“There was no greater violence than affection.” If you like that quote, I believe you will enjoy Commute, a graphic novel for the #metoo movement.
Unfortunately, I just thought the book was sad. Erin had some difficulties early in life. To “overcome them”, she drinks. Heavily. Every night. Before finding some guy in a bar to sleep with. Even though she doesn’t enjoy it. As one character in the story states, “don’t look for oranges in a gas station.” I wanted to hear her story rather than the sad-sack protagonist. The fact is that while complaining about men either desiring her or making her invisible, she is objectifying herself and all women by constantly worrying about being or becoming fat. Fat to her includes pregnancy, which is just terrible.
As you can probably tell, Commute wasn’t the book for me. I’m sympathetic with the issues portrayed. I hope that all female millennials and younger are not living the protagonist’s life portrayed here. If some of them are, then I hope they get a chance to read this empowering graphic novel. However, if you are not already on that road, I wouldn’t recommend picking this book up. 2 stars.
Thanks to Abrams ComicArts and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Posted in Graphic Novel, New Books, Women's Fiction Tagged with: Oct 8 2019
Joan Dixon is having a bad year. She’s an unemployed journalist who can’t even get listicle jobs. This new reality has forced her to sell her car and move in with her parents—at age thirty-six. She truly is one of The Nobodies.
Joan interviews as a junior copywriter at Bloom, a tech company selling digital storage space without using server farms.
Note from my internal armchair detective: how can you sell storage space without any space to sell? Tech, am I right?
Back to review: Bloom is so trendy that its conference rooms are named after dead singers regardless of genre like Tupac, Freddie, and Selena. Not feeling hopeful, Joan is surprised when she gets the job. Unfortunately, once working there, her journalistic Spidey-senses start firing. Is Bloom hiding a deep secret that could be Joan’s way back into journalism?
I have yet to find a Flatiron Book that was not fantastic and innovative. The Nobodies is no exception. Despite being a millennial herself, Joan is a great foil to an entire company full of their nonsense. As the mother of a millennial, I enjoyed the gentle joshing. But if you are 20 and work at Google, you may not. Underlying all the thought-provoking questions bothering Joan, this is a book for women. Joan does find romance at Bloom—and with a younger man. She also finds empowerment in taking control of her own life. 4.5 stars!
Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Posted in Humor, New Books, Women's Fiction Tagged with: Sep 10 2019, technology
Germaine is let go from her longtime job at an insurance company. Finding herself without many prospects at her age, she takes a job at The Helpline for local senior citizens.
Germaine loves numbers and is befuddled by people. While seeing herself as providing helpful input, others see her as blunt and tactless. She decides to assist the mayor in closing the local senior center to allow an expansion of his golf club. But Germaine soon changes her mind once she meets the senior rebels.
Unfortunately, despite being The Helpline’s core demographic of an older female, I never liked Germaine or the somewhat derivative plot. I did occasionally feel sorry for her being bullied without even catching on. The humor was missing for me too. Overall, not a good tale. Read the much better Eleanor Oliphant or any of the Rosie Project books. 2 stars.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Posted in New Books, Women's Fiction Tagged with: Jul 23 2019, seniors
In the Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Nina is a book lover, a list manic, a cat owner, an introvert, and a nerdy trivia player. Nina is also me! (if I was a Millennial of course).
Nina loves her quiet, well-ordered life working in a bookstore, serving her cat Phil, playing on a pub trivia team, and above all losing herself in books. When she finds herself with a new large extended family after her unknown father’s death, her world threatens to teeter into disorder (or what OCD’ish Nina calls chaos).
While that is the plot in a nutshell, the heart’s blood of the Bookish Life of Nina Hill is Nina herself. All “bookworms” like myself will feel an immediate kinship to Nina. She’s adorable! While outwardly an introvert, Nina’s thoughts are full of snarky side eyes at the people surrounding her and pop/literary references like a book-reading Bart Simpson. Even with her love of her second favorite 19th century novel, Pride and Prejudice, Nina still is of the current century. She is a member of many clubs that sound like they came straight out of the nerdy section of the Meetup app.
Anyone who is female and likes to read will see themselves in Nina and truly enjoy this book. How can a reader not love a book that starts out with a quote from Sally Brown from Peanuts waxing poetic about library cards! It is highly recommended. I loved it and didn’t want it to end. 5 stars!
While I received an advanced review copy from Berkley Books and Edelweiss+ in exchange for my honest review, I also bought it on audio. The narrator, Emily Rankin, is exceptional and improved this already great book. I wish I could give it an extra star in audible form.
Posted in Audiobooks, Diane's Favorites, Humor, Literary Fiction, New Books, Romance, Women's Fiction Tagged with: Jul 9 2019