Rapid Fire Book Reviews

So in the last week I have read three books. I know, insane right? Who has that much time on their hands? Well, I do. Did. Whatever. The point is, I read so much so fast that I fell behind on my blogging. I thought about skipping it, just moving on to the next one. But somehow that felt like cheating. Instead, I decided to put together a quick one shot deal and cover them all.

So here you go. Rapid Fire Book Reviews:

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson  - Crotchety old men can either be super enduring or really annoying. Major Pettigrew is a little of both. Set in a small English town, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand follows the Major as he deals with life’s little, and big, dramas. The story focuses on his developing relationship with Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani widow who owns a local shop. Needless to say, residents of this small sleepy town are not open to change, especially not the kind of change that allows them to accept this interracial relationship. On top of that, we get a lot of “back in my day” type of flittering about by the Major. Nobody is ever polite enough. Nobody ever follows the correct rules of etiquette or has the right level of respect. It’s frustrating. I wanted so much to like the Major. But he spends most of the book whining and whimpering and standing on the sidelines, never standing up when he should. Despite that though, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand felt like watching a fun BBC mini-series. If that’s your idea of a good time, then pick this book up.

 There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro ­- I’ve said it before, I Love Laurie Notaro. She’s hilarious. She cracks me up. And she has a distinct voice that makes you feel like you’re chatting with a friend over a drink swapping stories about your crazy family.  There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell is an odd little nugget of a novel. When her husband lands a job at a small college in Washington state, Maye finds herself a grown woman in a new town struggling to make friends. I have thought a lot about this actually. As an adult, how do you make friends? It’s not like when you are a kid and you could just play with random kids on the playground or have a whole classroom full of kids to choose from. But as an adult, especially one who works from home like Maye does, how are you supposed to meet new people? The town of Spaulding is a quirky place and almost a character on its own. And as Maye finds her place in it, we get to meet the bazar people and things that surround her.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling-  I always love a funny chick. And any women that can parlay her sense of humor into a career gets my vote. Mindy Kaling is up there with Kristin Wigg and Tina Fey as one of the funniest women working in comedy today. Her book is a collection of essays that range from autobiographical stories from her childhood to hilarious lists of what it means to be a good girlfriend. This is one of those books that I think every young woman should read. Because when you look beyond the silly stories, this is a book about a woman who followed her ambition and made a successful career for herself. And she did it without having to resort to sex tapes or fake boobs. She’s not really trying to give people advice, but I think that any girl with big dreams can learn from her example. It’s refreshing to hear from someone who had a normal childhood. That likes dating but not one night stands. And that likes her parents and enjoys hanging out with them. You always hear stories about people who overcame a traumatic childhood to make it big. But I dig that Mindy is just a regular girl who got what she wanted. Gives all is other regular girls hope.