Book Review: The Education of a Very Young Madam

When you see a book like this laying on your boyfriend's bedside table you kinda have to look at it. When he tells you that he's read it and hands it to you, you're pretty much obligated to give it a shot. I did. It was interesting.

The book is the true story of a girl who, at the age of 13, went to live on the streets in order to escape a bad situation in a state facility. The girl was adopted from Korea by upper middle class parents in New England, in an effort to save their marriage. (Like that EVER works?)

Written in first person, the book recounts her life as a teenager, and a madam. Interestingly enough, she never gets involved as a prostitute herself and lives by a moral code that frowns on people who cheat in relationships. While it won't make any of my Top 10 lists, it was an interesting look into the world of prostitution. There are no punches pulled to soften the story but she also doesn't go out of her way to titillate the reader. Nor is this a tale of redemption. It isn't even a cautionary tale. It's just a story.

Books That I'm (Almost) Ashamed to Admit I Love

Sookie Stackhouse 8-copy Boxed Set (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)

I desperately didn't want to like these books. I really am not into the whole vampire thing but they are a favorite of a favorite person of mine, so I indulged my curiosity. SOOOO glad I did!! The books are (as usual) way better than the show/movie. The characters are engaging and well written, and they make me laugh...a LOT! I read through all ten books in two weeks. Truth be told, I read through nine of them in about a week and a half, but I wanted to savor the last one!

Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic 5-Book Bundle: Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby
These books are just pure FUN! I'm not a shopper. I'm not a fan of Brit Lit. Not even really a fan of Chick Lit. I just fell in love with Becky Bloomwood, though! Maybe it was her constant struggle to be "in control" of her life that I recognized in myself as I turned 40. Nothing offensive in these books and I can't wait til my daughter decides to read them!

V.C. Andrews Lot Complete Dollanganger Series Set 1-5
I got hooked on VC Andrews in Junior High. When a teenager thinks their life is bad, hand them a piece of crazy gothic fiction about a grandmother who keeps them locked in the attic and feeds them rat poison and I can almost guarantee that they will see you as less of a threat to them. These books were my perspective (along with Mommy Dearest which I literally read at least 100 times) that kept me from thinking that my parents were the worst in the world.

The Sweet Potato Queen's (The Sweet Potato Queen's Big Ass Cookbook, The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love & The Sweet Potato Queen's Field Guide to Men)
My former MIL suggested the first book in this series to me. They aren't "quite" fiction but I would wager a few bucks that they are at LEAST embellished. LOL The stories are funny, touching, relevant, and always seem to hit me at the right time. Plus...every book has recipes!! Some of my favorite (and most fattening) recipes have come from the SPQ books!!

Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love
Okay so it has been a LONG time since I read any of these books but I guarantee you that if I had one on hand, I'd devour it with relish. They were my guilty pleasure well into my twenties. I'd buy them "for my sister" or whatever, but I loved the innocence and reading how the twins made it through high school. I am sure that there are some strategies that I secretly wished I could try out on my peers...I'm also pretty sure that I never did. LOL

Welcome to Paper Sniffers!

We like books. The old fashioned kind. The ones you hold, and dog-ear, and sleep with, and yes...sniff. We are the antiquated, the archaic, the obsolescent...the Paper Sniffers.

The purpose of this blog is to share with you some of our favorite...and not so favorite...books. We love reading and we still get excited about going through the stacks in a library or a thrift store, to find the perfect story in which to lose ourselves.