Review Roundup

I know I know! I haven’t been posting much, and it’s not even because I have been busy. It’s because I’m just plain lazy.

I mentioned before that I read a LOT on the honeymoon, but that was so long ago now that I can’t remember all the finer points of the books. So, I’m just going to give you a quick and dirty run down:

First up … Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl. I read Reichl’s second book FIRST, Garlic and Sapphires. I really enjoyed that book …. However, I’m pretty much “feh” with her pseudo-memoir about growing up with a manic-depressive mother in the 60s. I’m sure that shaped her life, but I didn’t get how her relationship with her mother took her to a very well-respected place as food critic for the New York Times, which is why I picked up the book in the first place. Many of the characters were SO stereotypical (her grandmother’s sweet Jamaican housekeeper who taught her how to cook all the foods from the islands; for instance), I find it hard to believe that they ACTUALLY existed. If you want to read another Mother/Daughter relationship book, while Tender at the Bone IS well-written, I certainly wouldn’t recommend this one.

Second to bat … and speaking of the Mother/Daughter relationship genre … I read Amy and Isabelle poolside in Positano. (Was I really on my honeymoon only a short month ago?). I’m not a huge fan of this completely over-saturated genre, but I have to admit, I kinda like this one. Maybe because I swapped it at the hotel for Tender at the Bone and I didn’t invest any of my hard-earned moolah into it.

The nutshell: Amy (the daughter) and Isabelle (the mother) tenuously co-exist and work together one very hot summer following Amy’s short but intense affair with a substitute teacher at her school. The affair brings out the worst and best of both of the characters as they deal with some never discussed before family history. There were some very touching moments when the typically stand-offish Isabelle finds friendship and brings comfort to some very colorful and unlikely characters. It was a really quick read, it wasn’t predictable and it made me feel good when I finished it. Thumb’s up.

Third up … Atonement. Holy god, WHY have I never read an Ian McEwan book before? This book was fantastic. We were in London when I was reading this book and I made Ryan leave dinner early so I could go home and finish it. It will be hard to explain the plot without giving away the ending. So, I will say this, its set in London right before WWII. It centers around two sisters, Briony and Cecelia, and the boy next door, Bobbie. Briony makes an accusation toward Bobbie that changes all three of their lives forever. That’s all I can tell you, which is not the greatest review in the world, but trust me …. READ IT IMMEDIATELY. Read it before the movie comes out, which is soon, b/c I doubt the movie will be as good.

Fourth was Water for Elephants. For some reason, I am a sucker for a book about circuses. I’m not sure why, I don’t particularly like circuses. This book was a great little love story about a veterinarian, an elephant and a circus performer. The thing I didn’t like about the book was it jumped back and forth from the present day to the past, which is a pretty cheap literary device I have never been a fan of.

That’s it. I have not been reading anything in about a month … that’s what happens when My Life on the D-List, Top Chef AND Big Love are all on at the same time. Next on my TBR list …. Becoming Madame Mao.