I couldn't resist this challenge!

I normally don't like to commit myself to challenges just for the fact that I feel like a failure if I don't complete them. Yes, call me a pessimist, but that's just the way I am. When I saw this challenge, however, there was no way I couldn't sign up. J. Kaye's 2009 Young Adult Book Challenge was just up my alley. As you all know, I'm a teen fiction addict and spend a lot of my time reading these books just because they're A:) fun and B:) easy reads. I feel there is no way I could possibly mess this one up.

If you'd like to join, just go to the link posted above and sign up. You don't have to have a book blog to join. Here are the rules:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.

2. Read 12 Young Adult novels. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

3. Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.

4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

Easy enough, eh?

Here is my preliminary list. Since I change my mind extremely often, I figure this list will change several times over the year.

1. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

2. That Summer by Sarah Dessen

3. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

4. Killer by Sarah Shepard (Released July 2009)

5. The Clique by Lisi Harrison

6. Crank by Ellen Hopkins

7. Paper Towns by John Green

8. Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares

9. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

10. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

11. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

12. Airhead by Meg Cabot

I Like You by Amy Sedaris

I've been a big fan of David Sedaris for a while now. Through his books, I've gotten a glimpse of his crazy sister Amy. I always like reading about her because she seems like the kind of person I would love to invite to a party. She's quirky, spontaneous, and a little crazy. That's just my style.

When I found out she wrote a hospitality/cooking/entertaining book, I just knew I had to read it. She starts off by writing, "This is not a joke cookbook." While I must say I laughed plenty of times while reading it, there is definitely some substance to this book. During the Christmas holidays I used quite a few of her recipes and people raved about them.

One of the recipes was "Tattletail's Vanilla Cupcakes" which is in the "And Rabbits" section of the book. She explains her outrageous idea of starting a business focused around her pet rabbit, Tattletail. They sell cupcakes, cheese balls, and other goodies. The idea is so crazy I just had to giggle. I made the cupcakes just as the recipe said and they turned out great. I didn't make my own frosting as she suggested, but bought the premade kind at the store. I iced those babies up, alternated green and red sugar sprinkles, and I must say they were devoured quite quickly. So yummy.


I also used 2 of her cheese ball recipes and took the balls to my mother's for Christmas. The one that most everyone enjoyed was the "Lil' Smoky Cheese Ball." It was very easy to make; just take shredded Gouda, cream cheese, butter, milk, steak sauce, and chopped nuts. Let me just tell you, that makes a gigantic cheese ball! There's nothing "Lil'" about it. The other cheese ball, "The Heavyset Cheese Ball," I made just for the novelty factor. You shape the cheese ball into a pine cone shape and use whole almonds in layers to make it look like a pine cone. Add rosemary garnish on the top and you're all set. While this cheese ball was also delicious, it is for a more adult pallet.


Heavyset Cheese Ball

While these are just a few that I've tried, there are so many other good recipes in this book. However, she doesn't just give great recipes but also plans out meals, tells you how to properly fill out invites, explains how to be a good guest (never go number 2 in someone's toilet), explains how to make a F*ck It Bucket, tells you how to entertain elderly people (I love how she used the huge font throughout this chapter), and gives you many uses for pantyhose.
If you're wanting to read a new hospitality book and want to laugh in the process, you'll love this book. It helped me remember that cooking and entertaining is supposed to be fun, not a hassle.