jodiwilldare's reviews
1520 reviews

Here's what I learned from Sammy's Hill: Chick lit has such an awful, manufactured, predictable, cliched plot that one only needs to read every other chapter to totally understand the book (it was a bookclub pick, not my own choice to read this dreck).

I knew going into this book that it was going to be awful. Why? Because in the novel's opening scene protagonist Sammy finds herself on the train to work only discover that in her rush out the door she put on two different shoes -- one a strappy summer sandal, the other red a sneaker.

Yeah. Need I say more?

I don’t know if it’s exactly a fetish, but I’ve long had thing for postal workers. It started eons ago when I developed a crush on the Postmaster back in Prior Lake. When I moved, I changed post offices and developed a crush on Mary. At least I think her name is Mary. We shall call her Mary. Mary always says things like “oh, I’ve got some intelligent conversation coming up” when she sees me standing in line. It cracks me up, but I’m not the person she’s currently helping who is apparently not as smart as I am.

All this explains why when I decided that it was about time for me to read some Charles Bukowski I opted for Post Office. Yeah.
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Sometime this summer the Internet developed a big, fat Web crush on Miranda July and the quirky little Web site she made pimping her short story collection No One Belongs Here More Than You. I gotta admit, I crushed too. I eagerly anticipated the release of the collection. But as the buzz built my trepidation grew. Buzz things worry me. They put one in an awkward position. If you love the buzzed, then you’re just another pathetic hipster following the herd. If you hate the buzzed, you’re just another pathetic hipster following the other part of the herd.

When I got the book as an anniversary gift, I carefully put it on the dining room table with all the other books that haven’t been read or put away. I told myself I’d read it when I had reached the point where I couldn’t remember what the hell the buzz about the book was.

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The first two stories in Neil Smith’s short story collection Bang Crunch were so punch-in-the-gut good that it caused me a bit of anxiety. Could he keep up this stellar pace? What if he does? What if the entire collection is this good? Will my heart be able to take it?

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As much as it pains me to say it, I was really disappointed in [b:Chip Kidd|28756|The Cheese Monkeys A Novel in Two Semesters|Chip Kidd|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167956353s/28756.jpg|1363319]’s The Learners, a follow-up to his phenomenal book Cheese Monkeys.

The Learners picks up with Happy, the main character from Cheese Monkeys all graduated from State and trying to get a job at Spear, Rakoff & Ware in New Haven, Connecticut the same ad agency where Happy’s professor and idol Winter Sorbeck got his start. However, the Happy in this new novel doesn’t feel like the same character from the earlier novel. In fact, none of the characters feel real. They’re all drawn with broad strokes, known for a few quirks but never given any real depth.

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Listen to my review on the Bookclub Bitches Podcast.