I Take You

by Eliza Kennedy
May 25-June 13, 2015

Usually before I write a review, I read a few other opinions on Goodreads. I like to see who felt the same way I did about a book, but also those who had a different or opposite reaction. I have to say that this time I was totally shocked. Boy, did people hate this book. And I guess if I translated its meaning as literally as some, I would have hated it too. But maybe for me it came along just at the right time and I enjoyed it at surface-level. No need to get in too deep here. I also believe that was the intention of the author. I Take You being her first novel, I'd say Eliza Kennedy accomplished that goal.

Lily is a young attorney with a passion for life, aka, booze and boys. She's about to be married to man who sounds absolutely perfect on paper (I had a crush on him in the beginning!). However, she can't seem to be faithful to him. This little bit of gender role reversal was fun, but was the first topic that began to off-put other readers. Mainly because as Lily is headed to Key West for her wedding, she sleeps with not only her boss, but many friends of her financé, Will, and countless others along the way. Her family life was unconventional, to say the least. Her father, having being married five times, and also a cheater, was the main crux of her issues. Although Lily and the people in her life are all completely flawed, I couldn't help but find them endearing. Again, taking this for a casual summer read, not the next great literary masterpiece.

Lily is hilarious and wow, can she drink. I have been known to over-imbibe on numerous occasions, but just reading about the quantities of liquor she consumed made me tipsy. Especially for a 27-year old!

"Men? They're not that hot. Not all-around, like women are. Men have random hairs and bad fashion instincts. Odd smells. They never exfoliate. Either they try way too hard, or they don't try at all. Of course, some are lovely, and most have a few good qualities, but sometimes you have to look hard for them. Like in those Where's Waldo? books."

See? Funny! As much fun as I was having reading about Lily's cocktails and sexcapades, the story started to fall apart toward the end. Will's big reveal just kind of cheapened the whole theme of the book. Why can't women have the upper hand just this once?! And that's the second subject that completely offended other readers. Plus, the "important deposition" (two days before her wedding!) was way too drawn-out; it was silly and forced. I would have been happier without it altogether. I'm also not sure her career added very much to the story. It would have been more interesting to continue reading about her childhood.

I do understand why people were offended by this book. And like I said, I typically would be too. But for some reason I enjoyed this little fantasy summer read. It's definitely not something I allow myself to read often, but once in a while it hits the spot.

I received I Take You from Blogging for Books for this review.
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette

by Maria Semple January 7-20, 2013 What a refreshing change from the drab novels that I have been picking up! I found this one on several "Best of" lists for 2012, plus I'd heard buzz from other reading pals about it, so I nabbed it from the library. Set up as a series of emails, letters and faxes, I had a hard time finding the pace at first. But once I adapted, I flew through with an eagerness I haven't experienced in quite some time. Bee aces her report card and cashes in on a promise that her parents made to her: a trip to Antarctica. Her father is a guru at Microsoft and rather detached. Her mother is an agoraphobic genius architect who hates the neighbors and hires a virtual assistant from India (to avoid said neighbors). Thus, hilarity ensues. When Bee's oblivious father senses a breakdown in Bernadette, he stages an intervention and in a blink she goes missing. Bee's new goal is to find her best friend and mother. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of this book and found myself laughing out loud at times. Perfect example: "Here's the thing. Do you get seasick? People who don't get seasick have no idea what it's like. It's not just nausea. It's nausea plus losing the will to live." I am no stranger to any kind of motion sickness; car, airplane, boat, roller coaster, bicycle crunches (!); so this analogy was not only relatable, but dead-on. However, near the end, I feared the plot was losing its way a little bit. And maybe it did, but the more I think about the resolution, I'm satisfied. Where'd You Go, Bernadette was cute and quirky with just enough sentiment. * * * * *

(Almost) A Year in Review

It's sad but true. I am almost a year behind in posting! I'd like to chalk it up to being too busy reading, but you know how it goes: Other chores take priority, I've had freelance out the wazoo; or was it simply that I couldn't come up with the perfect thing to say about what I just read? Whatever the reason, I never stopped reading. Well, wait. There was the time in March when I nearly boycotted reading because I was so smitten with Harry Potter. I felt I would be disloyal to all of Wizardom if I jumped into a new book without properly grieving the end of those seven books. Yeah, I was that obsessed. I even joined Pottermore the first day it became available to the public (my screen name is ShadowRain12825 for anyone who wants to friend me!) and haven't stopped thinking about how truly wonderful those books were since March 14, 2012 when Harry sent his own son off to Hogwarts for the first time. I know, I know, I'm way late for that train. But I'm so glad I waited! I don't know how the people who read each book as it was released could handle the wait! I was lucky to read all seven books consecutively over the course of only four months.

OK, fine, enough about Harry (one last word: I love Ron). I've decided that instead of completely stressing myself out about the fact that I need to write TEN overdue posts, I need to just clean the slate. I'll recap the books I've read since last July and move on with my life. The next full post will be about that sicko Christian Gray :)

1. Cutting for Stone  |  Abraham Verghese  |  January 10 - July 17, 2011
It took me a whopping seven months to get through this audiobook. So many times I wanted to give up. I found it to be slow and overly long (I desperately wanted to edit out so much of it). The only thing that kept me going was peer pressure – so many friends held this book in such high esteem. And then one day I suddenly turned a corner and ended up truly enjoying it. Glad I stuck to it.
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2.  Still Alice  |  Lisa Genova  |  August 16 - September 3, 2011
Tough subject matter, but poignant and heartbreaking. Genova has a Ph. D in neuroscience, so the book is written accurately but still has the ability to engage the reader at every turn. Alice's quick decent into Alzheimer's isn't exactly "light reading," but well worth the education for the reader.
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3.  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake  |  Aimee Bender  |  July 18 - August 30, 2011
Anyone recognize this acronym: WTF??? That is exactly what I said when this book ended. WTF??? Her brother became the chair?? Seriously didn't get it. Maybe the biggest strike against the book for me was the author narrated the audiobook and it was probably the worst narration I've ever heard. Monotone, lifeless; she could have read anything and made it sound awful. Sorry, it's just better to have talented narrators...otherwise you lose me. Fast.
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4.  Faith  |  Jennifer Haigh  |  September 3-24, 2011
Funny thing happened the other day. I stopped and got Faith out of the library because a pal had been raving about it and said I just had to read it next. After two chapters I realized that I've already read it! Duh! It was definitely good, so I have no idea why it was so forgettable. An intriguing story about an accused Catholic priest in Boston and how his family deals with the scandal.
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5. I Still Dream About You  |  Fannie Flagg  |  September 24 - October 15, 2011
I adore Fannie Flagg. Her writing is music to my ears. Not being a southern girl myself, Flagg has the ability to paint such a vivid picture, that I feel like I've lived in Alabama my whole life. Even as Maggie Fortenberry contemplates suicide by creating a list of 16 reasons why she should and only 2 why she should not, I couldn't help laughing at the charm brought in every page of this book.
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6. A Discovery of Witches  |  Deborah Harness  |  September 1 - October 8, 2011
I wouldn't say I'm a fan of Fantasy or Sci-fi, but I love, love, love witches. Add in a 1500-year old vampire and you've got a real winner. I couldn't get enough of this book, and was actually quite satisfied with the somewhat untidy (not wrapped up in a bow) ending. Then I found out it was the first in a trilogy. Hooray! Shadow of Night comes out next month. I can't wait!
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7. One Day  |  David Nicholls  |  October 20 - December 29, 2011
Hilariously funny in parts with an unforeseen, shocking ending. Dexter and Emma meet on July 15, 1988 and the book follows them on that same day each year after for 20 years. Nicholls' ability with character development had me on an emotional roller coaster. Except I didn't get sick on this one.
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8. This is Where I Leave You  |  Jonathan Tropper  |  January 10 - March 8, 2012
Judd and his dysfunctional family reluctantly sit Shiva for his father. His wife is cheating on him with his boss. Sounds like hard stuff, but this novel is funny and fresh. It was a great one to listen to while sitting in traffic after work. Made the commute not so bad.
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9. Harry Potter  |  J.K. Rowling  |  November 20, 2011 - March 14, 2012
These seven books really deserve their own post, but what could I say that hasn't been said before? I resisted for so long, for no real reason, but was finally convinced to give them a try. I felt like I was living at Hogwarts for four months. I can't say enough good things about this series, and I'm sure no one needs convincing – I'm probably the last person on earth to read them.
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10. The Night Circus  |  Erin Morgenstern  | March 19 - May 28, 2012
To be fair, this book never stood a chance. As the first one to be read after Harry, I couldn't focus on a single word. I would go days without reading it; in turn taking me 2-plus months to get through it. Once my focus started to return, I became quite interested in the characters. But even though I'm not a fan of a big bow at the end, I found myself saying out loud, "Was the whole damn thing really a dream?!"
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And there you have it. Some of my highest ratings in a long time...maybe that can be another excuse for not posting!

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx

by Sally Koslow

With a name like that, who could resist? Molly has recently died and is in the "duration" waiting to see what comes next; and while she's there, looks over her grieving family and friends. The circumstances behind her death are suspicious, even to her, so Molly's goal is find out what really happened to her on that fateful February bike ride. Was it an accident or murder? Suicide? Even her plastic surgeon husband and his over-the-top mother are suspects.

As I listened to this one on CD, it was just the kind of light-hearted chick lit that I was looking for. I really think I prefer this type of book for audio. It's harder and harder for me these days to pay attention to a narrator when the subject matter is really deep. But while the book started off a little fluffy, it ended up being pretty endearing. Yes, it was fluffy even though the main character is dead. As she looks down on the crazy cast of characters, the only one you really feel sorry for is her 4-year old daughter Annabelle. Molly's stories and impersonations of her loved ones were pretty hilarious.

There really isn't much more I can say about this one. It is what it is: Cute. Easy to read. Fun.

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Tricky Business

Dave Barry reminds me of vacation. Whether it's south Florida or somewhere in Mexico, I find myself reading his column in the Miami Herald while hanging by the pool or lounging near the ocean. He's hilarious. I read Big Trouble quite a few years ago and I still laugh when I think about the frog eating the dog food. And when I saw Tricky Business sitting on the bookshelf in our "lending library" at work, I had to grab it. I was anticipating laughing out loud as much as I did the first time.

The introduction had me giggling. Barry wrote a forward to former readers warning them that this book contained "violence and the 'f' word." That readers shouldn't proceed any further if these things would possibly be offensive. I was hooked. The first chapter was about a lazy, unmotivated guy who lives with his mother, plays in a band and sleeps all day. All his mother wants to do is fix him waffles. I laugh. Then I get to chapter 2. And chapter 3. And so on. A little less than half way through the humor turned to violence. Big, bad and bloody. Really difficult to read, to the extent that I almost didn't finish. But the book was short enough that I ended up reading the last half in one evening and I was done and I don't necessarily want to think about it again. Maybe it's just me, but humor and murder don't really mix. Even though the tone was light the entire time, the subject matter became dark and nearly unbearable. There were certainly some characters that held my attention, like the drunk guy who never got his sea legs, but they weren't enough to redeem the decapitations and torture. Seriously!! This is supposed to be a comedy.

Sorry to say I can't recommend this one. I need to get back to Florida and just read Barry's column on the beach instead.


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