elizabethlaney

January 2008:

1.  My Life in France - Julia Child:  delightful memoir of writing her culinary masterpiece (Mastering the Art of French Cooking).  Interesting both in the writing about food and the insight about life in the 1950’s in France and the US.

2.  Bungalow 8 - Danielle Steele:  okay for a beach read.  We liked the part about Hollywood screenwriting, but there was a lot about personal family drama that was sort of blah, blah, blah…

3.  Second Chance- Jane Green:  awful.  One third of the way into the dramatic, sappy story we were regretting it.  We don’t know if this was supposed to be a beach read, but it was depressing and boring.  AVOID.

4.  Katie: An Unauthorized Biography- Edward Klein:  Well, we love Katie Couric, so we couldn’t put it down, but we can’t really imagine anyone else enjoying it on the same level.  However, it was a telling insight into the world of TV news, so if you have any interest in such, you might enjoy.

5.  Basic Black - Cathie Black:  Black, the President of Hearst Magazines, writes tips and advice for young women starting out in the work force.   Insightful (relatively speaking), quick read based on the NY mag world.

6.  The Emperor’s Children - Claire Messud:  very heavy, very literaturish.  Story of three 30ish friends in NYC.  Very, very good - but a deep and cumbersome effort.

7.  Comfort Me with Apples - Ruth Reichl:  We’ve written about Reichl’s memoirs before, but as we said, we love them.  She is by far the most gifted food writer we’ve ever encountered. 

Happy Reading!