Hopefully you guys have been following our Every Monday Matters column that runs on the front of Lifestyles on Mondays. It's written by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza. It's all about making a difference in the world. Here's the link to the one that was published this past Monday: http://www.modbee.com/life/yourhealth/story/510326.html

Mark your calendars for Monday, December 8. Matthew will be here at The Bee at 7pm to talk with folks and sign copies of his book "Every Monday Matters". Managing Editor/Online Dan Day will host the evening.

There will be more information to come. In the meantime, check out the website www.everymondaymatters.com and look for the column on Mondays in Lifestyles.

I just heard about a fun event for book lovers.

In honor of National Friends of Libraries Week, The Friends of the Modesto Library is hosting a novel open house and book exchange on Wednesday, October 22 at 6:30.

Author Cornelia Read will speak about her book The Crazy School. 

Make sure you search your bookshelf for a book and come trade it for a book you haven't read. 

I'm drowning in Chick-Lit and it's a good thing.

I had been on a kick of depressing books but really, who can handle too much of that?  Especially since the economy is in the toilet and we are at war.  I don't know about you but I need something happy to read.

I recently finished Rockabye: From Wild to Child about a rock-n-roll party girl who gets knocked up and ends up marrying the guy.  It is a funny memoir that brought back a lot of pregnancy memories and pregnancy paranoia for me.

The writer is actually a blogger.  So the book kind of reads like a giant blog.  Nevertheless, it is worth the read I think.  Especially if you've had kids.

Then I jumped to Such a Pretty Fat.  The subtitle is much better though: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big or Why Pie is Not the Answer.  So you can see where this book is going.  Funny and yet true.  I've laughed out loud several times. 

Life’s too short.  We all know it.  We say it.  But do we mean it?  I mean really, I say it all the time but my actions speak otherwise most of the time.  I get caught up in daily life and lose track just like everyone else.

Randy Pausch wasn’t so lucky.  Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he had only months to live and with the help of Jeffrey Zaslow, he put together some of his thoughts on life, big dreams, and seizing the day.

The Last Lecture came about because he was asked to present a lecture at Carnegie Mellon University as part of an ongoing lecture series.  The lecture became so popular on the web that a book was born. 

You can find links to the video here.

I just finished reading The Shack.  And I’m not sure what to think.  Honestly, I think I need to reread it.

The Shack is really a book about God and spirituality but it is woven in through what starts off as a sad storyline.  The main character, Mack, is grieving for his daughter who was murdered four years earlier.  He has seemingly shut down and the rest of his family isn’t doing much better. 

Without giving too much away, he is invited to a shack for the weekend by God.  I know what you are thinking…what?  Admittedly, the premise is crazy.  But as a friend pointed out, the ending gives the reader an out if it is just too much to handle.

The book proposes different ideas on things like forgiveness, what it means to be “Christian”, and even how God appears to Mack.