4chixpost

Girls Like Us

I am going to try and review this book by Sheila Weller without giving too much away in case you have not read it - because you should! This is the bio of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon that I have been talking about for a couple of months and finally got to read. I could not put it down - all 525 pages on a Saturday and rainy Sunday.

I saw Weller give an interview where she explained this is not the book she set out to write, and it  shows. Better at research that at prose, her original goal was to write an in depth analysis on the counterculture revolution. Can't do that without the history of rock and roll, and she got sidetracked by that and eventually changed her focus. This is the counterculture revolution, the feminist movement, celebrity, gossip, music, and lets not forget sex, drug, and rock and roll told through the eyes of three very different women.  This is a meticulously researched book, at times told in excruciating detail (that I loved and hung on every word but if it is not your liking you can skip) and very much of an oral history. It struck me how many of the people that she interviewed in the course of writing the book died before she got it published.

The most interesting thing to me was the inspiration behind all of the songs that you know and love so well. It makes you want to go back and listen to all of them, and to re-listen to some artists you may have forgotten about. A good example is Laura Nyro. Search her on itunes. Others made huge hits out of her songs but there is nothing like hearing her sing them in her own distinctive voice. I was also touched by the story of her erroneously thinking she got booed at Monterey - footage was discovered that showed she misheard the crowd noises that night but she died before it could be played for her. It was an event that had tortured her throughout her career and caused her to retire from music for many years. Yes, the tortured artist story is rampant in this book.

Speaking of Itunes, my slightly OCD perfect songlist thing has kicked in so naturally I am attempting to make the perfect Girls Like Us song list - I am up to 22 songs now and re-reading the book for anything I missed. Not just the girls but their lovers, husbands, and inspirations. I am also polling people about which of the three is their favorite and wondering what that tells me about them. For me, it is Carol King. For at least one of the chix on this blog, I know it is Joni Mitchell. That is my brother's favorite too, and my mom has always loved Carly Simon. DH isn't sure he could distinguish one from the other but I think he is yanking me on that because I caught him reading it last night.

What do you think? Have you read it or are you reading it? Which one is your favorite?

Remember Me?

Got a chance to read Sophie Kinsella's new book this weekend, and boy, is it fun! I enjoy her stand alone books as much, if not more, than the ones from the Shopaholic series.

This one is really pretty original and rather than review it myself, click her for what Sophie herself has to say about it: Link to video

She also talks about the "Confessions of a Shopaholic" movie due out next year starring Isla Fischer (Mrs. Borat) as Becky. Happy reading!

The Friday Night Knitting Club - Book Review

I first became aware of this book when I heard Julia Roberts bought the rights to it and will produce and star in it. Make sense, since she is a well known knitter (and makes a small appearance in the book's plot) and one critic called the book "Steel Magnolias set in Manhattan." I could also picture her buddy Denzel cast in this, as well as Helen Mirren, Margaret Cho, Nora Ephron, and maybe Jenifer Anniston (did you hear she is dating Smith Jerrod from SATC?? I digress) Anyway, that gives you an idea of the wide range of characters in the book. If you read this blog, you know I have a penchant for fiction that is several steps above "chick lit" of the mind candy variety  and is quality though not Pulitzer caliber fiction. Like Jenifer Weiner of In Her Shoes. I would put this in that category.

For a book like this to work you have to believe in the special nature of women's friendships and the resiliency of it across changing life circumstances, slights real and imagined, annoying habits, and seemingly one-sidedness. Friendships that aren't perfect but thrive amid all their bumps and bruises, because people themselves are flawed. If there are no perfect people there are no perfect friendships but they can rise to the occasion just like we can. Often they are best when tried by circumstances, geography, and time. These women and their friendships are completely believable and that is why the book works for me. I read it in two sittings - it is perfect to cozy up on the couch on for a winter day. It's out in paperback and I got mine at Target for $10. Happy reading!

Book Review - Born to Shop!

Suzy Gersham is well known for the Born to Shop series she writes for Frommers. I picked this up at Chop Suey used books from the travel section because I like Peter Mayle/A Year in Provence type books. This is along the lines of that. The title of the book is C'est La Vie: An American Woman Begins a New Life in Paris and--Voila!--Becomes Almost French. Amazon has used ones in paperback for less than a buck.

This is the true story of a 52 year old woman who finds herself suddenly and unexpectedly a widow. She decides to put her fantasy of a life in Paris into reality as a way to make a fresh start and figure out what her new life is going to be. It's witty, fun, and a great "slice of life" read for anyone who has ever been to Paris or wants to go. Great shopping trips too! This is a fast read - took me about an hour and a half in one sitting - and perfect as a way to relax with a glass of Bordeaux this time of year.

Little Chapel on the River

Read this book! I read it in one sitting. It is so beautifully written, you will not want to put it down and you will want to re-read it. Gwendolyn Bounds, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal, happens onto a hole in the wall bar called Guinan's, about 50 miles north of NYC on the Hudson, while they are moving around and staying with friends in the aftermath of 9/11. She and her partner lived in an apartment rendered uninhabitable on 9/11 as it was across the street from the WSJ, whose offices were immediately adjacent to the World Trade Center. They wrote a poignant article together that appearted on the front page of the WSJ 9/14:  "Amid the Ashes, Baby Carriages, Shoes, Family Photos" that won awards and you may remember.

But I digress. This is the story of a person who finds a sudden sense of belonging in a quirky place she stumbles into quite by chance, and how it changes her life. It is a warm first person account of a hard working Irish immigrant, Jim Guinan, and how important his home/convenience store/bar is to the lives of the people in his community. Guinan"s crosses all socio economic bounds: regulars include Wall Street commuters, blue collar works, cadets from West Point directly across the Hudson, and an occasional visit by Governor Pataki. Over the years, Jim and his family become intrenched in the lives of their community and through illnesses and family hardships, struggle to keep the place going with the help of the community. It is their chapel, the patrons its parishoners.

Bounds has the journalists gift for observation and detail and manages to weave her own story in and out of the book as well, and we root for her to find her footing again amid the warm embrace she receives from the Guinan's extended family. You will feel like you are on a barstool yourself having a cold Harp from the cooler and listening to the tales of the day. I won't tell you more because I can't do it justice.

This came out in hardcover last year but I picked it up this summer in paper back, because the cover caught my eye. Now I am ready for a road trip to upstate New York and a chance to see this place myself!

Thunderstruck

This book by Devil in the White City author Erik Larson came out last fall and is now out in paperback. It could easily be subtitled "Murder and Marconi" as it tells a true, riveting tale about the confluence of Britain's second most famous murderer, after Jack the Ripper, and Marconi's invention of the wireless telegraph. Just like DITWC, this book is not a novel. Rather, it is a meticulously researched slice of history that reads like a novel, and you won't be able to put it down.

It is also an interesting perspective on Edwardian England, and the last of the "good old days" of Britain's world dominance leading up to WWI. Either story would be compelling on its own, but the juxtaposition of history and mystery, and how one ultimately impacts the other, is fascinating, and you will wonder why you never heard the story before - especially if you are a fan of Bloomsbury or any kind of Anglophile worth your salt!

If I have a quibble at all, it is will some of the details regarding Marconi's inventions and experiments, which takes some time to get through when you just want to make this a quick read. However, you will be glad you stick with it because the payoff in the end is worth it! This is a great, substantial, summer read.

The Reading Group

Brit Chick Lit with a literary sensibility. I thoroughly recommend this book, which I picked up at Target for $10. One of the things I like most about this book is that the main characters range from twentywomethings to baby boomers and depict friendships in a realistic light. The premise about a group of women whose lives become intertwined over the one year span of a monthly reading group is fun. It allows for some interesting plot devices, such as the women discussing the books and how the themes apply to their lives. Some of the books you have read, or know about, and some will be new to you, but they are actual real books and the conversation is much like you would imagine your own group to be - I also now  great new additions to the list of books I want to read!

If I have any criticism of the book, it is that there are a lot of characters and maybe one plotline too many. However, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of it. There is an appendix that adds depth to your understanding of the author, Elizabeth Noble,  and how the book came about from her own reading group. Her narrative style is compelling and makes you feel like you are part of the group and gets you itching to weigh in with your opinions, or form you own reading/support/wine swilling group. Sort of a "Four Weddings and a Funeral" tone of real life. The books they discuss are:

Heartburn by Nora Ephron
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Atonement by Ian McWan
The Woman who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle
Guppies for Tea by Marika Cobbold
My Antonia by Willa Cather
The Memory Box by Margaret Forster
Eden Close by Anita Shreve
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

This book is available on amazon.com and I have just ordered her new second novel. I really don't think you will be disappointed!

If you liked Gosford Park

Julian Fellowes, Oscar winning screenplay writer of Gosford Park, tried his hand with a clever novel called Snobs. Set in 1990's London, it's as much an examination of the choices we make as it is a snarky class satire. Marrying up, mother in law issues, tedious social functions, charity balls, hot clubs, old money - it all gets the skewer here. Who writes the rules of "society, " and what are our obligations to follow them?  Gossipy and fun, it was slow going in the beginning and at times I had to reread a few passages to keep the numerous characters straight. It's not a "can't put it down" kind of read but worth the effort over a weekend or a few nights. It's out in paperback and you can get it on Amazon for less that ten bucks.

A great feature of the book was a companion appendix for use by book clubs. It included a bio on the author,which I always appreciate for the context, and a reader's  guide I referred to frequently so as not to miss out on the more subtle themes. If you enjoy this sort of Brit Lit sendup, you will enjoy the book!

Prep

It’s tempting to think of Prep’s heroine Lee Fiora as a female Holden Caufield. Yet Curtis Sittenfeld has given us a funnier character in her classic alienation story set in a prestigious Massachusetts boarding school. Parts of it are excruciating. If you’ve ever had an awkward social or academic moment in your high school or even college experience, Sittenfeld has chronicled it “spot on” in this promising first novel.

Parts of Prep recall Tom Wolf’s I am Charlotte Simmons, as the outsider status of both main characters affords poignant insights into class distinctions and the built in privileges of wealth.  Lee struggles with conflicted emotions and desires of fitting in with the status quo. She comes to feel that she no longer fits in anywhere, most certainly not at home in South Bend, Indiana. One of the most poignant parts of the novel deals with her possible regrets at having pushed so hard to  go to boarding school. In an interesting flashback style, Lee laments that she wished she had known at thirteen that she would have many years left ahead in which to leave her family behind her.

Generally well reviewed, Prep is now out in paperback and is quality fiction for anyone looking for a summer read. Sittenfield’s second novel is out now, The Man of My Dreams, and is also getting good reviews. Clear off a little space on your book shelf next to Salinger.

Goodbye Jimmy Choo

This is a better than average chick lit offering for several reasons. It's not a single -girl- in the city plot line. It's set in the UK, and fun to catch the references like M&S and knickers. Also, the characters are a more mature thirty something, and (gasp!) forty. It's an outsiders tale of two devoted Londoners in love with chic urban life forced by circumstances to endure the dreadful  and snobby countryside of tiny Ringford. Posh Maddy and Boho Izzie traveled in totally different circles in London. Yet faced with the bleak prospect of trying to fit in with the "Mercedes mums" and having food hall withdrawal, they become unlikely BFF's very quickly. A sudden tragedy forces them take stock of what they are made of, what is important, and the real meaning of friendship.

It's all told in a warm and engaging tone, and has some "you'll laugh/you'll cry" moments. You can almost imagine it as a film with Julia Roberts/Notting Hill or Andie McDowell FWAAF as Maddie, Renee Zellwegger in her best Bridget Jones as Izzie, and Hugh Grant  with a bad French accent thrown in for good measure. Good depth to the characters, and the plot keeps you guessing. The subplot of the manipulative power of marketing is just as interesting and with a well done satire on the cosmetics industry. The book has been out for at least a year, so I got it in paperback at Target for about $10. If you like Sex and the City, or Jenifer Weiner (In Her Shoes), you'll enjoy it!