Playing Catch Up

I just noticed that I have four unreviewed books, so I'll take care of that before it gets too out of hand.

Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler is the true story of an American teacher who traveled to Japan to teach English for a year. It talks about the differences between Japanese and American culture and educational systems. I learned a lot of things about Japan by reading this book which was nice, but I also thought it was a little dry. If you're interested in Japanese culture or education you would probably like this book, but don't expect it to be a page turner.

He's Just Not that Into You by Greg Behrendt offers a lot of practical dating advice in a lighthearted manner. It's cute, but it's mostly common sense stuff that we single chicks need to be reminded of from time to time. Stuff like, "If he isn't calling you back when he says he will and makes tons of excuses, he's not that into you. If he was, he would go out of his way to follow through with what he says he's going to do." <-- My summary, not an actual quote from the book. It's a quick, easy read.

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult delves into the paranormal, ghost hunters, the Vermont Eugenics movement, suicide, the after life, and a few love stories intertwined together. I like this author and will probably read just about anything she churns out, but I didn't love this book. This is not subject matter that I would normally gravitate toward, so it could be that it just didn't hold my attention because it just wasn't my thing. For the record, the rest of the Bookcrossing journalers for this particular book loved it.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris is a collection of funny and off-the-wall Christmas-themed short stories. Sedaris is a very funny guy...sometimes. And sometimes his humor falls flat. This book had its moments, but it's nowhere near as good as Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Those are Sedaris at his Best.