Naked - David Sedaris

The reviews call these stories hilarious. While they show blatant commentary about the average lunatics and are definitely outrageous, my mind tended toward the poignant sides of the stories - the bittersweet factor in the family's last gathering before his mother's death, the sadness in people's stupidity and cruelty. The humor lies in the outrageousness of the things Sedaris has purportedly done - from working as an assistant to an idiot clockmaker in Oregon, to riding with his sister to rescue a whore to stay with the family for a night, to spending a week in a nudist colony.

In Progress:
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office -Lois P. Frankel
The World Is Flat -Thomas L. Friedman

Four Past Midnight - Stephen King

A collection of four short stories by the master of horror, I started reading this book about 10 years ago. The Langoliers by far was my favorite story of the four. Secret Window, Secret Garden was strong, and apparently strong enough to have been made into a movie - but I have to say, I hope the movie was better on that one. The final two stories, The Library Policeman and The Sun Dog, were creepy and gory, but weren't quite believable, an element that makes a horror story truly scary. As far as SK's short stories, I found Skeleton Crew much more enjoyable.

In Progress:
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office -Lois P. Frankel

Wicked - Gregory Maguire

::Spoiler Warning::

You've just got to feel bad for the Wicked Witch of the West (who, as it turns out, wasn't so wicked as misunderstood). From birth, she has been an outcast for her skin color, teeth, and allergy to water, and is always second fiddle to her parents' missionary career, her younger sister, her classmates and friends. She suffers a string of failures from her life's work for the fair treatment of Animals (animals with souls), her affair ending in her lover's murder, parenting, obtaining forgiveness from her lover's widow, and achieving her father and sister's respect. (and shoes!) Maguire ties larger issues into the story, from racism to education reform to nazi-ism to animal rights, giving a polotically-minded reader much food for thought.

In Progress:
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office -Lois P. Frankel
Four Past Midnight -Stephen King
Naked -David Sedaris

Baby Proof - Emily Giffin

Giffin again crafts a story that is impossible to put down. Claudia and Ben are soul mates who decided long before their marriage that they never wanted children. Then their world is flipped upside down when one of them decides differently. Children are a so-called "deal breaker" in marriage - the commitment won't work if one spouse wants and the other does not, and this story explores a possible path taken in this scenario.

While not as comical as her previous two novels, Giffin's story shows interesting parallels and comparisons between Claudia's relationship and the marriages of her two sisters, one of whom has a cheating husband, and the other struggles to have a child of her own, and their mother, who left their father for a rich man who can support her in an extravagant, "showy" lifestyle.

The plot is sugar-coated - not all endings are as happy as the ones we see for the characters here - but it is, ultimately, a satisfying and uplifting story and a great summer read.

In Progress:
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office -Lois P. Frankel
Four Past Midnight -Stephen King
Wicked -Gregory Maguire

Something Blue - Emily Giffin

This follow up to Something Borrowed follows the life of Darcy, the girl who (spoiler alert) cheated on her fiance and gets pregnant while her best friend Rachel and her fiance fall in love. Giffin is a genius to tell the story from both sides, and Darcy's ultimate growth is unexpectedly fun to watch if a bit unbelievable.


In Progress:
Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office -Lois P. Frankel
Four Past Midnight -Stephen King
Baby Proof -Emily Giffin