flat belly diet.

I am not going to sit here and tell you that I tried "The Flat Belly Diet" (by Liz Vaccariello & Cynthia Sass) and lost hundreds of pounds and am now as sexy as Megan Fox. I am not much for dieting, so what I am going to do is tell you why I think this book WOULD work for those of you looking to drop some LB's.

A weight loss program is a LIFESTYLE. If you look inside this book, and hate everything about the recipes, you probably wont be able to permanently change your lifestyle. The overview is basically 4 meals at 400 calories each. They incorporate a lot of "good fats" like nuts in many of the recipes. This diet is based on filling meals, to avoid the biggest cause of weight gain - cravings and HUNGER.

Many of those who have tried this diet, have succeeded in losing a lot of weight, especially around their middle. Now there's a good reason to give it a go!

**to win a copy of this book: please e-mail your name, address and book title to jenileerose@yahoo.com!

GIVE ME HUMOR OR GIVE ME DEATH.

When it comes to reading anything political, humor will get you everywhere my friend. I may not always agree, but if an author is boring, I wont even take the time to read the book.

Glenn Beck's "Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government," was absolutely hilarious. I especially loved the side bars and his "A.D.D. Moments." Do I agree with everything he says? Absolutely not. But I have got to give him the respect he deserves for giving his opinions to us, (unplugged!) He uses real life quotes to support his ideas, but definitely goes out of his way to make the person look as bad as possible. But I say, good for him!

Here's a brief example of an A.D.D. Moment: "By Adjusting the top rates and reducing windfalls paid out to some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation, we can help restore a sense of equity and fairness that is critical to the success of our voluntary tax system." Beck retaliates with "I always love when politicians call our tax system "voluntary," as though people have a choice whether or not to pay them. Ask Wesley Snipes how voluntary it is to file a 1040."

My opinion? Yeah, our taxes are voluntary, but if you don't pay, you go to prison! You get the idea, this book is great!

Dexter.

I am going to switch it up a little bit and focus on an author. I mean, they are the most important part of a book, aren't they? I adore Pete Dexter, I find his writing rather magical. He's a bit of a smart ass, and gets to the point. He doesn't sit there running readers around in circles, he has a distinct voice that he displays in his writing that does his characters justice. His characters are extremely memorable, and everyone has a role.

Dexter's newest novel, "Spooner" opens with two deaths. First, with our main character Warren Spooner's birth. His twin brother, was still born, which leaves his mother devastated forever. The second death results in a burial at sea for Congressman Rudolf Toebox.

The stage is set, now it's up to you to experience the rest of this masterpiece.

**to win a copy of this book: please e-mail your name, address and book title to jenileerose@yahoo.com!

Ace the GRE!

When preparing for an insanely important test like the GRE (The Graduate Record Examination) it is very helpful to find a study guide that is user friendly. "Cracking the GRE 2010 Edition" is exactly that, helpful AND user friendly. It gives also gives you the specific learning techniques you need to score big, for instance how to be organized while taking the test. It will help you save precious time.

The Princeton Review shows you exactly what you need to do to score high on this Graduate School entrance exam. Especially for those of you who have been out of college for decades, and need to brush up on subjects like math, this book will save your life!

My advice, grab a copy of this book, take advantage of the online resources and TAKE THOSE PRACTICE TESTS!

Patterson.

The new installment of the Alex Cross series "Alex Cross's Trial" is another hit for James Patterson. Some may even consider it a recovery from his summer book "Swimsuit." It is filled with a lot of issues of interest, focusing mostly on race in the South. If you think our government is ridiculous now, just imagine what it would be like to live in 1906 (which is the time period this book is written in).

You all should be aware that the title is a bit deceiving. It is not really about Alex Cross, but Abraham Cross, one of his ancestors and also lawyer Ben Corbett. Corbett fights a case for the Cross family. It is quite intriguing.

How ironic that we have a black president when this book comes out. It just goes to show you how we can evolve as a country.

TENNIS LOVERS.

Oh, Serena Williams...if you consider ALL publicity to be good publicity, then I wouldn't worry about getting fined ten grand at the US Open, for losing your temper and saying that you would slam a "fucking" ball down a line judge's throat only a few weeks after your book was released.

If you don't however, you may be a little worried about Americas perception of you and your little tantrum.

Listen everyone, I am here to tell you to pick up a copy of her autobiography "One The Line" regardless of the little stunt she pulled. Nobody is perfect, and this book is worth the read. It fills in the blanks of her childhood, where she grew up, the relationship with her sister, Venus and how their father taught them the game of tennis.

Get ready to develop a better understanding of this tennis superstar!

greatest teen book EVER.

So I've basically been obsessed with reading, forever. Especially as a young teen, my head was always stuck in a book, Judy Blume, The Babysitters Club, The Secret Garden, etc. Lizzie Shurnick's "Shelf Discovery" is pretty much the greatest thing ever. She filled the pages with tid bits of all the popular books (from the 60's to the 80's) that every teen reads eventually (or should read!)

The classics: Harriet The Spy, Nancy Drew, Little House on the Prairie, and many other wholesome adolescent stories are all there in this one book. Seriously, someone should have thought of this years ago!

You will never get tired of this book!

TO WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK E-MAIL jenileerose@yahoo.com, your name, address and book title!

the middle east.

Okay, before I begin this next review, think to yourself. Are you interested in the Middle East? Are you curious as to what is true and what is false in all of the conflict with the Middle East? Do you not understand half of what is going on over there, and would like some one to explain it to you? Do you believe in God, in the sense that you believe Jesus will return and save us Christians? If you answered yes to any of these questions, pick up a copy of "Blood in the Sand: The Middle-East Conflict" by Benny Hinn.

I am not going to say that Hinn answered every question completely clear and concise. The Middle East Conflict is so complex, but he definitely helped me make more sense of the mess.

gourmet rhapsody.

Muriel Barbery proved her fabulousness in "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" and has done it again with her newest off-center titled work "Gourmet Rhapsody."

The greatest food critic (or so he calls himself) in the world is on his death bed. It is his heart that is failing, NOT his ego. But anyways, he is looking for a certain taste. One he knew as a child, but he cannot put his finger on what it was. It may sound silly, but the book is actually really good and there is much more to this man than you may think.

The setting is in the same apartment building (in Rue de Grenelle) as the first novel, but in a different room. You can just imagine how long this could go on, my hope is that the lovely author goes through every room.

the good thief.

12- year-old Ren has only one hand and is an orphan in New England. The only clue to his background were the clothes he was wrapped in when he was found as a baby, they were embroidered with the initials R.E.N. thus his name. Hmm, mystery.

He hooks up with this kid Benjamin who claims to be his long lost brother, when really he is just a pathological liar. Takes Ren under his wing, you can just imagine what a role model. Ha, he gets our boy Ren involved in the lifestyle of law breaking and thievery. Curious? I thought so.

Author, Hannah Tinti writes a bit old fashioned (in a good way). "The Good Thief" is her first novel and is definitely worth the read.

*** WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK!: e-mail the book title, your name & address to jenileerose@yahoo.com

vivid memoir

Born in poverty in the 1930's Kamila was forced into marriage with a man twice her age when she was thirteen, and a mother when she was fifteen, GROSS. And, FYI: she was in love with someone else! The author of "The Locust and the Bird", Hanan al-Shaykh helps tell her mother, Kamila's story. It is written beautifully in first person, with Kamila herself as the narrator.

So she puts up a fight on having to get married to this gross guy named Abu-Hussein because she's in love with Muhammad, not that she would want to marry the old guy anyway. Regardless her stupid husband knocks her up, (unwillingly on her part) but since she is hardcore in love with Muhammad she ends up having a long lasting affair with him...

Okay, it's a long story, you should just read it before I spoil anything else.

book to movie!

We have all heard of the movie "Julie and Julia" that has recently hit the big screen and has done pretty well in the box office. The reviews of the movie are quite good, and this review on the book is no different.

"Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously" by Julie Powell, is fantastic. It does not bore us to death about the art of cooking, it's cute, and laugh out loud funny. You can relate to Julie, working a terrible 9-5, knowing there's something more out there, a life with more meaning. It makes you want to start up a new hobby, whether it's cooking or something else that you have an interest in.

Ignore any bad reviews you read, seriously, the movie AND the book (especially) are great.

shakespeare.

Believe it or not, "My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs and Shakespeare" looks at William Shakespeare in a DIFFERENT point of view than I have ever read. Which is crazy because throughout school I have read every Shakespeare play and have written countless papers. Yet, Jess Winfield's new book is a breath of fresh air.

Picture Shakespeare's story, interspersed with the story of Willie Shakespeare Greenberg, a Master's student working on his thesis on Shakespeare and joining him on his road to self discovery.

I'm not going to say it's super scholarly, I doubt you'll be able to talk your English Professor to switch over to this piece of work, but it is extremely enjoyable!

female friendship.

You will love Lucinda Rosenfeld's "I'm So Happy for You." With crazy main characters Wendy Murman and BFF Daphne Uberuff and their lives full of drama, you will either relate completely, or just be glad you don't have these type of friends. With friends like these, who needs enemies? Not that they don't love each other, but really, these chicks are chaotic.

We all have had situations where we are either the friend who has it together, or the one that doesn't. You are either the needy one, or the one who is the rock. Well, what happens when the dynamic changes? Your life either gets better, or much, much worse? How do you handle the difference? Wendy and Daphne explore this first hand.

It's a bit catty, but really effing funny. Give it a go.

stupid gas.

Gas. We hate spending our money on it, but we just can't live without it, eh? "$20 Per Gallon" by Christopher Steiner discuses the changes that will occur in our lifestyles as the gasoline prices increase. Sounds boring? Of course it does, but it's not as bad as you think trust me.

Steiner argues that the demand for oil will gradually increase and will continue to increase as the global middle class expands and the oil that remains in the earth will be more and more expensive to locate and extract.

It's a book I would normally pass up because I do not like to discuss issues like the economy and such, but I am glad I read it. It affects all of us. We need to start making changes now, before they become something we are forced to do.

DIE HARD baseball fans.

After receiving a copy of "Bert Sugar's Baseball Hall Of Fame" and reading through it myself, I handed it over to my 82 year old grandfather and he loved it! Of course, being a die hard fan since childhood and living in New York state, he has been to Cooperstown and has seen the real deal, but let me tell you, this book is definitely second best.

The photographs are fantastic, it's really a beautiful book, not that my grandpa would admit to it's beauty, because he is after all a "tough guy" but from a broads (as he calls me) point of view, it is very nicely put together. It thoroughly explores the history of baseball and Cooperstown's Hall of Fame (floors 1-3 included) with all of your favorite players from the 1900's until now.

Sugar has proven that baseball IS the greatest game on earth!