The Hating Game

Man. This was the perfect book to get me back into reading. It's fast, frothy and fun. But it's not completely frivolous. You know the old trope of two beautiful people hate each other, but then find out they LOVE each other? That's this book. Which you could probably figure out from the title alone.

PLOT: Josh and Lucy work together at a publishing company run by two completely opposite personalities. The company was formed when two struggling publishing houses merged to make one stable(ish) company. She's the executive assistant to one CEO, and he's the executive assistant to the other. They play games with each other, they steal things off each other's desks, and other generally childish nonsense. Then, one day, he kisses her and everything changes. Could this actually work? And what about that "no fraternization" rule? Can their relationship survive them competing for the same promotion? Or a weekend trip to his brother's wedding - a weekend full of family drama? I bet you can guess the answer.

Despite the overabundance of cliches, this book is as feel-good as they come. You know what's going to happen, and you're going to get mad at Lucy because she is so obtuse. But when it's over and you put it down, you're going to long for something romantic to happen to you.

As I was reading it, I thought that it would be a great movie. And it turns out so did Hollywood, because they're making it. Looks like it's still in pre-production, so it will be a while before it comes out, but the cast looks decent - not too different than I imagined them in my mind. 

2020 Vision

How many blog posts / click bait article headlines / Facebook status updates say that this year? Probably almost all of them. Hey, I never said I'm highly original.

Here I am, with the usual January optimism that I can keep this thing going. I'm making no real promises. But this year, I do have a few things backing up my resolution to read 24 books. First, I have a great group of friends who are keeping me accountable. Secondly, I have a life coach that is also keeping me accountable and keeping me on track for my goals. I have four main goals this year:

1. Read 24 books - two books a month may not sound like a lot, but it's a heckuva lot more than I've been reading.

2. Travel with my daughter - three trips this year. Two within California (we each pick a destination) and one to another state. Abbey has chosen Palm Springs as her CA trip, and I've chosen Sequoia National Park. As for another state, the possibilities are: Minnesota, Alaska, and New Jersey.

3. Get healthier, participate in at least one triathlon with friends.

4. Write a book.

My plan is to write about each of the 24 books I read this year. One post per book. Nothing too ambitious. But if I just get started writing again, I am hoping I'll pick up momentum.

Happy New Year!