Jennsylvania

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of attending a book signing for a fellow blogger Jen Lancasater. It was a last minute decision to attend and honestly I was mainly in it for the hanging out with Twitter friends part. I met up with Megan, Tina, Chris and Byron for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory ahead of time and then off to Barnes and Noble to lay in wait for HRH Jen.

When Megan first talked about this signing, I went online to my local library and put all of her books on hold. I started reading Bitter is the New Black a day before the signing and I was hooked.

We got there in time to get the last actual seats in the reading/signing area and all those after us had to sit on the floor in a line along the wall. I would have left at that point. Jen had asked her readers to arrive in 80's wear. I didn't do 80's in the 80's and I didn't do it now, but Megan and Tina went in full force!

Jen came in to an adoring crowd and did a reading of a chapter of the new book. I have never done this before, never attended a reading that is. I really enjoyed it, it is fun to hear the words coming directly from the author instead of just hearing them in my head.

This is pure Chick Lit, if you enjoy Chick Lit, then I highly recommend all of her books. I have completed the first two (Bitter, and Bright Lights Big Ass), and am picking up the next one, Such a Pretty Fat later today. Her last is Pretty in Plaid and it is sort of a prequel to the others.

Jen is quick witted, dry humored and everything I enjoy in a mindless read.

For my sisters.... you will enjoy these, go to the library and get them now, except the last one, you can read my special copy when you get here.

Shelter Me - Juliette Fay

I may go out on a limb and name this to be my favorite non-fiction book so far this year.

I won’t lie, there are a bunch of slow parts and a bunch of schmaltz, but I like schmaltz.

A young mother of two small children loses her husband in a freak accident. We watch her as she perseveres as a widow and a single mom.

There is family angst and trials and tribulations. There is even a romantic interlude or 2 and even though there may be some impropriaties involved, you (at least I did) find yourself cheering them on.

This is a definite recommendation.

As a matter of full disclosure, this book was provided to me by the publishing company on behalf of Mombloggers club.

The Spare Wife - Alex Witchel

First off, I highly recommend this book. But I do have to say that the whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but keep thinking my mom would not have liked it and probably would not have gotten past the first half.


The storyline is good, a woman, a friend for all, not just the other wives but the husbands as well (for one in particular).

But the reason mom wouldn't have finished is that it was very hard to keep the cast of characters straight. There were many times that I couldn't figure out who was who and thought to go back to the beginning to check, but decided to just give up and enjoy the ride. Once I let myself go, and stop worrying about who was married to whom and who was schtupping whom, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.


Perhaps the fact that the characters all flowed well, perhaps because they worked so well together, that may be why I confused them. The story kept me up at night to read (I hate/love that). You cared about all of the characters, even the bad girl. You cared about the jerk cheating on his wife and then turning his back on the other woman. You cared mostly about the heroine who is the every woman, she is you and me and ever woman you have met.

Disclosure, this book was provided to me by the author and I am being compensated for my honest review.

Late Fees

I seem to be behind on all of my blogs and this is the last one to catch up.

I have read many good books in the 60 days that I haven't updated, so look for great (and some not so great) reviews to come soon.

Sorry to keep you waiting.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Last year I read The Kite Runner by the same author. It was great, minus a couple of icky parts that dealt with rape of a small child. The Kite Runner showed sides of Afghanistan from a male point of view and mostly decades ago.

A Thousand SPlendid Suns focuses more on the plight of women in Afghanistan and spans a time that leads into the now. The focus is on two women in particular and how their dissimilarities truly prove how similar they are. It gives you an insight to the hardships faced during the civil war, the war with Russia and the aftermath of those conflicts. It is very well written with the ability to draw a picture in your mind, which is what I enjoy most about a good book. I like to finish a well written book feeling as if A: I watched a really good movie or B: I was actually a participant in the book. And this book did that for me.

American Wife

I would have enjoyed this book more had I not been told ahead of time it was loosely based on First Lady Laura Bush. (Ha ha and now I’ve told you the same) Yes, you can see some known similiarities but it is obvious that not everything can be known and the authors thoughts and opinions can make their way in.

So let’s go with this as just a novel, not an unofficial biography.

It is really good. It is a complete story in that you are not left wondering what happened after she got married or will there be a sequel? This takes you through start to finish(ish).

OK, I can’t ignore the fact that Lara Bush is the lead character. And it does make it interesting to think that all these things actually happened to her, but did they? Was she really involved in a fatal car accident as a teen? Was she really involved in a violent sexual relationship that resulted in an abortion? I don’t know for sure and I hate that. If I know it is just fiction I can live with it and not care. But if I think it is based on a real person then I wonder how much is actual truth and how much is just the author inserting their own biases.But like I said as a novel as a story it was interesting, and it drew me in. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to you.

sTORItelling

Have I mentioned I enjoy memoirs? Yes even memoirs from young people who have had an interesting life (albeit long from being over).

I was a fan of the first season of 90210 when it first came out but not much after that. I don’t recall hearing much about Tori Spelling after that until a few years ago during her first marriage. It was “news” in my city of Glendale because she married an Armenian man. When that marriage didn’t last long it was tabloid fodder and then the reality show hell began. (I kid I love reality TV.) I did not watch So NoTORIous, but I am a fan of Tori and Dean Inn Love. I knew from watching the show that he was married when they met on set, but I didn’t realize she was as well. And of course, everyone (well everyone in LA at least) heard when her father died that she received a pittance of his estate as an inheritance. To you or I $800,000 would seem li9ke a fortune but to someone who has had unlimited spending all her life it can be tough to budget yourself.

The book is open and honest as Tori seems to be in her show as well. She speaks of her odd upbringing, her favorite memory of her father being the time they would pick up dog poo in the backyard. She admits to mistakes she has made regarding the “feud” with her mother and the failure of her first marriage. She talks about the nepotism involved in starting her acting career and also how it held her back at times as well.

This book is an easy read with a keyhole look into someone’s life that would seem glamorous but shows that glamour isn’t all that it seems.