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.

Spoken from the Heart

Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush

One-hundred pages in and I was completely invested in Laura Bush's autobiography. The writing was touching and I kept wondering how much of it was actually written by her because it was so impressive. The way she described her mother's miscarriages and her own infertility as well as the joy she reaped from working in libraries and with children was beautiful. These lines are examples of what was really touching: "For an absence, for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent, ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held?"

And then, she met George again at age 30, got married in four months, and the book became really boring. She mentions that her family were long-time democrats, but somehow she never mentions that intriguing piece of her life again. She tells George she is not interested in politics, and they begin their married life by campaigning for a spot for him in Congress. And she really never speaks anymore about that. Does she suddenly become interested in politics? I'm not really sure. The last 3/4 of the book did not feel like it was "spoken from the heart," but instead from a scheduler's book with two lines about each event. It felt tedious and it felt boring. How could the life of a First Lady be boring? Somehow Laura manages to make it sound boring. And I still never really saw the bond she has with her husband. I'm sure it's there, but I wanted to see it. She's got it with her daughters and that was clear, but there weren't enough touching moments about her husband. Perhaps I was looking for too much--wanting to know what would make a liberal librarian without an interest in politics fall for George Bush. I still don't know, but perhaps that's a secret to be kept between them.

Gimmeacall

Gimmeacall by Sarah Mlynowski


Has anyone not had the thought "If only I'd known then what I know now" at some point? I doubt it and Sarah Mylnowski has created a winning young adult book based on this concept. 18-year-old Devi begins talking to her 14-year-old self after dropping her cell phone in a water fountain. Yeah, the premise sounds hokey and I'll admit it took me a while to get used to the back and forth (Devi, freshman year/Devi, senior year), but as the book progresses Mylnowski does an excellent job of showing all the different ways Devi's life could play out based on the choices of her younger self. Seriously, if given the opportunity, wouldn't you call your 14-year-old self and offer advice? Recommended for teens and all who enjoy fun, girly young adult lit.

Happy Now?

Happy Now? by Katherine Shonk


What an amazing, tough story. Claire's husband of less than two years, Jay, has committed suicide on Valentine's Day and Happy Now? explores the terrible grief and mixed emotions Claire experiences in the aftermath. When the book opens, the tragedy has already occurred so we get to know about Jay's depression and their relationship through flashbacks as Claire struggles to understand the how and why of the situation. If it sounds depressing, it is. But in a sense, it's uplifting. It's one woman's fight to survive what some might think is insurmountable.