On the bookshelf, #2009-07

You’re Not You, by Michelle Wildgen

From the bn.com site:

Bec is adrift. It’s the summer before her junior year in college. She’s sleeping with a married professor, losing interest in her classes, and equivocating about her career. She takes a job caring for Kate, a thirty-six-year-old woman who has been immobilized by ALS.

As it turns out, before the disease Kate was a stylish and commanding woman, an advertising executive and an accomplished chef. Now, as she and Bec spend long days together, Bec begins to absorb Kate’s sophistication and her sensuality, cooking for her, sharing her secrets, and gradually beginning to live her own life with a boldness informed by Kate’s influence. The more intense her commitment to Kate, the further Bec strays from the complacency of her college life. And when Kate’s marriage veers into dangerous territory, Bec will have to choose between the values of her old life and the allure of an entirely new one.

This was a captivating story in its examination of relationships and the influence one person’s life can have on another. When the story began, Bec was aimless and justifying her relationship with a married man but after her friendship with Kate, she found a purpose and an understanding of loyalty. The ending faltered a bit, but it was a faltering that you would expect from Bec, given the circumstances. But she also finds her footing again before the book ends…and it was all attributable to Kate.

On the bookshelf, #2009-06

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

I know, you read this book a couple of years ago and loved it. Well, I bought it a couple of years ago and…promptly forgot about it. But I found it again, read it, and LOVED IT.

From the bn.com site:

As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Sometimes I read a book and before I have barely turned the last page, I have forgotten most of it. Water for Elephants is not one of those types of books. It is written so beautifully, with so much color and emotion, I am sure it is one I will remember for a very long time. And much like Charlotte taught me to see spiders differently, Rosie has broadened my view of elephants forever.

On the bookshelf, #2009-05

Reality TV Bites, by Shane Bolks

I know, I know…more chick-lit? Does anyone else see a correlation between my love of sales and my ever-growing collection of chick-lit? It really isn’t my fault. You just don’t find a lot of Hemingway and Homer on the bargain books table most days.

However, with this book, I think I found a loophole in my distaste for the genre. Apparently, if the chick-lit is based in Chicago, I enjoy it. As was Reality TV Bites. And yes, I liked it.

From the bn.com site:

Allison Holloway may be one of the last holdouts: a true reality TV junkie. (Hey, there’s no shame in admitting you enjoy watching the Donald say “You’re fired!” for the millionth time.) But when her boss signs up their interior design firm for Kamikaze Makeover, Allison knows things are never going to be the same again. Dozens of cameras are set to tape every embarrassing moment as two teams compete for $3 million by executing a bold design concept using unorthodox materials (sex toys, anyone?). As if that wasn’t bad enough, a hunky producer tries to seduce Allison with fine champagne and limo rides, while an equally hunky Dave wants to introduce her to the finer things in his life like beer and basketball games, and a piranhalike press hounds her day and night. Will Allison ever get her life back? Join her as she fights back against the lies, the double-dealing, and the backstabbing to prove that she’s a survivor.

I know! I don’t like chick-lit OR reality TV and yet…in Chicago, it works for me. It sounds ridiculous but I was so engrossed in the references to favorite landmarks that I was turning the final page before I realized it.

On the bookshelf, #2009-04

Multiple Choice, by Claire Cook

I clearly bought this book (because it was in the Bargain Books section of Barnes and Noble and) for this synopsis:

A new laugh-out-loud novel from the national bestselling author of Must Love Dogs. There was a time when March Monroe thought she and her daughter Olivia would never really cut the cord. Now Olivia is off to college and March is secretly doing the same thing. It’s a high-voltage shock when they run into each other as student interns at the local radio station. From the author of Must Love Dogs, this effervescent story will strike a chord with women of all ages-whether they have kids in college or are just now choosing their majors. Required reading for absolute enjoyment!

I was thinking, this author wrote Must Love Dogs (John Cusack!) which, despite the fact that I don’t care for the movie (other than John Cusack!), other women loved it (John Cusack!) so there must be something there (John Cusack!) I should give this book a try because I might really like it (like John Cusack!)

What I should have done, if my brain hadn’t somehow turned to John Cusack! and then fixated there, was read this review:

Despite (or because of) the stabs at domestic insight, the cluttered result reads like warmed-over Erma Bombeck.

I loved Erma Bombeck’s writing back in the day (though in a different way than I love John Cusack!) but I don’t think I would associate her writing style with this book. While funny in spots and touching in others, this story just had no focus. And the ending? It seemed like the author just got tired of writing or reached a word-quota or something and just stopped mid-story. I should have let this bargain get away.

On the bookshelf, #2009-03

Blind Submission, by Debra Ginsberg

I thought the premise of this book sounded intriguing…

From the bn.com site:

Angel Robinson hadn’t been working for the well-known literary agent Lucy Fiamma for very long when the first pages of a mysterious manuscript by an anonymous author arrived at the office. Although juggling Lucy’s colossal ego and seemingly neverending list of demands kept her busy, Angel was pulled in by the plot. Set in a New York literary agency, the novel, titled Blind Submission, centered on the ambitious assistant to a successful literary agent. As the story unfolds–with chapters e-mailed one by one–it becomes clear that the mystery author is writing the story of Angel’s own life, turning her initial curiosity to panic. Someone is watching her, even plotting against her. Could it be her backstabbing coworker, her jealous boyfriend, or her seductive new client? When the novel’s plot turns to murder, Angel knows that if she doesn’t discover the author’s identity before the final chapter is written, more than just her career will be cut short.

And I still contend that it is a good story but the writing fell a little short of my expectations. Some of the characters weren’t fully developed, most of the dialog was cheesy or stilted, and some passages could have used more fleshing out. I understand this to be the author’s first attempt at fiction so hopefully those things will be worked on going forward. Overall, I think the story could have been written better but it was still a somewhat enjoyable read.