Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves by Renn, Crystal

Surprisingly good. I don't know why I was shocked by this. I have always been impressed by Crystal Renn and her ability to overcome the hard horrible world of the supermodel. The story is told well, and I found myself getting sucked in. After knowing a lot of people who have had eating disorders, it takes someone who is strong to realize the errors of her ways. I didn't read every word of the last half mainly because I needed to get it back to the library, but I did enjoy it. It was something different and it might have gotten out of my reading slump.

Die Happy: 499 Things Every Guy's Gotta Do While He Still Can by Burke, Tim and Michael Burke

Clearly my "trashy novel" run continues. I though this would be a typical guys doing guys thing. It was way better than that. It was more like a travel book. It talked about festivals, Mardi Gras and Carnival included, but also covered the best places to golf, hike, or just get away from the world.

It was surprisingly well written and full of interesting facts. I didn't know that they have a special superdome made for sambas for Carnival.

Because there was no plot and no pictures, it did drag on a bit. I did lots of skimming, but still it was fun to see what two guys thought every other guy should do before "it's too late."

Getting in touch with your inner bitch by Hilts, Elizabeth

Again, my version of a trashy novel...or so I thought. I picked this up because I wanted something fun to read. The fact that it was mostly pink almost turned me off. I took a chance, and I'm glad I did.

Hilts talks about toxic niceness, something many people suffer from because they would rather please others than say what was on their mind. The quotes were fabulous all from good strong women. I have flagged pages with quotes I want to reread, pages I loved comments on, I even went so far as to WRITE in this book. I know the horror.

It's a quick read, but something I needed to get me out of my reading funk.

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Gilman, Susan Jane

This book was AWESOME! I think everyone should read or listen this book. I would recommend listening to it because it was abridged and I didn't feel that much was missing from the story.

This is a great tale of youth and the naiveness that happens so often with youth. Two young women decided to backpack through China shortly after they open the borders to Westerners. This book reads like a thriller at times and often you find yourself saying "no they really aren't going to do that." Only to find out that they really are.

Their luck is impressive and I am sure I wouldn't have had a similar situation.

It is a great look at China back before it became commercialized.

Highly recommended.