How awesome is that for a title of a book?  AND, how great is this cover:

This is the book Brittney, Alysha, and I read for our book club, which we are meeting to discuss tomorrow.  I’ve had multiple people tell me the cover alone made them want to read this book, and in this case, it’s perfect fine to judge a book by it’s cover!  Without further ado…

When in Doubt, Add Butter

Here is the description from goodreads.com:

“As far as Gemma is concerned, her days of dating are over. In fact, it’s her job to cater other peoples’ dates, and that’s just fine by her. At thirty-seven, she has her own business, working as a private chef, and her life feels full and secure. She’s got six steady clients that keep her hands full.

There’s Lex, the fussy but fabulous department store owner who loves Oysters Rockefeller and 1950s comfort food; Willa, who needs to lose weight under doctor’s orders but still believes butter makes everything better; a colorful family who may or may not be part of the Russian mob; an überwealthy Georgetown family; the picture-perfect Van Houghtens, whose matriarch is “allergic to everything”; and finally, a man she calls “Mr. Tuesday,” whom she has never met but who she is strangely drawn to.

For Gemma, cooking is predictable. Recipes are certain. Use good ingredients, follow the directions, and you are assured success. Life, on the other hand, is full of variables. So when Gemma’s takes an unexpected turn on a road she always thought was straight and narrow, she must face her past and move on in ways she never would have imagined. Because sometimes in life, all you need is a little hope, a lot of courage, and—oh yes—butter.”

As you can tell from the description, this would be considered chick lit.  I typically don’t go for chick lit, but I loved this book!  I thought the main character was interesting and I liked her, so it was easy to root for her.  I also loved that the book was about cooking and wasn’t always about her love life — her work life crept in quite a bit, too.

This book was incredibly easy to read, which actually made me sad because I flew through it.  This is one of those books where you just really like the characters and want to hang out with them, not fly through the book and be done with them.  It was also so nice to not really think during this book!  I’m all for deep and meaningful books, but I’m all for fun and lighthearted, which this definitely was.

My only two problems were that it was a bit predictable (I saw the big reveal from miles away, but I wanted it to happen, so I was not at all upset) and that there wasn’t quite enough about her cooking and her clients.  She had some super weird and crazy clients, and I would have liked to see more interaction with them, along with more info about what she cooked for them, especially for the people with ridiculous food requirements.

But overall, I loved this book.  It was fun to read, definitely kept my attention, and I feel like the book is just like the cover — colorful, fun, and draws you in.  I definitely recommend this for a summer read!

Hi everyone!

WordPress was working this time around!  Yay!

Today, I have the book review I was going to post yesterday.  Alysha, Brittney, and I recently finished our latest book for our book club, which happened to be a book about book clubs.  Crazy, huh?

We read The End of Your Life Book Club, which made a ton of end of the year best lists for 2012, so I was interested to read it, so here we go:

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

First things first, the book is about a forty-year-old-ish man who finds out his mother has incurable cancer.  Both he and his mother are big readers, and are spending a lot of time together at her chemo appointments, so they decide to start a two-person book club.

Each chapter talks about a book they are reading while also talking about what is going on with the treatments, as well as in each of their lives.  In other words, this book is mainly a memoir about a man’s experience with his mom’s cancer and then books they read along the way.

I have mixed feelings about this book — I both loved it and was annoyed by it.

I loved the idea of starting a book club with you mom.  In fact, I want to start a book club with my mom now.  I loved that their conversations about each book evolved into a conversation about stories from his mom’s life.  I have recently been spending some time asking my parents for their stories, so I loved this aspect.

I also found the characters interesting and was always hoping for the best when the author’s mom would receive health news.  Honestly, I liked the author’s dad the most, and he was the one I felt for the most throughout this ordeal.  Overall, I thought this book was interestng, and I enjoyed reading about their thoughts on the books.

A few things did annoy me though.  First of all, at times I felt Schwalbe’s writing was a bit pretentious because of how long and  convoluted his sentences were.  I think people often think flowery writing is the best, but sometimes conciseness is just necessary and more appropriate, and he seemed to avoid that.  I also got a little frusterated with his mom, which is terrible to say.  She was clearly an educated, dedicated woman, but sometimes it seemed like she was preaching about the right way to do things or the things that everyone should be doing, which I wasn’t the biggest fan of.

My last complaint is that I didn’t regconized any of the books they were reading — I think it would have been a bit more enjoyable if I had an interested in the books (some I did, but few), but that’s more a commentary on what I like to read than anything else

Overall, I did like this book.  I found it interesting and engaging, and I’m glad I read it.  However, it’s not a page-turner, but more of a book to sit and reflect about after reading.  I would recommend reading it for a change of pace, as long as you know what you are getting into.

I hope that was helpful — ironically, this was a hard one to talk about for a book club.  Odd, huh?

That’s it for today, not sure what I have in store for tomorrow, but something good!!

Yeah, that’s a super weird title — oh well, sue me.  I’m hungry, so I can’t think straight

I just realized today that I am wayyyy behind on reviewing two books I read on vacay, and because both are supposed to be humor books written by ladies, I figured I would group them together.  I will review them in order of how I liked them….

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

No surprise that this one was my favorite because, well, I love Mindy Kaling.  Kelly Kapoor has always been my favorite character on The Office, and despite some critical naysaying, I’m a big fan of The Mindy Project.  I find Mindy simply delightful, which is exactly how I would describe this book.

This book is a collection of short stories from Mindy’s childhood, time in New York trying to “make it,” some post-”make it” time, and most importantly, a whole bunch of randomness.  And I loved it!

I read Tina Fey’s book, which is often compared to this, but I liked this better.  I laughed out loud multiple times at Mindy, especially because I imagined everything in her voice — which adds to the humor.

This is definitely an incredibly easy read (she even says as much in the intro), but it was hilarious, perfect for the beach, and one of those fun books that you need every once in awhile when you don’t want to think critically, you just want to enjoy reading and enjoy life.  We all need those books!

As a disclaimer, don’t forget — I LOVE Mindy.  This could have added to my enjoyment of the book, but if you are familiar with her at all, I think there is something in here for everyone to enjoy!  Put this on your to-read list especially if you are going on vacation or are in need of some light-hearted fare.

Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster

This one I read on a whim.  I wasn’t sure what I was really getting into, but I heard good things and that it was funny, so I dove in.

This book is a memoir about a high-powered, money-spending executive who gets laid off and has to navigate the world with fading money (when she used to drop thousands of dollars on shoes and what have you) and all the madness in between.  The story of losing her job and trying to find a new one is interchanged with stories about rescue dogs, apartment hunting, a Vegas wedding, and various job interviews and trips to the unemployment office.

Although I liked Mindy’s book better, I really enjoyed this one, too!  Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Jen (pre-losing her job, she was just terrible [which may have been a bit exaggerated]), and although as the book went on I liked her more, I still felt like she was a little arrogant.

But, her stories were funny, her significant other was a fun character, and the book takes place in Chicago, which I liked a lot.  This book was a little long, especially for being a light-hearted, funny book, but it was also an incredibly easy read, and again, absolutely perfect for reading on vacation.  No heavy thinking here, just more light-hearted reading and funny stories.  I like Mindy better than Jen, but this was still a good book that was fun to read.

****

I forgot how much I love books like these–funny memoirs.  I read some Laurie Notaro in the past, who I absolutely loved, and these books reminded me that I need to get back to that genre.  These books just made me happy — plain and simple.  I still want to read best-sellers and books everyone is talking about, but I need to remember to include some funny books as well, for my own sanity

Welp, that’s it for tonight, dinner time!!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I’ve been out for a bit, but I am back with a book review I promised.

I love reading, so I love taking part in various book clubs or opportunities to read different books.  Each month, Julie hosts a book club, and I decided to partake in this one because I liked the author.  Hence, I have a review for you for Blackberry Winter.

Blackberry Winter

As always, let’s start with the goodreads.com synopsis:

“Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator’s.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 “blackberry winter” storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways..”

I really really enjoyed this book.  The story was incredibly interesting, and I loved how it bounced back and forth between the different time periods in the same location (Seattle).  It was so interesting to learn how things were in the 1930′s (love that time period), but also interesting to see Claire connect the dots.

I have to admit, several aspects of the “mystery” were predictable, including where Vera’s apartment building is now, and even the ending.   But that’s ok, because it was an enjoyable ride.

I wouldn’t say this was a page-turner in the suspenseful sense, but it was in the “this is a fun, interesting read” sense.  I read Sarah Jio’s The Bungalow and that was similar.  I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, but like this book, I like the characters, I rooted for all of them, and the writing wasn’t complicated.

Sarah Jio doesn’t try to be someone she’s not — the characters are relatable, easy to cheer for,  and you can finish this book in a couple days.  It doesn’t make you question humanity or have a deeper meaning — it’s just a good ol fashioned mystery that I really enjoyed.

Happy Wednesday!!

This week has been super busy, but has flown by at least!  A few things I’m looking forward to?  Valentine’s Day (Milo is my Valentine this year because last year we were in Hawaii and couldn’t celebrate with him), my BIRTHDAY!!, and dinner on Saturday.  Then getting through one more week and it’s vacation!!

My valentine!

But in the meantime, I wanted to share with you another Gillian Flynn book I read.

If you pay attention to books at all, you have heard of Gone Girl, and I reviewed it as part of my book club with Alysha and Brittney.  If you recall, I really liked Flynn’s writing, I loved the mystery of the book, but I HATED the ending.  I decided to give her another chance and read Sharp Objects.  This one had a much better ending, and I can do the whole review without spoilers, so read on

Sharp Objects

As always, here is the synopsis from goodreads.com (edited a bit):

“Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.  Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.”

Although I didn’t like the overall story as much as Gone Girl, I loved this book.  The mystery was pretty intense, as well Camille’s demons that she was dealing with throughout the book.  Much like Gone Girl, it was hard to sympathize with any characters (Camille was definitely messed up), but I didn’t hate Camille, so that was a step in the right direction.  I hated her mother though, but that helped add to the story.

I still really like Flynn’s writing, but as this was her first book, I don’t think it was quite as polished or inventive as Gone Girl.  But I still liked the feel of the story (I like darker mysteries) and loved the ending!  There was justice!  And honestly, I thought the ending was predictable, but then it threw me for a loop at the last minute — I love that!

It was also a super easy read — a definite page-turner and was less than 300 pages, so I flew through it.  If you like gritty mysteries, and can handle characters that have some serious issues, I definitely recommend this.  Not literary genius, but it was fun, interesting, and suspenseful at times.  In my mind, that’s a great combo!

I’m considering Flynn’s other book, Dark Places, but I’m waiting Brittney to let me know if I should

Well, that’s it for tonight.  More spin tomorrow

Happy almost Valentine’s Day!!