Monday, May 30, 2011

bossypants by tina fey

It's Memorial Day. I tagged along with my brother for his weekly road trip to Chicago. (I regularly reside in suburban Detroit). For the trip my bro downloaded Tina Fey's autobiography, Bossypants. The bulk we listened to on the trip there. We finished on the way home.

I loved it. There's something about people discussing their intimate feelings of inadequacy that make me feel at peace with myself. Tina's book is no exception. The book is extremely revealing. Far more so than I would have expected. From her first menses, to the dynamic behind the scenes at SNL, she is frank and liberal with details.

The audiobook is ideal for consuming this book. I am clearly biased. Here's my rationale: Tina Fey is a comedian. The book is basically an extremely personal and detailed stand up routine- At least it feels that way. Via audiobook you're practically guaranteed to get the comedic punches because Tina personally delivers the lines rather than leaving them to be marred by your own inner voice. Also, there are audio clips from an SNL sketch which you forgo (i would imagine) completely with the text version.

Regardless of which way you choose to read this, it's worth it. It's funny, inspiring, motivating, charming, my kinda book completely.

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain


In honor of wedding season beginning, or just coincidentally...I just started The Paris Wife. The recommendation comes from a solid source- future sister in law, Sarah. I downloaded the sample first from Amazon and was instantly hooked. I love those books. Here's a link to buy it now. The review is coming once I've finished.


ADDENDUM...
5/30/2011

I finished sometime in the middle of last week. LOVE THIS BOOK. Have I reviewed The Red Tent yet? I'm going to need to check on that one...

The Paris Wife is one of those historical fiction gems that I love so damn much (see The Red Tent). The narrator is Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. I'm going to leave out any mentions of plot but clearly they spend sometime in Paris and there is a whole lotta fun and recognizable name-dropping, their pal "Scott," for instance is F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby).

While I love Hadley, the rest of the characters (particularly Hemingway, himself) are awful people. They are like the hipsters of the 20s. Desperate elitists. Trying sooooo hard to be cooler than their friends. Despite the era difference, the characters are recognizable and on some level relate-able.

Great book to start off your summer reading :)

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

I am a few books behind. The most provocative part of this book, for me, was the about the author portion where I read that Ms. Obreht and I were born in the same year. It made me feel inadequate...that's not quite right. I'll figure it out.

The book trades point of view between a young doctor and her grandfather as a boy. The style of writing reminds me of more traditional literature. Less is more with description. At times the lack of explanation left me wanting more. Not in the way that when you read a book you don't want it to end but rather in a demanding way. Like, as a reader, you deserve more to the story.

It is beautifully written and certainly a book of substance. But not the light pre-summer read I was looking for. I recommend this more for a student looking to dissect a work.