20. Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty, by Nancy Etcoff deals with evolutionary psychology, biological responses, and the ways that commerce takes advantage of these impulses. Some chapters were more interesting than others.
21. U-Turn, by Bruce Grierson is about epiphanical moments that result in reversed decisions, lifestyles, careers, or principles. Though the anecdotes are interesting and involve people from all walks of life, levels of success, and age groups, I found myself skimming after the first hundred pages. The book just wasn't what I expected.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Book #19 of 2011
19. Between Here and April is a bit scattered, yet interconnected--much like life tends to be. From a faltering marriage to a de-railed career and an unsolved mystery, the main character never finds answers for the irksome enigmas and travails that plague her. I didn't much enjoy this book.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Book #18
18. Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella. Brittish chick lit is like cotton candy for the brain. It takes about as long to read as it would to watch the movie, and it's a fun little pick me up.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Number 17.
Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a book recommended by Forever Young Adult (as are so many tremendous reads). It's always odd to exclaim that I enjoyed a book filled with strife and grief, but that's the truth. Laugh, cry, think things over, but don't ignore this one.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Book #16 of 2011
Strike One
I started The Lake of Dreams, by Kim Edwards (author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter), but quit a third of the way through because I didn't care about the characters, setting, mystery, or conflict.
Strike Two
Next, I began to read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, but found it poorly constructed, and rather juvenille.
Score
At last, I discovered that Caroline Leavitt had a new (and I mean brand new) novel out. She's a reliable storyteller, with a knack for explaining estrangements. Pictures of You offers an intriguing premise: two women from the same town leave their husbands on the same foggy day. They're involved in a car accident and only one of them survives. The story deals with the unexpected ways this accident shapes the lives of the survivors. There are dissppointments in this novel, but it was hard to escape thoughts of the characters whenever I was forced to put the Nook down.
Pictures of You, by Caroline Leavitt (author of eight other novels) is book number 16 for 2011.
I started The Lake of Dreams, by Kim Edwards (author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter), but quit a third of the way through because I didn't care about the characters, setting, mystery, or conflict.
Strike Two
Next, I began to read Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, but found it poorly constructed, and rather juvenille.
Score
At last, I discovered that Caroline Leavitt had a new (and I mean brand new) novel out. She's a reliable storyteller, with a knack for explaining estrangements. Pictures of You offers an intriguing premise: two women from the same town leave their husbands on the same foggy day. They're involved in a car accident and only one of them survives. The story deals with the unexpected ways this accident shapes the lives of the survivors. There are dissppointments in this novel, but it was hard to escape thoughts of the characters whenever I was forced to put the Nook down.
Pictures of You, by Caroline Leavitt (author of eight other novels) is book number 16 for 2011.
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