You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again: The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny by Suzanne Hansen

I write a post here about every book that I read. If you've been reading with me for awhile now, you know that I read serious stuff, but also some very light stuff (have you read my posts on Tori Spelling's books??).

I thought that this one would be a light read, and it definitely is fun and entertaining. But there is also a depth to it. The writer undergoes her own transformation as she works as a nanny and is aware of what she's feeling and going through. I like memoirs in which the writer grows and changes, and this is one of them.

Suzanne was 18 years old and fresh out of high school, when she attends a Nanny certification school. She moves from a small town in Oregon to Los Angeles to find a job as a nanny. She ends up working for Hollywood agent and bigwig Michael Ovitz and quickly finds out that working as a nanny to the wealthy and/or famous may not be all that great. She works long days and is on-call 24 hours/day. She also gets a peek into the lifestyles and trivialities of the rich and famous.

I really liked this book! It would be a great read for the end of summer!

PS: Thanks for the recommendation, Karen!

Eat, Walk, Write: An American Senior's Year of Adventure in Paris and Tuscany by Boyd Lemon

At 70-years-old, the author decided to move from the United States to Paris for two years. He writes about his initial adjustment, the difficulties he faced while learning French, the food he ate, and side trips he took.

I liked the author's honesty about how difficult it was to adjust to life in France. He was also honest about how lonely he was for awhile.

There were a couple of drawbacks to this book. First, there were many misspellings which were very distracting and unprofessional. Did he have an editor? Secondly, there was a lack of transition words and sentences, so the paragraphs seemed to jump around from topic to topic. This was jarring.

I can't recommend this book for the above reasons.

I have to add that it was an interesting book to read though because I read it on a flight from Paris to the United States. Reading about a place after having just spent some time there is a very fun experience. The names of places and neighborhoods and the language were still fresh in my head, so it gave me some good closure. I may make that a travel policy now - to read a book about the place while traveling there to build up anticipation, and to read a book about the place while returning. It seems appropriate.

The Lion is In by Delia Ephron

The plot of this book is pretty random. Three women are thrown together working in a bar with a lion. Yes, with a lion.

The beginning started out okay, but it went downhill from there until I didn't really have an idea of what exactly was going on and why. The characters were not distinct, so I had trouble remembering who was who.

Skip!

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

After enjoying Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence so much, I thought that I might really like The House of Mirth. Boy, was I wrong!

Lily Bart has no money, but she is plenty pretty and very smart. It would be easy for her to marry for money (and she needs money because hers is running out, and she's in debt), but she won't, or doesn't.

Throughout the entire novel, I never really liked Lily Bart. Or any of the characters in the book as well. Maybe I'm missing something brilliant about this book, but reading it for pleasure was no pleasure at all.

If you want to read some Edith Wharton, go for The Age of Innocence, and skip this one.

Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie by Beth M. Howard

Just hours before the author's husband was going to sign their divorce papers (a divorce which the author had initiated), he suddenly died. So, to work through her grief (and guilt), she does what she knows best: she makes pie.

At the beginning of the book, I wasn't really sure if I liked the author. Actually, at one point, I wasn't even sure if I was going to continue reading because the author seemed quite narcissistic. As the book went on, she grew on me some, but only some. However, overall the book was entertaining, well-written, and it flowed well. I'm giving it a lukewarm recommendation.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My first memory of Little Women was as a child when I accidentally spilled a cup of water on my mom's copy that she had as a kid. After that, it was a waterlogged copy of Little Women. Sorry, Mom! Maybe I still needed to use a sippy cup? Or maybe you should have kept your beloved childhood books on a higher shelf? Anyway, it's waterlogged, and this was 20+ years ago, so what can you do.

This was my first time reading Little Women, and I think it's because I was always afraid to touch my mom's copy again after it was waterlogged because it seemed really fragile and crinkly.

Set during the Civil War, Little Women is about the March family, specifically the four daughters, Meg, Beth, Amy, and Jo. They each have different personalities and talents. The story follows them as they grow up and go through all of the fun and disappointment that comes with, well, growing up.

My experience of reading Little Women was just okay. I wasn't that impressed or interested. I think I would had liked it better if I had read it as a young girl. But as you read above, the copy around the house was too crinkly and so I didn't pick it up. Ah well.

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler

Aaron is a thirty-something man who works in publishing. His wife dies suddenly when a tree falls on their house, and this book tells about his grieving process and how he learns to say goodbye.

This is the fifth Anne Tyler book I've read. I enjoy her writing because it's about ordinary people and ordinary life which is also extraordinary if we take the time to think about it. She also doesn't skirt around the mess that life inevitably brings.

I can always trust Anne Tyler for a good, solid, satisfying read. This one was no different.