Sharon Plunkett has always been a Size 18 and has tried every diet known to man. But, all this changes when she goes to Dr. Marvel's Miracle Weight clinic and miraculously life does a 180 degree turn. Suddenly, it is "in" to be plus-sized and she becomes a famous model and celebrity. This is great until things go dramatically wrong! This book is a funny satrical look at our societie's obsession with weight.
Pam I Am lives in Arlington Heights with her husband, two children, and golden retriever. On any given day she can be found juggling work, dirty laundry, reading literature, or devouring a People magazine.
02/21/12
Nancy Jensen's debut novel takes the reader on a journey of two sisters lives over the course of eighty years. Mabel and Bertie are living with their stepfather after their mother has died and it is a sad and tragic life filled with horrible secrets. On the night of Bertie's graduation a misunderstanding leads to Mabel and Bertie seperating ways and each begins a new life far away from each other. The reader then learns what happens to these sisters and their subsequent families over the course of decades. Chapters are told from various women in the generations that follow. There are secrets, lies and heartbreak that ties each generation together. There is a family tree in the front of the book which was very helpful to keep track of the characters.
Tags: contemporary fiction
02/02/12
I grabbed this book just on the title alone! I always have a pile of stuff at the bottom of stairs in my house! This book is a humourous novel about a middle-aged mother of two young boys who finds herself frustrated with her life and more importantly her husband. Here is a funny look at marriage, motherhood and a house full of clutter.
01/23/12
This is a good introduction to "mommy lit". In Take It Like a Mom, Annie finds herself as a stay at home mom of a three year old with another baby on the way. She used to be a high-powered lawyer who always wore the right thing. Now, she can barely shower and put her hair in a ponytail before heading to the playground. Annie navigates the sometimes funny, sometimes tough life of a stay at home mom.
01/16/12
If you like Bridget Jones Diary or Sex In the City, then you should try J'adore New York. Catherine Lambert is a lawyer in Paris who accepts a transfer to work in New York City. Catherine is determined to handle the high pressure job, the glamour and glitz and find love.
12/29/11
During this busy holiday season, if you want something light, funny and a "classic" chick lit book, then Can You Keep a Secret is a good choice. It is an oldy but a goody (2004). Emma Corrigan is a junior junior junior marketing representative for Panther Corporation and is flying home from a business trip. There is turbulence in flight and frightened Emma panics and tells her seatmate all her dirty little secrets in life. When she shows up to work the next day everyone is bustling with the excitement of the CEO's impending visit to their office. Emma is shocked and mortified when the CEO turns out to be the seatmate she revealed her secrets to!! The story goes from there. . .
12/22/11
#5 Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Libby Day was 7 years old when her mother and two sisters were brutally murdered in their home and she narrowly escaped. Her brother was convicted of the killings -- based on her eyewitness testimony. But, now 25 years later she is revisiting the case and beginning to question what she thought she witnessed. She begins to look into the case and search for the truth.
#4 Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan
Maine explores the dysfunctional Kelleher family in all its glory. The narratin shifts between four Kelleher women as they come together at the family summer cottage in Maine. The reader is drawn to the individual stories and the characters are rich, funny, mean and much more.
#3 Room by Emma Donoghue
Room is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Told from 5-year-old Jack's point of view, this novel gives a unique and interesting perspective. Room chronicles the life of Jack and Ma as they are held captive in an 11 foot by 11 foot room. Room is the only world Jack has ever known and when this suddenly changes, Ma and Jack both must learn how to live in a much bigger world.
#2 State of Wonder by Anne Patchett
This book is an epic journey into the remote Amazon jungle and it is filled with mystery, deception, and peril. Marina Singh is a medical researcher working for a pharmaceutical company that is developing a new drug from research in the Amazon. Marina is sent to Brazil to investigate the death of her colleague and to push research for the new drug. The writing is rich and vivid and will engage you on every page.
#1 Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Euginedes
Euginedes explores the love triangle of three college graduates Madeleine, Leonard and Mitchell. Madeleine, an english major writes her senior thesis on Jane Austin and George Eliot, purveyors of "the marriage plot" that lies at the heart of many of the great english novels. Euginedes takes us into modern-day and examines if there can be a new "marriage plot" that includes feminism, sexual freedom, prenups, and divorce.
Tags: Favorites 2011
12/15/11
Libby Day was 7 years old when her mother and two sisters were brutally killed in their home and she narrowly escaped. At the time, Libby testified against her brother Ben and he is serving a life sentence in prison for the grisly murders and is thought to have been in a satanic cult. Now, 25 years later, Libby meets with a group that firmly believes in Ben's innocence. She reluctantly begins to revisit the horrible murders and try to find the real killer. Flynn alternates chapters from Libby in present day, to Ben on the day of the murders, and Ben's mom, Patty, on the day of the murders. The narrative of the day of the murder begins in the early morning and chronologically goes through the day. At the same time, the chapter's told in the present day from Libby slowly uncover inconsistencies and clues to what really happened. What an inventive and interesting way to tell a mystery! There are parts of this book that are very gruesome and troubling so it is not for the sqeamish. But, if you like a page turner, I recommend this.
Tags:
12/08/11
Emma Douglas has a seemingly perfectly "proper" life; good marriage, good job. Until, she finds her husband in bed with another woman and she quits her job in the wake of the scandal. Emma packs up and heads to England to nurse her wounds and to find the missing Jane Austen letters. She then heads on a series of adventures across England as she looks for the secrets of Jane Austen's life and letters.
12/04/11
Eugenides describes the lives of three college seniors at Brown University in the early 1980s. Madeleine, an English major, is writing her senior thesis on Jane Austen and George Eliot, authors of books about marriage that lie at the heart of the classic English novels. Leonard Bankhead, is a charismatic and depressed “bad” boy. Soon Madeleine finds herself in an erotic and intellectual relationship with Leonard. At the same time, her old friend Mitchell begins studying Christian mysticism and becomes obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is destined to be his mate. Eugenides explores this love triangle and if there can be a new “Marriage Plot” written for current times including feminism, sexual freedom, prenups, and divorce.