Airhead and Being Nikki

Meg Cabot is brilliant. I know it's wrong to gush about authors and books, but I am such a HUGE fan and this series does not disappoint.


Em Watts is a (sort of) regular teenage girl. She considers herself to be a feminist, she fights the good fight for the environment and is against big business. She hates Stark, the big corporate mega store. Nikki Howard is a 16 year old supermodel with perfect hair and long legs. She happens to be the spokes model for Stark. During a Stark Mega-store opening, which Em's sister Freida has to attend, Em is killed by a giant flat-screen television that falls on her. At the exact same time, Nikki suffers a brain disorder and is killed instantly. Stark, not wanting to lose a great model, transfers Em's brain into Nikki's body. Unfortunately, Em now has to do a lot of things she hates, like model. She also gets all the perks like a cool loft in Manhattan, a crazy roommate, and a built-in boyfriend. Em has to adjust to everything in her life, including friends, family and her own viewpoints about the world to accommodate her new body. The second book has a great plot that turns into a mystery when Nikki's brother comes to town and Em finds out Nikki's mother is missing and has been for months.

Meg Cabot seems to also have something to say about the way consumerism and industry has worked over the past few years. She makes sly comments about capitalism and sometimes you can hear her views on how big business effects small town life. Meg definitely has a point of view on this and is able to express that in a fun and interesting way. You may not agree with her on this, and that's okay because she doesn't ram it down your throat.

Overall, this is a great series and I will be reading Runaway, as soon as a copy gets turned back into the library. Sometimes, it's difficult to wait.

Great Expectations: Airhead and Being Nikki

It's time again to start reading. Now that summer is almost here and the holidays are done, it might be time to start looking at some fun reads. I've decided to combine 2 books. I know what you are thinking, "it takes you forever to get through 1! How will you ever do 2?" I understand your concern. Fortunately, I've moved, so now I have a commute! You know what that means, don't you? Books on CD and downloadable books! Yes, all available free at my library! It's so exciting! This doesn't mean I'll be skipping my graphic novels, manga, and books that I can't get on CD, but it does open up a whole new world.

This week, I'm going to be "reading" the Airhead series by Meg Cabot. I use the quotation marks because really, I will be listening to the books. I used to be able to say that I had read everything by her and then she started just putting out tons of books! I think she publishes massive amounts every year. She has several series going right now. She did the Princess Diaries, the Allie Finkle series, Queen of Babble, Avalon High (my personal favorite), and several adult books like Insatiable.

From the cover of the books and the back blurb, it looks like Meg Cabot will be delving into Science Fiction. Em Watts and Nikki Howard somehow die and Em's brain gets put into Nikki's body. This wouldn't be terrible, except for the fact that Nikki is actually a super model. With all of Meg's books, there is mystery, romance, and teen angst, so I'm sure this brain transplant will cause some drama. There is a third book in the series called Runaway, so if it's a great series, then I guess I'll have to read that one, too.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

*Spoiler Alert* I will tell you the whole plot in this post!

Chick lit is a great escape for those of us who read a lot of different books. I have to say, sometimes I really like to read books that I don't really have to think about. This was not one of those books. I did not like this book at all.

Rebecca Bloomwood is dissatisfied with her life, her job, and, well, pretty much everything. She starts the book badly by getting credit card bills that she can't afford. At this point, I'm sure I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her, but I can't. She decides that to fix this, she needs to buy more things and the book just gets worse from there. She dates a guy who she hates just because he has money. Then she looks through his checkbook while at dinner. Again, I'm sure I'm supposed to feel sorry for her, but I don't. She consoles herself by spending more money. She has no idea how to fix her problems and does not succeed in doing anything but getting herself in deeper with her problems by running her mouth and not listening to anyone. Oh, and running up her credit cards.

In the end Rebecca Bloomwood is a girl I would never be friends with, can't identify with, and grew to dislike. I'm sure Sophie Kinsella didn't mean for this to happen. The only redeeming quality of the book was that is was easy to read and fairly well written. I am sure she has written other things that I might enjoy. Perhaps I will pick up one of those someday.

Great Expectations: Confessions of a Shopaholic

It's summer. For me, this means root beer floats, fudgecicles, and silly books. I call these books brain candy, meaning, you don't have to really think about them and they leave you wanting more.

For my summer read, I am choosing Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. First off, the cover is pink. As you know, I like cover art and pink is my favorite color, so it appears it will be a match made in heaven.

I have seen the movie and I thought it was cute and funny. It wasn't Oscar worthy, but then again, what is? (That's a completely different blog post for another time) I expect the book to also be cute and funny. On of my co-workers indicated the series was one of her favorites and went to pick up the newest one while I checked out my copy.

I hope it lives up to it's reputation!