Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

I finally got around to reading Sophie Kinsella's newest book, Remember Me? It's not that I didn't want to read it, but that I knew it would only take me a few hours and I have a huge stack (17 and counting) of books from the library that I need to finish before their due dates. I was planning on saving this for my upcoming plane ride to Utah, but decided to read it last week when I was getting burnt out on all this nonfiction I've been reading lately (reviews to come).

In Remember Me? Alex Smart finds herself in the hospital with a concussion and begins trying to piece together how she got there. All she can remember from the night before is that she had been out drinking with the girls on a rainy night and she slipped and fell on the wet pavement. But when she goes to look in the mirror, she sees that she's somehow lost a good amount of weight and her teeth are amazingly straight and shiny. And why does she have a Louis Vuitton bag next to her nightstand? She can't afford that!

When people begin to visit her, she doesn't recognize them and they look older than she expects. Finally someone tells her that it's 2007 not 2004. The slip and fall incident happened three years ago. But she doesn't remember the last three years, which includes her meeting her now-husband. The tale that ensues is hilarious as always and not nearly as cliche as I had previously thought.

Sophie Kinsella has a way of telling stories that makes me fall in love with her characters and manages to put me in their shoes (even though I know I'll never be able to afford the lifestyle of many of her characters). However, having read all of Kinsella's books, I'm beginning to see a pattern. She spends the first 2/3 of the book making us fall in love with the main character and all of her witty mishaps. We also watch as they nearly destroy their lives, then in the last few chapters the main character thinks of something brilliant that saves her crumbling career, or that of her husband or friends. As I was reading this book I realized it had become formulaic and it made me sad because I do so love Sophie Kinsella. I still recommend this book because it's a fun and easy read, but if you've read all of Kinsella's other work be aware that you'll be reading it saying to yourself, "OK, now what's she going to think of to save everyone's job? Because I know that's coming next."

If you've never read Kinsella, I highly suggest Can you keep a secret? and Confessions of a shopaholic.

Sophie Kinsella's New Book Out Today!

I have been waiting for this day ever since about September, when I heard Sophie Kinsella was coming out with a new book. Granted, the story line is a bit played out when it comes to romantic comedies - the story of a girl who loses her memory and realizes her forgotten life isn't worth remembering - but I'm sure Kinsella has added her usual humor to make this another best seller for her. Even though the book is out today, I have to wait a couple more weeks to buy it because it's not available in Europe yet.

Although I'm not usually a huge fan of Chick Lit - in fact, Kinsella is the only Chick Lit author I've read and liked - I've found a book blog that focuses only on girly books. So, if this is a genre that interests you, or if you want something girly without it being a steamy romance novel, check out the Candy Covered Books blog.

Book Cravings

There are a lot of books on my list of "Books to Read" this year. Unfortunately, that list keeps growing as I read reviews of older books and new books get released. This week, the books that I'm craving the most are:

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I've been hearing a lot about this book, but was putting it off because I thought it would be as long as The Omnivore's Dilemma, his last book. Then I saw the book yesterday at Shakespeare and Co. and discovered that it's only about 250 pages long. I can definitely read this one quickly and finally get a taste of Pollan's writing. In Defense of Food has been summed up in seven words: Eat food, less of it, more plants. I don't know if Pollan intended it to be a diet book. From what I've read, it's actually about getting people to understand that food isn't evil. It's all the processed crap we eat that's making us unhealthy. If we were to eat more whole foods, well, we'd likely be a lot healthier. I think it will make for interesting reading, and maybe get me motivated to keep with my Parisian diet once I get back to California.

Next on my list is The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. I ordered this book on Amazon a few weeks ago, but unfortunately international shipping takes a bit longer than normal. I'm desperate to have this book in my hands. The World Without Us is a scientific look into how nature would react if humans were to go extinct. I'm fascinated by this concept and am interested to know exactly what type of research was tapped in order to write authoritatively on the timeline for the destruction of cities by plants.

Lastly, I'm waiting, quite impatiently, for the release of Sophie Kinsella's new book, Remember Me? I am the hugest Sophie Kinsella fan so even though the story line seems a bit played out (girl gets amnesia, falls in love with someone other than her original lover, discovers life is better than it was), I'm still waiting excitedly for it. Kinsella is one of the few chick lit writers who I don't want to strangle after reading one of her books. The reading is always light and funny, which makes them a quick read, without making all women seem ditzy or bitchy. Can't wait.