Chick Lit

Post-#Readathon Survey and Update

2018, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Dewey's Readathon, Fiction /

I crapped out at 12:20 p.m. last night with 90 pages left in Limelight. I just couldn’t make it. No big deal since I managed to get a Blackout on #Readathon Bingo, heh. Everything else was gravy.

Woke up late this morning and lazily finished Limelight out on the back deck with the dogs. Limelight was fun – a beach read or something to read before you head to NYC for a fun vacation.

We’re spending the rest of today doing a #FakeReadathon because we can. I’m reading Every Heart a Doorway next.

And, here’s my end of #Readathon survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
– 11 a.m. (and I took a nap, hah) and again at 11 p.m. – I didn’t manage to hold out much later than that last one.

2. Tell us ALLLLL the books you read!
– I finished The Bear and the Nightingale.
– I read a horror short story by Somer Canon and an essay/short story by Carole Maso.
– I read a Manga, The World’s Greatest Love.
– A cookbook, Dinner Illustrated.
– Two children’s picture books: I’m a Girl and Introducing Teddy.
– Some Maisie Dobbs on audio.
– And, most of Limelight.

3. Which books would you recommend to other Read-a-thoners?
– The Bear and the Nightingale was fabulous. The cookbook is pretty good. Anything by Carole Maso is amazing. I’m a Girl is really well done. Limelight is good, for a beach read.

4. What’s a really rad thing we could do during the next Read-a-thon that would make you happy?
– I really liked the bingo idea and I loved, loved, loved having all of the mini-challenges ready from the start, rather than having to check in hourly to see which new challenges are live.

5. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep?
– Of course I’ll do #Readathon again. I almost always do. Volunteering to organize/prep… maybe.

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Young Jane Young

2018, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Feminism, Fiction, Women /

Woot, we finished an audiobook! Right after we finished the last audiobook, which was MONTHS ago (or at the very least, weeks ago) I didn’t have another one waiting for us so I just grabbed something we hadn’t read that also looked like we wouldn’t hate it.

So, I ended up with Young Jane Young.

I didn’t hate it but didn’t love it. I liked parts of it quite a bit. I did not like the “choose your own adventure” section at the end. TW apparently didn’t enjoy the book at all.

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The Sunshine Sisters

2018, Books in Bed, Chick Lit /

I don’t know why I read The Sunshine Sisters except that I was downstairs and my book was upstairs and I just needed something light to read while I was having my lunch. Also, one of the kids was home and it seemed like too much extra work to read something that wasn’t light and fluffy.

This one was the best and the worst of chicklit, all wrapped up in one predictable, stereotypical tale. I liked it except when it got to be too predictable and too stereotypical and then I rolled my eyes a lot.

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All Summer Long

1 Comment / 2017, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction /

I’ve read a lot of Dorothea Benton Frank’s books because duh, Charleston beaches. All Summer Long was my least favorite. If I had been able to find another light and easy read on my library cart, I’d have probably quit it about 75 pages in. I just did not like the characters and there wasn’t enough “Charleston” for me.

I ended up liking it slightly better towards the ends but not so much. (My favorite characters were NOT the main characters who moved to Sullivan’s Island. I pretty much hated them both.)

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Tuesday Night Miracles

2 Comments / 2017, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Awhile back, TW asked me to name some books about women’s journeys — where they go on a trip and find themselves or learn some lesson or bond with other women and I immediately said Kris Radish has written a lot of those books, hasn’t she? Which led me to see if she’s written any books we haven’t read (since we haven’t read any of her books in years, I figured it was likely) and whether any of her books were available in large print for TW’s mom because I wasn’t sure she’d read them…

Which is how Tuesday Night Miracles made it onto our shelf.

Typical Radish — women facing huge issues come together and get their lives together, mostly. It was a nice book to read in between some of the longer or more complex things on my shelf.

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The Whole Town’s Talking

2017, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Don't Read This, Fiction /

I generally like Fannie Flagg. I also liked the other Elmwood Heights books so I thought I’d be perfectly happy reading The Whole Town’s Talking. Turns out, not so much.

I hated the style of the book. I hated that we didn’t get more of the early settlers and their early lives and instead got… what we got. (No, I won’t spoil it for you in case you don’t take my advice and decide to read it.) I absolutely hated the ending (and the only reason I kept reading it was to see what happened to the folks up on the hill. Ugh.)

I also found the conservative messaging to be more than I could stomach — at the end it got to be a lot MUCH.

Don’t waste your time on this one.

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