My name is christine and I am a book whore

I remember as a kid, my most prized possession was my complete set of hard-bound Bobbsey Twins books. It was a present from my mom and dad. One Christmas they gave us all books: my brother got The Hardy Boys and my 2 older sisters got Nancy Drew. I was so excited!

It couldn’t have come at a better time. I had practically memorized my Enid Blyton & Judy Blume paperbacks and my tattered, dog-eared favorite Wizard of Oz . Though I loved these books I needed something new, a new adventure. And Bert, Nan, Flossie & Freddie were only too happy to oblige.

That is about as far back as I can remember to the beginnings of my passion for books and reading. After I finished the entire volume of my sisters’ Nancy Drew and my brother’s Hardy Boys, I moved on to other “big kid” books, then to “young adult” like Sweet Valley High , and then more mature books like Danielle Steele, Sidney Sheldon, Garbiel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Stephen King, John Grisham, picked up classics like The Catcher in the Rye, and then before I knew it , I was obsessed.

Sometimes, like now, I bite off more than I can chew. I am currently reading five books at the same timeThey are:

Travelling Light by Sarah Webb

This is a collection of short stories, all related to travel, written by Ireland's top women writers. Some are funny, some are sad, some are inspiring. It's a wonderful blend of different writing styles and personalities. This makes for perfect summer reading. :)

He's Just Not That Into You The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo

I watched Behrendt talk about this book on Oprah and had the chance to watch him speak live while he was in Manila promoting the book (picture below) and I thought he was pretty funny so I bought the book. I am about 1/3 through it, and so far so good. He is blunt, which I like and very funny. He's not claiming to be an expert on relationships, but an expert on what he is, a man.

So if this book doesn't enlighten you on the mysteries (or lack of really) of the male species, it would at the very least entertain you. Behrendt is, btw, a story editor on Sex and the City.

Hemingway Adventure by Michael Palin

I have just recently developed an obsession with Cuba, thanks to Peter Moore's book The Full Montezuma. So in my search for books on the country, I found this. Palin retraces the steps of Ernest Hemingway from his birth in Illinois and all around the world until his death, taking pictures and telling stories along the way interspersed with pieces from Hemingway's past and quotes from Big Papa himself.

I don't know very much about Hemingway but I do know that a large part of his life was spent in Cuba, 20 years to be exact. And like in all other places he lived in, he spent a lot of time with the locals, and through his journey around the globe and Palin's writing skills we get more than a glimpse of places off the beaten track and things you would normally not find in guide books.

French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

A friend of mine lost a great deal of weight after reading this book! And of course I needed to try it for myself. :) Read her review here!

Why Do Men Have Nipples? Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini by Mark Leyner& Billy Goldberg

Have you ever wondered why asparagus makes your pee smell bad?, or what goose bumps are?, and even how people in wheel chairs have sex? Leyner and Goldberg, a novelist and physician respectively, provide witty and often hilarious answers to many questions you've often wondered about yet never really asked.

Now mind you, these are well-researched answers, but though informative the book seeks more to entertain rather than be medical reference material. Being the curious cat that I am, I just had to get this.

So tell me, what are you reading? :) I'd love to hear your recommendations!