Slices of Life is taken from the author's newspaper columns. Some cover life with her husband or her kids, or stories from her own childhood. Each is accompanied by a recipe. This is a good book to pick up occassionally and read a passage or two and then move on. I couoldn't get in to reading it cover-to-cover because the columns didn't seem to be arranged in a cohesive way. However, many of the recipes looked good, and the columns can be entertaining--it's just better as a book you read while you're waiting in line, reading a column or two at a time, rather than a real page-turner.

I was provided an advanced e-copy of this title though NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. Receiving a copy did not affect my review. 

Bookish Review: Imperfect Bliss

There have been many novels inspired by the works of Jane Austen and many modern-day "retellings," and perhaps no Austen novel is more often flattered by this treatment than Pride and Prejudice. Imperfect Bliss is another such novel, set in modern-day America and featuring a bi-racial family, the matriarch of which wants nothing more than to see her daughters marry well. This is an inventive re-telling: Bliss (parallel of Lizzie Bennett) is a divorced mother, a reality TV show is involved, and this American family is headed by an English father and Jamaican mother.This is an extremely light and fluffy read, but it is funny and a perfect beach read. It was a great take-along on my vacation. Austen fans who don't take riffs on her work as offensive, but rather enjoyable, should find this a fun, fast read.

Atria Books sent me a free galley copy of this book for review. Their generosity did not affect the content of the above review.

Bookish Review: The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters is the story of 3 approximately 30-something sisters whose lives have not turned out the way they wanted. Daughters of a prominent Shakespearean scholar, their semi-dysfunctional family communicates in the language of the bard. But it is hard to find the words when mom is battling cancer, the eldest is worried about her engagement falling apart, the middle daughter is a disgraced thief, and the youngest is a pregnant wanderer. All 3 are home together again for  the first time in years.

Some of the characters are annoying because they have gotten themselves in some stupid messes, but  the Shakespeare references are fun and you do come to care for the characters and hope they turn their lives around. Good read overall, nice ending.

Bookish Review: The Magnolia League

When Alex's mom dies, she is forcibly relocated from the commune in CA where she grew up to her grandmother's mansion in Savannah. Suddenly she is a part of "society," and her dread-headed self doesn't really fit in. Still, she comes to find that life as a rich debutante is not all bad--especilly when the elite society you've been born to join has magical connections--ones that can keep you rich and beautiful and make lfe easy. But it's never that simple, is it?

Alex is at times an infuriating protagonist, as she can be stupider than it seems her character should be. But I might find her less annoying if I were actually a teen. The book is pretty well-written and fast-paced if a little cliche at times. Of course, this is the first in a series, so don't expect a lot of closure after reading this first one.

I got an ARC of this at some conference or somewhere, so thanks to the publisher. It didn't affect my review.

Bookish review: Triangles

Triangles is by a best-selling YA author, but this book is for adults--mostly middle-aged women, to be precise. I'm surprised she didn't shoot more for the 20s-30s audience, to get some of the readers who started with her YA and grew up a bit, but there you go. The book is written in verse--an interesting format that I haven't read too often in books for adults. I'm not really the right demographic for this book, and it's all about broken and breaking marriages, which is not my favorite topic. Still, it is well-written, the format is interesting, and it is rather compelling. The problem is that most of the characters are not very likeable. (one of the main characters is a bored housewife who decides to cheat on her faithful husband in some odd and kinky ways, neglecting her children in the process. I pretty much wanted to punch her in the face, which one of the other protags does, too, so she justifies to herself sleeping with her cheating friend's husband--so then I wanted to punch her in the face, too.) So, like I said, I don't think I was really the audience for this book, but there definitely is an audience for it. So if you like femme-midlife-crisis stories, this is well-written and in an interesting format.

Thanks to Atria books for sending me an ARC of this title. Receiving a free copy did not affect my review.

Bookish Review: Save as Draft

Save as Draft is a novel of online dating, written in the epistolary style. It opens with a glossary of online shorthand, which I couldn't tell if was an attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor (in which case, it failed) or a serious reference for readers (in which case, seemingly unnecessary, because anyone who is not fairly web-savvy is probably not going to read this)--and, I object to the assertion that "oops" is onomatopoeia. But, I digress. My first thought was, "Cecilia Ahern, she is not."

I will say this--I though I had the book figured out in the first few pages, but it did not end as I expected, so points for that. The book is also clearly written from experience, and anyone who has ventured into online dating will recognize some of the vignettes included. The book is fairly well-written, but the lack of real resolution bothered me. I like my chick lit with a happy ending and all details tied up neatly with a bow--of course, the lack of happy ending makes the story more realistic, but really just made me cringe for the author (see "written from experience," above). Not a bad read, and it is quick.

Disclaimer: I received an advance electronic copy of this book from the publisher for the purposes of review. Free access to the book did not affect my opinion. For more information on Simon & Schuster's eGalley program, please visit www.galleygrab.com.

Bookish Review: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

Lauren Willig has again created a fun romp in her Pink Carnation series. The twist in this one is that our heroine is already married (she was forced into marriage at the end of the last book) and after relocating to India with her husband (yet another twist--it's not in England or in France!) she meets her true love. But she's already married! The horror! Will she come to love her husband? Will she run off with her new swain? Oh, the twists and turns!

I pretty much figured it out, but it was fun.

There is the usual spy snatching and fun interludes of Colin and Eloise to be had. If you've read the others in the series, you know what to expect. Fun and fluffy.

Bookish Review: Boy Meets Girl

Meg Cabot novels are the literary equivalent of a chick flick or a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Quic, fluffy reads--they don't stay with you long, but they'll leave you smiling for a little while. This is an epistolary novel, told primarily in emails, instant messages, and journal entries. Kate, the main character, works with her best friend in the HR dept of a newspaper in NY. She has a horrible boss, is living on her friend's couch, and recently broke up with her boyfriend of 10 years--though he's not accepting the break-up. Things start to go wrong at work and she is thrown into a meeting with a lawyer--whose brother is involved with her horrid boss. But the lawyer doesn't seem to be horrid at all...

Very cute. Recommended beach read.

Bookish Review: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose is the 4th book in a series by Lauren Willig. The books follow hapless grad student Eloise Kelly as she tries to uncover the identity of the Pink Carnation and other similarly-named flowery spies (think the Scarlet Pimpernel). The books all have two levels: Eloise and her research and her ever-deepening romance with a decendant of one of the flowery spies, and a past romance Eloise uncovers in her research. The books are light and funny romances with a bit of intrigue and danger.

This particular one follows Mary Alworthy, a beautiful and wily girl who lost her best chance at a good suitor to her sister, as she teams up with the slimy and seductive Sebastian, Lord Vaughn. The more time Mary and Vaughn spend together trying to ensnare the Black Tulip (a.k.a. the bad guy), the more they are drawn together. But when Vaughn's dead wife shows back up, and the Black Tulip draws ever nearer, things get a little complicated.

Fun series. Start with The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. They are better in order

Bookish Review: Plum Spooky

This is a "between the numbers" Stephanie Plum novel. All of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books are what I would call "fluffy." They are light, funny, enjoyable, and at time sexy. Nothing deep here, folks, but there's nothing wrong with that. The between the novels books are even lighter, if possible, and usually have a fantasy element. In this case, it is a Dracula-like character known as "Wulf." Also showing up is recurring character Deisel, who has some magical powers of his own. These books always read like they are written with a little less care than the main books in the series, but they are still fun.

PS-Sorry for the delay in posting--I was out of town

Bookish Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic is now in theaters, so I thought it would be a good idea to read the book before seeing the movie, particularly since Can You Keep a Secret?, also by Sophie Kinsella, was so good.

The book is about what you'd expect. The main character spends more than she can afford, and needs to figure out how to get a hold on her spending habits. For about the first 2/3 of the book, she is a pretty annoying character because she keeps spending and thinks if she doesn't read the bills, maybe someone else will pay them. However, the end of the book is pretty good and redeems the story, for the most part.

I have a feeling this is going to be a situation where the movie is better than the book, but I will report back after I've seen it.

Book Review: Can You Keep a Secret?

Can You Keep a Secret? is by Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic novels, coming soon to a theatre near you. This is the first book I have read by Kinsella, and it was much better than I anticipated. The book was, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, which was a bit of a surprise. Now, don't get me wrong--there is nothing deep or life-changing in this book. It is simply a fun, fluffy, fast read. But I think there is a place for books like that, and this one gets a place on my bookshelf.

Emma Corrigan doesn't have a great job, she hates to fly, and she has some embarrassing secrets. On a flight back from a disastrous business meeting, she imbibes too much, and when turbulence makes her certain she is going to die, she begins spilling all of her secrets to the handsome American stranger next to her, expecting never to see him again once they land. But he soon shows back up in her life in an unexpected way and starts turning her world upside down.

Good fun, great beach read. Recommended.

Bookish Review: Rosie Dunne

This book is by Cecilia Ahern, author of PS I Love You. It's an epistolary novel, which is not usually my favorite format. (The first one I ever read was Dear Mr. Henshaw, and I HATED it.) I think the story is pretty effectively told through the notes passed in class, letters, and emails, though.

It is the story of Rosie and Alex, best friends all their lives, and all the missed opportunities to be more than friends. The book shows how they grow and how their relationship changes over time, but they manage to remain friends despite the geographical distance between them and their romantic entanglements.

So, the story is good, don't get me wrong, but I spent the majority of the book wanting to scream at either Alex or Rosie or both, "You are an IDIOT! What are you DOING?" because it is so blatantly obvious that they should be together and they are in love with each other, but of course, they can't realize that the other is also in love with them. SIGH.

So, it was good, but...I wanted them to get together sooner. It was frustrating. But, the frustration does speak to the fact that I cared about the characters, so points to Ahern for that.

Conclusion: PS I Love You is bettter, but this is good, too.