The book felt so short, compared to the novels I've read, but I really loved it. I think what I like best about Marquez is the way he writes tragedy in mythical ways.

Having read some gonzo journalism back in college, I don't know how I've never picked up this book before now. It was a whirlwind trip (in both senses?), and I loved the humor of the story and its characters.

It's hard to even write about this book except to say I loved it, I feel completely inferior as a writer, and in reading it once I felt like I read it eight times for how many paragraphs I went back and re-read for pure pleasure of the prose.

An interesting portrait of a non-endearing woman. She's odd and (maybe) brilliant, and I enjoyed the structure of the book as we see her life only through the people she affected the most -- and never through her own mind. I often wondered about that perspective, but I think it would be difficult given what's alluded to through these snapshots.

If you dig well-written and lyrical non-fiction, rock n roll, constant creativity, and New York City - you will dig this novel. I can't see anybody not liking this novel, to be honest. I've recommended it to every single person I've run into during and after reading it. I knew next to nothing about Patti Smith before picking it up, but there's a reason it's award-winning.

Well, I tried. The book had been sitting on my shelves for years, and I'd avoided it because of the many people over the years that said it was so fantastic (oddly, I can recall none of these people any more - was it you? Are they people I no longer know? This would make more sense; our tastes vary too much*).

The only salvageable part of this book is the first part of the actual novel - thus, I bequeath 2 stars instead of 1. That part was sad and written wonderfully and cleverly. The rest tried to be equal but was all annoying and awful. The section preceding the actual novel was the hardest to get through - I think I spent two days just trying to get past it. Then the good part. Then back to the no-good, awful stuff.

Eggers devices are so grating to me as a reader, and because it's non-fiction I loathed reading him in 1st person, talking about his life, what a crap person he is, and doing so through things like an MTV Real World casting interview. The meta aspect, the breaking of the 4th wall if you will, of some of his writing made me cringe and roll my eyes. This is what was called the second coming of JD Salinger (according to the book jacket quotes)? Also, Catcher in the Rye comparisons are not going to win me over, ever.

Eff this, this book gets 1 star.

*this is a joke.

I started reading the book unsure of how I would handle it as a newlywed - the novel delves into the year after Didion's husband dies 40 years into their own marriage. The book was truly heartbreaking in its emotional account of her memories and moving forward in her own life. Beautifully written; I loved it.

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a real 'nice' and quaint look at the way people once lived in Manhattan. I'd relish in the romanticism for New York the way it was and the way it still is that way...


But like most people everywhere, reality isn't all shiny and happy and Mary Cantwell candidly describes the downs of her personal life in those years. I thought a lot of being a woman then and being a woman now -- and I'm still thinking about it days after finishing the book.


And New York, of course. I smiled a lot while I read this because I recognized some of her descriptions of the city as if I had remembered them myself.

Kaling is obviously funny, and I enjoyed reading this and even chuckled aloud a few times. I'm not sure on the reason it is a book; I think a blog would have sufficed. It was interesting to hear about her beginnings and landing her Office job, but I think this is really just the beginning for her... she's currently filming her very own show she created, wrote, and is starring in this fall, so, I don't think her story is quite finished. Her observations were fun, and like reading a friend's... blog. Ha. I'm looking forward to her works of writing in the future!

And I mean, if I had the chance to put together some words on my own life while I was red-hot, I would, too! Good job, Ms. Kaling. You're charming.

A lot of people compared this book to her last...and they are incredibly different books, though the subject material might not seem so. I'm not sure I would say I 'enjoyed' this book, because it was not enjoyable to read reflections of a person growing older, and feeling quite alone after losing both her husband and daughter. It's easy to get self-reflective. Of course, Didion's prose always rises to the test and there were moments I had tears in my eyes, and there were also moments I laughed out loud.

It was a quick read and I know I'll be reading it again - like many Didion books, there were pages I marked to reread or write down a sentence from for later.