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BlogHer Book Club: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

Let's Pretend This Never HappenedQuick upfront confession. Before reading Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, I knew who The Bloggess was. I’d even met her at BlogHer ’11. I was familiar with her large, expensive chicken & I follow her on twitter. And this book has set in my Amazon shopping cart unpurchased for a while. But I’m not a faithful blog reader of hers.

If her blog is much like the book {& I’d guess it is}, I’ve been missing out. I finished Let’s Pretend This Never Happened last Wednesday & spent a few days really wishing it hadn’t ended. I missed her ‘voice’, her stories in the days that followed. Because she’s funny & totally out there on display in a no holds back kinda way that makes you want to run away from all the chaos & yet sucks you right in. I finished Let’s Pretend feeling like a friend who’d experienced her memoir right along with her.

I’m thankful my childhood was not spent wearing bread bag shoes in rural TX, but I feel like I missed out that I didn’t experience cow fertility lessons amongst other HS classes available to Jenny.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened had me laughing out loud. The HR notes killed me. Her post-its to her dear sweet oh-so-understanding husband, slayed me. I could write the ones able hanging up towels correctly! And the chapter on her pup & the birds made me appreciate friendships while making me glad I life safely in the suburbs!

If you’re looking for a funny memoir about growing up TX Southern, check out Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. And while you’re at it, jump over to our BlogHer Book Club page to join the discussion.

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BlogHer Book Club: A Good American

A Good AmericanA Good American by Alex George was a delight to read. It had been a while since I’d read historical fiction & this novel was an awesome re-entry to that beloved genre of mine.

To be honest, I really wanted this story to be true! I kinda fell in love with the characters.

The story is told by what for a long time is an unknown future grandchild telling the story of his grandparents: how they met, immigrated to the US, started & raised a family, how they became “a good American”. I loved that A Good American continued to follow the family through the good times & bad generation after generation.

Some of the good times, I kinda guessed & hoped would happen. A few of the bad times I saw foreshadowed but most of them were fairly surprising. And the twist discovered & discussed at the end, I never saw coming.

I loved the food & music & sense of family- the poignant coming-of-age theme & overall thought that while family might be wild & loud & big, they’re still family.

A Good American was a quick read for me. And while I read it during the day while pumping, I continued to think about the characters & story & was looking forward to getting more caught up on the Meisenheimer family the following day. I think you would too.

We’ll continue the discussion on A Good American on the BlogHer Book Club site. Feel free to jump over to see what we’re saying & even add your own thoughts.

While I was provided a copy of A Good American for purposes of this review, I was not otherwise compensated & all the opinions & thoughts mentioned are my own.

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Arcadia

Arcadia by Lauren Groff was my book club’s February book. We actually didn’t end up meeting this month, but since I was able to complete this one on time, I thought I’d share my take on Arcadia.

It begins in the 1960s & goes through the early 2000s. Arcadia spans most of the life of the main character & the story is set from his point of view. It splits up in chunky chapters that span big years of his life. From life as a child growing up on a hippie commune in NY, life as a young teenager still living in Acadia, life as a young father in NYC, life as an adult.

What I’m going to remember most about this book is the name of the main character. Bit Stone aka the littlest bit of a hippie. I loved that image; a tiny preemie baby turned lil guy.

I liked that the book followed along over a long period of time. I liked seeing how all the characters changed & grew & how their experience living in Acadia impacted their life.

I thought it was interesting how some of the Arcadia kids saw life on the commune as so very different than Bit. Your perspective really is determined by attitude of those around you & whether or not you look on the bright side. Plus, I think if you don’t know any different, living happily albeit cold & hungry isn’t so bad.

I walked away from Arcadia knowing I’d kind of miss the characters. I also know that as much as I enjoy a few bits of
the hippie attitude, I could never have handled commune life.

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BlogHer Book Club: Here I Go Again

IMG_20130216_093328Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster featured everything I’ve loved about her memoirs & other work of fiction {all of which I’ve just as quickly devoured}. The laugh out loud moments. The ‘I’ve been there’ times. Her characters you wished you knew & yet also glad you maybe don’t.

Jen’s wit kills me. And I love that her writing voice, whether for non-fiction or fiction is so true to herself. Any reader of her past works would immediately know her by her voice.

She makes Lissy, the main character, jump right off the page & kinda into your heart. Even though you want to hate the HS mean girl, I didn’t. I felt sorry for her. I was cheering her on.

Lissy was just a bit older than me, so I don’t share her {& Jen’s} love of David Coverdale {I actually had to google to find out who he is}, but if you share their love of 80s hair bands, you’ll be a fan of Here I Go Again too.

There were definitely parts that make you stretch your imagination, the believability if you will, but it was quirky & fun. To think you could & then actual see a re-do of old parts of life.

This book is very light, chick lit reading. It was perfect for the start of the new year. Perfect reading to escape the craziness & stress of sick babies. Here I Go Again {please tell me someone else starts singing in their head every time you read the title} would be a great spring/summer beach read too.

I can imagine we’ll be having a blast recounting Lissy’s antics & experiences over on the BlogHer Book Club discussion. I’m hoping we cover silly topics like HS memories & deeper questions like would we change who & how we were in HS. Join us there; I’d love to read your thoughts!

I received Here I Go Again as part of the BHBC for review purposes, but all the opinions are geniunely my own.

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It Sucked Then I Cried

Heather B Armstrong’s It Sucked Then I Cried had been in my TBR pile for a long time. I’ve never been a huge dooce reader, but I still purchased it soon after it was in paperback. I got through just the first chapter or two when I had to set it aside.

You see, It Sucked Then I Cried isn’t infertile lady friendly. Everything Heather says sucks {pregnancy & all the symptoms}, I was wishing, hell, begging for. So I didn’t find it funny. At the time, it broke my already sensitive heart.

I thought I’d revisit it now that I’m postpartum & flying through books reading while I pump at work. It Sucked Then I Cried was very appropriate pumping reading. While I still scoffed at her being upset they didn’t get pregnant the first month, I didn’t judge her pregnancy experience. & I was able to laugh & commiserate through the sections on labor & her daughter’s infancy.

If you’re a dooce fan, I recommend this book {but you’ve probably already read it}. I think other new moms would enjoy it too, especially if you’re looking for someone who overcame PPD/PPA. If you’re fighting infertility, stay clear until you’re well on the other side.