Books
What have I just read?
Bob Sullivan's Gotcha Capitalism! It's basically about sneaky fees and how to avoid them. Lots of filler text unfortunately, I'd say skimming and reading the end of each chapter is enough. It makes me glad, I live in Europe so most of it doesn't apply to my life. I do have a few of my own to add, if he ever wants to make a European edition, but mostly I think we're better off.
Katie Fforde's Recipe For Love. Young girls takes part in a cooking competition and falls in love with one of the judges.
I don't know why I bother with Katie Fforde's books any more. The heroine is always a goody-two-shoes who's either a virgin or has been with very few men. [Spoiler (click to open)]She helps everyone out of the goodness of her heart and is rewarded with a man who loves her. But then there's a big misunderstanding where she believes he doesn't love her and instead of talking to each other they part ways. In the end everything is resolved and they live happily ever after.
This is a concise synopsis of the four Katie Fforde books I've read.
Lauren Weisberger's Chasing Harry Winston. That was a pleasant light read for two afternoons on the balcony. Rich New York City girls, men, careers, and a luxury life style. Eh, well. I do want to be Adriana de Souza, though. If I can't be as rich and pretty, I'll content myself with her expertise in seducing men. Yeah, this was fun. Unrealistic*, but fun.
Marina Lewycka's Various Pets Alive And Dead. Funny, quirky story about former hippie-commune-living parents and their children. Among them a financial analyst who can't confess to his parents that he's chucked in his PhD to work for the devil instead.
If you're looking for something to read, I recommend this.
What am I reading now?
Siri Hustvedt's The Summer Without Men, very fitting, don't you think? It is summer and I am without a man. It's about... No, wait, here have a quote instead: Sometime after he said the word pause, I went mad and landed in hopital. He did not say I don't ever want to see you again or It's over, but after thirty years of marriage pause was enough to turn me into a lunatic whose thoughts burst, ricocheted, and careened into one another like popcorn kernels in a microwave bag.
After her stay at the psychiatric ward she moves to her mother's small town for the summer to get away from everything and teach a group of pre-pubescent girls poetry. There are the mother's elderly friends, her own thoughts and the girls' poems. No men.
I'm struggling with it a bit because it jumps around so much. And also because the knowledge dropping (as opposed to name dropping) annoys me. It gives you the smug feeling of recognition when you get what it refers to but it's entirely unnecessary for the story.
I will try to finish it though , because I like the setting and the language.
What will I read next?
I have Anne Fortier's Juliet, but I already abandoned it once after 20 pages and started The Summer Without Men instead. It seems to be one of those books with rich aunts and a butler who genuinely loves the family. And I bet she'll go to Verona and find out something about her ancestor (Shakespeare's) Juliet and it will change her life forever. Too transparent. I'll probably return this to the library unread.
I also have Amitav Gosh's Sea Of Poppies. I'm looking forward to that one a lot.
*Show me a man who calls you every day for two months after you've told him to get lost and never returned his calls, who is not a stalker. makes me want to throw this book against the wall.
Bob Sullivan's Gotcha Capitalism! It's basically about sneaky fees and how to avoid them. Lots of filler text unfortunately, I'd say skimming and reading the end of each chapter is enough. It makes me glad, I live in Europe so most of it doesn't apply to my life. I do have a few of my own to add, if he ever wants to make a European edition, but mostly I think we're better off.
Katie Fforde's Recipe For Love. Young girls takes part in a cooking competition and falls in love with one of the judges.
I don't know why I bother with Katie Fforde's books any more. The heroine is always a goody-two-shoes who's either a virgin or has been with very few men. [Spoiler (click to open)]She helps everyone out of the goodness of her heart and is rewarded with a man who loves her. But then there's a big misunderstanding where she believes he doesn't love her and instead of talking to each other they part ways. In the end everything is resolved and they live happily ever after.
This is a concise synopsis of the four Katie Fforde books I've read.
Lauren Weisberger's Chasing Harry Winston. That was a pleasant light read for two afternoons on the balcony. Rich New York City girls, men, careers, and a luxury life style. Eh, well. I do want to be Adriana de Souza, though. If I can't be as rich and pretty, I'll content myself with her expertise in seducing men. Yeah, this was fun. Unrealistic*, but fun.
Marina Lewycka's Various Pets Alive And Dead. Funny, quirky story about former hippie-commune-living parents and their children. Among them a financial analyst who can't confess to his parents that he's chucked in his PhD to work for the devil instead.
If you're looking for something to read, I recommend this.
What am I reading now?
Siri Hustvedt's The Summer Without Men, very fitting, don't you think? It is summer and I am without a man. It's about... No, wait, here have a quote instead: Sometime after he said the word pause, I went mad and landed in hopital. He did not say I don't ever want to see you again or It's over, but after thirty years of marriage pause was enough to turn me into a lunatic whose thoughts burst, ricocheted, and careened into one another like popcorn kernels in a microwave bag.
After her stay at the psychiatric ward she moves to her mother's small town for the summer to get away from everything and teach a group of pre-pubescent girls poetry. There are the mother's elderly friends, her own thoughts and the girls' poems. No men.
I'm struggling with it a bit because it jumps around so much. And also because the knowledge dropping (as opposed to name dropping) annoys me. It gives you the smug feeling of recognition when you get what it refers to but it's entirely unnecessary for the story.
I will try to finish it though , because I like the setting and the language.
What will I read next?
I have Anne Fortier's Juliet, but I already abandoned it once after 20 pages and started The Summer Without Men instead. It seems to be one of those books with rich aunts and a butler who genuinely loves the family. And I bet she'll go to Verona and find out something about her ancestor (Shakespeare's) Juliet and it will change her life forever. Too transparent. I'll probably return this to the library unread.
I also have Amitav Gosh's Sea Of Poppies. I'm looking forward to that one a lot.
*Show me a man who calls you every day for two months after you've told him to get lost and never returned his calls, who is not a stalker. makes me want to throw this book against the wall.