Sh*t My Dad Says ... What does your Dad say?

I came across this book, Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern while surfing the days' bestsellers at work one day and absolutely had to put it on hold. My friend's son do not call me 'potty mouth' for nothing!

Firstly, best title ever! Secondly, the format is perfect for this hilarious piece of non-fiction. And lastly, because my own Dad's favorite saying was something like 'lord dying dancing devils on the lot of ya', it is even more funny to know that Halpern's own father was like this.

Now, I cannot and will not give too much away with this unique piece, but I will pick out my favourite quote from 'Dad'. It goes a little like this, On Today's Hairstyles "Do people your age know how to comb their fucking hair? It looks like two squirrels crawled on their head and started fucking" (149). Now this so funny to me, especially since my Dad would have something to say every time my Mom, my sisters, and I would come home with a new hair cut or hair colour. He would always say Mom's hair looked like a birds nest and laugh!

My Dad currently is balding, but in a very gentlemanly way and keeps what is there very short. That is Karma Dad!

If you haven't read this, and do not mind a whole lot of vulgar language content, you must read it. And then tell me your favourite quote.

Believe it or not, I did watch the movie first!

I don't normally watch a movie if I haven't read the book first, and I probably do not need to tell you why - the book is always better! I will admit, some book movies are great, they just do not capture the storyline as it is in print.

I watched 'The Lightning Thief' when it came out on DVD and really enjoyed it. Then, because of that, I had to read the book. I know, it was published in 2005 and I am just now getting to it. Honestly, I wasn't all that interested in it before I watched the movie (it usually don't happen like this).

So, did the book meet my after movie expectations? Oh yes! Knowing what was going to happen put a bit of a damper on the reading, but it was still a great story. Also, the movie made some adjustments that they needed to make the movie good, so the book was like the last cookie in the bag (and you ate all the others), but with icing and sprinkles added!

Needless to say, I put the next two books in the series, Percy Jackson and The Olympians on hold and am waiting with anticipation.

Have you read any books in this series yet? If so, did you like it?

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Just the very title of this book made me want to hold it and peek into the endless possiblities of what could make me happy!



I came across this book one day work while I was processing holds. I read the inside flap and thought, "I might like this". I put it on hold for myself (I was 150 or something on the wait list) and forgot about it. Later on, I came across it again when I was reading The Reader.

It finally came in for me and I was thrilled. I really needed to find out what could make me happy (it was a long week!) I dove into it with anticipation and even prepared myself with paper and pen for ample note taking. Rubin did stuff her happiness project with goals and changes that no normal person could achieve. She is a mother of two, married, and works as a writer from home - I figured I could achieve some of them too!

It was a great book all in all, I however, had some difficulity in the last few chapters. I struggled to finish it and I have no idea why. I think Rubin's writing style may have shifted a little more to the research she done to complete her happiness project, and less on her actual everyday life.

So, did I find out how to me more happy? Yes and no. Rubin's tactics to keep her more positive in her attitude and actions helped; as did her remedies to be more sentistive, healthly, and loving. However, if one was to do every little thing that Rubin did in a year....well, let me know!

Some of the things that I ended up jotting down about the book included:
The Four Stages of Happiness (108)
1. Anticipate it
2. Savor it
3. Express happiness
4. Recall a happy memory

Her take on 'blank books' (120) - your average blank journal
'Interest log' (128) - love this one, probably could fill out an entil blank book with all my interests!
'Happiness box'(132) - this one I love too. I am actually in the process of gathering a few things to make a happiness box for a friend.
And finally, Rubin is a BIG library supporter, and thus, wins in my eyes regardless of the struggles I had to finish her book.

So, have you read The Happiness Project, and if so, what were your thoughts on it? What are some of your techniques to keep happy?

Lesley Crewe

Canadian Author Leslie Crewe is one fantastic writer! I loved the first book I read by her so much so, that I went in search of another with high expectations and is happy to say was thrilled.

Judging the book by its cover, and how could you not, I borrowed Ava Comes Home from the library and just ate it up. I eyed the beautiful cover while shelving books one day at the library and pulled it out to read the summary. Bare in mind, I initially thought this book was going to be too much on the ChickLit Genre side for me to fully enjoy. I'm not saying that I don't enjoy a good chicklit every now and then, I just wasn't in the mood for one at the time.

I love the split setting of this book: one part in Ava's work life in L.A and the other in her childhood home life of Glace Bay, Cape Breton. This rural life setting appeals to me when it is portrayed correctly, and Crewe hit the spot perfectly, as I grew up in rural Newfoundland and is all too familiar with the tight net connections that make the community.

From the very beginning, I knew Ava was hiding something and that drove me to read to find out what. I completed the book in two days (I worked 7 hours each day as well), and loved the twist and element of a mysterious dark secret that Crewe wove into the storyline. It kept me wanting and needing to know what the secret was!


Upon borrowing the second book, Crewe blew me away again with her characters and plot twists in Relative Happiness. I was drawn in by the summary on the back of this novel and started reading with glee! Again, a local setting sets it up and I suddenly was working along side Lexie at the local library!

I liked how Crewe portrayed Lexie as a normal woman: frizzy hair, curves, and a strong sense of independence without portraying her as a high power female we see in today's media. I did not see Lexie as a single white female with her job and house, but rather as a regular person - someone that could be my very own neighbour. I love how Lexie dealt with real life situations and their consequences.

Crewe did it again with a nice twist to keep me reading at full speed. There wasn't a big mysterious secret embedded into this novel, but the actual storyline was intriguing enough to me reading at full speed. Needless to say, I was fully satisfied with the ending as I was with Ava.

Have you read any of Lesley Crewe's books? If so, what are your thoughts?

Welcome!

This is the beginning of what I hope to become a vast resource that book lovers everywhere will enjoy as much as I do creating, writing, commenting, and expanding. As you can tell, I am a book lover. I love to read and when I do, I take notes... lots of notes! I was wondering what I could do with them when I finished the book, documented the title and author in my directory, and chatted about it to my friends and co-workers.

I am currently reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin and she starts a blog. I was captivated by her blog and went in search for blog books at the library the very next day! I am an avid follower with the libraries blog www.thereader.ca where I work and started to look not just at the blogs themselves, but its structure. I was very curious about this 'blogging'.

After picking the brain of the number one person, my husband David, I decided to create a blog dedicated to my thoughts, comments, and all those notes I take on the books I plough through.

Beware, you will not just find one genre or type of book on here. I read everything: fiction, non-fiction, children's and young adult literature, even baking and jewerly design books. And, I truely hope you will also decide to comment and even blog on some of your favourite books.

Now, back to my book...