taryn k.

So I'm reading a few books at the moment and I thought I'd share. I try to read a fair bit, but do find I get busy, or caught up in a DVD series, so I'm not as avid as I was as a child and teenager. Plus, I used to do the majority of my reading in the car, being driven here and there - but now I obviously drive myself, so no can do (side note: I don't know how I feel about Audio-books. I feel like that might be handy on my 40 minute drive to work but I'm worried I'd get annoyed at the voice reading the book if I didn't feel like they read it right. Thoughts?).

I have a Kobo Ereader, which I've been downloading to lately - I love it. LOVE it. Not saying I dislike REAL books, but honestly, the text is EXACTLY the same, you can carry so many with you, it is less expensive, less paper (save the trees!) and...just damn handy. Plus, I have no more room in my house to store the books I've read - they're piling up I tell you!

First book is Skinny Bitch by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman. Yes, it is a diet book. No, I'm not trying to lose weight. It contains a LOT of content about nutrition, which is what I was actually looking for in a book - I just want to inform myself about different foods, their chemical make-up and what they are doing to my body, what I can eat that might be more beneficial - not fad diets or fasting or anything like that.

The best advice I can give you about this book? If you don't want to become a Vegan or Vegetarian, DO NOT READ. It will turn you off meat, dairy and everything you currently find delicious. If you are open minded to the idea, go right ahead and prepare to be snacking on pumpkin seeds. A lot of the foods the writers describe as being 'the devil' I don't generally eat anyway, so I've felt quite smug during some chapters - my biggest problem is their cruel, hard facts about cheese. And bacon. And there was a whole section about the way animals are treated in farms that I couldn't really get through. But, it is quite funny - it's obviously targeted at an overweight female demographic, but most of the chapters (that I've read so far) and interesting and informative, and it applies to everyone that eats...food.

I'm enjoying it so far - it's the first book of this genre that I've read. And so far I've eaten no meat since I started eating it, purchased a whoooole lot of fruit and veg, and I bought tofu - not sure what to do with it, but I bought it ;) I'm also not sure if I will become a fully-fledged vego, but it has made me think a little more about what I put into my body. Which can only be a good thing.

I've already read all The Southern Vampire Mysteries (or True Blood books) by Charlaine Harris, but I found myself on IMDb a couple nights ago trawling the True Blood boards for new info on Season 4 and in turn started a major craving. I think I generally prefer the books over the TV show, although it's a damn close call (no Tara in the books really - BONUS. No Alexander Skarsgard in the books - SADNESS), so rather than re-watch season 3 on my laptop (OMG, how painful was the faerie storyline to watch? I don't know if I can go through it again!), I decided to whip out my favourite book from the series. That would be Dead To The World. And honestly, I think this is the favourite book du jour for any Eric fan. Hello shower scene!

I'm about halfway through at the moment, and ahhhhhh, I love so very, very much. I love the Sookie/Eric relationship so much more than on the TV show - I feel like TB has taken every good part of the Eric character and taken it away. Apparently season 4 will be centred on the witch theme on this book, so hopefully this includes the Eric-centred plot line. And hopefully he runs down the road semi-naked ;)

I would recommend the book series to any fan of the TV show (although I might warn Bill fans that the books aren't as favourable to him as Alan Ball is) and to anyone that enjoys a good bit of vampire fiction. Obviously the supernatural genre isn't for everyone, and there does seem to be a bit of a bandwagon at the moment, which I know can be a bit off putting (there is actually a vampire section is a couple of the bookstores I frequent - not a Sci Fi, or Supernatural - Vampire!). But these are quite a bit more adult than Twilight (which, incidentally, I also loved while I was reading...now I've moved on a little bit), they can be quite raunchy and there are violent scenes throughout the books. They're a fun read, not exactly challenging, and you can usually pick the culprit a mile away, but fun nonetheless. Thumbs up!

While we're on the subject of vampires, I also discovered today that you can download the Buffy season 8 comic books on iTunes - they've been made into moving picture comics with audio and everything. I haven't downloaded any yet, but what fun! I love Buffy!

Lastly, I finished Influence by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen a little while ago. You already know of my Olsen obsession, but it's taken me years to actually get my hands on this book (yes ACTUAL book). And I loved it. The book is a collections of interviews with people that the twins find influential and inspirational, mostly people involved in fashion and art. There's photographers, painters, interior designers, fashion designers, models, writers, sculptors, jewelers. There is also gorgeous photography throughout and the interview subjects are quite interesting, even if you're not a fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley.

Sorry if I've bored you with my big, long-winded post about books. I know it's not a subject I usually post about, but I've been quite into everything I've read lately, so like I said, I wanted to share. I know I'm not really the best reviewer or critic, so this probably wasn't that informative, but hey. I had fun writing about it.

I'm still on holidays so you'll probably hear from me again in the next couple of days. I hopefully will get a couple things up before the weekend, since I won't have time to post (busy, busy!).

Thank you to all the new visitors I've been noticing on my stats page, I'm excited people are finding me in this enormous blogosphere - feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts :)

I have a strange obsession with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen that probably stems back to watching their straight-to-video movies as a child. I remember watching Holiday In The Sun and When In Rome and loving all their clothes. Licence To Drive was a terrible, TERRIBLE movie, but seeing all the casual outfits they were wearing made it tolerable - for me anyways. Ashley has always been my favourite - I think she is stunningly beautiful, with a fantastic eye for style and has always conducted herself in a classy and professional manner in the media.

I love that the twins have made their way from child stars to the fashion darlings they are today, without all the dramatics of young Hollywood and with their dignity still in tact. I believe they have built a brand integral to todays market, collections of luxury staple pieces made with beautiful fabrics and cuts. To be taken seriously in the industry is no mean feat, and I admire them for that.

I have long admired The Row and Elizabeth and James clothing lines - from afar. It's all a little bit pricey for me at this stage, but I can see myself wanting to save for a couple of their basic pieces - I just need a little discipline ;)

Lately I've been loving the collaboration with Robert Lee Morris on the shoe and jewellery range for Elizabeth and James, especially the shoes. I find that these are piece that are timeless, that will be an excellent addition to a classic, on trend wardrobe - something that I am trying to build now that I'm well and truely out of my teens.

Freakin' love this look. I went shopping today, and found a Tokito skirt in a similar colour - I didn't go looking on purpose, but it reminded me of this MK look so much, I had to buy it. Took it to the counter, turns out it was on sale for only $25. And on top of that, I found a long forgotten gift card in my wallet that completely covered the purchase - smiles all round.