Summary:
The second in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Sookie is a telepath, dating a vampire, and working for a shapeshifter. She has become a usually-unwilling detective for the Louisiana town of Bon Temps. In this second installment, she is ordered to go to Dallas and help the Dallas vampires find one of their own who has gone missing, while still trying to figure out who killed a co-worker/friend. The HBO series, True Blood, is based on these books.
Thoughts:
Not bad. It was better than some of the books I've read, sure, but I was continually comparing the book to the TV show. It killed off a fun character in the series, so I was disappointed about that. And the TV show delved more into some things that the book just barely glossed over. It's different, and I don't know that I like it better than the show version of events.
The writing is good, though. There's not a ton of cursing or obscene discussion of sexual situations, which I appreciate. I also found myself liking the not-boyfriend vampire more though, and it seemed that Harris was trying to get the readers to like him a little more. Though I could be crazy. Who knows.
Could be worse.
Pages: 291
Genre: Mystery/Fantasy
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread, but it's not bad enough to completely avoid.
6 down, 44 to go.
Buffy: Tales of the Slayer 2 or Before You Leap next. Not sure which... we'll see. Maybe both!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Everyone Worth Knowing (Lauren Weisberger)
Summary:
By the author of the Devil Wears Prada.
It's another look at NYC and the upper crust. This time around, instead of being about the fashion industry, it's all about the club scenes and a banker-turned-publicist named Bette. She quits her job in a fit of crazy and wallows in the glory of being without commitments or deadlines for a couple months until her family harasses her into feeling lazy, so she allows her uncle to set her up with a job from a chick she meets at a dinner party. What follows is an insider glimpse into the insanity that goes on behind closed doors with the trendiest of trendy, where Bette unwittingly picks up a British tabloid obsession of a boyfriend a la Colin Farrel in his hey-day, and loses herself in the keeping up of that lie and spending every night with a bunch of coke-and-liquor-obsessed assholes, while wishing she could hook up with the hot bouncer, or with her best friend who moves to LA with her coke-and-liquor-obsessed asshole of a fiance.
Thoughts:
The first few chapters are slow going, but only because Weisberger has to set up the characters and the scenes before she can rip Bette out of the life she knows and loves. Weisberger pulls no punches when she paints all the celebrity/socialite wannabes to be the aforementioned assholes. She obviously has seen enough of the trendy world, and hates everyone in it. Oh, and the book is complete with her own version of Gossip Girl, who turns out to be exactly who you might suspect.
I knew just about everything that was going to happen several pages before the book even started to suggest a plot twist. There were a couple of things I didn't 100% expect, but for the most part, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
There is one passage that I loved in the book, because it talks about exactly how I feel about cheesy romance novel type books. Bette is obsessed with romance novels, and talks about them all through the book. This is what she has to say about reading them:
"Escape was part of it, of course, but life wasn't so miserable that I had to revert to a fantasy world. It was inspirational to read about two gorgeous people who overcame all obstacles to be together, who loved each other so much that they always found a way to make it work. The sex scenes were a bonus, but more than that, the books always ended happily, offering such optimism that I couldn't keep myself from starting another immediately. They were predictable, dependable, entertaining, and most of all, they depicted love affairs that I could not deny- no matter how much feminism or political correctness or women's empowerment my parents could throw at me- I desperately wanted more than anything in the world. I was conditioned to compare every single date in my life to The Ideal. I couldn't help it. I wanted the fairy tale."
I love romance novels, too, though I actually prefer to have less sex scenes to read because reading those are just awkward sometimes. (Yes, everyone does it, but do you really need to describe to me how things work? I think I have an idea, thanks, and I don't care to have it explained in vivid detail.) Past that, I like reading all the lead-up and the angsty stuff that I never had to deal with. Lucky for me, I actually found The Ideal very early in my life. I've got that fairy tale. I just like reading other people's fairy tales too.
I will admit, though, when I started reading the book the first time, I couldn't get past the first chapter or so. It opened with Bette's best friend getting engaged, and I started reading this a good year ago or so, right when people all around me were getting engaged, and I wasn't, and I literally couldn't handle it. I'm in a better place now (and with a ring on my finger, too, obviously) and when I read that bit, I could read it with the proper anxiety for Bette, not for myself. It's funny how a year can change one's ability to read a book, huh?
Anyway, now that I've been thoroughly verbose, I'll sign off. Today's a day off, so I might be able to plow through another silly book while I'm all by myself. We'll see how it goes.
5 down, 45 to go!
Pages: 367
Genre: Chicklit, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread it, no. I probably wouldn't really recommend it either, actually.
By the author of the Devil Wears Prada.
It's another look at NYC and the upper crust. This time around, instead of being about the fashion industry, it's all about the club scenes and a banker-turned-publicist named Bette. She quits her job in a fit of crazy and wallows in the glory of being without commitments or deadlines for a couple months until her family harasses her into feeling lazy, so she allows her uncle to set her up with a job from a chick she meets at a dinner party. What follows is an insider glimpse into the insanity that goes on behind closed doors with the trendiest of trendy, where Bette unwittingly picks up a British tabloid obsession of a boyfriend a la Colin Farrel in his hey-day, and loses herself in the keeping up of that lie and spending every night with a bunch of coke-and-liquor-obsessed assholes, while wishing she could hook up with the hot bouncer, or with her best friend who moves to LA with her coke-and-liquor-obsessed asshole of a fiance.
Thoughts:
The first few chapters are slow going, but only because Weisberger has to set up the characters and the scenes before she can rip Bette out of the life she knows and loves. Weisberger pulls no punches when she paints all the celebrity/socialite wannabes to be the aforementioned assholes. She obviously has seen enough of the trendy world, and hates everyone in it. Oh, and the book is complete with her own version of Gossip Girl, who turns out to be exactly who you might suspect.
I knew just about everything that was going to happen several pages before the book even started to suggest a plot twist. There were a couple of things I didn't 100% expect, but for the most part, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
There is one passage that I loved in the book, because it talks about exactly how I feel about cheesy romance novel type books. Bette is obsessed with romance novels, and talks about them all through the book. This is what she has to say about reading them:
"Escape was part of it, of course, but life wasn't so miserable that I had to revert to a fantasy world. It was inspirational to read about two gorgeous people who overcame all obstacles to be together, who loved each other so much that they always found a way to make it work. The sex scenes were a bonus, but more than that, the books always ended happily, offering such optimism that I couldn't keep myself from starting another immediately. They were predictable, dependable, entertaining, and most of all, they depicted love affairs that I could not deny- no matter how much feminism or political correctness or women's empowerment my parents could throw at me- I desperately wanted more than anything in the world. I was conditioned to compare every single date in my life to The Ideal. I couldn't help it. I wanted the fairy tale."
I love romance novels, too, though I actually prefer to have less sex scenes to read because reading those are just awkward sometimes. (Yes, everyone does it, but do you really need to describe to me how things work? I think I have an idea, thanks, and I don't care to have it explained in vivid detail.) Past that, I like reading all the lead-up and the angsty stuff that I never had to deal with. Lucky for me, I actually found The Ideal very early in my life. I've got that fairy tale. I just like reading other people's fairy tales too.
I will admit, though, when I started reading the book the first time, I couldn't get past the first chapter or so. It opened with Bette's best friend getting engaged, and I started reading this a good year ago or so, right when people all around me were getting engaged, and I wasn't, and I literally couldn't handle it. I'm in a better place now (and with a ring on my finger, too, obviously) and when I read that bit, I could read it with the proper anxiety for Bette, not for myself. It's funny how a year can change one's ability to read a book, huh?
Anyway, now that I've been thoroughly verbose, I'll sign off. Today's a day off, so I might be able to plow through another silly book while I'm all by myself. We'll see how it goes.
5 down, 45 to go!
Pages: 367
Genre: Chicklit, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread it, no. I probably wouldn't really recommend it either, actually.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Aunt Dimity's Death (Nancy Atherton)
Summary:
The book opens with Lori Shepherd, a broke woman still mourning her mother's death several years prior, gets a phone call asking her to go to Willis & Willis, a law firm. When she reaches Willis & Willis, she finds out that the heroine to her favorite stories from her childhood, Aunt Dimity, was not just a character from her single mother's imagination, but actually a live human being, and in fact, her mother's best friend and pen pal for forty-plus years. What follows is a heart-warming trek through her mother's and Dimity's past, filled with despair, romance, and an appearance (of sorts) of ghostly Aunt Dimity herself.
Thoughts:
What a beautifully told, and fun story this was.
Ms. Atherton's writing made me not want to put down the book, ever. Even when I was falling asleep because it was 2am, and I was going to be woken up at 7, I couldn't leave Lori and Dimity alone. Sure, I wanted to smack Lori around a few times for her obliviousness. Sure, I figured out how some of the romancey stuff was going to turn out. But Dimity's whole mysterious story kept me guessing.
I highly recommend this one. It's a great story that had me giggling at some bits, and on the edge of my seat for others. And an added bonus is that there are thirteen other Dimity stories for me to sink my teeth into! I'll be quite busy this year, I think.
4 down, 46 to go!
Pages: 244
Genre: Mystery with a dash of fantasy and a hint of romance.
Grade: A+
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely, and I'll be reading more in the future.
The book opens with Lori Shepherd, a broke woman still mourning her mother's death several years prior, gets a phone call asking her to go to Willis & Willis, a law firm. When she reaches Willis & Willis, she finds out that the heroine to her favorite stories from her childhood, Aunt Dimity, was not just a character from her single mother's imagination, but actually a live human being, and in fact, her mother's best friend and pen pal for forty-plus years. What follows is a heart-warming trek through her mother's and Dimity's past, filled with despair, romance, and an appearance (of sorts) of ghostly Aunt Dimity herself.
Thoughts:
What a beautifully told, and fun story this was.
Ms. Atherton's writing made me not want to put down the book, ever. Even when I was falling asleep because it was 2am, and I was going to be woken up at 7, I couldn't leave Lori and Dimity alone. Sure, I wanted to smack Lori around a few times for her obliviousness. Sure, I figured out how some of the romancey stuff was going to turn out. But Dimity's whole mysterious story kept me guessing.
I highly recommend this one. It's a great story that had me giggling at some bits, and on the edge of my seat for others. And an added bonus is that there are thirteen other Dimity stories for me to sink my teeth into! I'll be quite busy this year, I think.
4 down, 46 to go!
Pages: 244
Genre: Mystery with a dash of fantasy and a hint of romance.
Grade: A+
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely, and I'll be reading more in the future.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Charmed & Deadly (Candace Havens)
Summary:
Basic premise is that Bronwyn is a high witch who pretty much always has someone out to kill her. She works for the British Prime Minister, and often works alongside the chief of the International Magic Police. She has a hunky boyfriend who she talks about incessantly, but it's not too annoying, and a bunch of magically inclined friends that surround her. In this book, there's four major plots going on: One is that her ex who tried to kill her in college is out to get her again. Two is that her father-figure type friend gets kidnapped. Three is that her brother who works in Africa with "Doctors Across Borders" gets kidnapped, again. And four is that there's a dark magic using dude hanging out with the PM and she's got to figure out who it is. Meanwhile she's got all kinds of personal issues she needs to deal with on top of all these other issues.
Thoughts:
Fabulous. Apparently it's #3 in a series, so I'm going to have to hunt for the others now.
All this stuff gets weaved together so seamlessly, it's hard to believe. Obviously, it's a quick read, considering I started it at about 2 yesterday, read for a total of maybe 8 hours, and I'm through already. But it's really great. The writing is fun, and Bron is an awesome character, as are all of her friends. Ms. Havens does a great job of weaving this web of crazy to the point that when you get to the end of the book, you're thinking to yourself, "okay, this is over now, time for things to settle down, right?" and then she smacks you upside the head with a couple more plot twists.
The writing style could use just a little help though. She starts writing in the present tense, but then suddenly it's past tense, then present again... She just needs to make up her mind a little. It's a little distracting, but then again, that's how we all tell stories, right? "So I'm going up to this guy and he goes "hey." and I said "hey." and then he hugged me and I hug him back and the end." It's really a matter of editing, but the story absolutely makes up for it, because it's just so engaging.
Again, really a great read, and I fully plan on hunting down Charmed and Dangerous, and Charmed and Ready, to see where Bronwyn's story actually began.
Pages: 258
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, and a little Romance
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: YES!!
Time for me to get to work! Gotta run!
3 down, 47 more to go!
Basic premise is that Bronwyn is a high witch who pretty much always has someone out to kill her. She works for the British Prime Minister, and often works alongside the chief of the International Magic Police. She has a hunky boyfriend who she talks about incessantly, but it's not too annoying, and a bunch of magically inclined friends that surround her. In this book, there's four major plots going on: One is that her ex who tried to kill her in college is out to get her again. Two is that her father-figure type friend gets kidnapped. Three is that her brother who works in Africa with "Doctors Across Borders" gets kidnapped, again. And four is that there's a dark magic using dude hanging out with the PM and she's got to figure out who it is. Meanwhile she's got all kinds of personal issues she needs to deal with on top of all these other issues.
Thoughts:
Fabulous. Apparently it's #3 in a series, so I'm going to have to hunt for the others now.
All this stuff gets weaved together so seamlessly, it's hard to believe. Obviously, it's a quick read, considering I started it at about 2 yesterday, read for a total of maybe 8 hours, and I'm through already. But it's really great. The writing is fun, and Bron is an awesome character, as are all of her friends. Ms. Havens does a great job of weaving this web of crazy to the point that when you get to the end of the book, you're thinking to yourself, "okay, this is over now, time for things to settle down, right?" and then she smacks you upside the head with a couple more plot twists.
The writing style could use just a little help though. She starts writing in the present tense, but then suddenly it's past tense, then present again... She just needs to make up her mind a little. It's a little distracting, but then again, that's how we all tell stories, right? "So I'm going up to this guy and he goes "hey." and I said "hey." and then he hugged me and I hug him back and the end." It's really a matter of editing, but the story absolutely makes up for it, because it's just so engaging.
Again, really a great read, and I fully plan on hunting down Charmed and Dangerous, and Charmed and Ready, to see where Bronwyn's story actually began.
Pages: 258
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, and a little Romance
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: YES!!
Time for me to get to work! Gotta run!
3 down, 47 more to go!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Watchmen (Alan Moore)
Read in March '07
Summary:
If you've seen the movie, you know the exact story. It's about a bunch of aging superheros who have all retired from their hero-ing duties. But unfortunately, someone starts killing off the heroes. The rest of the heroes try to figure out who it is and how to stop them. Oh, and P.S. it's a comic book.
Thoughts:
Good. Stuff.
It's a graphic novel, but it reads like a standard novel. It's a great overall story, a solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Even when you find out who's behind it all, you're still wondering what the hell's going on.
The Watchmen is a DC comic that was originally going to be about a bunch of the bigger characters in the DC Universe, but they decided that they didn't want to kill off the big names, so they created new characters just for this comic.
The only down side to this comic is the huge walls of text that come after each issue. Many of them read like text books, and bored the snot out of me. (I, like Jeff, actually skipped the one that was all about birds. No thank you.)
I highly recommend this book, though. If you're into comics at all whatsoever, you should read it. If you're not, you should still read it, because it's on Time Magazine's list of top 100 novels. It may be a slow read, but it's worth the ending.
Pages: Unknown (read too long ago)
Genre: Graphic Novel/Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely
Summary:
If you've seen the movie, you know the exact story. It's about a bunch of aging superheros who have all retired from their hero-ing duties. But unfortunately, someone starts killing off the heroes. The rest of the heroes try to figure out who it is and how to stop them. Oh, and P.S. it's a comic book.
Thoughts:
Good. Stuff.
It's a graphic novel, but it reads like a standard novel. It's a great overall story, a solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Even when you find out who's behind it all, you're still wondering what the hell's going on.
The Watchmen is a DC comic that was originally going to be about a bunch of the bigger characters in the DC Universe, but they decided that they didn't want to kill off the big names, so they created new characters just for this comic.
The only down side to this comic is the huge walls of text that come after each issue. Many of them read like text books, and bored the snot out of me. (I, like Jeff, actually skipped the one that was all about birds. No thank you.)
I highly recommend this book, though. If you're into comics at all whatsoever, you should read it. If you're not, you should still read it, because it's on Time Magazine's list of top 100 novels. It may be a slow read, but it's worth the ending.
Pages: Unknown (read too long ago)
Genre: Graphic Novel/Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely
The 1-800-Where-R-U? Series (Meg Cabot)
When Lightning Strikes, Code Name Cassandra, Safe House, Sactuary, and Missing You.
Read between January '07 and February '08.
Summary:
The basic story is that this girl, Jess, gets struck by lightning, and suddenly wakes up the next morning with the ability of being able to pinpoint exactly where any given person is, so long as she sees a picture of the person, or touches something of theirs. In each book, she finds herself under more and more scrutiny over her ability, and she has to fight off everyone that tries to stand in the way of her finding those kids.
Thoughts:
It's an awesome book series. The main character, Jess Mastriani, is a strong girl who, at first, is wiggy about her new ability, but eventually takes it all in stride, and manages to embrace her ability. She, like any other teenaged girl, has a crush on a hunky guy, and things progress fairly well on that front through the series.
Cabot knows just how to write a story with enough angst to get you hoping for a happy ending, and then she delivers said ending with enough time for you to digest the ending, and still have a little left up in the air so that you want to keep reading more.
I loved this series, and the only reason why it took me so long to finish the 5-book series is because I wanted to drag it out a little bit for myself because it's just so good.
Pages: Unknown.
Genre: Teen lit/Chick lit
Grade: A to B, depending on the book, but averaging about an A-
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely.
Read between January '07 and February '08.
Summary:
The basic story is that this girl, Jess, gets struck by lightning, and suddenly wakes up the next morning with the ability of being able to pinpoint exactly where any given person is, so long as she sees a picture of the person, or touches something of theirs. In each book, she finds herself under more and more scrutiny over her ability, and she has to fight off everyone that tries to stand in the way of her finding those kids.
Thoughts:
It's an awesome book series. The main character, Jess Mastriani, is a strong girl who, at first, is wiggy about her new ability, but eventually takes it all in stride, and manages to embrace her ability. She, like any other teenaged girl, has a crush on a hunky guy, and things progress fairly well on that front through the series.
Cabot knows just how to write a story with enough angst to get you hoping for a happy ending, and then she delivers said ending with enough time for you to digest the ending, and still have a little left up in the air so that you want to keep reading more.
I loved this series, and the only reason why it took me so long to finish the 5-book series is because I wanted to drag it out a little bit for myself because it's just so good.
Pages: Unknown.
Genre: Teen lit/Chick lit
Grade: A to B, depending on the book, but averaging about an A-
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely.
Sense & Sensibility (Jane Austen)
Summary:
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
The Devil in the Junior League (Linda Francis Lee)
Posting this here so I can keep up with my posting books on LJ. Just finished another, so stay tuned for more posting...
Finished January 2010.
Summary:
The main character, Frede, (said "Freddie") gets taken for all her money from her asshole husband, and then makes a deal that she'll get her very unrefined neighbor that was a friend in middle school into her exclusive society.
Thoughts:
First finished book of the year. Yeah, so I started it last year, but if I didn't finish books I started last year, I'd never finish about a half dozen books.
Anyway, the book was good. It started pretty slow, but after the first 100 pages or so, it really picked up, and was off and running for the last 200 or so. It's an interesting romp through Texan high society. The first two thirds of the book have Frede getting more and more piled on her shoulders, and then the last third is her taking care of business. It's definitely worth pushing through the first part, to get to the good parts.
Pages: Unknown (didn't have the blog yet!)
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: B
Would I Read Again?: Probably
1 book down for the year, and I'm thinking 49 to go.
Finished January 2010.
Summary:
The main character, Frede, (said "Freddie") gets taken for all her money from her asshole husband, and then makes a deal that she'll get her very unrefined neighbor that was a friend in middle school into her exclusive society.
Thoughts:
First finished book of the year. Yeah, so I started it last year, but if I didn't finish books I started last year, I'd never finish about a half dozen books.
Anyway, the book was good. It started pretty slow, but after the first 100 pages or so, it really picked up, and was off and running for the last 200 or so. It's an interesting romp through Texan high society. The first two thirds of the book have Frede getting more and more piled on her shoulders, and then the last third is her taking care of business. It's definitely worth pushing through the first part, to get to the good parts.
Pages: Unknown (didn't have the blog yet!)
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: B
Would I Read Again?: Probably
1 book down for the year, and I'm thinking 49 to go.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger)
The first of many reposted reviews. These will be basically reposted directly from the original posts. Onward!
Originally read January '07
Summary:
The basic story, for those who don't know, is this. Andrea (Andy) Sachs is a writer. She wants to write for the New Yorker some day. She's fresh out of college, and has to find herself a job. She gets a job at Runway, a fashion magazine. She's so very not into the whole fashion scene, but hey, it's a job, and she was told that if you work a year for Miranda, you can get a job anywhere you want. Andy works for the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, Miranda Priestly. Now, she didn't know until after she got the job, but... Miranda's a major bitch. Worst you could meet, quite frankly. So Andy fights, tooth and nail, to make it through just one year with Miranda, and then she'll be able to get herself that dream job at the New Yorker. But it costs her a lot in the way of personal relationships, and her own sanity.
Thoughts:
Good book. It took me a while to read, partially because I had things going on this weekend, (went to the City with Jeff to see Tarzan. Good show!) and partially because it was a longer, more involved book than the others I've read so far.
The book definitely was different from the movie. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book and want to won't get spoiled. Skip to the line of asterisks at the end of the post for the non-spoiler stuff.
For one thing, everyone's supposed to be blondes. Two, you hardly ever see Nigel. In fact, Nigel is just shy of non-existant. He shows up three times, all the while shouting all in caps. It's like Weisberger caught the caps lock and forgot to shut it off until after Nigel spoke the first time, and she decided hey, what the hell, I'll just do that every time Nigel speaks. That'll be fun. It's strange. But yeah, he's not really that much of a part of the book. There's a guy that works in the fashion editing department, who seems to be in charge of the Closet, where they keep all the awesome Dolce, Chanel, Prada, Manolos, Jimmy Choos, etc. He's the one that really befriends Andy like Nigel does in the movie.
Andy's pretty much the same, except for the blonde thing. Miranda is supposed to be blonde as well, and a size zero. No offense to Meryl Streep, but she's no size zero.
The story was basically the same as the movie, except for a few minor points. Andy didn't yet live in NYC, and had to go apartment shopping. She wound up with a couple of Indian girls that she never saw/spoke to, and then moved in with Lily, her best friend, not Alex, her boyfriend.
Lily was the biggest change from book to movie. Lil was not the sweet, creative artist that loved the new bag Andy brought to her. Oh no. Lily was a student, going for her master's, and a drunk. There were few times when you saw Lily when she wasn't drinking, especially for the second half of the book. It got worse and worse. Not only that, she was a complete slut, going out with at least a dozen guys over the course of the book, and probably a few more that you don't even read about. At one point, she got so drunk that she brought home some creepy guy and had passed out after they'd done the deed, and didn't remember who he was when she woke up to Andy and Alex trying to get the guy to leave. Badness. She got arrested for flashing someone. And the worst of all of it, she was driving while drunk, and her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and went down the wrong way on a one-way street. BANG. Car accident. Lily went into a coma. And Andy, of course, was in Paris with Miranda.
The way Andy quit was so much better in the book than it was in the movie. Movie!Andy just walked away, and tossed her cell phone in a fountain. Book!Andy was much bolder. Miranda had just asked her to literally do the impossible. (Namely, renew her daughters' passports in three hours so they could get on a plane to Paris with their step father.) Andy just stared at her, then pulled out her cell, called her mom, and told her she'd be coming home from Paris. Then to Miranda she said, and I quote, "Fuck you, Miranda. Fuck you." During a show in Paris. With a mob of people around her. It was FABULOUS. Then, after another great zinger, she turns and leaves. It was absolutely fabulous.
*****************
I loved the ending of the book. You didn't see Miranda being all approving and giving her a smile. But it was a perfect ending for the book. Overall, I definitely liked the book, though it was a lot slower going than the other books I read that year.
Pages: Unknown (didn't keep track of this before.)
Genre: Chick Lit
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: I probably would. It was a good quality book, though a little wordy if I remember right. It's worth the read, though. I remember liking it a lot.
Originally read January '07
Summary:
The basic story, for those who don't know, is this. Andrea (Andy) Sachs is a writer. She wants to write for the New Yorker some day. She's fresh out of college, and has to find herself a job. She gets a job at Runway, a fashion magazine. She's so very not into the whole fashion scene, but hey, it's a job, and she was told that if you work a year for Miranda, you can get a job anywhere you want. Andy works for the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, Miranda Priestly. Now, she didn't know until after she got the job, but... Miranda's a major bitch. Worst you could meet, quite frankly. So Andy fights, tooth and nail, to make it through just one year with Miranda, and then she'll be able to get herself that dream job at the New Yorker. But it costs her a lot in the way of personal relationships, and her own sanity.
Thoughts:
Good book. It took me a while to read, partially because I had things going on this weekend, (went to the City with Jeff to see Tarzan. Good show!) and partially because it was a longer, more involved book than the others I've read so far.
The book definitely was different from the movie. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book and want to won't get spoiled. Skip to the line of asterisks at the end of the post for the non-spoiler stuff.
For one thing, everyone's supposed to be blondes. Two, you hardly ever see Nigel. In fact, Nigel is just shy of non-existant. He shows up three times, all the while shouting all in caps. It's like Weisberger caught the caps lock and forgot to shut it off until after Nigel spoke the first time, and she decided hey, what the hell, I'll just do that every time Nigel speaks. That'll be fun. It's strange. But yeah, he's not really that much of a part of the book. There's a guy that works in the fashion editing department, who seems to be in charge of the Closet, where they keep all the awesome Dolce, Chanel, Prada, Manolos, Jimmy Choos, etc. He's the one that really befriends Andy like Nigel does in the movie.
Andy's pretty much the same, except for the blonde thing. Miranda is supposed to be blonde as well, and a size zero. No offense to Meryl Streep, but she's no size zero.
The story was basically the same as the movie, except for a few minor points. Andy didn't yet live in NYC, and had to go apartment shopping. She wound up with a couple of Indian girls that she never saw/spoke to, and then moved in with Lily, her best friend, not Alex, her boyfriend.
Lily was the biggest change from book to movie. Lil was not the sweet, creative artist that loved the new bag Andy brought to her. Oh no. Lily was a student, going for her master's, and a drunk. There were few times when you saw Lily when she wasn't drinking, especially for the second half of the book. It got worse and worse. Not only that, she was a complete slut, going out with at least a dozen guys over the course of the book, and probably a few more that you don't even read about. At one point, she got so drunk that she brought home some creepy guy and had passed out after they'd done the deed, and didn't remember who he was when she woke up to Andy and Alex trying to get the guy to leave. Badness. She got arrested for flashing someone. And the worst of all of it, she was driving while drunk, and her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and went down the wrong way on a one-way street. BANG. Car accident. Lily went into a coma. And Andy, of course, was in Paris with Miranda.
The way Andy quit was so much better in the book than it was in the movie. Movie!Andy just walked away, and tossed her cell phone in a fountain. Book!Andy was much bolder. Miranda had just asked her to literally do the impossible. (Namely, renew her daughters' passports in three hours so they could get on a plane to Paris with their step father.) Andy just stared at her, then pulled out her cell, called her mom, and told her she'd be coming home from Paris. Then to Miranda she said, and I quote, "Fuck you, Miranda. Fuck you." During a show in Paris. With a mob of people around her. It was FABULOUS. Then, after another great zinger, she turns and leaves. It was absolutely fabulous.
*****************
I loved the ending of the book. You didn't see Miranda being all approving and giving her a smile. But it was a perfect ending for the book. Overall, I definitely liked the book, though it was a lot slower going than the other books I read that year.
Pages: Unknown (didn't keep track of this before.)
Genre: Chick Lit
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: I probably would. It was a good quality book, though a little wordy if I remember right. It's worth the read, though. I remember liking it a lot.
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