Barnaclebutt

I don't really do reviews, it takes too much serious thought to figure out what I really like about a book, and then if I do, it ends up being too personal to share anyway.

But I am going to tell you three good books right now. I'm not going to review them; I'm just going to recommend them. Don't be mad, it's just how I am. Lazy.

The first is The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett. Do you already love Ann Patchett? Here is a sentence out of this book, "While Iowa struggled through the bitter knife of winter and New York folded in crime and the South remained backwards and divided, Los Angeles pushed her slender feet into the sand along the Pacific and took in the sun." Boy do I like that sentence.

Okay, next is Malinche, by Laura Esquivel, the author of Like Water for Chocolate. I'm reading Malinche right now and I promise it is fascinating. Malinche was Cortes' native interpreter and lover.

My last recomendation is There, Their, They're: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar From the Word Nerd. This is super handy for answering your quick grammar questions when you're writing your blog and WAY shorter and more user friendly than, say, The AP Stylebook. My sweet mother-in-law has been recovering from a surgery and I learned that all this time I've been talking about her being "nauseous", totally insulting, she's "nauseated!" So helpful.