In which I resolve to be a better blogger

Well, I have sadly neglected this blog. It's hard to measure up to pictures of Phoebe in her Harry Potter costume and a European vacation. My everyday life is nowhere near as cute or interesting.

Since I obviously don't have enough witty observations about life to keep a blog going, I've decided to try something new. One of the great joys of my life since graduating from college is that I'm able to read for pleasure again. I read a lot, but I often don't retain much of it.

I'll be using this blog in an attempt to keep track of what I'm reading, and what I think of it. Miniature reviews, if you will.

So, without further ado, the last book I finished was In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner. I've been doing a lot of work on our kitchen cabinets lately, and I needed something light and fluffy to relax with, so I've been on a bit of a chick lit bender. Jennifer Weiner was recommended to me as an author in this vein whose books don't insult the reader's intelligence in the way that many "women's" authors do, and I found this to be so. In Her Shoes and Little Earthquakes, which I also read recently, are easy to blow through, but very funny and real.

In Her Shoes is the story of two sisters and their estranged grandmother. Rose is the sister who has it all together - she's a lawyer with Ivy League degrees. Her sister Maggie has absolutely nothing together, and has had a rough time. The novel opens with Maggie in a bathroom stall, having drunken sex with a guy she just met at her high school reunion. Ella, the girls' grandmother, was shut out of their life after their mother died while they were young.

The book alternates between Rose, Maggie, and Ella's viewpoints, so the reader gets a good sense of what's going on in each woman's head. This is important, especially as Maggie does some really horrible things throughout the book, but is so sweet at times that it's impossible to write her off entirely as an evil character.

All three women have some of their personal issues resolved by the end of the book - one finds a man she loves, one finds a career she loves, and one finds a family. Some of the plot is a little cliched, but not terribly so. It's not so bad as to be unenjoyable or insulting to my intelligence. For example, one character is pursued by a man she doesn't care for at all, but it's obvious to the reader that he is The Perfect One for her. Weiner spares us a long, drawn-out chronicle of How She Comes Around and How They Fall In Love, and skips from their first date to their engagement. Yay!

Overall, I'd recommend In Her Shoes, and I've put Jennifer Weiner's other two books on hold at the library.