A Bad Bride's Tale

I read Polly Williams's first book, The Yummy Mummy, right after I returned to work the first time. It was a great book about a pregnant Englishwoman being left by her boyfriend and having to figure out how to raise her child on her own. (I was thinking the other day about how I don't remember how it ended--I can't remember if she went back to her boyfriend or met someone new--I hate how I can't remember anything!) Williams's next book was A Bad Bride's Tale. This novel follows Stevie, a thirtysomething Englishwoman as she prepares to marry Jez, her longtime boyfriend. Even though she has massive doubts leading up to the big day, she stumbles through the vows and marries Jez. Quickly, things start to fall apart. Their honeymoon is even less than idylic, as Jez befriends a former rival of Stevie's who just happens to be at the same resort. Within weeks of the wedding, Stevie moves out and goes back home to stay with her family, support her younger sister as she deals with a premature baby, and spends more time with an old friend, meeting up with him in Oxford and New York. You can basically guess how it all ends, but I was delighted to be regaled with several twists and turns which left me wondering if really the book wouldn't end happily.

I hope Williams keeps writing--I can't wait for her next book!

K

P.S. I Love You

Several years ago, I read Cecelia Ahern's first novel, P.S. I Love You. I fell in love with this book--the story was incredible and sweet, about a young woman receiving letters from her husband after he dies from brain cancer, and the fact that the author was my same age blew me away--how could someone my age write a book with this much knowledge beyond her years? I'm no fan of Hilary Swank, but I looked forward to seeing the movie when it came out. I finally got my chance to sit down and watch it on Saturday night--the kids were in bed, the husband was out doing errands. And let me tell you, I cried for two hours straight. I remember the book being sad and funny by turns, I certainly didn't cry through the whole thing. But since I had all that backstory from the book that the film didn't include, I couldn't help it. The film differs from the book; the characters live in New York instead of Ireland, although Ireland is a character in the film. The film left out some memorable moments I recall from the book, such as the different adventures the husband leads the wife to experience after he is gone. I don't remember if the heroine ends up dating someone in the book or not, but that storyline runs throughout the film. The film was good on its own, but the book is (always) better. I think I'm ready to read it again.

K

PS--Ahern's other novels are good too--I have not read her latest, There's No Place Like Here, but Rosie Dunne and If You Could See Me Now are excellent.

The Friday Night Knitting Club

I don't like when books end in a way that totally shocks me (see Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner). The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs totally caught me off guard. I guess it was my own naivety that I didn't see it coming, or at least acknowledge the signs, but I typically read books that have happy endings. Oh well.

This book centers on the owner of a knitting shop in Manhattan (I swear, somehow all the books I read take place in either Manhattan or London), Georgia Walker, and her preteen daughter. Georgia started the knitting business as a way to make money while raising her daughter alone. Over the years, her customers have become quite loyal, making her little shop successful. Eventually some regulars happen to come on a Friday night to hang out in the shop and knit, and the Friday Night Knitting Club is born. We follow each of the members and discover the particular trials in each of their lives.

This novel demonstrates the power of friends who become family. I really enjoyed it, despite the ending, and am eagerly awaiting the next book, Knit Two.

K

P.S.--I don't feel like I need to worry about ruining the endings to books I read and blog about here because I'm always six months behind the rest of the world in reading them. But if I have ruined the ending for you or worse, made you not want to start the book to begin with (how very un-librarian of me!), I sincerely apologize.

Time of My Life

Recently, I finished Time of My Life by Alison Winn Scotch. This little gem made it's way to me right when I needed it--it's a beautiful thing when a book you've been waiting for makes its way to you when you are just finishing another (maybe it's just librarians who feel this way)!

Jill is a suburban wife and mother, bored with her marriage but filled with joy for her little girl. One day after a particularly deep massage, she wakes up seven years in the past, dating her old boyfriend, the one who got away. Possessing the gift of hindsight, she avoids the pitfalls that tripped her up the first time around, excelling at work and nurturing her relationship, thinking that she will change her life completely. But traveling to the past doesn't always fix everything--she realizes her old boyfriend really isn't the one for her, and she seeks out her future husband who she's been bumping into, falling in love with him all over again.

This was a fantastic chick lit book that truly answers "What if...?" I don't usually like time-travel (a typical component of science fiction novels, which I detest), but I realized halfway through, this is not the first time-travel chick lit book I've enjoyed--see The Boy I Loved Before by Jenny Colgan.

K

The Last Lecture

Taking a break from fiction, I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Everyone in the world has heard about this book, and about the author's passing earlier this year. My sweet friend Paula gave this to me for my birthday, so I started it, wanting to figure out what everyone was raving about.

This book chronicles Dr. Pausch's last lecture, achieving your childhood dreams, which he gave after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. All in all, the entire book is the stories and thoughts and ideas that he wanted to pass onto his three young children, so they would have some wisdom from him as they grow and so they could come to know their father, even though they were too young to remember much of him.

The last section of the book is specific letters to each child, and I cried all the way through them. The idea of not being around for your kids as they grow up and to see what kind of people they turn into is simply heartbreaking. This is, of course, the nonfiction counterpart to The Things I Want My Daughters to Know. Both books make me want to write down all my stories and all my advice (limited right now, since I'm still learning myself), just in case I'm not there to pass it on in person to my girls.

K

The Ten-Year Nap

The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer follows four women whose 10-year old sons all attend the same private school in Manhattan. All four women gave up significant careers to be stay-at-home mothers. After ten years out of the workforce, some of them are feeling unfulfilled, now that their children are growing and don't need their constant attention as much. In the end, all of these women come to terms with their dissatisfaction and make changes which will lead them to happiness.

I am always looking for books, fiction or otherwise, in which the character returns to work after having kids and how it's the best choice for them. This basically fit the bill, although I wished it would have been funny. I would have enjoyed this book more if it would have been more humorous mom lit instead of literary fiction. I always have a hard time with the super-serious books.

K

The Baby Chronicles

Continuing my Christian fiction kick, I read The Baby Chronicles by Judy Baer. While Dolly Parton and Peculiar Treasures has depth, this was all fluff. Fluff that I ended up enjoying enough to finish the book.

Baer is the author of The Whitney Chronicles, the kick-off title in Harlequin's Steeple Hill Cafe imprint, designed to be their answer for Christian chick lit. The Baby Chronicles is Whitney's continuing story. After having met and married Mr. Right in the first book, this novel details Whitney's pregnancy. Two other women close to her are also having babies: a flighty coworker gets pregnant with triplets and her best friend begins the adoption process. Lots of baby humor ensues. This was somewhat fun to read after having so recently being pregnant, but that's about it.

K

Peculiar Treasures

After reading How Dolly Parton Saved My Life, I decided to seek out other newer Christian fiction books. I picked up Peculiar Treasures by Robin Jones Gunn. This is the first in her new series about Katie Weldon, one of the characters who has popped up frequently in her Sierra Jensen and Christy Miller series. (I read only a few of each of those series; my local library never had the complete sets.)

I became a fan of Gunn's when Carol, the cataloger at my first library, asked my mom and I to read a new book that was labeled Christian fiction but had a somewhat steamy cover. Both of us really enjoyed reading that book, Secrets, and subsequently read every book we could by that imprint, Palisades. (Gunn wrote several for Palisades, connecting all of them by giving secondary characters the opportunity to star in their own books.) Palisades has since gone away, much to my regret.

Anyway, back to Peculiar Treasures. This book was everything I remember about strong Christian fiction. The book begins with Katie attending Christy and Todd's wedding (something Christy Miller fans have been waiting for for a very long time). She then starts back for another year at college, undecided about her major and future plans, both relationship- and career-wise. The emotional angst of the novel centers around her relationship with Rick, her kind of almost boyfriend. By the end of the book, Rick and Katie have taken a positive step forward in their relationship and Katie has firmly decided on a major. The next in the series, On a Whim, was due out in October.

K

How Dolly Parton Saved My Life: A Novel of the Jelly Jar Sisterhood

From the new fiction shelves, I selected How Dolly Parton Saved My Life: A Novel of the Jelly Jar Sisterhood by Charlotte Connors. This inspirational fiction novel follows four women as they start the Jelly Jar Catering Company in Atlanta. Each character is followed, their Christian beliefs briefly examined, as they build lasting friendships with each other, in addition to a successful company. I wanted to read more about the events they catered, but it was a basically entertaining novel overall.

K

Not Quite a Mom

Complete escapest fiction, thy name is Not Quite a Mom by Kirsten Sawyer.

When browsing the newly returned new fiction shelves for something to read for my first days back at work, I came across this pink book. My usual test for a new book that looks flaky is to read the first page. This one made me laugh by the end of the second paragraph, so I had to give it a chance. I'm actually glad I did.

The plot centers on a woman working in the entertainment industry, disappointed by her current position as fact checker, and dating a wonderfully amazing (but slightly boring and self-centered) lawyer. Her world changes drastically when her best friend from high school, with whom she has not spoken in 10 years, dies and leaves her as guardian of her teenage daughter. The story delightfully winds around her engagement to her lawyer boyfriend, becoming interested in her senior year prom date, and getting to know her charge, Tiffany. Incredibly, the storyline is not completely predictiable, and I really enjoyed the book.

The only part of the story that wasn't appropriately addressed was the grief of all the characters involved. I realize that this was a lighthearted romance, so heavy grief scenes wouldn't have fit, but it seems like a child's grief over losing her mother would have impacted more situations.

K

Petite Anglaise

After seeing my Cville friends in July, I started Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson, which I was given as a ARC by Lissa. I was excited to switch to nonfiction for a change of pace.

This book chronicles an English woman who grows up longing for all things French. She arranges to study abroad in France during college, and eventually moves there permanently. She soon establishes a life in France, landing a job and an apartment, and starting a relationship with a Frenchman. They move in together, and several years later have a child. Their life centers on the day-to-day: who has to take their daughter Tadpole to the babysitter, who has to work late, what they should eat for dinner. The author notices that she and her boyfriend are drifting apart but doesn't know what to do about it. One day, on a whim, she starts a blog, calling herself Petite Anglaise, a nickname given to her by a former boyfriend's father. She starts writing about her adventures as a Englishwoman living in France, and attracts many followers. As her relationship with Mr. Frog (her boyfriend) goes further south, she meets one of her readers face-to-face and begins a relationship. This new man is another English person living in France. Predictably, this rebound relationship doesn't work out, and she is left with the remains of her life, Mr. Frog having moved into an apartment across the street.

The best part of this book was the author's musings about how blogging affects the blogger. Was she creating situations just so she would have something titillating to post on her blog, or was she simply reporting what happened to her? Also, halfway through her relationship with James, the Englishman, she realizes that being with another English person goes against her reasons for moving to France in the first place. Being with James keeps her English, instead of allowing her to completely immerse herself in french culture. I think this was an amazingly keen observation.

At the end of the book, I'm mostly left feeling sad for Tadpole, a little girl who now has to shuttle back and forth between two parents who really love her. I felt bad that life as she knew it had to change so drastically, and seemingly for a poor reason (especially considering Petite's new relationship fizzled).

K

The Beach House

After I regretfully said goodbye to the characters in Things I Want My Daughters to Know, I was eager to start the newest Jane Green book, The Beach House.

I adore Jane Green books. Each of her novels has been stellar. I have been known to obsessively check the library catalog for new publications. Now that I am a fiction selector, I get to read the advance listings and know even earlier.

But, back to The Beach House. An eccentric older woman owns a huge mansion on the beach, which she turns into a bed and breakfast to keep from losing the house to the bank. People from different walks of life come to stay, ending with the requisite romance and parent/child affirmations.

As much as I was looking forward to it, this Green disappointed. I didn't care about the characters as much as I normally do. Oh well, I'm sure the next one will be great.

K

Things I Want My Daughters to Know

In the month before I returned to work (I think...), I read Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble. This story centers on four sisters whose mother dies of cancer in the opening pages. Their mother left each daughter with something special, but most importantly, she leaves a package of letters she has written over the years to her daughters about all the things she wants them to know (hence the book's title). The mom describes how each was born, how she and their fathers met, how her parents met, information about each of their fathers, just information she felt it was important to pass on. As each daughter has her turn with the journal, the novel follows the first year after their mother's death--one daughter learns to commit to a relationship, another rededicates her marriage, one searches for a place to call home, and one, the youngest, navigates her first relationship in high school.

This book was awesome (which isn't a very dignified word for a book review, but whatever). It was so good, so encompassing, it drew me in completely and I hated for this book to end. I just hope that I get around to writing down all the things I want my girls to know (before I forget them).

Last year, I read Noble's Alphabet Weekends, and couldn't wait for her next book to come out. My friend Kim has recently read one of her older books and said it was excellent--I need to put The Friendship Test and The Reading Group on my to-read list!

K

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

After finishing Certain Girls in May 2008, I moved onto the newest Elizabeth Berg book, a collection of short stories entitled The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Having enjoyed numerous Berg books, I was quite disappointed by this collection. Perhaps it was because they were short stories, but I couldn't stand most of the protagonists after the first two stories. It just got so bad that I didn't even finish it.
Hopefully Berg will publish a full-length novel soon, so I can get back to liking her again.

k

Certain Girls

As I look over my posts, I notice the lack of any reading. From last fall until April, I simply could not read. I couldn't focus my brain on anything longer than a magazine article. I tried to start a couple of books, but nothing kept my attention.

And for reasons unbeknowst to me, I was able to pick up a book in April and not only start to read it, but also finish it.

And now since May, I have been reading quite a lot. Having lots of sit down time nursing during the day and in the middle of the night lets you accomplish quite a bit of reading. I've been trying to keep a paper list, since I haven't been keeping up with things here, but I know I've left some out (which is probably good, in some cases). I've been wavering on whether or not to annotate my list, but I think I will, as much as I can remember.

So, on to the first:
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
finished mid-May, 2008

This book is the follow-up to Weiner's first book, Good In Bed. Before Certain Girls came out, I went back and read Weiner's first two books, so I would be up-to-date. It's nice to be able to see where these characters are now, several years after the first book takes place. Now, six months later, of course the only thing I can remember is the end, which I hated. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I can talk in only vague terms, but really, I cannot believe Weiner did what she did. And, since it happened so close to the end of the book, I felt like Weiner rushed to the last page, not fully developing the aftermath. Maybe she was leaving herself open to another sequel, but I thought it was pathetic.
Regardless, it was interesting reading this novel about the relationship between a mother and her pre-teen daughter on the cusp of having my second daughter.

K