Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was suggested to me by the person at the bookshop. It was strange because she said it was new and hot, but i had never heard of it before. While i found the character of Christian Grey quite intriguing, the character of Ana was very weak. When i started reading the book there was no mention of her age, so i thought that she was a young 18 year old woman at the most. When it was revealed that she was 21 I was shocked. Her language was very mature but the things she had and had not experienced were unbelieveable. Sure there some people that don't have sex before they are 21 but in this day and age i found it a little unreal.For the most part i enjoyed reading the book but when there was 100 pages left the story really fell to pieces. I found the last 100 pages very daunting and i was thinking, "Come on, ANA, like for real?" As the book continued it was like her character became more ridiculous as it went along. Then the ending even though it was kind of expected Ana acted like a total retard. She loves the guy but doesn't love the BDSM he participates in. After the belting experience not only would i be running for the hills but i would be screaming FUCK YOU. So sure for 414 pages the book was great the last 100 not so much. I am probably going to get the next one though since i want to know what Ana does. Is Grey really out of the picture? My guess is probably not, he just won't go to great lengths with the BDSM with Ana. We'll have to see though............

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The Man Who Ate Everything

The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although this book seems a little daunting and maybe even a bit tedious for someone who dislikes cooking PLEASE read it. Steingarten is very witty and makes most chapters of this book something memoirable. Very much like Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, this book is ten times better. Sure I loved that Bourdain took me to various countries and stuff and the experiences were great but he just wasn't witty enough! Steingarten takes you all over the place as well but giving you great recipes to add to your collection as well as smart ass factoids like what amount of newtons a good cooking pot should weigh. My favourite part that I have had on the brain for the last few days is when Steingarten is at medieval times and he's wanting to mention to management that there is a really out of control guest sitting beside him (screaming and hollering) and then he looks more closely and realizes it's his wife! PRICELESS! I would also love to try the horse fat fries, and i'm not against horses as I have 2 of my own and love them dearly, but come on, my mouth was watering after the description of how lovely they were. The most admirable thing that Steingarten wrote was his mantra to get into this project. He wrote down all the things that he didn't like or wouldn't eat, then he gradually trained himself to get over it and eat majority of them. Sure somethings he didn't budge on, but there's always going to be something like that somewhere. I too have done the same thing with certain foods that now happen to be some of my favourites, ie. oatmeal (i eat it everyday in the winter.....so warm and tasty), *MOST* seafood (i love it and would eat it everyday if i could), yogurt (great for when you're really sick and you can't eat much of anything, and it goes down nice and cool and doesn't irritate the stomach!) and a few other things. Enjoy the food you eat and eat the food you enjoy!

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Cut

Cut: The True Story Of An Abandoned, Abused Little Girl Who Was Desperate To Be Part Of A Family by Cathy Glass
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although the subject matter of this story is quite sad (it's about a child that harms herself and has dealt with emotional and physical abuse), Cathy Glass did a phenomenal job in writing the story. Even though Glass was one of the main characters in the story she did not take away the true main character of the story, which was the child she was a foster carer to, named Dawn. Glass was able to project her wonder as to how this polite girl got to be so stressed and anxious that she was walking in her sleep and when she was awake she revolted by not going to school, and when in secret she cut herself using sharp objects. I was suggested this book by a teacher of mine and i wasn't really excited to get it and read it at first. Sometimes when teachers suggest reading it's more like a text book style and dry as a piece of burnt toast. This book was amazing though. It captured the child's perspective as well as the perspective of Glass and her husband. It was very humbling for myself as a reader also because it gave me chance to reflect on my childhood and be thankful for how lucky i was and the experiences i was able to have with my family. The ending of the book was great ant i will be heading to the bookstore to buy my next story by Cathy Glass as i am interested to read about other children that she has fostered. The other fabulous thing about this story is that it was actually true. Glass had to change some names and places for privacy issues but the premise and the story were true. Gives a whole new meaning to a 'hard knock' life and what some people may consider as having it tough.

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