The Reinvention of Me: What Comes Next

Another great read I finished, while on my vacation to Cancun!  About Last Night at Chateau Marmont:

Brooke loved reading the dishy celebrity gossip rag Last Night. That is, until her marriage became a weekly headline.  Brooke was drawn to the soulful, enigmatic Julian Alter the very first time she heard him perform “Hallelujah” at a dark East Village dive bar.  Now five years married, Brooke balances two jobs—as a nutritionist at NYU Hospital and as a consultant to an Upper East Side girls’ school, where privilege gone wrong and disordered eating run rampant—in order to help support her husband’s dream of making it in the music world.  Things are looking up when after years of playing Manhattan clubs and toiling as an A&R intern, Julian finally gets signed by Sony.  Although no one’s promising that the album will ever hit the airwaves, Julian is still dedicated to logging in long hours at the recording studio. All that changes after Julian is asked to perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno—and is catapulted to stardom, literally overnight. A new designer wardrobe, a tour with Maroon 5, debuting at number four on the charts, and even a Grammy performance.  At first the newfound fame is fun—who wouldn’t want to stay at the Chateau Marmont or visit the set of one of television’s hottest shows, or be on the cover of every magazine? Yet it seems that Brooke’s sweet husband—the man who can’t handle hot showers and wears socks to bed—is increasingly absent, even on those rare nights they’re home together. When rumors about Brooke and Julian swirl in the tabloid magazines (think fabricated affairs), she begins to question the truth of her marriage and is forced to finally come to terms with what she thinks she wants—and what she actually needs.

This book starts out slow but increases in excitement as the pages go on.  It easily sweeps you up into the whirlwind life of a budding musician-turned rockstar.  I highly recommend.

Need a great, easy read that provides a TON of humor and insight into the world of TV production, while not being able to put the book down?  This would be it!

Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants is short, messy, and impossibly funny (an apt description of the comedian herself). From her humble roots growing up in Pennsylvania, to her days doing amateur improv in Chicago, to her early sketches on Saturday Night Live, Fey gives us a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain of modern comedy with equal doses of wit, candor, and self-deprecation. Some of the funniest chapters feature the differences between male and female comedy writers, her cruise ship honeymoon, and advice about breastfeeding. But the chaos of Fey’s life is best detailed when she’s dividing her efforts equally between rehearsing her Sarah Palin impression, trying to get Oprah to appear on 30 Rock, and planning her daughter’s Peter Pan-themed birthday. Bossypants gets to the heart of why Tina Fey remains universally adored: she embodies the hectic, too-many-things-to-juggle lifestyle we all have, but instead of complaining about it, she can just laugh it off.

In my quest to read a bit more this summer, I have a stack of books I made a goal to get through before the summer is over.  Included in this list: Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern-Day Matchmaker by Samantha Daniels.

I am one of those that has a hard time getting into a book at first and when it’s good, I tend to have a hard time putting it down.  This was one of those books.

This book is a real-life story about a real-life lawyer-turned-matchmaker in NY who falls into the matchmaking business on a whim.  She was known for her parties, where she would naturally introduce those that would look like a good match.  After much coaxing through her friends and family, she slowly made this business legit and is now considered one of the most successful matchmakers in NY.

Her book takes you through her early stages of the business, how it flourished on happenstance through one media interview and ultimately, some of her more “colorful” clients that are all too common in NY.  In parallel, she walks you through some of her own dating tales.

All – in- all, almost anyone can relate to this book in some way and if at all, everyone can learn a thing or two about dating.

There was a time in this nation when, for African-Americans, racial barriers existed for everything from marriage to bathrooms. When it was less deadly to be seen and not heard – a time when friendships between women of two races simply didn’t happen, especially if one of those women was your maid.

First-time author Kathryn Stockett writes about the struggles of African-American maids in the 1960s and the women they worked for in the novel The Help. Set in the segregated and volatile town of Jackson, Mississippi, The Help focuses on three women. The first is Aibileen, an African-American woman who has worked for white families for more than 20 years with a special love of raising children. The second is Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a white woman recently graduated from college who wants to be a writer. Third is Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, who has a reputation for back-talking to her employers and for being the best cook in town, especially for her pies.

When Skeeter returns from college she sets out to write a “meaningful” book and enlists the help of Aibileen and Minny to gather stories from the black maids in Jackson about what it’s like to work for white families. Between the efforts to convince other maids to participate, cover their tracks to keep their book a secret and the challenges of working and living their lives, the three women develop a deep respect and appreciation for one another.

Written from the perspective of all three women, Stockett did a wonderful job of creating three distinct voices for the chapters. It is obvious by the word choice and tone which woman is speaking, even if the chapters were not named. Despite its theme, The Help is not preachy or self-righteous but rather an interesting glimpse into the past, into a time that most of us, thankfully, have never experienced.

In addition to racism, the book also touches on sexism and classism as the main characters and the women around them deal with being “the weaker sex” and the struggles that come from being considered “white trash” or a “society lady.”

Overall, The Help is an uplifting read about friendship, overcoming prejudice and loving oneself. But don’t take my word for it.

I recommend you read it before the movie comes out.

So far, out of all the books I’ve read, this one happens to be my favorite, as it combines three things: an air of mystery, history in Europe (particularly the turn-of-the-century in London) and an amazing story of the course of someone’s life.

The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton, according to the Simon and Schuster site, “A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book—a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-fi rst birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, “Nell” sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.”

What’s not included in this description is how the story is told from three different periods in time: 1898-1913, 1975 and 2005. When Cassandra began her search,  she found out that she inherited a cottage on the border of the Mountrachet family property that the locals say is cursed.  With the locals’ help, she’s able to piece together her grandmother’s history, which includes understanding who her real mother is – that tale alone is dark and gloomy.  In the process, she finds a hidden garden that those who have entered, say it’s the most magical place they have ever been.  It left me, not just wanting to move to the English countryside, but also to own a garden such as this.

I was unable to put this book down and I’m sad that it has ended.  I highly recommend it.

From Nancy Drew, to Agatha Christie, to the Stephanie Plum series, I’ve always loved a good mystery book.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend suggested I begin reading the Coffee House Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle.  I sometimes protest at a new mystery series, as I feel they require thought and strategy, not just an outlet to escape for a while.  However, once I picked this up, it was hard to put down.

The site gives a great synopsis of the book:

Ten years ago, Clare Cosi left an unhappy marriage along with a job she loved: managing the historic Village Blend coffeehouse in New York’s Greenwich Village. For a decade, she was happy raising her daughter in the quiet suburbs of New Jersey; but now that Joy is grown and gone, life has gotten way too quiet for Clare.

With a little cajoling from Madame, the Blend’s flamboyant, elderly owner (not to mention a persuasive pot of Jamaica Blue Mountain), Clare agrees to return to her old job—and right from the start she gets one heck of a jolt.

On her first morning back as Village Blend manager, Clare unlocks the front door to find her beautiful, young assistant manager, Anabelle Hart, unconscious in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere.

As Anabelle is rushed to the hospital, police arrive to investigate, but Detective Mike Quinn finds no sign of forced entry or foul play, and he deems it an accident. Clare disagrees; and after Quinn leaves, there are a few questions she just can’t get out of her mind, like why was the trash bin in the wrong place? If this wasn’t an accident, are her other baristas in danger? And are all NYPD detectives this attractive?

What’s missing out of this description: Matteo – her ex-husband and the steamy romantic undertones, brought throughout the book.  I’m definitely excited to read the next one!

I, just like most women, love light-hearted books that include topics, such as romance, shopping, fashion, traveling with handsome men and the like.  Interestingly enough, when I read these types of books, they have always been penned by a British author.  Fabulously Fashionable, by Holly McQueen, falls in line with all of this… with one drawback… 3/4 of the book made me cringe.

The main character in this book is Isabel Bookbinder – an aspiring fashion designer/magazine PA/celebrated personality.  She is described as the black sheep in the family, in that she is always lying to everyone about her accomplishments, in order to fit in with the rest of the family (her mother thinks she does drugs and her dad believes she is an underachiever).  She’s dating a wealthy lawyer, living with him in London, but seems to be dreadfully bored and almost whiny, especially when commenting on how she is a self-proclaimed feminist and they “work” not play tennis.

These “fashionable” aspirations of hers are grand in theory but her methods of attempting to achieve these, spark an emotion of embarrassment out of the reader.  In addition, the “miscommunication” she had with her boyfriend, while he was on a work trip, made it even more difficult to get through the story line.

About 3/4 of the way through the book it becomes less painful, as she miraculously gets a job that lands her where she dreamed to be and a love affair that many women in DC could probably relate to.

Overall, I’d give this book about 3 out of 5 stars as it did the very thing a book is supposed to do – spark emotion (mine just happened to be a lot of eye rolling and mental yelling, to the tune of, “GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!”)

One of my favorite activities in the entire world is reading for pleasure.  It’s something I never get to do and welcome the opportunity when I can.

While trying to look for new work, I’ve taken up the activity again.  Thanks to my wonderfully amazing boyfriend, I’ve now got several books on his borrowed Kindle to read (and have spent more time pouring over books at Barnes & Noble, than a kid drooling over candy in a candy store).

This week’s book, entitled, “The Mating Rituals of the North American WASP” by Lauren Lipton, does what a book should do: spark emotion that wants you to throw it up in the air and yell to the characters, “What is wrong with you people?! Don’t you see?!”

Plot summary: Peggy (and her best friend Bex) own a small cleaning supply store in New York and has a documentary-producing boyfriend who is afraid to commit. She goes off to Las Vegas for a bachelorette party and wakes up in a strange man (Luke)’s bed and finds out she got married to him the night before.   Luke is a WASP from New Nineveh, CT with a family name to uphold (which dated back from the 1600′s).

When Peggy drives up to New Nineveh to get the marriage annulled,  Luke’s Great Aunt refuses to let this happen.  She tells the couple they are to stay married one year (seeing each other only on weekends, since Peggy had a store to run) and if they then choose to end the marriage at that time, they can sell the family house (a sprawling mansion that is falling apart) and split the money.  They agree to the arrangement.

The book outlines the major events of the next year and how Peggy and Luke struggled to keep how they married a secret from the town of New Nineveh, how Peggy struggled to fit in as a WASP, as well as how to  keep her own love life together without telling her on again/off again boyfriend she was already married; and ultimately, how the two struggled, separately, to keep themselves from coming out with their true feelings for one another.

I love that the book left no questions unanswered at the end, that it used both literal and figurative poetry to round out the story, and that it was able to marry a modern day love story with a classic romance novel.  Definitely a must-read!