Shop Smart, Save More and a bunch of other books to Inspire You

NEW BOOKS TO READ THIS SPRING!

I remember my mother and grandmother clipping coupons every week and organizing them in a little, plastic holder with dividers. I think they did it more for the challenge than because they really needed to save pennies. As an unemployed graduate student, however, I picked up the habit of clipping coupons to save money. Those days are over now, but for many, couponing is (almost) a way of life. For Teri Gault, author of Shop Smart, Save More (Avon A) couponing and playing the grocery game is her life. Teri and her husband were successful Hollywood types living a luxe life, when their work just dried up, along with their money. On the verge of being bankrupt, Terri began using skills she’d learned as a child, to survive. She had been part of a very frugal family (her father gave her just $20.00 per week to buy groceries for the week for the entire family), and she figured out clever ways to stretch those dollars. Teri discovered “patterns” in the way markets advertise products weekly and seasonally. Armed with lists and lots of coupons, she found that she could stretch a few dollars into more than she ever thought possible. Eventually, Teri wrote a book about it! She does share some of the secrets she has learned, and the book is worth the money just for these tips. But to succeed, you need to stay very focused and organized, and plan to spend a chunk of time each week working the plan. Terry’s book costs $12.95, and for significant results, you will have to spend more on her TheGroceryGame.com web site. When you sign up for her service (there’s a fee), the service researches the best deals of the week so you can go to those stores and shop the sales. Alas, when I entered my zip code I got a list of stores I’d never heard of and that weren’t really close by. Also, I thought the book had too much “filler” with nothing really new in the padded sections. One part I really did like was the simple, often one-pot recipes, that look relatively healthy, easy to do, and delicious. You may never look at the Sunday paper the same way again after reading Shop Smart Save More ….and that’s a good thing!

Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned On Their Sex Lives for 101 Days (No Excuses!) by Douglas Brown (Three Rivers Press, January 2009) is a surprisingly interesting and personal book about Mr. Brown and his wife’s sex-pedition. Mr, Brown, a feature writer at the Denver Post, and his wife Annie, had 101 days of consistent sex. I believe the idea of this intimate sex journey was to demonstrate that any “Joe and Jane Average” can boost their quotient of sex, despite kids, bills, social life, exhaustion and jobs. Alas, halfway through the book I really got a bit fatigued hearing about their lingerie, lube, positions, toys, and potions. The message is clear: plan and make a commitment to more sex, and the sex will be less of a bore and a chore, and just get better. The deeper message however, is that two people who love each other can conquer just about anything…even 101 straight days of sex!

I have to be honest: Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Avon Fiction) really isn’t the type of fiction book I personally like, but it has some interesting twists and turns in the plot. The main character is Fleur Savagar, a beautiful woman who doesn’t really think she’s all that pretty, and whose father was the famed Errol Flynn (really)??But if you can believe that improbable premise, you can believe that Fleur, nicknamed “The Glitter Baby,” has a stellar career first managed by her meddling mother, and then sabotaged by her malicious, perverted father. The story continues as Fleur “finds herself” and possibly, lasting love. I found the plot just too implausible, and in this economy, the excesses of the wealthy were a bit much, but for women who love glamorous chick-lit, this will be a thrilling read.