Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Acclaimed Playwright, essayist and columnist Pearl Cleage breaks new ground in African American women's literature--with a debut novel that sings and crackles with life-affirming energy as it moves the reader to laughter and tears.
As a girl growing up in Idlewild, Michigan, Ava Johnson had always heard that, if you were young, black, and had any sense at all, Atlanta was the place to be. So as soon as she was old enough and able enough, that was where she went--parlaying her smarts and her ambition into one of the hottest hair salons in town. In no time, she was moving with the brothers and sisters who had beautiful clothes, big cars, bigger dreams, and money in the bank.
Now, after more than a decade of elegant pleasures and luxe living, Ava has come home, her fabulous career and power plans smashed to bits on one dark truth. Ava Johnson has tested positive for HIV. And she's back in little Idlewild to spend a quiet summer with her widowed sister, Joyce, before moving on to finish her life in San Francisco, the most HIV-friendly place she can imagine.
But what she thinks is the end is only the beginning because there's too much going down in her hometown for Ava to ignore. There's the Sewing Circus--sister Joyce's determined effort to educate Idlewild's young black women about sex, drugs, pregnancy, whatever. . .despite the interference of the good Reverend Anderson and his most virtuous, "Just say no" wife. Plus Joyce needs a helping hand to make a loving home for Imani, an abandoned crack baby whom she's taken into her heart.
And then there's Wild Eddie, whose legendary background in violence combined with his Eastern gentility has stirred Ava's interest. . .and something more.
My Original Notes (1998): It took me a while to gain interest in this novel, but once I did, I was hooked! I found myself caring about Ava and Eddie, as well as the baby, Imani. Touching without being too sentimental. A good read! My Current Thoughts: Another book of which I have no recollection. I'm pretty sure I read it with an online book group, which probably got the suggestion from Oprah's book club.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang Nonfiction - Memoir 2003 Simon Schuster (first published in 1991) Read in November 1998 Rating: 3/5 (Good) Publisher's Blurb:
The story of three generations in twentieth-century China that blends the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history—a bestselling classic in thirty languages with more than ten million copies sold around the world, now with a new introduction from the author. An engrossing record of Mao’s impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love, Jung Chang describes the extraordinary lives and experiences of her family members: her grandmother, a warlord’s concubine; her mother’s struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parents’ experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a “barefoot doctor,” a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving—and ultimately uplifting—detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history. My Original Notes (1998): Starts off slow, then the pace picks up, but almost drags toward the end. I learned a lot about Communism in China, but what a depressing book. Such brutality! My Current Thoughts: I think I might have read this with an online book group. I remember how it got bogged down toward the end and I almost didn't bother finishing. It's not a book I remember too well.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts Fiction 1995 Warner Books Read in December 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: With a warm and utterly honest voice right out of Steinbeck's Oklahoma and Fannie Flagg's green tomato South, Billie Letts has spun an irresistible story that won the Walker Percy Award and goes on to win every reader's heart. Talk about unlucky sevens. An hour ago, seventeen-year-old, seven months pregnant Novalee Nation was heading for California with her boyfriend. Now she finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma, with just $7.77 in change. But Novalee is about to discover hidden treasures in this small Southwest town--a group of down-to-earth, deeply caring people willing to help a homeless, jobless girl living secretly in a Wal-Mart. From Bible-thumping blue-haired Sister Thelma Husband to eccentric librarian Forney Hull who loves Novalee more than she loves herself, they are about to take her--and you, too--on a moving, funny, and unforgettable journey to . . . Where the Heart Is.
My Original Notes (1998): Grabbed me from the first page! Very good. Almost lyrical. I love the way Novalee's story unfolds, as she blossoms into womanhood. Probably a lot of symbolism, if one were to look closely. I like the way Novalee overcomes the tragedies in her life, becoming strong, intelligent and independent, yet still willing to love. My Current Thoughts: I still have a copy of this book and after flipping through the pages, I know it's one I want to read again. It looks like it will be a quick read, so I'm throwing it in my pile for our upcoming two-month road trip!
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler Fiction 1997 Ivy Books (first published in 1995) Finished in December 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb:
This entrancing and deeply searching novel will touch a nerve in every reader. Delia Grinstead, 40-year-old mother of three almost-grown children, on a sudden impulse, walks away from her marriage, hitches a ride into the unknown, and settles in a strange new town. But soon after she begins her impersonal, unencumbered new life, fresh responsibilities inevitably accumulate.
My Original Notes (1998): My first exposure to Tyler. Wonderful story, yet quite different. I like her style of writing. Will read more! My Current Thoughts: I'm surprised I don't remember anything about this novel, especially since I enjoyed it so well that I immediately picked up another book by Tyler. I'm very tempted to give it a second reading.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt Memoir 1996 Scribner Finished in September 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb:
Imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion. This is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic. "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." So begins the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy-- exasperating, irresponsible and beguiling-- does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies. Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank's survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig's head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors--yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance and remarkable forgiveness. Angela's Ashes, imbued on every page with Frank McCourt's astounding humor and compassion, is a glorious book that bears all the marks of a classic.
My Original Notes (1998): This was a very good book, yet quite depressing. I kept hoping the McCourt's lives would improve with time, but they lived (and died) in terrible living conditions. Terribly sad! My Current Thoughts: I remember that not only was this a depressing read but, at times, also pretty funny. Would I read it again? Probably not. I gave my copy away, so I must have known it was too bleak to read more than once.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Best friends fast approaching forty in the small Minnesota town of Flame Lake, Devera and BiDi were recently voted "Least Changed" at their twentieth high school reunion- a label neither one finds very appealing. For each craves a change in her life: Devera desires a break from her humdrum marital routine; BiDi longs to reconnect with her distant fourteen-year-old daughter (the only girl on the high school hockey team), not to mention jump-start a sex drive stuck in neutral. So when Devera's husband decides to fulfill his longtime dream of opening a nightclub in his basement, Your Oasis on Flame Lake arrives not a moment too soon. Nothing fancy, it is just a BYOB joint where you can hang out, sing, dance, tell jokes, and be yourself. But then an unexpected crisis throws both families into chaos, forcing them all to take stock of their lives and learn the power of forgiveness.
My Original Notes (1998): This is a great book! Even better than Patty Jane's House of Curl. Wonderful characters. It reminded me a little bit of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Funny and sad. I'll certainly read her next book! My Current Thoughts: I'm surprised that I have no memory of this novel, in spite of my high rating. I don't own a copy of the book anymore, but it might be fun to listen to it on audio especially since the author is the reader.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Babyhood by Paul Reiser Nonfiction 1997 Avon Finished in August 1998 Rating: 3/5 (Good) Publisher's Blurb:
The classic New York Times bestseller from actor/comedian Paul Reiser, a book that the San Francisco Chronicle calls “an out-loud laugh on every page,” is now available in trade paperback for the very first time. For fans of Reiser’s long-running sitcom Mad About You, with Helen Hunt and Hank Azaria, for readers of comic memoirs like Tina Fey’s Bossypants, and “for the couple considering parenthood as well as for parents who are decades past their days of diaper changing…this book hits home and hits the funnybone" (Chicago Tribune).
My Original Notes (1998): Good, but not nearly as funny as Couplehood. I didn't laugh as much. My Current Thoughts: Certainly not a book I care to read again, especially since it wasn't as humorous as its predecessor.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Wait Till Next Year is the story of a young girl growing up in the suburbs of New York in the 1950s, when owning a single-family home on a tree-lined street meant the realization of dreams, when everyone knew everyone else on the block, and the children gathered in the streets to play from sunup to sundown. The neighborhood was equally divided among Dodger, Giant, and Yankee fans, and the corner stores were the scenes of fierce and affectionate rivalries. We meet the people who influenced Goodwin's early life: her father, who emerged from a traumatic childhood without a trace of self-pity or rancor and who taught his daughter early on that she should say whatever she thought and should bring her voice into any conversation at any time; her mother, whose heart problems left her with the arteries of a 70-year-old when she was only in her 30s and whose love of books allowed her to break the boundaries of the narrow world to which she was confined by her chronic illness; her two older sisters; her friends on the block; the local storekeepers; her school friends and teachers. This is also the story of a girlhood in which the great religious festivals of the Catholic church and the seasonal imperatives of baseball combined to produce a passionate love of history, ceremony, and ritual. It is the story of growing up in what seemed on the surface a more innocent era until one recalls the terror of polio, the paranoia of McCarthyism reflected even in the children's games, the obsession with A-bomb drills in school, and the ugly face of racial prejudice. It was a time whose relative tranquility contained the seeds of the turbulent decade of the 60s. Shortly after the Dodgers left, Goodwin's mother died, and the family moved from the old neighborhood to an apartment on the other side of town. This move coincided with the move of several other families on the block and with the decline of the corner store as the supermarket began to take over. It was the end.
My Original Notes (1998): Excellent memoir! I loved it. Very entertaining. You don't need to be a baseball fan to enjoy it, either. I think it's a beautifully written cultural history of growing up in the 50s. Playing outside until dark. Walking home from school for lunch. Owning the first TV on the block. First Communion. Howdy Doody. The Mickey Mouse Club. Polio. The Cold War. Air raid drills. McCarthyism. The Rosenbergs. James Dean. And, of course, the Brooklyn Dodgers! Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, and Duke Snider. After reading so many books about dysfunctional and abusive families, I found this very refreshing. My Current Thoughts: I can't believe I no longer own a copy of this book! After reading my original notes, I thought I'd like to read the book again, but I can't find my copy. I either loaned it to someone or decided not to keep it when we were packing for our move to Oregon. Rats!
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg Fiction 1998 Random House Finished in August 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: Do you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel by the beloved bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women in a family.
Ginny Young is on a plane, en route to see her mother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for thirty-five years. She thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she and her sister, Sharla, were young girls. At that time, a series of dramatic events--beginning with the arrival of a mysterious and sensual next-door neighbor--divided the family, separating the sisters from their mother. Moving back and forth in time between the girl she once was and the woman she's become, Ginny at last confronts painful choices that occur in almost any woman's life, and learns surprising truths about the people she thought she knew best.
Emotional honesty and a true understanding of people and relationships are combined in this moving and deeply satisfying new book by the novelist who "writes with humor and a big heart about resilience, love and hope. And the transcendence that redeems" (Andre Dubus).
My Original Notes (1998):
Heartbreaking story with a happy ending. Very, very good! I read it in a couple of days - couldn't put it down, yet didn't want it to end. A modern day version of The Awakening?
My Current Thoughts: I still have a copy of this on my shelf and will probably read it again someday.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Amy Ephron gives us a delightful tale of romance, set against the backdrop of New York society during the uncertain days of World War I. Rosemary Fell was born to privilege - her only real hardship having been the loss of her mother some years earlier. She has friends and she has a great deal of money, and now she is about to marry Phillip Alsop, who owns a shipping concern and is of her social circle, though not of her wealth. Finally, she will have everything she wants. It is then, in a moment of beneficence, that she invites Eleanor Smith, a penniless young woman she sees under a streetlamp in the rain, to come to her home for a cup of tea and to warm herself by the fire. While there, Rosemary sees Eleanor exchange an unmistakable look with Phillip, and suddenly everything in Rosemary's carefully sculptured life changes. Rosemary sends Eleanor on her way, but she cannot undo this chance encounter that puts into play a tempestuous and all-consuming triangle. As the war builds in Europe, Phillip is sent to fight abroad, throwing all of their lives off balance. My Original Notes (1998):
So-so to dull. I'm glad I didn't buy this book. Not my cuppa tea.
My Current Thoughts: I wonder if I chose this because I loved Nora Ephron's (Amy's sister) Sleepless in Seattle. I'm pretty sure I haven't read anything else by her (or her sister, Delia) since this one.
Update Finished on May 22, 2019 New Rating: 3.5/5 After sharing my recent post about At Home in Mitford (below), I decided it would be fun to start re-reading this series. I read a chapter or two, picking it up here and there between other books, taking my time and not rushing to finish it too quickly. I enjoyed revisiting Mitford and all the quirky characters, but I may not have liked it quite as much as I did 20 years ago. At times, I found myself a little bored with the story, but the second half picked up and while I may not have loved it, I'm glad I read it again.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon Mitford Series #1 Fiction 1994 Penguin Books Finished in February 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich, provincial comedy in which mysteries and miracles abound. My Original Notes (1998): Awesome novel! Not a great work of literature, but simply a wonderful slice-of-life story. The characters are so lovable. Puny and Doolie are so funny and I love the romance between Fr. Tim and Cynthia. I'm such a sucker for a romance. I hope they get married!
My Current Thoughts: I've read several books in this series and I think this first installment was probably the best. I remember laughing out loud and reading passages to my husband. I still own quite a few of the books and have decided to give this one a re-read sometime this year. I'm curious to see if it stands the test of time.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Fiction 1998 Delacorte Press Finished in August 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Good) Publisher's Blurb: In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changed forever—when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomed Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a magical, wind-blown island where two friends became summer sisters... Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin has begged Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—for the friend whose casual betrayals she remembers all too well. Because Vix wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart...
My Original Notes (1998):
Very good! Entertaining. A little predictable, but it didn't bother me. I enjoyed watching how the two friends' relationship evolved over the years.
My Current Thoughts: Nope. No memory of this at all. It may be one that I read with an online book group.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb Fiction 1998 Regan Books Finished in August 1998 Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: On the afternoon of October 12, 1990, my twin brother, Thomas, entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut, public library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemed acceptable. . . . One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human. My Original Notes (1998): Very good, in spite of its length! I enjoyed reading Dominick's grandfather's memories. Nice device and well done. I'm glad it had a nice ending. Dominick had been through so much and was trying to become a better person - he deserved some happiness. I also liked the character of Dr. Patel. She seemed very real and worked hard to help Dominick heal himself. Multi-dimensional characters. My Current Thoughts: I've had this on my shelf for over 20 years, always hoping to give it a second read. It's a chunkster (897 pages), but the type isn't too small, so it may be a good choice for a road trip read. I don't remember too much about it, but I do recall that I admired Dr. Patel and that I loved the novel.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Chasing Cezanne by Peter Mayle Fiction 1991 Alfred A. Knopf Finished on July 10, 1998 Rating: 3/5 (Good) Publisher's Blurb: Hanky-Panky on the international art scene is the source of the hilarity and fizz in Peter Mayle's new novel. He flies us back to the south of France (a region some readers of his irresistible best-sellers believe him to have invented), on a wild chase through galleries, homes of prominent collectors, and wickedly delectable restaurants. There are stopovers in the Bahamas and England, and in New York, where that glossiest of magazines, Decorating Quarterly, reflects the cutting-edge trendiness of its editor, Camilla Jameson Porter. (Camilla has recently broken new ground in the world of power lunches by booking two tables on the same day, and shuttling between them, at the city's trendiest restaurant.). It is Camilla who has sent our hero, Andre Kelly, to Cap Ferrat to take glamorous photographs of the houses and treasures of the rich, famous, and fatuous. He happens to have his camera at the ready when he spots a Cezanne being loaded onto a plumber's truck near the home of an absent collector. Odd, thinks Andre. And in no time he's on the trail of a state-of-the-art art scam, chasing Cezanne. It's a joy to follow him and the crowds intent on speeding or foiling his quest - including a beautiful agent; a super-savvy art dealer attracted to the finer things in life, especially if they promise the payoff of a lifetime; an awesome Dutch forger; some outstandingly greedy New York sophisticates; and, invisible in the background, the parade of remarkable chefs whose mouthwatering culinary masterpieces periodically soothe the hero and tantalize the reader of Chasing Cezanne.
My Original Notes (1998):
Pretty good. Light and quick. So-so up until the trip to Paris. I love a romance! Could easily be made into a movie. My Current Thoughts: I don't remember this plot, but I do remember that I was somewhat disappointed with this novel, preferring his nonfiction work (A Year in Provence), which was more humorous and entertaining. I'm fairly certain that I never went on to read any more of Mayle's novels.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Out to Canaan by Jan Karon Mitford Series #4 Fiction 1997 Penguin Books Finished in June 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his talented and vivacious wife, Cynthia, are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement. They're also trying to locate the scattered siblings of Dooley Barlowe, the mountain boy they love as their own. A brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development, and a tough survivor must hunker down for the fight of her life. Worse, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing, and a suspicious real estate agent is trying to turn the beloved house on the hill into a spa. Can change be coming to Mitford? The buzz on Main Street says yes. Change is certainly coming to the tenderest regions of several townspeople's lives. A woman struggles every day to stay on course after years of hard living. A man tries to forgive himself for a tragic mistake. And the town's most eligible bachelor leaves Mitford -- and returns with a stunning surprise.
My Original Notes (1998):
Just as wonderful as the other three in the Mitford series! I hope there will be more. Wonderful characters. Touching episodes of life in a small town. My Current Thoughts: I'm re-reading the first book in this series (At Home in Mitford) and will most likely continue revisiting the series over the next year or two.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik Fiction 1995 Ivy Books Finished in June 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good) Publisher's Blurb: Patty Jane Dobbin should have known better than to marry a man as gorgeous as Thor Rolvaag, but she was too smitten to think twice. Yet nine months into their marriage, with a baby on the way, Thor is gone. It’s a good thing Patty Jane has her irrepressible sister, Harriet, to rely on. For it’s been said that a fine haircut can cure any number of ills, and before long the Minnesota sisters have opened a neighborhood beauty parlor complete with live harp music and an endless supply of delicious Norwegian baked goods. It’s a wonderful, warmhearted place where you can count on good friends, lots of laughter, tears, and comfort when you need it—and the unmistakable scent of somebody getting a permanent wave. . . .
My Original Notes (1998):
Pretty good! Reminded me of Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias. Funny & sad. Brought me to tears toward the end. Loved the epilogue. I'm ready to read more by Landvik!
My Current Thoughts: I met the author in 1998 at a small book event in Cleveland. She was very personable and quite funny. Apparently, she had done some stand-up comedy in the past, which was pretty apparent as she talked to us about her life and her novel. I did go on to read more by her, but I haven't read this one a second time. Might need to make time to do so.
Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
Couplehood by Paul Reiser Nonfiction 1994 Bantam Finished in June 1998 Rating: 4/5 (Very Good!) Publisher's Blurb: In the tradition of the #1 best-seller SeinLanguage, Bantam Books proudly presents the first book by Paul Reiser, television's sharpest, funniest observer of love, marriage and other mysteries of life. A veteran comic performer, Reiser is best-known as the co-creator and star of the highly-rated NBC comedy, Mad About You, which Time magazine called "The season's best new sitcom"in its 1992 debut. Every Thursday night more than twenty million viewers watch as Paul Reiser reveals the most intimate and hilarious scenes of a marriage. Now for the first time, Reiser brings his trademark wit to the page in a book that will delight his eagerly-awaiting audience, and anyone else who has ever fallen in love--or tried not to. In Couplehood, a New York Times bestseller for more than 40 weeks, Reiser reflects on what it means to be half of a couple -- everything from the science of hand holding, to the technique of tag-team storytelling, to the politics of food and why it always seems to come down to chicken or fish.
My Original Notes (1998):
Hilarious! Laugh out loud humor. I loved it. Reminded me a lot of Mad About You. I could relate to so much of what Reiser said in this book. A perfect wedding or anniversary gift. [Really?] Can't wait to read Parenthood [also by Reiser]. My Current Thoughts: I had this book on my shelf for many, many years and tried to read it again a few months ago, but it didn't hold my interest and wasn't nearly as funny as I remember. I wonder if I would feel the same about the TV series. My husband and I didn't watch a lot of sitcoms back in the '90s, but Mad About You was one we always tuned into. Paul and Jamie were so relatable and had such great chemistry together. They cracked me up!
While searching for images for this post, I found out that there might be a revival of the show in a limited series. I know I'll be watching!
