Just Let Me Lie Down...

A very funny "dictionary" for working moms.  Written by the editor of REAL SIMPLE magazine (my all time favorite magazine E.V.E.R) she gathers together some commonly known terms (Getting to YES) and gives them definitions for the working mom.. or the mom who has committed herself to enough things that she is nearly crazed with stuff to do. 

The book is filled with quips and stories that will have you laughing out loud while nodding in agreement with her.  Seriously - I'd love to have a cocktail or two with this woman; I believe we are kindred spirits and would be life-long friends.

One of my favorites (or, one that is short enough to fit into this blog):  Technological Bipolarism: When you wake up in the morning and can't imagine how you would get through life without your Blackberry, but by bedtime you want to strap a bomb to it and blow it to smithereens.

Grab a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine.. this is worth savoring and is perfect for a good laugh.

Summer People

Again, I will say - I love Elin Hilderbrand!  Her books all have interesting and flawed characters, and her stories just flow.  They are easy, entertaining reads with enough romance and/or intrigue to keep you turning pages until the end.  

 

SUMMER PEOPLE is a term used by those who live in Nantucket year round, to describe the people who "come to the island, use it, and then leave".  It describes the main character's actions with people in her life, as well... she takes what she needs from them and moves on.  Only this time, she is faced with the consequences of her actions and the wake of those consequences.

It was a fun read - the characters didn't go where I wanted them to, but the novel was good, easy, entertaining.  It's a summer read - take what you need from it and move on...

Zeitoun

I just finished this book two days ago and am still thinking about it. I could not put it down and read the whole thing in 2 days. "Zeitoun" in a non-fiction novel following one family's experience living through hurricane Katrina in 1995. As I am not the most eloquent writer, I am including a review I felt summed up the feels I had about "Zeitoun":

"Imagine Charles Dickens, his sentimentality in check but his journalistic eyes wide open, roaming New Orleans after it was buried by Hurricane Katrina. He would find anger and pathos. A dark fable, perhaps. His villains would be evil and incompetent, even without Heckuva-Job-Brownie. In the end, though, he would not be able to constrain himself; his outrage might overwhelm the tale." TIMOTHY EGAN, New York Times

The Castaways

I love Elin Hilderbrand.  I have read many of her books over the last several summers - her books are the quintessential summer read.  Despite growing up in Connecticut, I have never been to Nantucket, but am quite familiar with its appeal and its lore, so I get a kick out of references to this magical (if too populated) island.   This story is a bit jumbled, however - the events take place chronologically after the death of the couple, but each surviving member of the group has his/her own sections which vascillate between flashback and current time.  I did find it challenging to track the love-triangles between the friends,  but all in all this was a fun, easy, perfect summer read.  I just prefer my summer reads to be, at times, even more brain-free than this one required of me.  I look forward to reading SUMMER PEOPLE by this author while I await my copy of FLY AWAY HOME by my other favorite summer author - Jennifer Weinner.

Best Friends Forever

After devouring the GIRL series that Beth has already reviewed, I needed something light, easy, fun and girly.  Jennifer Weiner never disappoints in that way - Her characters are never perfect, they are folks to whom you can relate easily, and her stories are fun. 

Beach Reading.. she is perfect for summer!

This story was fun, if not rather predictable.  However, even with its predictability, it is an enjoyable read from start to finish. 

Perhaps it is a kinship I feel with the author - we are the same age, and she grew up in the tiny neighboring town to mine in Connecticut.  The first book of hers I read endeared her to me from the start when she described places I knew all too well. 

Her stories will not inspire political debate, or hotly contested points of view, but if you want a feel-good, fun read, I'd highly recommend any of her books. 

Her latest, Fly Away Home, comes out this month, and I am anxious to download it!