I alternated between really liking this book and being very annoyed by it. I think if it had been one or two hundred pages shorter, I would have liked it a bit more. But with the hardcover clocking in at almost 600 pages, it didn’t have enough story to justify the length, which led to lots of filler to drag through. “He can’t really love anyone, you know, and in the end such people are always alone, no matter how much other people once loved them.” […]
How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley
This collection of essays by Sloane Crosley begins with a spur-of-the-moment trip she takes to Portugal, and how incredibly lonely she was there (until she meets some clowns, of course). From there, we move on to her life in New York City and bad relationships and other trials in her life (a bear-infested wedding, for one). It’s well written, but just a couple of days later I really can’t recall much of it. It made a very slight impression on me. I did like this line, however: “Time grabs you […]
People Are Unappealing: Even Me by Sara Barron
I thought I had read Sara Barron before, but I guess I’m mixing her up with someone. Possibly Sloane Crosley. Or Sara Benincasa. I’ve read a lot of humorous memoirs written by funny women this year, courtesy of my sister’s bookshelf and Barnes & Noble addiction, and I think this was one of the better ones written by someone I’ve never heard of before. Sara Barron’s memoir runs a pretty familiar comedy route: weird parents, awkward upbringing, a move to New York full of bad decisions […]
The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons (Bernie Rhodenbarr #11) by Lawrence Block
I first discovered Bernie Rhodenbarr, gentleman burglar, in middle school. My best friend and I were obsessed with Lillian Jackson Braun’s “The Cat Who” books. I was looking for one at the library one day, and something caught my eye “The Burglar Who…” bu Lawrence Block, just a few shelves up. I think the first one I read was second in the series (The Burglar in the Closet). I loved it, and quickly devoured the rest of the series. That would have been in the mid-90s. Block has […]