nomadreader

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

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 “the rape factory.” 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 night…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 seen the documentary

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  (confirmed by two frie