Good, Better, Best

Thanks to a few recent plane rides (and my rainy trip to Toronto) I've got some books to report on. Penny-a-page is in full swing, so July has proven a decent starting month for me. It's on, sibs.

When I first heard about She Matters, my inner soul rejoiced. What a wonderful idea for a book, I thought. The importance of female friendships. The author recounts various friendships throughout her life, although unfortunately only two of them struck me as moving or meaningful in any way. Most of them had me frustrated at the author and wondering why each of her friends seem to end the friendship for the same reason (blaming it on the author's selfishness). It ultimately left me with the impression that she is, in fact, selfish. And this made me dislike her and care less about her story.

I rarely read novels, but I picked this one up because there seemed to be a lot of buzz around it. I confess I did enjoy it. I read it quickly...although that could have more to do with the airport delay that left me little else to do. It seemed pretty unrealistic at times (read: all the time), but I loved that it was so random. I mean, Antarctica? Really? And having the whole thing be a series of letters and emails made for a fun read...very different than your typical book.

I have Will Schwalbe to thank for the gem of July. The End of Your Life Book Club was pure delight. Not because it is cheery on ANY level...in fact, delight is probably the wrong word. It's more that it was satisfying, completely. The perfect combination of literary musings and tragedy, it was just the kind of book I relish. More than that, I really felt like I got to know Will's mother, and I'm so in awe of the kind of person she was. A truly remarkable woman. The chance to follow along as they read their way toward her inevitable death was, in my opinion, truly special.

Bring on August.