Strep throat = lots of reading time

I have had a nasty sore throat and glands so swollen it hurt to turn my head these past few days. Stuck inside with some boy movies (300, Iron Man, and Shaun of the Dead courtesy of my friend B), a bottle of Ginger Ale, and my dog Miles, I had lots of time on my hands.

After spending all day Tuesday sleeping so that I wouldn't have to feel the scorching pain of swallowing, I took turns watching movies and finishing my book, What Happened to Anna K. Even if you haven't read Anna Karenina I dare you to not enjoy this book. You don't even have to know the original Tolstoy story to appreciate Irina Reyn's version. I swear.

I grew to admire Anna K., and then my pity for her grew more and more throughout the book as her self-worth was measured by the man she was with. She gets more desperate as the book goes on and eventually kills herself. You'll have to read the book to find out how.

Done with the Russian book I decided to peel my autographed copy of Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter off my shelf and re-read it. I love Tan's books but I must say that since they practically all deal with the relationship between a Chinese mother and her Chinese-American daughter it's easy to get the story lines mixed up. And because this book is autographed it has extra special meaning. I attended a reading by Tan in Boston when this book came out and it's something I'll never forget. Even though I am not Chinese, have never been to China, never been to San Francisco, and have a very normal and healthy relationship with my mother, I fall in love with Amy Tan's stories so easily.

Tan's first book, The Joy Luck Club is a great first read for anyone new to Amy Tan. It's also a movie but the book is way better.