"the five people you meet in heaven"

you know, the author's name temporarily escapes me, but he's the man that wrote "tuesdays with morrie."

i picked up this book, after it was recommended to me by a couple of my friends. there's nothing like peer pressure when it comes to reading material, ladies and gentlemen.

if you've ever read "who moved my cheese?" then you will prob'ly enjoy this book. it's just as quick a read, too.

at the beginning of the book, eddie dies while trying to save the life of a young girl at the amusement park that he works at. the story doesn't end there, as we're then allowed to meet the five people that eddie must meet in heaven before he's allowed to rest in eternal peace. these five people present interesting concepts...love doesn't disappear when life does...strangers are connected more intimately to us than some family members...a random act that we'd classify as trivial is, in fact, anything but trivial.

every day, we're faced with different people and circumstances that reverbate not only in our lives, but in our friends and families, as well. the same is true of strangers. i'm sure most of us have heard the phrase that "it's not what happens that matters, it's how you deal with it that matters." after reading this book, i was forced to think about the relationships in my life. you will, too.

also, here's a 20$ off coupon for border's.

who is jonah black?

i recently had the pleasure of reading the 4 book young adult series by jonah black called "black book, diary of a teenage stud."

jonah black is a 17-year-old, forced to repeat his junior year of high school after he was expelled from boarding school. fantasy and the real world have a habit of mixing up in jonah's mind, as he can't separate reality from his fantasies.

jonah was expelled from boarding school due to an incident with another student, sophie. b/c he was expelled a day before he could take his german final, he was unable to complete his junior year, and so he was placed a year behind his peers when he returned to his hometown. the 4 book series focuses on jonah and his friends, as they prepare for the future.

so, if jonah black is the main character, and the author, why are the books shelved under young adult fiction? why aren't they a biography? just who is jonah black?

i decided to do some research online, as i wanted to know who this mysterious author was. i wanted to know if there were other books that i could read by "jonah black." alas, there are only 4 jonah black books. what a bummer, right? maybe, maybe not. one site i found revealed that jonah black is james finney boylan, the author of the book "getting in." i've never heard of this author, so i looked him up. lo, and behold, look at this: "... In Getting In, acclaimed novelist James Finney Boylan takes readers through a rollicking-and moving-rite of passage with four hopeful high-school seniors." sound familiar?

james finney boylan isn't the real author. it seems that, sometime in 2002, boylan had a sex change operation. it would seem that boylan had always recognized that he never really fit in and his books were a reflection of that anguish. after her surgery, CNN had this to say: "As author of three comic novels, including 'The Planets' and 'Getting In,' Boylan realized early on that she was in the midst of a remarkable story that straddled humor and tragedy as it detailed her metamorphosis to womanhood."

i believe that boylan is really jonah black. or that jonah black really is boylan. the details all add up and the writing style is similar.

most information was found here: http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/08/18/wkd.jamestojenny.ap/

boylan's webpage:
http://www.colby.edu/personal/j/jfboylan/index.htm

janet evanovich's "10 big ones"

i really enjoyed this book, although i am starting to get annoyed that stephanie and joe have not married. it drives me up a wall when characters keep getting close and then keep bounding away...it's like, hook up and shut up already!! lol

i'm not sure if i like the storyline around stephanie's sister and her upcoming marriage. i don't want to get into that, though, so i won't. i love how the series bring in current event stuff w.out going overboard. what do i mean, you ask. quite frankly, i get tired of reading, "because of september 11," blah blah blah. i like it when it's indirectly referred to in books, like, "the airport security is heightened," and we all know why. kudos to evanovich for that.

i'm now reading a romance. i wanted something very quick and funny, and this one was guaranteed to be both. at least it's not full of "he clasped her to his manly chest and thrust his hardness into her warmth. her bosom heaved mightly." do people really read that crap?? i know they do...my mom loves it.

remind me to post about jonah black's "black book" series.