Books: Uglies series, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

I have made an effort to keep reading books over the last few months. For one thing, listening to audio books makes the days at work go faster. For another thing, it keeps me sane and somewhat connected to the adult world.

In order to stay connected to the adult world, what have I been reading? Teen fiction, of course.
Well, the reality is that it is really tough and competitive to find the audio books of popular NY Times best sellers, or books on the Oprah Book Club list at the library. For one of these books I am currently #34 in a line of 94 people in line for the book, and I have been on the wait list for something like 3 months at this time.

So I resorted to reading teen fiction. Which was a mistake.

First, I read The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield. It had a good sci-fi sounding premise which could have lead to an awesome trilogy, but somehow... it never did. What happened was that, in spite of an interesting plot, the main character spent all her time mooning over her relationship with boys and her inner turmoil about whether to become what other people wanted her to be and WHAT THAT MEANT. I made it through 3 books of this babbling nonsense before I gave up. I tried reading the "Extra" book, which is the fourth book, but I wanted to poke my eyes out after 2 chapters so I gave up.

Next I read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer. This is a spin-off of the Twilight series. It was a good read in many ways, because it was Stephenie Meyer. And at least I was familiar with the world it was set in. It made one afternoon at work pass quickly. But it was, indeed, short. Too bad. Also, if you have seen Eclipse, you know how it's going to end for the main character, which is kind of a bummer.

 I have repented of my reading-crappy-books phase and am back to books that have at least a slim chance of not sucking. I have successfully procurred from the library: The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf, and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Those are the audio books. In "real" physical books, I am also attempting to read The Dual Earner Marriage by Jack and Judith Balswick, as well as Women Leaving the Workplace by Larry Burkett. I have The Myth of the Perfect Mother by Carla Barnhill as well, but have not started it yet. Obviously, we are trying to make some decisions over here, and I am hoping these books might help.

There you have it. Growin' my brain and whatnot. Feel free to leave suggestions or join me on Goodreads!