SRP Book Review #5

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

360 pages

I started this book thinking I'd better read it before the movie comes out, but then I realized I will probably not see the movie for several months, after I can Netflix it. It was a nice summer read, anyway. It's been so hot that I haven't felt like doing much but read.

The book is a roman à clef, and it wasn't too hard to recognize the things that are uh, roman à cleffy about it. It is still a complete mystery how Andrea ever got the job at Runway in the first place. (Based on the description of the oufit she wears to the interview alone. I mean, I am a librarian and I would talk smack about an interview candidate who wore a mismatched suit.) It's sort of implied that Miranda is so difficult to work for that they are desperate to find anyone they can, but then Andy's told over and over how lucky she is to have the job. It sort of left me thinking that Lauren still has no idea how she got the Vogue job.

I enjoyed the story as a larger scale, more outrageous version of a fairly typical first-job-after-college experience. Everybody knows what it's like to be micromanaged, have a hard time balancing work and personal life, and feeling the pressure to compete in terms of looks/weight/fashion with other women in the workplace.

Over all, I thought the book was engaging and funny. I liked Andrea as a more real, flawed version of the typical chic-lit heroine. (Some of the protagoniststs in the genre are getting to be a little too cookie-cutter quirky-cute. Sure, they might have flaws, too, but most of them aren't any more severe than a penchant for eating cookie dough right out the tube.) I wasn't sure, though, if Weisberger was doing a bit of an unreliable narrator thing on purpose, or if it would have been a good idea for her to do some more exploration of her motives before writing the book. Among other things, it seemed slightly ridiculous to me that Andy would endure almost a year of a job she hated--to the detriment of her relationships with other people and her own integrity--without some sort of confirmation that she'd get a good recommendation at the end of it.

SRP Book Review #4

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes

456 pages

This is the latest book by Keyes about one of the Walsh sisters. Anna is the second youngest, and as the book opens she's temporarily living with the family back in Dublin after A Very Bad Thing has happened to her in New York. I can't say what The Very Bad Thing is, because you don't find out until at least 100 pages in. Since the entire book is pretty much about events leading up to TVBT and the aftermath of TVBT, I can't really say much else about the book. Even though it deals (well) with a pretty serious subject, I did quite a bit of laughing out loud, especially at the e-mail correspondence between Anna and her mother (pay special attention to Mammy Walsh's fondness for putting things in quotes), and Anna and the youngest sister, Helen.

I saw Marian Keyes do a reading from this book about a month ago, so it was fun to read again the parts she read, and be able to hear them in her voice. She was very funny at the reading, and thanked us for coming on the night of the Lost and American Idol finales. She's tiny, much smaller than she looks in photos, and her husband is kinda foxy. She calls him "himself."

Dear Trader Joe,

You know how I love you...how I missed you when I was away. You've even changed for the better, with wonderful new products like Almost Whole Wheat Pizza Dough. Since I have a birthday cake to make soon, I was thrilled to discover "Decadent Chocolate Frosting" down one of your aisles.

But...

The front of the frosting label prominently announces that it is "Ready to Use" while on the back, there is practically a dissertation about why you really, really think I should whip it before frosting my cake. In my opinion, frosting that needs to be whipped is not ready to use; there's scooping it out of the jar into the mixer, doing the actualy whipping, and finally, cleaning the mixer bowl and beater. Sure, it won't take long, but it'll be a sticky, messy task. I will inevitably wind up with frosting in my hair. And since you gave me about 15 reasons why it should be whipped, now I really will feel bad if I use it right out of the jar.

I really don't like these mixed messages.

I'm sure it will be much better than Betty Crocker, so I probably still would have bought it if I knew about the whipping. But, maybe the label should say "just whip and spread" or something, instead of "Ready to Use."

Love,
Someone who can't stay mad at you as long as you keep making Triple Ginger Snaps.

SRP Book Review #3

Three Junes by Julia Glass

353 pages

Three Junes tells the story of members and acquaintances of a Scotch (Or is it Scottish for people, Scotch for things? Anyway, they're from Scotland.) family by giving us snippets from their lives in June of 1989, 1996, and 1999. The time structure of the book is its gimmick, and because of this gimmick, we should only be getting small glimpses into the characters' lives. However, Glass has done an incredible job drawing vivid, complex, interesting characters and I felt like I had actually been taken through 10 years of their lives. It helps that each section is narrated by a different person, so, for example, in the first section we get a description of a character through his father, the next is narrated by him, and in the last we get the viewpoint of someone who has just met him. The plot is a little hard to describe. My first impulse is to say that nothing much happens, it's mostly character sketches, but then I realize that it's more that so many things happen, just as you would expect in a book that spans 10 years in the lives of at least 10 major characters.

For some reason, I was expecting a much lighter read, and I'm not quite sure why. (Maybe, because of the title, I was thinking it would be more of a summer read. And yes, I did read it in June on purpose. I am nerdy that way.) This book is really more of a "literary" book. I think it took me quite a bit longer than it would normally take me to read a book of this length because I got caught up in the language. I don't want to say that it's dense writing, because that would give entirely the wrong impression, but that was the first word that sprang to mind.

Dear CINTAS Truck Driver,

Well, excuse me, but I am in the habit of going slowly and checking my rearview mirror for pedestrians when I back out of a parking space. So when the car that zipped out of its parking spot almost hit me this morning, I felt I was perfectly justified in saying "Woah," and sort of waving my arms at the driver. Your scolding me that I needed to look where I was going was totally unjustified--especially since that car was still in its parking spot when I stepped off the curb. In fact, you were so out of line that I didn't even realize you were directing your statement at me until I was inside Starbucks. I would totally have told you all this to your face, but you weren't in your truck anymore when I came out.

Unless you're going to yell at the person who actually did something wrong, why don't you mind your own business? Ass!

Love,
A person who thinks a commercial driver should be more familiar with the "yield to pedestrians" rule.

Dear Harley,

I know you were picked up wandering along the Dixie Hwy, leading the
life of a roaming kitty hobo, but you're an indoor kitty now. Yes,
you are, too. I am too neurotic and have had too many bad things happen to cats to be able to handle having you go outside. You love me, I can tell from the purring and the biting, so please do this for me.

I think it's wonderful that you are still able to remove the window
screen in spite of the cardboard I had wedged in it to prevent you
from doing so. And I know the vet just told you you're too chubby, so
it must have been a real self-esteem boost that you were able to shove
your fat orange ass through the couple of inches the window was open.

The chirping birds woke me up. I guess you heard them too, that's why
you wanted out so badly? Maybe you could just stick to watching them
from inside. Imagine my alarm when, hearing footsteps on the roof,
I went to the window to look for the little black and white cat who
sometimes visits, only to find you gone and the screen askew.

I don't mean to freak you out, but you could TOTALLY have been EATEN UP by a COYOTE.

It's a good thing you like those dehydrated chicken treats so much. I
promise to give you one every day, diet or no diet, if you'll just
stay inside.

Well, at least you got some good exercise! It must have been quite a
workout to manage your escape, then do all that gallivanting around on
the roof. I won't let Maggie chase you today.

Love,

Your Squishy Lady who rescued you from the PetSmart adoption display,
feeds you, runs your laser pointer, loves you, and doesn't want you to
get lost/a disease/beat up by another cat/run over by a car and/or
fall off the roof. Okay?

PS: I'm sorry you threw up your chicken treat. I guess it was all the excitement. I'll give you another one later.

PPS: Where did you get a single blade of grass, anyway?

Nature? Bah.

I don't really want to be the kind of grumpy misanthrope (misornithrope?) who hates birds, but honestly, whose bright idea was it to call the noise they make singing? I've been waking up lately at about 4 am, and if I don't go back to sleep quick before the cacophony begins, I'm pretty much up for the day.

This is one way (maybe the only one) in which I preferred Florida. Muscovy ducks are the fugliest of the fug, annoying, and I was always a little scared of them, but at least they are quiet. The most bird noise I ever heard in Miami was a little polite cooing from the doves.

Maybe it is because of the air conditioning--I kept my window shut almost all of the time--or maybe because, in Florida, it doesn't start getting light at 3:45 in the morning, but I never had this problem there.

Note to self: the neighbors probably already think you're weird. Going outside at dawn to throw shoes at the trees, however tempting, is a bad idea.

File under: So Wrong, It's Right. (I hope)

Guess what I just heard? They are making a STAGE MUSICAL out of XANADU!


I was four when the movie came out, but I clearly remember going to see it with my family, one rainy day during our annual summer vacation at Hood Canal. I thought it was just about the coolest thing ever, and spent a good part of the next few years dancing around our rec room to the record and tucking the skirt of my unicorn dress up into my underpants on the sides in order to look more like Kira. (Unfortunately, the latter behavior wasn't limited to our rec room. Nope, I did that at school, too. I might as well have been a paste eater.) My sister and even my brother were similarly afflicted, although they mostly roller skated to the record, and, (as far as I know) didn't resort to any inappropriate makeshift clothing modifications.

A few years ago, my sister bought the video, and I was so excited to see it again. Boy, was I embarrassed for my younger self. And for poor Gene Kelly. The dialogue is unintentionally hilarious. Michael Beck's acting is bad, bad, bad, and his shorts are teeny weeny. (No pun intended.)

After the moderate (though slightly dubious) success of movie-based stage shows like Footloose and Saturday Night Fever (and disco-riffic success of Mamma Mia!), I guess it's not surprising that someone thought this would be a good idea.

According to this Playbill.com article, Alan Tudyk has been cast as Sonny. I lurve him, and I trust him not to do Bad Acting. Hopefully, the shorts will not be miniscule, but if they are, I guess he has some practice from 28 Days. Richard Kind is taking on the Gene Kelly role, and Kira will be played by the actress who originated the role of Penny in Hairspray. No word yet whether the actors will roller skate on stage, but we can only hope.

I don't know about this. I want to be excited. I have the feeling it could be sort of like the musical equivalent of Chicken in a Biskit crackers: Kind of disgusting, junky, conceived by someone who was obviously on crack, and totally irresistible. I hope so. Or, it could be a total train wreck. Either way, I must see it! It's scheduled to hit off-Broadway about this time next year. (below: "Yee Haw!")

Cat Trees Bear

Funny, yes, but I hope he doesn't run into a bear who isn't afraid of him! I think if I lived in an area where bears might come into my yard, my cat would be an indoor cat.

SRP Book Review #2

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates

481 pages

This book tells the story of a woman named Ariah, her two husbands, and her children. Through them, it also tells the story of Niagara Falls--the town, and the natural wonder. Oates paints a portrait of The Falls as a mecca for honeymooners and suicides, enclave of upstate New York's wealthy, industrial center, and environmental disaster area over approximately 30 years, starting in 1950.

Since the plot is not predictable, I don't want to give away too much of what happens to Ariah and her family. I enjoyed the first two thirds of the novel, but thought it fell apart a little at the end, as the focus turned to Ariah's children. The chronology is sloppy, and while I realize that she is probably telling the story in a nonlinear way for narrative effect, it didn't do it for me. Also, there is at least one mistake--Chandler, the oldest son, is said at one point to be in eighth grade at a pivotal event, later, he is said to be 11 during something that definitely happens quite some time after this event. Yeah, he's smart, but there's not mention of him being a freaky grade-skipping genius.

I am pretty sure I had heard of Love Canal before, probably in a high school social studies class, but this was a nice review, and I enjoyed reading about it from a fictional perspective, which I always think provides better insight as to how things like this effect real people. (Which is kind of twisted, I know.)

I enjoyed the book, but expected more, especially since it got great reviews. If you are looking to read a historical novel about Niagara Falls, I'd recommend City of Light by Lauren Belfer instead.

SRP Book Review #1

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

371 pages

This book was literary popcorn. Lighter than air, not very substantial, but I couldn't put it down until it was all gone.

Others have told me that they didn't like Kinsella's Shopaholic series because the heroine is simply too stupid to be believable. (I like them, but I suppose I am just more willing to believe in others' stupidity.) I think that Samantha, the protagonist of this book, is a bit more savvy, which makes the legal intrigue plotline fairly exciting. I figured it out before she did, but if it had been real life and that had happened to me, I would have been fooled, too.

However, there is little danger of a book featuring a Birken bag stuffed with cooking and cleaning implements on its cover being mistaken for a legal thriller. The hook is to see Samantha, competent career woman, flounder hilariously in domestic situations (she's posing as a housekeeper) and hook up with a hot guy she never would have considered in her fast-paced city life. The hilarity is definitely delivered, especially in the form of Samantha's nouveau-riche employers, and her attempt to make hummus by melting dried garbanzo beans in the oven. The guy, eh, is all right, but I thought he could have been a bit less of a cliche, and the plot device that keeps Samantha from telling him the truth about herself is the least believable thing about the whole book.

The ending? As predictably satisfying as can be expected from any book in this genre, and straight out of a Hanks/Ryan romantic comedy.