Book: Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt
Finished: Early May
This was our book club pick for the month of May. Our book club is often drawn to Southern novels with strong female characters, and I'm glad. They're the types of books I pick when I'm browsing bookstores on my own, when I'm looking for a book to comfort or distract me. That being said, Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt was no To Kill a Mockingbird. The book was a light, easy read, a cross between The Help and The Book of Bright Ideas, both novels our club has read in previous months. Overall, I thought the book was pretty good; I'd recommend it for poolside reading or a trip to the beach. I personally found that The Help had a lot more depth, with characters I truly became attached to. Saving Cee Cee was funny, and the characters could have been straight out of Steel Magnolias, but conflict was just too easily solved for my taste, and the main character occasionally got on my nerves. (If you're interested, the book is currently available on discount from Borders, and honestly? That's probably a fair assessment of the novel itself: easy, breezy, and available on the bargain shelf.)
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Finished: Early May
After reading all three of the Hunger Games series, the first book -- which I reviewed here -- is definitely my favorite. Catching Fire and Mockingjay both held my attention well, though, and I finished both books in just a couple of days. The series sounds almost too fantastical, too gruesome; I know, because that was my excuse for avoiding them for so long. But I loved them. It's a really well done series. I fell in love with the characters and the districts and the tragedy and suspense that befalls them. It's not a series I would have picked up on my own, and maybe you're the same way, holding out because it all just sounds too weird. Well, here I am, telling you: Go read them. Now's the perfect time. It's summer, and I'm betting you're going to have all three read within the week... or a month, if you're a little less addicted to reading than I am. Really, all three books are page-turners. I'm impressed with the quality of story; young adults really do have so much to choose from when it comes to their corner of the library/bookstore. Maybe I should hang out there more often...
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Book: One Day
Finished: Mid-May
Nicholls' book read a lot like a Nick Hornby novel to me (and hello, his review is featured on the book's cover, so I should have known), but I'm okay with that. I thought the premise was pretty original: The book follows two people throughout their 20s and 30s, but only on the same day every year. It's kind of like The Time Traveler's Wife, only maybe less girly (is that okay to say?). What I mean is, One Day was definitely written by a man. Men just have a different way of writing the relationship between male and female, so while the book reminded me a little bit of The Time Traveler's Wife -- a couple as they age and come together and fall apart through the years -- it definitely approached the relationship in a decidedly more masculine way. Genders aside, though, the book's well-written. I know, because I got really emotionally attached and invested in the book, and despite the fact that I heard the book's about to be made into a film (which tends to make me nervous), I'd highly recommend this one. A light beach read, maybe, but I'd venture to say it's better than that.
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Finished: Mid-May
I'm getting really good at borrowing friends' books, saving a little bit of money by relying on copies of their recent favorites. Unfortunately, I wind up reading books that I really love and want in our home, only to have to give them back. This is one of them. Tina Fey is hysterical, sure, but I was pleasantly surprised at the depth and sweetness of Bossypants. My favorite chapters/essays were "That's Don Fey," a rather touching -- but don't worry, still plenty funny -- tribute to Fey's father; "The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter," which you can read in its entirety here (eliminate a few choice expletives, and I'm thinking it's pretty accurate); and "The Secrets of Mommy's Beauty." Plus, I really didn't expect to garner so much practical professional advice from Fey's essays on improv and Saturday Night Live. Let's face it: I'm no comedian, and I didn't really think I'd find Fey's experiences helpful. Funny, sure. But helpful for my day-to-day life as a woman in the workplace? Nah. Turns out, I was wrong. I really want my own copy so I can mark it up with a blue pen... That's how good it all was. Highly, highly recommend. And if you can, learn from my mistake: Buy, don't borrow.
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Finished: Late May
Maybe it's the overachiever buried not-so-deep inside of me, but I try really hard to finish most every book I start. It might take me a while, but eventually, I will conquer. I confess: I was really tempted to quit this one. It reminded me a lot of Anne Lamott's Imperfect Birds (reviewed here), simply because I couldn't relate to the characters. Their hurt and pain and frustrations and anxieties were nearly too heavy for me. I love books in which characters experience redemption, books where transformation takes place, or at least the transformation process begins. I didn't really see that in Ash Wednesday, and I had difficulty being patient with characters I really just didn't like very much. There were a couple of chapters in the middle that I thought were beautifully-written, that had me nearly breathless with their intensity, but overall? I was unimpressed. I'm sure it's a taste thing -- Hawke is a surprisingly talented writer -- but I just wouldn't recommend this one.
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Book: My Life from Scratch
Finished: Late May
Another borrowed read, I thought My Life from Scratch was more great summertime reading. Light and airy, but with truths for those hoping to start their own businesses (me, me!), the book made me ready to quit my day job and do this Kathleen Kelly thing for real. It's true: I'm no cook -- and certainly no baker -- but the recipes Gesine Bullock-Prado (yes, that Bullock) includes with each chapter almost had me convinced I could try. The book reads like a love story to butter and sugar, and Bullock-Prado does a beautiful job of tying in stories of her childhood, her mother, and her German heritage. I really loved this one, loved reading about someone who took the brave leap out of her Hollywood never-quite-comfortable comfort zone and into the wild and hippie ways of Montpelier, Vermont (which, by the way, I now need to visit). I'd highly recommend My Life from Scratch, especially for foodies or not-so-secret entrepreneur-wannabes.
4 comments:
I've been dying to read Bossypants! I requested it at the local library but it has a ton of holds on it, hopefully soon I'll get to read it!! I've also been wanting to read One Day, thanks for the reviews!
i'm glad to hear bossypants is good! i ordered it last week & it should be here any day now...i can't wait to start it.
when do you have time to read so much??
Oh goodie! My favorite kind of post. : ) I am DYING to buy Bossypants, and have been since I heard of its release, but I am broke. Like you, though, I know I will want this one. So I'm saving up.
Tina Fey is just soooo funny! I really enjoyed the randomness of the book and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments:)
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