I’ve never seen the film adaptation of How Stella Got Her Groove Back, but if it’s at all true to the source material, I bet it’s a lot of fun. Stella Payne, a 42 year old divorced mother of an 11 year old boy, decides spontaneously to take a solo trip to Jamaica. She works hard and rarely relaxes, so why not? She buys some cute clothes, packs some books for the beach, and flies out. She does not expect to meet a man — much […]
Brides for Indians
This book had an interesting concept and a strong protagonist, but ultimately couldn’t overcome an uneven, poorly paced plot. “That’s exactly the good thing about the Injun life–you don’t have to stop and think about whether or not you’re ‘happy’–which in my opinion is a highly overrated human condition invented by white folks” In 1875, a Cheyenne chief demanded 1,000 white women from the United States government. They wanted to marry them, have children with them, and solidify their relationship to the U.S. government. In reality, Ulysses […]
A story of pain, suffering and regret
Oh good lord this was a sad book. Not just what the main character goes through by simply being a woman born in China in the 1800s (hint: not a great time/place to be a woman), but also the pain she causes herself through simple misunderstandings and bad choices. “I am old enough to know only too well my good and bad qualities, which were often one in the same.” Lily, now 80 years old, reflects back on her life in this fictional autobiography. The book begins with two […]
No wonder Dad is Fat
I followed Gaffigan’s Dad is Fat with his other book — Food: A Love Story. This one should reach an even wider audience, since who doesn’t like to eat? “I’m convinced that anyone who doesn’t like Mexican food is a psychopath.” “There’s an old Weight Watchers saying: “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” I for one can think of a thousand things that taste better than thin feels. Many of them are two-word phrases that end with cheese (Cheddar cheese, blue cheese, grilled cheese). Even unsalted […]
“Raising kids may be a thankless job with ridiculous hours, but at least the pay sucks.”
Caitlin_D recently reviewed this one, too — also fairly positively. I am a parent of two small, very loud boys (so, so loud). She doesn’t have kids (…yet) although she spends a lot of time with my boys and her sister-in-laws’ kids. My point is, you probably don’t need to be a parent to find Jim Gaffigan at least a little funny. “Every night before I get my one hour of sleep, I have the same thought: “Well, that’s a wrap on another day of acting like I […]
Way worse than any Texas summer *I’ve* experienced!
And so I went from a book written about a family experiencing a financial depression in the 2030s, to a novel set in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl. While I Will Send Rain does a decent job of setting up the background of the Great Depression, I agree with whoever else reviewed it on CBR (sorry, couldn’t find it!): there’s way too much focus on the family and not enough of the historical information that I wanted. Set in 1934, I Will Send Rain begins with […]
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