A book came across my desk the other day that got me thinking about food and the way I consume it in a whole new way. It's called MINDLESS EATING: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink, Ph.D. Quick Fact: the average person makes up to 200 food decisions a day, including what not to eat or choosing what to eat. Reading made me think about the way I will heat up something in the microwave and then munch 4 cookies while I am waiting for it to be ready. And how when I am running out in the morning I will grab a buttermilk biscuit or two and chomp through them because they are easy to take when I have a whole bowl full of cut fruit in the fridge. And how I am known to work my jaws on sticky candies like spearmint leaves or orange slices as I drive and then look down and find half the bag is gone.

I'm thrilled to share with you guides for two books that we have received repeated requests for from our readers --- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I feel that in delivering these guides we are giving our version of a great holiday gift to book club readers.

Happy Holidays from Kidsreads.com!!! We are already getting into the spirit here at Kidsreads.com, and our latest update --- with cool new features, interviews, reviews and series updates --- is our early gift to you.

Happy Holidays from Kidsreads.com!!! We are already getting into the spirit here at Kidsreads.com, and our latest update --- with cool new features, interviews, reviews and series updates --- is our early gift to you and your kids.

The day after Thanksgiving scares me. I feel like I will leave my driveway and become swept up in Black Friday shopping madness. I feel like all roads lead to the malls. The Y where I swim is near a large mall, so as I try to swim off my Thanksgiving calories, I need to deal with mall traffic. Yet another reason I think we should convert our basement into a swimming pool! Seriously, I have dreams of this like I used to dream of our owning a white Country Squire station wagon with wood on the side when I was a child. I know, who else thinks of things like THAT?

I am writing this week from poolside at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami where the ever-so-helpful staff here has ensured I have electrical power next to my lounge chair so I can write on my laptop, as well as an endless supply of iced tea and lemon-flavored water. For the record, it's cloudy with small peeks from the sun, the kind of day where I would not be sitting poolside at home, but hey, I am in Florida and when I am in Florida I do not want to be inside. As the pool boy said, "It's all part of the fantasy."