The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death – Laurie Notaro

Not sure if I have written about her here yet (I don’t think I have)  but I love Laurie Notaro. She is what I consider to be an essayist, and without fail – her books (I think they are referred to as the “Idiot Girl” series) never fail to make me actually laugh out loud. [...]

Suite Scarlett – Maureen Johnson

I have heard so much about Maureen Johnson. Not on reviews or anything, but because she is friends with my friend Herzy, and she is always lovingly referred to as “my friend, the author.” I finally had an opportunity to read one of her books, and I was kind of just putting it towards the [...]

Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp – Stephanie Klein

I am a little torn on this book. I really liked it and the recollections of camp were both painful to read, heartbreakingly funny and inspiring. What kind of ruined the book for me was the author’s tying it back to her current struggle with weight, and not just that it was unresolved (those of [...]

Bitter is the New Black – Jen Lancaster

Originally this was just a placeholder, but honestly – I don’t know what else to say. It was a memoir, it was funny. I don’t like her but like what she writes. Worth a read?

The Girls – Lori Lansens

This was truly the best book I have read in a long time. I finished it and was all “Ohhh yeah. Literature – that’s what that is like!” I felt the same way after reading “Middlesex.” I am not sure if its due to just reading so much fluff, and then reading something meaty, or [...]

Bright Lights, Big Ass – Jen Lancaster

Another memoir from Jen. It was funny, I laughed but I still don’t like the girl on a personal level. Or however personal you can get from reading someone’s book and blogs.

How the Other Half Hamptons – Jamsin Rosemberg

Elana gave me this book. It’s the story of twenty-somethings with a Hamptons beach share. I have some mixed feelings about this book.
Its certainly realistic. That was kind of cool. The problem for me (and not the fault of the book) is that I would have hated it. There is a mention of a girl [...]

Helping me help myself – Beth Lisick

Yet another “a year of …” by people who would normally probably be unlikable. This one’s premise is getting your life together, one self-help book a month, for a year. Wild! Wacky! Lessons learned: Almost none. The author lives the same life as before she started, except more thoughtful. Oh, and of course – the [...]

Belle du Jour : Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl – Anonymous

I almost stopped reading this book because I was dreading writing this post. I picked up the book because I used to read the serial story on I believe it was Salon.com or Nerve.com – Tracy Quan’s Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl. I haven’t read her novels yet (adding to the list), but I [...]

The Heroines: A Novel – Eileen Favorite

Posting an Amazon.com review seems to be working out for me…
On a picturesque acreage near Prairie Bluff, Ill., 13-year-old Penny Entwistle, and her mother, Anne Marie, run a retreat where literary heroines seek temporary refuge from their tragic destinies. Franny Glass, Madame Bovary, Scarlett O’Hara, Catherine Linton and others find respite from their varied crises, [...]