welcome to elaney!

Okay, here it is.  Everyone’s favorite post of the month (and the last one for awhile, because after we finish The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, we are going to tackle Anna Karenina with Reader Betsy).  (And yes, we realize that we’re about 7 years late on The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing.  Might as well read Into the Wild and The Year of Magical Thinking while we’re at it).

The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, Edna Baker
Memoir of a standup comedian’s experience of dating in NYC as a Mormon.  It’s pretty hilarious, and this Southern Christian girl could relate to her efforts of reconciling religion with dating.  The story about how she tells a guy that she’s never seen snow so she can spend three hours in the car made us laugh so hard it hurt.  It’s smart and funny, but the end is weak and shows her inexperience as a writer.  Bottom Line:  Worth the Wait, er Read

The Sixes, Kate White
You girls know that Kate White, Editor-in-Chief of Cosmo, is our favorite mystery writer.  We’ve read everyone of them, and her latest, The Sixes, did not disappoint.  Set at a college where the protagonist is a disgraced famous writer doing a guest stint, it’s probably not going to win a Pulitzer but it kept us up until 3am one night.  Bottom Line: Better than Cosmo.

Heaven Is for Real, Todd Burpo
Sure, you have to give into the fact that they sell it at Publix and every Southern Baptist in America is doing it for their book club this fall, but it’s a sweet story.  Bottom Line: It will make you cry (probably not as hysterically as Same Kind of Different as Me), and long for the days that childlike faith was easy.

The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Bank
Not quite finished, so can’t speak to every bit of it, but it’s delightful.  Written as a collection of short stories, it’s a coming of age story of book editor Jane living in NYC.  A touch dark, quite witty, Jane will capture the heart of any girl that has ever wondered…”what does it all mean?”  Bottom Line: A great catch!

And we’re off to finally earn the right to have Anna Karenina on our coffee table.  Wish us luck.

With no elaney to write, and no interns pestering me for recommendations, there was a lot of time for reading during Sabbatical 2K’11.  You know I wouldn’t leave you hanging with summer approaching and no beach reads to review.  Some good, some bad, some happy, some trash.  Go crazy.

South of Broad, Pat Conroy.

Maybe we’re unamerican, maybe we don’t get it, but we honestly didn’t like it at all.  Rarely do we abandon a book in the middle, but this one, we had to.  Can’t even tell you what it was about it was so unmemorable.   Final verdict:  Pat Conroy may be one of the greatest authors of our time, but he’s going to have to work a little harder to win over elaney.

Last Night at the Chateau Marmont, Lauren Weisberger.

Was it as good as Chasing Harry Winston?  No, but it was fun and harmless and took about 6 hours to read.  About a NYC couple who is suddenly thrown into the limelight when the musician husband suddenly makes it big.  Final Verdict:  Kinda like a peach bellini at the Chateau, don’t mind if I do.

An Object of Beauty, Steve Martin

Story of a young, ruthless, up and coming girl in the art world.  From her starting job at Sotheby’s to her opening of her own gallery.  Most of the book is really more about art and the art world, but Lacey is truly a captivating character.  Final verdict:  Part twisted, part educational, it’s very good.

Insatiable, Meg Cabot.

Don’t even ask why this was read.  Listened to it on tape, and it was all they had at the Cracker Barrell roadtrip audio DVD rental.  It’s so stupid, and Meg Cabot (who has written quite a few good beach reads like the Queen of Babble series) did not do her best work here.  Final verdict:  Leave it to the biscuits, Cracker Barrell.

The Overnight Socialite, Birdie Clark

It’s not horrible, but it’s not the best chick lit we’ve ever read.  About this country girl (Lucy) who is plucked from obscurity after two dapper UES gentlemen make a bet on whether or not she can be turned into a socialite.  A rich man’s She’s All That.  Final Verdict:  Parts of it were really good, but Lucy is wayyy too much of a Pollyanna to be relatable.

It’s time to plan Christmas Eve!!  Christmas Eve at the Woolfolk house is getting increasingly more interesting as we all get older – yet keep the nuclear family alive.  That said, we (three adult children and their parents) still read Christmas books the night before Christmas (okay, so elaney tries to read one and no one really pays attention, but you get the idea).  We also think that Christmas childrens’ books are a great gift for the little ones in your lives (like Baby Josephine, Baby Cora, and my sweet little goddaughter Baby Polly).  We love Eloise at Christmas time!  What’s your favorite?

It’s your favorite post of the month!  What did we read in October that we loved?  This month there were many late nights engrossed in the book everyone is talking about…the story of the Vangers, told through the eyes of Mikeal Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.  Ooooh it’s so good.  And we can pretty much tell you that November’s book list will be the next two in the trilogy.

All three of Stieg Larsson’s books were published posthumously.  Set in Sweden, the story is just gripping.  You will be endeared to scruffally Mikeal, and you just want to take little Lisbeth in your arms and tell her you love her.  Not only are the characters fascinating, but the plot is so captivating.  Es goo!

Busy month!  Only read one book in September:  Tender at the Bone, by Ruth Reichl.  Have always been a fan of Ruth Reichl’s memoirs.  After acting as the NY Times food critic and later, the Editor-In-Chief of Gourmet, Reichl has had an interesting life.  And, as part of her previous job descriptions, the woman can write about food.  Tender at the Bone tells the story of her youth and early career.  After reading her three memoirs in reverse order, we’d have to say that this was our least favorite…but it is still very good.  It’s just a little more interesting to read about her taking away Le Cirque’s fifth star than her grandmother’s cooked catfish.  But if you like food and like to cook, you will enjoy.

Time for the monthly roundup.

DISCLAIMER:  Remember, this is just an opinion on the books we read inthe previous month.  We cannot be held responsible for our undying love for the beach read.

Twenties Girl, Sophie Kinsella.

UGH.  It is so, so, so bad.  Like all of her books since Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, Sophie has truly lost her spark.  We don’t know why we continue to read them all.  This is the story of a floundering head hunter who starts hanging around with the ghost of her dead aunt.  Yes, it’s as ridic as it sounds.  Final Verdict:  AVOID.

One Day, David Nicholls.

The story of two people who connect the night of college graduation at the University of Edinburgh and then stay friends for the next 20 years.  Ohhhh it’s so delightful.  Nicholls is a brilliant writer!  Capturing so well the evolution of relationships, as well as the maturation of two characters.  We had a little bit of a slow start with it, and then we could not put it down.  Smart and thoughtful.  Anne Hathaway is currently filming the movie, and we cannot wait!  Final Verdict:  We envy those who haven’t read it.  Wish we could do it all again!

Short Straw, Stuart Woods.

Your typical Stuart Woods (although, there is only one Stone Barrington).  Listened to it on tape.  Feel like a good story that you may or may not remember two days later?  Stuart Woods is your man.  Final Verdict:  Nothing to write home about.

Heart of the Matter, Emily Giffin

Like her cover art, Emily Giffin novels are all very similar.  Sort of sad, very real, more narrative than action.  Every time we finish one of her books, we are left sort of disappointed and feeling like the outlook for the world is sort of bleak, yet there is something honest about them.  Final Verdict: Like.