Recommended Reading

Sometime during our various 4th of July weekend activities, I managed to get in some relaxation time and finish reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This was hands down the best book I've read in quite some time. Most of you know how much I love Twilight (aka- my PG vampire series) and Sookie Stackhouse (aka- my R-rated vampire series), but I consider these as favorites in a different way. The Help, however, goes right up there on my favorite list next to To Kill a Mockingbird and Cold Sassy Tree. Although it was an easy read, it was a novel that actually had some "substance", and I loved all of the dialect and references that only a true Southerner could appreciate.

The novel takes place in Jackson, MS and centers around Aibileen (a wise black maid raising her 17th white child), Minny (a chubby and sassy maid who makes a legendary caramel cake), and Skeeter (a 22 year-old recent Ole Miss graduate with aspirations to become a writer). Although they are about as different as one could imagine, these women ultimately come together for a special project. It's one of those books that sucks you in immediately, and you find it hard to put down as each woman's extraordinary story unfolds.

Also of interest- while the author Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, MS, it should be noted that she is a graduate of The University of Alabama. While I can sometimes be biased toward fellow alumni's work, this book is undoubtedly a great piece of work all by itself.

Next up on my reading list is A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff. I'll let you know how it turns out!