Blah. Had some moments, but there was too much old-man sex for my taste. The foreshadowing at the end had me rolling my eyes.

Fun chick-lit read about a woman who grew up at a London finishing school after being adopted by the owners. Now an adult, she is roped into offering business advice for the now sadly out-of-date and out-of-money school. She suggests a new, updated curriculum with things that modern women are expected to know but are rarely taught, like "how to eat sushi without embarrassing yourself," "how to look good while being photographed in public," "how to walk in high heels," "what to carry in your purse," and "how to buy your first house."

Entertaining read about an American who reluctantly heads to Brittany for the summer with his girlfriend. They break up, but he has fallen in love with the place and, without really meaning to, buys a home there. The way he tells it, Greenside blunders along with barely any knowledge of the language or "how things work," and hopes that the good people of Brittany will take pity and show him the ropes, which they do.

Fabulous book about a great experiment. Reese goes through a huge list of grocery store items and figures out how to make them all from scratch. She then includes recipes and a comparison of how the homemade version compares to the store version in taste, cost, and hassle. (Example: buy the ketchup, make the bread crumbs.)

She also talks about her adventures with chickens, goats, bees, and other critters. It's just a great read and I'm asking for a copy of my own for Christmas because I want the recipes!

Note: Reese is very, very clear though on the part where nobody actually has time to make ALL these things from scratch. But thanks to her book, you'll know which products give you the most bang for your buck (and time) and you'll have a great recipe to try.

Entertaining, unsentimental memoir about growing up in the Midwest during the Great Depression. Got off to a slow start for me but picked up once I started listening to the audiobook in the car. A great remedy if you're finding yourself wallowing in Consumer/Digital Age concerns. :-)

Hilarious quick read--I kept nudging my husband to read excerpts out loud. Love her voice!

Blah. Way too jumpy, way too many protagonists (couldn't keep them straight), and all of them are single girls in their 20s who hate their jobs and spend their time getting drunk and dating losers. Made it halfway through and gave up.

Was in the mood for a light romance. It did the trick, although I don't know that I would urge anyone else to go read it.