There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern

I'll admit it, I judge a book by it's cover ALL the time.  That is definitely one of my top ways for deciding on what book to read next.  When I purchased this book, I had just returned from my 3 months of living in Kansas City, MO (aka "The Land of Oz") and was still on a high from everything Wizard-of-Oz related.  I had to buy this book based on the cover alone!

So, show of hands who have lost the mate to at least 1 pair of socks in their lifetime?  Yeah, me too - so many pairs I can't even count!  In fact, it used to happen so frequently when I lived with my parents that I insisted on doing my own laundry because I had those few pairs of socks that were my absolute FAVORITE and I did NOT want to lose them!

So how does this all relate to the latest book I've read, "There's No Place Like Here"?  Well, it's simple.  "There's No Place Like Here", by "P.S. I Love You" author Cecelia Ahern, is about Sandy Shortt, a girl who is practically haunted when her things go missing.  This obession began whenever her neighbor/childhood enemy suddenly went missing, and Sandy simply could not come to terms with where this little girl went.  Still, Sandy is also consumed when less important things like socks, books, teddy bears and toothbrushes go missing as well.  Eventually, Sandy makes a career out of her desire at finding things.  She becomes an investigator for the police department, and eventually opens her own business looking for missing people.  The irony is that one day Sandy, herself, goes missing and suddenly discovers all of the missing things she's been looking for her entire life! 

I admit that the storyline here was a little unusual for me, and I can definitely appreciate something different!  In fact, I believe that many of my favorite books of all time are, in fact, my favorites because of their unusual stories.  Still, Ahern did not grab me with this book at all.  I didn't find myself having the "don't want to put it down" feeling until the last 15 pages!  I give this book 2 stars out of 5 translating to "it was 'ok'". 

Next up is "Scoot Over, Skinny: The Fat Nonfiction Anthology".  I bought this book about 3 years ago on the bargain table at BN or Borders.  In some ways, I do enjoy reading about people's reasons for being 'heavy' and so hopefully this book will be an interesting read.