It was 60 degrees and sunny yesterday; today the wind blows snow flakes against my windows. March is my toughest month. I’m done with winter, but it’s still has a few punches for me. As the last gray days drag on, I need funny reading material to keep my spirits up. I’m thinking perhaps you do too, so here are three book recommendations to help you laugh your way into April.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Review by Amy Makechnie of Maisymak. Find her on Twitter and Facebook
This book came at the perfect time: the middle of winter in New Hampshire. Alice is twenty-nine, crazy in love with her husband, and pregnant with her first child. At least she thinks that’s her life. In reality, she’s suffered a head injury at the gym (what? she hates going to gym!) and can’t remember the last ten years of her life. She’s getting divorced, her sister won’t talk to her, she has three kids (they don’t even look familiar; they’re so…needy!), and her formerly beloved husband despises her. What’s happened in the last ten years? How did Alice become so insufferable? And most importantly, can she start over? I loved this book! It made me laugh out loud but also forced me examine my own marriage and family: will I like where it ends up in ten years? (side note…SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA)
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Review by Dana Hemelt of Kiss My List. Find her on Twitter and Facebook
Things are not going well for Judd Foxman; his wife’s affair has ended their marriage and his father just died. Dear old Dad’s final request was that the entire family spend seven days sitting shiva after the funeral. Together. In the same house.
It doesn’t sound funny, I know. But I laughed out loud (the first of many times) during the scene when Judd walked in on his wife and her lover…Tropper imbues humor in the most unlikely places. A week of the dysfunctional Foxman family is illuminating, raw, real and amusing. As I was reading, I thought this novel would adapt wonderfully into a movie, and it has. The book is always better, though – and this one is no exception.
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophia Kinsella
Review by Valerie Rutledge of Peaceful Promises. Find her on Facebook
I’ve been looking for a month or so now for another title by Sophie Kinsella and the library has let me down so I ended up with The Undomestic Goddess on a whim.
Samantha is a force to be reckoned with in a predominantly testosterone driven field. She’s young, sharp and on the fast track to being the youngest partner in her upscale law firm in London. Until she makes one, very costly, mistake. Rather than face the music, she runs away, literally.
Winding up on a stranger’s doorstep, a case of mistaken identity lands her in job unlike any she’s ever known, a housekeeper of a countryside estate. Faking her way through the day, with a little help from the gardner, she slowly adjusts to this new pace of life. Little does she know she’s one curtsy away from yet another turn of events.
While I couldn’t exactly relate to the pull of the corporate world, I found her struggle between what she’s always done and what lies before her to be something with which most women can empathize. Lovable characters along with just the right mix of intrigue, romance & reality made this a quick, easy read on a cold, do-nothing day.
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Can you add a funny read to this list? I’d love to hear about it!
Thanks,
I have not read any Sophie Kinsella but keep hearing how good she is! I’ve also heard the Tropper books is a good one – thanks for the reminders. January is my toughest month but I survived; you can too 🙂
I haven’t read the last one – adding it to my list. Sometimes you just need a book that will make you laugh.
Thanks for including my pick, Julia!
Oh, I love Sophie Kinsella and had lots of fun reading the Undomestic Goddess! And my book club is reading What Alice Forgot and I loved it (so cool that it’s going to be a movie!). I’ll have to try This is Where I Leave You.