What I’m reading right now

There were two things I hoped to do over my holiday break (in addition to the usual Christmas-y things we had planned) and those were scrapbooking and reading.

I got to do both – and I consider that a successful holiday! In spite of the nasty cold/flu bug that got ahold of my body just in time for Christmas, I managed to do quite a bit of reading (or maybe because of that? I sure didn’t feel like doing much else)

I managed to start and finish quite a few books. Most were quick, cotton-candy-ish reads, but they were perfect for this time of year and for my cold-medicine-hazed brain.

I read:

The Lost Recipe for Happiness (Barbara O’Neal)

This was a really good book. I love cooking (and food) and I love love stories – this was all of that wrapped into one. The main character would smell someone’s “essence” – or whatever the food was that described their character. I loved that little tidbit – kind of wish the author had actually expanded on that a little more.

The story revolves around a chef who lands a job opening a new restaurant for a famous Hollywood director.  She is a wounded soul (as is he) and they find more in common than the opening of the restaurant.

You know from the get-go that they are going to fall in love and live happily ever after, but the author does a good job keeping you entertained along the way.

I also read another book by Barbara O’Neal:

 The Secret of Everything (Barbara O’Neal)

This was based on a photographer (another wounded soul) who leads adventure-based vacations. She goes to New Mexico to check out a locale for a potential vacation retreat and ends up uncovering all sorts of things from her childhood that she has forgotten/repressed.

Again, there’s the love story angle, but I really like how O’Neal develops her characters – and this character is gifted with a special touch with doggies. Since I’m a doggie-lover myself, I liked this angle.  There were also recipes and a food focus in this book as well.

Honestly, I think O’Neal is missing an opportunity to write some type of story about a character who has these “gifts” and actually knows it and uses the gifts. She dances all around them, but doesn’t really do much with them.

The books were great to read while I was sick, though. Lightweight but entertaining.

Now, I’m reading this book:

Juliet (Anne Fortier)

It’s based on a girl named Juliet who finds out (upon her great-aunt’s death) that she is really named Guilietta and is a descendant of the Guilietta who was better known for the Romeo & Juliet story. She goes to Italy to find a “treasure” left to her by her great-aunt and embarks on a journey to discover her history.

I’m only about 100 pages into the story so I don’t know a whole lot yet, but I am really enjoying it. It is well written and I’m looking forward to finishing the story – I see a few late nights in my future…

So, did you get any reading in this holiday? What’s on your night stand?