I can't figure out why the picture of today's book keeps coming up so small - you'll just have to blame my computer illiteracy for that one and overlook it dear readers just like you graciously overlook my inability to use commas correctly (thanks for that by the way.)
I had a very hard time motivating myself to read today's book - not because the book wasn't good - but because I recently bought season four of Dallas and all I wanted to do was goof off, watch episode after episode of the aftermath of J.R. shooting. But, I decided instead to be responsible and actually read the book instead. Well okay, to be perfectly honest I did watch one episode before reading the book . . . okay two.
Today's book, "Of four friends who have seen each other through college, marriages, divorce, and children, Vaughn Jones is the girl mostly likely to write the great American novel. She has a love of words and an appreciation for literature that the others do not understand. Audrey Taylor is the girl mostly likely to run the world. Her father demanded perfection, and she has spent her life working to surpass his expectations. Susan Penn is the girl mostly likely to be famous. Her mother was a model and dancer, who instilled a love of the arts and glamour. Her struggle with alcoholism became Su's embarrassment and heartbreak. Irene Keller is the girl most likely to marry a prince. When she becomes pregnant by Su's high-school boyfriend, the four have their first conflict. Over the years their friendship has withstood many obstacles and tests. At their 30-year high-school reunion, they put all of the past hurts and misunderstandings aside and enjoy being the girlfriends they have always been. A well-constructed story."
Shallow thoughts:
- I enjoyed today's book. I started reading it, expecting it to be the typical "lifelong friendship" book where someone dies of cancer by page 150 - but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this book didn't fall into that trap. Although not as fluffy and devoid of substance as I thought it would be, this book would still make a good beach read.
- My favorite part of the book was reading about the characters' childhood memories from the 50s - it just made me want to go watch an old movie, something involving a blue convertible pulling into the driveway of a ranch house that's just like every other ranch house on the street.
- I also enjoyed the part of the book that talked about childhood lunches and how everyone would sit down and compare what they brought from home. - The first thing I used to do when checking my lunch box was look to see what kind of napkin note my Mom had left for me. She had a special marker that she would use to write notes, and draw pictures, on the top napkin that she would put in my lunch box. Sometimes they would say, "Have a Happy Day" with a great big sun that had a happy face on it, or sometimes she would draw a stick person with big tears falling and the caption above the stick person that said "I Miss You" or if it was close to Christmas then she would draw a tree and write at the top "4 Days Until Christmas Break, 9 Days Until Christmas."
I would definitely recommend this book. It was one of the best lifelong-friendship kind of books I've ever read, and I've read quite a few of them.
