she picks up a seventeen-year-old hitchhiker, Denise, a runaway with a bunch of stories and a couple of secrets. Add a long-lost mother, a loaded gun, an RV full of swingers, and Hall and Oates’s Greatest Hits to the mix, and Driving Sideways becomes a hilarious and original journey of friendship, hope, and discovery

Recommend: sure, you might really like it.

Rating: ***1/2

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Aw yes, the oh so popular Twilight that we've all been hearing about!

I finally caved in after the peer-pressure of my friends and decided to give this popular series a try and see what all the fuss was about. Many of you know I'm a Christian, so the idea of reading a series on vampires didn't automatically appeal to me whatsoever, BUT I wasn't going to judge until I knew what exactly it was all about.

First of all, the book is geared towards young adults, so of course you can't expect the writing to be all spectacular and awe-inspiring. It does irritate me a bit that so many people criticize Stephenie Meyer's writing as amateur. HELLO!! It really wasn't intended for us adults in the first place people, get a grip!

Second, yes the book does center around vampires. But the interesting thing that I found, was that it wasn't about everyday people who had decided to join a cultic lifestyle and live their lives as vampires. As a matter of fact, the vampires in these stories are more mythical creatures than anything else. They are immortal beings who have been living for hundreds of years and trying to co-exist with humans peacefully by no longer partaking of human blood, but instead hunt animals. I actually thought of it as more of a fantasy/sci-fi story, like reading Lord of the Rings.

But the thing that I found the most fascinating was that the story very creatively conveys the struggle between the flesh (or soul) & the spirit. These vampires choose to deny themselves and their natural tendency to want to "sin" if you will, that they have gone so far as to set up boundaries and rules within their lifestyles in order to abstain. I know it may sound far-fetched to some of you, but I couldn't help but relate this to a Christian principle for my own life. We are all born into a sinful nature and a selfish way of living. But God gives us rules and boundaries to protect us, to live a life that doesn't harm one another but instead edifies. And yet as like the romance between Edward the vampire and Bella the human, we can flirt with sin, we can try to walk up as close to that line as possible thinking we're stronger than our natural tendencies and walk away unscathed but in reality, it will bring consequences to not only ourselves, but to those around us. There's a reason the cover of this book has an apple on the front - Bella is for Edward, the ultimate temptation.

I don't know about you all, but I was getting a lot more out of this book than just the story itself.

I very much recommend this book, I thought it was a very well crafted story and extremely easy to tear through. Shoot - I finished all 530 pages under 24 hours! You will not want to put it down once you've started! I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other three books in the series.

Those are just my two cents!!

Description: “I’D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE– I’d had reason enough in the last few months –but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. . . . Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of something else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.”When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret. What Bella doesn’t realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back. . . .Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight will have readers riveted right until the very last page is turned.

Recommend: Yes, but if I had kids, I wouldn't let them read it unless they were at least 16 years or older.

Rating: ***** (to read a 530 page book in less than 24 hours, for me has to be worth 5 stars!)