How Did You Get This Number

How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley


Sloane Crosley is hilarious. If I had a great sense of humor, I would hope to write essays just like hers. With that being said, her writing is probably only funny to a niche audience and I happen to fall into that niche--children of the 70s/80s who have lived in New York or a city like it (yeah, I know there's no city "like" NYC, but bear with me). Her latest collection isn't as good as I Was Told There'd Be Cake, but in How Did You Get This Number, the stories are less about the city and more about her childhood (8os!) and her experiences outside of New York (and therefore, perhaps more palatable for non-New Yorkers). I literally laughed out loud at certain lines and especially dug into her last and best essay, "Off the Back of a Truck", when she lets down her guard a bit and lets us into a serious heartbreak (though somehow she makes even that seem hilarious).

Heart of the Matter

Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

Halfway through Emily Giffin's latest bestselling chicklit title, I realized most of her books center on the question of love--do we ever get over those we've loved before and can we ever be sure we won't love someone greater than the one we love now? I was prepared to hate the book because I figured the theme was overtold; however, I LOVED this book. It's not as good as Something Borrowed, but it's still a great story. She could have shaved off 50-100 pages in the middle because the characters were developed well early on, but once I got to the climax, I plowed through to see how it would end. I really wasn't sure. And so, by the end, I felt that 50-100 snoozers in the middle were worth it--Giffin really nails the heart of the matter with this one.

Imperfect Birds

Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamott


Lamott is a good writer and the characters were well developed in Imperfect Birds, but the story wasn't too exciting. Two middle-aged hippies worry about their 17-year-old daughter's drug addiction. 17-year-old girl continues to rebel and mother gets more and more distraught. I was disappointed.

When Will There Be Good News?

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson


I knew this book would have some suspense, but since it was categorized as simply "Fiction" and not more specifically as "Mystery" at my library, I was not prepared for just how suspenseful it would be! Or for just how much bad news could be told in one novel. Atkinson has a talent, though, for somehow interweaving dark and realistic storylines and providing the right human touches through different narrative voices to keep the reader hanging on. I was hooked from the beginning and, even though much was gruesome and I did find myself asking "When will there be good news," it was worth the ride.