Sadness ...but only about a book and a random celebrity

So I just got done reading a book called "Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single". I was excited to read it because the author is from Minnesota and the story is set here in good 'ol Minneapolis. And that title! Well, what unmarried woman who likes to read chick lit wouldn't be hooked like a fish seeing a title like that???

Well, before I was even halfway done with it, I found myself at amazon.com looking to read what others thought so far...and then was inspired to add my own 2 cents. So I reviewed it, in two parts. I'm copying my review because A. I can't think of anything else particularly brilliant to blog about right now and B. It kind of goes along with what I was writing about the other day about how I'm searching for books to read that are different than from what I have been reading.

So, now for your reading pleasure (OK, because who am I kidding...I'm [now] writing this blog for my readers...thank you those who read this...you make my day! Now if I could only get a comment or two sometime? :P :) )

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I haven't quite finished it yet but just had to comment on what I think so far because there a couple of things that I need to respond to immediately. The first is something I LOVE. Near the beginning there was this part that spoke to me on so many levels and made me feel like I wasn't alone..."Don't think about the last ten years, which have collapsed in a lightning split-second, and even though I'm not sure what I was doing for ten years, we can be sure I wasn't getting married or having kids or buying a house or working on getting out of Minnesota. We can be sure of that." I love seeing in print someone else having these thoughts about their life. [Even if it's just a fictional character.]

On the other hand, while I'm enjoying this book so far, there is one thing that is bothering me. This character is a size twelve yet she acts like she's much larger than that. Now it's one thing if the character was actually going to do something about it but I don't think that's the case. This story is not about that ...so far. She is constantly beating herself up about her weight and that just makes me really sad. As a much larger-than-a-size-twelve woman who has worked long and hard to make peace with my body, it's sad to read about a character totally blowing her weight out of proportion (pun intended). I guess I really don't blame the author for that, society is such a harsh critic of womens bodies. It just would have been nice if the story was being told without the character being obsessed with how fat she thinks she is.

Of course I've yet to finish this book. Let's hope by the end she has a different attitude.

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Finished it last night and while I appreciated the reality of this fiction (our heroine isn't the practically perfect heroine you usually get in chick lit) I am disappointed that the story went in the direction it did. While yes, she stops focusing on the weight (thank goodness, it was getting old) the story becomes all about her relationship, being proposed to and then getting married. But why she even bothers is baffling to me. All she does is complain about her boyfriend/fiance' and his family. She takes the crap dished out to her and doesn't stand up for herself. She gets caught up in a world where she won't have to worry about money anymore but at the cost of her self-respect. When she does have a shot at real love she blows it off and goes ahead and gets married to a guy I don't think she even likes (because we never know what she likes about him, other than her being attracted to his looks when she first meets him.)

I wanted her to be human and make mistakes but by the end I didn't like her. She represents just one of the many examples I used to think were just a figment of my imagination of a person who gets married for all the wrong reasons simply because they are so desperate to get married.

Or maybe I just prefer my fiction a little more like ..."Bridget Jones Diary" (but way less like a harlequin romance novel).

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Ah, the freedom of the internet. Lots and lots of ways to be a little fish in a big pond.

Random thought:

- I'm sad that Farah Fawcett is dying. Not that I was a big fan or anything (though have "Charlie's Angels" episodes on my someday-will-watch TV list.) I mean it's one thing when you hear a beloved (?) celebrity has passed away but to hear they're dying...and Ryan O'Neal is so heartbroken. Sad. Just sad.

>>>><<<<<

It's almost 3am and the wind is blowing something fierce out there. It's actually howling! I'm so glad it's "Friday". Next 2 days should be fun! and exciting! and interesting! and emotional!

I'm seeing those friends I haven't seen in YEARS. It's also payday again, thank god!

J - I love how you often close with "Onward". Can I just openly copy that?