11/22/06

Books

Well, I never got around to updating the last entry with the books I wanted to, so I'll do it now, with a few more thrown in.

I'll try to update the family blog with news from last week soon, if not today.

Okay, on to books:

I just realized I never reviewed Caprice Crane's "Stupid and Contagious," as I meant to after my October 9 post. It's a cutesy chick lit book about a zany PR executive who loses her job and then hooks up with her neighbor. It was entertaining and made me laugh out loud a few times. I recommend it, but don't expect great art here. But hey, I enjoy a good chick lit novel.

"Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table" by Ruth Reichl: I know I've sung her praises before, but god, I love Ruth Reichl. I wish she'd write more books. This is the memoir I should have read before her other two, as it is the beginning, starting with her childhood with a manic depressive mother, going through the beginning of her first marriage. I've read all her memoirs in reverse chronological order. I think she is one of the best memoirists and food writers of our time. Love, love, love her.

"I Am Not the New Me" by Wendy McClure: This is a memoir from a blogger I like, created from the blog. She's also the one who wrote "The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan:Classic Diet Recipe Cards from the 1970s," one of the funniest dang books I've read in awhile. Her memoir also includes some of the notorious recipe cards. Anyway, she used her old blog posts and refashioned them to make a really good book. The blog started as a sort of weight loss diary and chronicles her struggles with body issues, weight watchers, and relationships. She has the ability to write seriously and make you laugh out loud. I hope she has more books in the future. She's also a contributing writer to "Television Without Pity," another hilarious website.

So there you go: two books for your Thanksgiving reading: one about eating well and one about losing weight. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Currently reading:

"Vince and Joy" by Lisa Jewell: I'm only about half way through this one, but will write a little bit about it. Jewell is one of my favorite of the chick lit authors and I've anxiously been awaiting the US release of this book. Unfortunately, it's not quite living up to my own self-imposed hype. Don't get me wrong, it's very entertaining, and probably one of her longest books, but it's just not as good as her others, in my opinion. Who knows, maybe it will live up to my expectations in the end.