Very short book reviews.

... I finished two books! Go me!

I'm going to start Confessions of a Shopaholic tonight (or tomorrow, at work).

First book finished: "Gods Behaving Badly"

It was a good read. In all honesty, I probably know the Greek Gods and Goddesses better now than I did before the book. It was frivilous (but most of the ancient stories were frivolous too, in a way). I almost feel that this could be required reading for mythology classes because it does connect something that seems so old-school with modern life. It was silly and entertaining, but interesting as well. Not to mention, there was a lovely little love story thrown in there. We all know a love story never hurts anything.

Apollo is a little manslut. Aphrodite worked the phone-sex lines. Dionysus owned a nightclub and Hermes did everything no one else wanted to do. Oh, and Eros was a Christian. Things like that.

And they all lived in a decrepid, dirty building in London.

It's a great summer read. Light and breezy, I found it to be rather entertaining.

second book: "Girls of Riyadh"

I also liked this book. It was interesting to see how love (idealist and practical) was viewed from a non-American point of view. I'll say this much, love is complicated no matter where you go. It's a constant struggle between what makes your heart soar to the highest heights and what is the right, logical thing to do. I felt for most of the girls... I didn't really like Gamrah, but I could even feel a bit sorry for her. She seemed to be so helpless and it annoyed me at times, but I also know that I've felt hopeless too. So I couldn't hold it against her too much.

It was a good read for me, as a girl, because the narrator was very sure to make a point that she was not judging her friends. She felt they did nothing wrong. They were living the life every girl in Saudi Arabia struggled with (and really, girls everywhere struggle with the same basic problem when it comes down to it).

I wouldn't recommend the book to a dude, but I have already handed it to my mother. I think most girls/women can find something of worth -- some sort of wisdom -- in it.