Book Slump

Okay, so I quit the Roger Ebert book too. I wanted to like it, I really did. And it had a few funny comments and anecdotes. But I ultimately gave up on it because:

*I had never heard of almost every single movie he hated... I guess there's a reason for that!

*It gets old to read about someone trashing movies that you've never heard of and have no desire to ever see.

So I abandoned it. Oh well. I feel like the past few books I've read have been totally blahsville. But life's too short to read bad books! Especially when there are so many great ones out there!!!

So into the Box of Book Titles I dug... (seriously, still need a damn name... I'm thinking something with a "lottery" theme... I work in Communications, damn it... why can't I think of something witty and clever???)

Shanghai Baby, by Wei Hui, which I coincidentally picked up at the same time as the Roger Ebert book. Here's a quick plot synopsis grabbed off goodreads:

"Set in the centuries-old port city of Shanghai, the novel follows the days, and nights, of the irrepressibly carnal Coco, who waits tables in a café when she meets her first lover, a sensitive Chinese artist. Defying her parents, Coco moves in with her boyfriend and enters a frenzied, orgasmic world of drugs and hedonism. But, helpless to stop her gentle lover's descent into addiction, Coco becomes attracted to a boisterous Westerner, a rich German businessman with a penchant for S/M and seduction. Now, with an entourage of friends ranging from a streetwise madame to a rebellious filmmaker, Coco's forays into in the territory of love and lust cross the borders between two cultures -- awakening her guilt and fears of discovery, yet stimulating her emerging sexual self. Searing a blistering image into the reader's imagination, Shanghai Baby provides an alternative travelogue into the back streets of a city and the hard-core escapades of today's liberated youth. Wei Hui's provocative portrayal of men, women, and cultural transition is an astonishing and brave exposure of the unacknowledged new China, breaking through official rhetoric to show the inroads of the West and a people determined to burst free."

Hmmm... sounds scandalous. And raunchy. This book was actually banned and burned in China. That intrigues me. I read a few pages already while eating dinner, but then my attention gravitated towards The Biggest Loser.

So my cold is almost completely gone. I attribute this to rest, fluids, and lots of vitamin A-and-C-filled fruits and veggies. I tried two new food products in the past two days (new to me, that is): Trader Joe's Low-Sodium Organic Butternut Squash Soup and the Apple Pie Larabar. I wasn't digging the squash soup last night all that much, but for some reason, tonight I liked it much better. Last night I just threw in some broccoli and crushed red pepper and thought it was eh. Tonight I added broccoli, peppers, onions, a dash of TJ's chile pepper sauce, and a few crushed BBQ soy chips. Yum! MUCH better. Now it's gone from "probably wouldn't buy it again" to "wouldn't go out of my way to buy it, but would throw it in my cart if I happened to see it and remember I didn't have any at home".

Not the case at ALL with the Apple Pie Larabar. I thought that was delicious!!! It tasted just like apple pie! It's now tied with Peanut Butter Cookie for my favorite flavor. Of course, I will have to eat each one a few more times before I can make a final decision. ;-) And there's still so many others I have to try. I need to restock on energy bars this weekend. I am running low.

Can't wait for tomorrow night! The Phillies are just ONE GAME AWAY from going to the World Series! They haven't been there in 15 years, and it is LONG overdue!!! :-) My adrenaline is rushing just thinking about it!!!! (I'll catch the debates during commercials... this is far too important to miss... I already know who I'm voting for anyway!)

Goodnight! :-)