Chelsea Handler and I have a lot in common. We both really like vodka. We slept our way to the top.  We share an affinity for midgets. We’re both named Chelsea. Yes, there we go. Okay, so it’s not A LOT, but it is the thing that prompted me to read her book. It used to be that every time I introduced myself, people exclaimed “Oh, like Chelsea Clinton!” I had a brief break from that during the Bush presidency, and then Chelsea Handler came along. So I had to see what all the fuss was about…just like my little sister, Chanel, has to buy every Chanel perfume known to man.

Reading Chelsea Handler’s book “Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” is like watching reality TV or indulging in movie theater popcorn: you know you shouldn’t be doing it, but it feels good at the time. It’s an easy respite from day-to-day life…and yet when it’s over, you have a sudden unrelenting urge to take a shower. Like going on a date with an ex-boyfriend, you realize halfway through that it’s a pretty bad idea, but of course you can’t just stop. You HAVE to see where this train wreck is headed.

With Chelsea Handler, the train is on the fast-track to bizarro-land. She’s headed for an awkward jailhouse romp, imaginary childhood celebrity status, and a brief stop in beastiality-town. Yeah, this book takes you a lot of weird places and will likely have you saying, “I can’t believe I’m still reading this” for an entire 264 pages. In the end - in spite of her occasionally annoying forced humor - you’ll probably finish ”Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” in one sitting. And you will (eventually) read another one of her books…just as surely as you’ll sit through another Real World Brooklyn marathon. Because sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.

Here’s a little something you may not know about me: I’m an avid book lover. Even at my busiest, I make a point to sit down and read for at least 15 minutes a day. As I wrote about in a guest post a while back for the Shopping Bookmarks blog, this reading habit can get really expensive, so I do my best to lower my cost by trading books with fellow book lovers and buying used as much as possible.

A recent raid of my favorite local thrift store uncovered a plethora of awesome books for next to nothing. I got ALL THESE books for less than $30!!

And just so no one’s brain explodes trying to make out the tiny titles, here’s a quick rundown: Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman, We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Caroly Oates, Dear John (yes, like the movie) by Nicholas Sparks, The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult (author of My Sister’s Keeper), Teacher Man by Frank McCourt, Testimony by Anita Shreve, A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell, My Life in France by Julia Child, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Snow by Orphan Pamuk, My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

As you can see, I like to keep up with top bestsellers, catch up on some classics, the occasional girlie love story, and throw in a bit of political/historical commentary (or “hippie books,” as one of my friends calls them) for good measure. Memoirs are my absolute favorite type of book. Also on my bookshelf right now are a couple memoirs by fellow bloggers, including the hysterical Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster. I plan to start reviewing books on my blog and recommending good ones, so stay tuned!