Book #1: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chibosky. A colleague (middle school librarian) recommended this to me while I'm recovering from surgery. Easy read, easy to put down (it's written as a whole lot of letters to someone). It was a bit darker than I like (although she did give me that warning too), but I made it through. There's a movie version coming out shortly. Probably won't see it. 2 out of 5 stars.
Book #2: The Last Chinese Chef by Nichole Mones (same author as Lost in Translation). This was recommended to me by one of my favorite parents. It's about food-- how can you go wrong? I really enjoyed this book. I learned a little bit about Chinese history and Chinese food, and have a great respect for REAL Chinese food. Easy read. 4 out of 5 stars.