The Sunday Salon: Two Reviews for De-Slumping
Title: My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me (and other stories I shouldn't share with acquaintances, coworkers, taxi drivers, job interviewers, bikini waxers, and ex/current/future boyfiends but have)Author: Hilary Winston
Publisher/Price: Sterling, $17.95
Date: 2011
Genre: Humor, Essays
223 pages.
Where I got it: I bought it
Challenges:None
I have enjoyed a few collections of humorous essays by women this year (see this review and this one). I couldn't resist this one on sale and my local B &N (which is sadly going out of business, material for a whole 'nother post), and I started reading it right away. Like most books of this sort, it consists mainly of humorous self-deprecation and storytelling that any adult woman who has ever been single, or dating, would relate to somewhat. Winston's situation is unique, however, because she is the subject of a very popular book, written by her ex-boyfriend (said book is The Average American Male, which you can easily discover by googling), and the book is kind of nasty. Essentially this is a breakup story. It is funny,and sometimes tragic and often hopeful. I enjoyed reading it; it was a perfect slump book.
Publisher/Price: Scholastic, $17.99
Date: 2010
Genre: YA, Series, Dystopian
390 pages.
Where I got it: I bought it
Challenges:I Want More Challenge
I'm a big fan of The Hunger Games. I wanted to stay up late reading it, yadda yadda. I also liked the second in the series, Catching Fire. However, I just couldn't really get into the final book until about 200 pages in, and even then, I had a very different reading experience from the first two books. SPOILERS AHOY (if you haven't read the first two). The third book begins with Katniss after she is plucked out of the Quarter Quell and forced to join the rebel forces in District Thirteen (I know, you have no idea what I'm talking about if you haven't read the books). The first 100 pages at least are just her hanging around, moping and trying to decide whether to be the face of the revolution. No ACTION. Very little ROMANCE, or EXCITEMENT. So, it does get better, but it left me feeling lukewarm in the end. I'm a little mad at myself for putting off reading it so long only to be disappointed. I'm going to have to go back to the beginning to remember what I loved about the OG.
What have you all been reading this lovely Sunday?
Today I finally finished "To the End of the Land" by David Grossman, and I just started "America and the Pill" by Elaine Tyler May. I read the Hunger Games trilogy a few weeks ago and really enjoyed them. I actually thought that last was was really good, even though it started off kinda slow. I liked it a lot better than the second one, where I felt Katniss was just a pawn.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I'll have to look into Spotify - no idea what it is right now. :) I'm reading Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table now. It reads like a memoir. Very good!
ReplyDeleteHi Laura! I see that you've read Mockingjay. I've been thinking about reading The Hunger Games series after seeing trailers for the first movie. Looks like it's a very interesting trilogy!
ReplyDeleteThis week, and most likely for the next few, I'm reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.
Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier today!
That should be a future Top Ten post, I think...Top Ten Books That Pulled Me Out of a Slump! We readers need a list we can go to for help in case of Advanced Reading Slump.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on Mockingjay (and I LOVED the first two). I have a friend who feels that by having her choose the guy she did we are telling girls they should go back to abusive boyfriends just because they apologize and say they've changed. I dunno. I felt like she was kind of drugged for the majority of the book. Definitely not the hard-as-nails heroine I was used to.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to read your reviews of the Hunger Games Trilogy. I enjoyed the series, but was also disappointed with the third book. There was so much promise of revolution and rebellion and just a whole lot of moping around or getting blown up. What more could they do to this emotionally traumatized girl?
ReplyDeleteI'm currently reading a free kindle find - On the Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves. And looking for some future suggestions on your blog :)