Erin's Midday Book Club

Re: Love The One You're With

erinchristy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:06:26 GMT

Lisa,

Thank you so much for the suggestions!! Sorry for my late reply, I have been out of town.

I have seen Jen Lancaster's books in the store and have been very curious. Could be a pick down the road.

Thanks for your input on Emily Giffin's latest - at least I'm not the only one!

Erin

Re: Love The One You're With

Dogluvr — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:49:15 GMT

Erin, I have to agree with you on "Love the one your with". I have read the other books by Emily Giffin and they were very good! "Love" was a disappointment though. I am glad in the end she realized Leo wasn't the one for her and stayed with Andy.

Have you ready any of Jen Lancaster's books? As far as I know, she has 3 books out. I have enjoyed them all!!! The first one is "Bitter is the new Black", then there's "Bright Lights, Big Ass" followed by "Such a Pretty Fat"

Come holiday time, I would higly recommend "The Autobiography of Santa Claus" as told to Jeff Guinn.

Lastly, I have to ask if you have read the Plum series by Janet Evanovich? I absolutely LUV those books!!! #15 just came out on Tuesday and I had it finished by Thursday evening. Most definitely worth reading all of them!!

Baskets of hugs,

Lisa

Love The One You're With

erinchristy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:02:52 GMT

Love The One You're With By Emily Giffin.

As I've said, unlike other book clubs, I have NOT read the books before the viewers. The books often come as a suggestion, but other that recommended reading, I do not know much about the books before reading them. After this selection, maybe I should reconsider.

Initially, I was very enthusiastic about the idea of reading Love The One You're With. Primarily because it seemed like a "beach read"; an easy read, a book for chicks, and a looooove story. Mmmm.. my favorite. So, I was very positive going into this read. Being in the news business, I like a good non-fiction biography, and I also enjoy a suspense thriller, but to me, there is nothing like a GREAT love story. I guess I am saying all of this beforehand because.. ultimately, I was disappointed in the novel.

If you're reading this blog, you probably know that it's the story of Ellen, a happily-married 30-something who happens to run into an old flame in a train depot several years after college named Leo.

Something I liked about the book: I do feel like Ellen's character and I had a lot in common. She's heavily driven by her career, she and I are about the same age and in the same place in life, and she has the same basic conflicts and discussions with her friends, family and in her intimate relationships (well, to a certain extent!). So, I liked reading about Ellen. I liked reading how she handled different situations. It often had me thinking "is that what I would have done?"

The author had me laugh a couple of times, particularly when it came to depicting the Georgia suburbanites. In one chapter, Ellen was getting constantly annoyed by one woman's over use of "super cute." While I could relate to Ellen's distaste, I also tend to use the phrase "super cute." (Am now looking for an alternative).

Here's what bothered me about the book: it is an age-old love story. Did you let the love of your life get away? Did you marry the right person? If an author is going to tell such a classic tale, they need to bring something new to the table. I got all the way to the end, and never got that sense of excitement or tingle up my spine when something happens in a story that you didn't expect. Love stories are, on some level, predictable as they stand. There has to be something else there that has me saying "YOU have to read this!!"

I'm ready for Wicked.