Summer Book Reviews: Volume 1

I know that you sit up at night wondering what fine pieces of literature I am reading, right?  HA!  Here's a peek at a few books that I have made it through recently.  (You should see the stack I still have to read, hence this being Volume 1!)

If I hadn't already been convinced that Tina Fey is one of the smartest, funniest people on the planet, this book would have been more than enough evidence.  I read it in less than two days total, which is saying a lot for someone with the attention span of a fruit fly.  Whether she was talking about growing up, being the boss lady, or raising a child, I was consistently laughing out loud!  (Seriously, the cat was concerned.)  If you are looking for a memoir that reads like a beach read, this is where it's at.  

Technically, I finished this book in the winter and never wrote anything about it.  This is not a feel-good memoir, like Fey's, but it is one of the most beautiful eulogies I've ever read.  (Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin being the hallmark of this type of memoir.)  Sheffield is a writer for Rolling Stone, among other things, and he lost his wife tragically, much like Matt.  He mixes the mixed tapes he's created throughout his life with stories of his life, his wife, their love, and his loss.  It's a little heavy on the music references (sometimes I felt like I was completely uneducated about music), but it's still a very interesting and lovely read.

This is what I am currently reading, and it's never felt more timely with what is going on in the news.  Jennifer Weiner (ironic, right?) weaves a tale of a senator's sex scandal and how it affects the women in his life with great skill.  I'm only about halfway through, but it's proving to be a page-turner (which is great since I ended up spending so much time in the waiting room with grandma this week!).  I've read all of Jennifer's books and loved them, and I don't expect this will be much different!

My final book for this volume is Stacey Ballis' Good Enough To Eat.  Maybe it's just because I'm a chubby girl making my way in the world, but this book broke my heart and gave me hope.  It wasn't a comedy which is kind of what I was expecting (I loved the other Ballis book I've read, Sleepover), but instead was quiet and grace-filled.  It was a reminder that sometimes horrible things happen that we can't control, but what we must do is control our reactions to them.  The running joke between Amber and me is that we are friends like Stacey and her bestie, Jen Lancaster, and this book was a nice balance to Jen's fiction work, which I will review next time!

Your turn.  I'd love to hear what you have been reading!  Share in the comments!