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Showing posts from May, 2016

book review: Something New by Lucy Knisley

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The backstory: Lucy Knisley is one of my favorite comics artists. My reviews of her earlier books: French Milk , Relish , An Age of License , and Displacement . The basics:  "DIY maven Lucy Knisley was fascinated by American wedding culture . . . but also sort of horrified by it. So she set out to plan and execute the adorable DIY wedding to end all adorable DIY weddings. And she succeeded."--publisher My thoughts: Lucy Knisley and I share a love of food and travel. After reading Something New , it's clear we also share complicated views about weddings and the associated traditions. I still love to talk about my wedding. I still think fondly of my wedding. And I loved revisiting so many of the conversations I had about my wedding while reading about Knisley's. At the time, it felt like I was constantly justifying and defending my decisions (no engagement ring, matching simple wedding bands, not wearing white, walking down the aisle with Mike, etc.) But this r...

book review: The Last Good Girl by Allison Leotta

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The backstory: The Last Good Girl  is the fifth title in Allison Leotta's mystery series featuring D.C. D.A. Anna Curtis. This series is one of my favorites: starting with her debut mystery  Law of Attraction , continuing with the e-short story  Ten Rules for a Call Girl ,  and the novels  Discretion ,   Speak of the Devil , and A Good Killing . The basics:  "Emily, a [first-year student] at a Michigan university, has gone missing. She was last seen leaving a bar near Sigma Pi, the prestigious and secretive fraternity known on campus as ā€œthe rape factory.ā€ The main suspect is Dylan Brooks, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. But so far the only clues are pieced-together surveillance footage of Emily leaving the bar that nightā€¦and Dylan running down the street after her." My thoughts: Leotta jumps into the campus sexual assault crisis in a major way with The Last Good Girl. If you've read Missoula  ( my review ) or ...

book review: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

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The backstory: Curtis Sittenfeld is one of my favorite authors. I've thoroughly enjoyed all her novels, Prep,  The Man of My Dreams , Sisterland  and my all-time favorite novel, American Wife .  The basics: Eligible  is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It's set in contemporary Cincinnati. My thoughts: I begin this review with a confession: I have never read Pride and Prejudice . Unless you count the BabyLit version , which I have read to Hawthorne more times than I can count. Despite never having read it (or seen any of the film adaptations), I am quite familiar with the plot. I debated whether or not to read Pride and Prejudice  before or after Eligible. I spent months, in fact, with a copy of Eligible  on my Kindle debating. So I finally read it, and I'm glad I didn't read Pride and Prejudice  first. Sittenfeld writes in a way that is thoroughly modern and authentic, but I was able to guess the actual events of Pride and Prejudice ...