review:The Wedding Beat

Title by Author: The Wedding Beat by Devan Sipher

Series (if applicable): none

Publisher: New American Library

Publication Date: 2012

Page Count:  254

Source: actually won it from “Chick Lit is Not Dead” blog.  Love those gals!

Blurb: Sometimes the best man isn't even in the wedding party...

Gavin Greene is a hopeless romantic. He's also a professional one: he writes the wedding column for a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, covering spectacular parties from coast to coast. But there's a thin line between being a hotshot reporter on assignment...and being a single guy alone on a Saturday night at someone else's wedding.

Everything changes on New Year's when Gavin meets Melinda, a travel writer with enchanting dimples. A moonlit stroll across a Manhattan rooftop seals the deal. Until an Aussie with attitude swoops in and whisks her away before Gavin gets her number.

Gavin crisscrosses New York City to find her again. And he learns that there's something worse than losing the woman of his dreams: Having to write an article about her wedding.

My Interest in this book is: What an interesting premise…chick lit written by a guy!

My Review:

The author, Devan Sipher, was actually the “Vows” writer for the New York Times for five years.  One of my favorite movies happens to be “27 Dresses,” so this was a perfect fit.  It was a fun book that was well-written – and written by a guy.  This dude knows how to write Chick Lit!  It was fun, quirky and quickly-paced, and the ending (thank goodness) didn’t disappoint.

Gavin Greene is a writer for ‘the paper’ and he happens to write the wedding column every week.  He travels around the US to cover weddings and is just looking for “The One!” His best friend, Jill, invited him to a party on New Years Day – one she doesn’t show up to, but he did.  That’s where he sees her, and ends up completely tongue-tied…and she gets away.

No one seems to know who she is or how he can get in touch with her.  He left without getting her information, except her name, which is Melinda.  How many Melinda’s who are travel writers can there be in New York?!  More than he thought there would be.

Gavin is also helping his brother, who is decidedly not a romantic, plan a wedding to a gal he met and wants to marry.  His Jewish mother wants to see her baby boy settle down as well.  What’s a wedding writer to do?  Besides start getting tired of the over-the-top weddings he goes to every weekend, he wants to find his own princess – the kind that spends months in Tibet or some far-flung place donating her time to poor children.

One thing leads to another (and one more ‘date’ with the wrong Melinda) and Gavin is just about done trying to find his elusive soul mate, when he finds her in his next wedding to cover.  How can this be possible?!

Will fates conspire or converge to bring him together with the woman that he thinks he loves.  Is she really all that he remembers her to be?  You will have to read this fun book to find out!

The characters were well developed and you really start to feel for this guy who is seemingly chasing a dream.  I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout this story.  I also found myself pleasantly surprised that a guy could write Chick Lit so well!  It’s light-hearted and fun, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wonders if guys can be romantics, too!

Favorite Quotes:

“A conversation with my parents was like living out a Dada manifesto.” (blogger’s note: if you have ever been to an art exhibit that features Dada – you would crack up!)

I had heard so many flowery vows about metaphoric trees, soaring birds and sunny skies. But Amy was acknowledging the darkness. The effort it takes every single day to pull yourself out of yourself. Who wouldn’t be grateful to have someone rooting for you and waiting for you? Someone willing to enter the darkness, Orpheus-like, and rescue you from yourself.

When I finished this book, I felt: Glad I had a chance to read this little gem!  Would definitely recommend it and it is the perfect beach read!

Rating: 4 Stars

Other books to read by this author or theme: looking forward to seeing if he writes another.  “The Wedding Date” (by Elizabeth Young) is another great wedding themed one that I loved.  Book is so much better than the movie, IMHO.

Tag: chick-lit, weddings, guy’s perspective

June Reviews

Hello!

Boy, has time flown by!  We had the pleasure of going to our nephew's Destination Wedding at the beginning of the month, and it's about time that I got the sand out of my shoes, and back to business at hand!

It looks like we have some great reviews from last month.


So...without further ado (or Adieu, depends on how you swing!), Here we go again!

Don't forget, post your Name with the Number of the category you read.  I look forward to reading your reviews, and I hope you check out different reviews yourself.  It's a great way to feed your TBR pile!

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Happy Reading!

Here is the Challenge Rules and Info...

May Reviews

Do people still do May Day Flowers?  I remember as a kid I would make paper flower baskets and fill them with flowers (usually from the neighbor's garden) to leave on the neighbor's door step (and, yes, usually the same neighbor who 'lent' their flowers).  It was a neat thing to do!

Anyway, I digress!  Here we are in the month of May.  I hope that everyone is enjoying reading something different!  I know that I am.  Sometimes it's hard to find something in a certain category, but I seem to be moving along the list quite nicely!  I enjoyed reading a book in a different POV than normal - I read a book written by a guy, in a guy's voice.  Can't wait to have the time to write the review to share with you!

Once again, post your Name with the Number of the category you read.  I look forward to reading your reviews, and I hope you check out different reviews yourself.  It's a great way to feed your TBR pile!

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Happy Reading!

Here is the Challenge Rules and Info...

April Reviews

WOW... How did it get to be April already!?  Time truly is flying by!

Here we go... time to post more reviews!  I love visiting others and seeing what they read and how the put it in to our challenge.  I hope you are also sharing the love and doing the same!

Once again, Name and the Category Number that you read.  Thanks!

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Happy Reading!

Here is the Challenge Rules and Info...

Review: Perks book and movie

Title by Author: Perks of Being aWallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Series (if applicable): none

Publisher: MTV Books and Pocket Books

Publication Date: 1999

Page Count:  213 pages

Source: store

Blurb: Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

My Interest in this book is: I wanted to see the movie, and my daughter really enjoyed the story.

My Review:

This book is written in the form of letters to an unknown person both to the reader and Charlie, himself.  Charlie is about to start high school and is scared about what that entails. His best friend committed suicide over the summer and Charlie is also dealing with other issues that are so deep-seeded that he has no idea what they are.  Luckily, Charlie takes a chance and sits with Patrick, a senior, at a football game.  Patrick and his step-sister, Sam, take Charlie under their wing and introduce him to so many people and experiences.

Charlie is also lucky in his English teacher, who realizes Charlie’s brilliance, and gives Charlie books outside of the curriculum to read.  Every book that Charlie reads becomes his new favorite book.  Charlie is quirky and honest and someone you find you are rooting for in this story. You fall in love with Sam, find Patrick eccentric and want to help Charlie’s sister as well.

I enjoyed this story, though it is difficult to read about the pain and anguish that Charlie does experience.  You want Charlie to get better, and you also want him to learn to cope with his feelings with a way that doesn’t involve drugs or alcohol.  He lives on the fringe of life, but he has two wonderful friends who make sure that Charlie is all right, even though they are a few years older than him and about ready to graduate from high school.

I had a hard time continuing the story, especially at the beginning, as it was rather painful.  Even if you weren’t a wallflower yourself, you definitely feel his emotions as he writes them in the letters to our unknown recipient.  I am glad that I finished the book.  The ending, though seemingly shocking, made sense for how Charlie had been acting for most of his life.  It was also heart-warming that he did find friends who understood him and helped him to blossom and become comfortable with himself.  Charlie is very smart, but rather naïve, but he’s okay with that and he continues to learn.

Favorite Quotes:

When I was driving home, I just thought about the word “special.” And I thought the last person who said that about me was my aunt Helen. I was very grateful to have heard it again. Because I guess we all forget sometimes. And I think everyone is special in their own way. I really do.

So, I guess we are who we are for a lot of reasons. And maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there. We can still do things. And we can try to feel okay about them.

When I finished this book, I felt: Mixed feelings.  It was a great story, a bit disturbing, but you know that Charlie will be all right and you hope that there is a Patrick out there for the Charlie’s in the world.

Rating: 4 stars

Tag: teenage, high school, issues, friendship

MOVIE REVIEW!

Well, I wanted to read the story first, before I watched the movie, and I did!  I am glad that I had read the story first.  The book was filled with so much emotion. The movie, however, was very well done, considering that the book was all letters to an unknown person.  In the movie, it starts with Charlie writing a letter to Dear Friend. Then the story unfolds gracefully from that point.  There are scenes from the book that were not included in the movie, and I think that was a wise choice, as more teens would be apt to watch instead of read.  How the movie dealt with Charlie and his memories of his Aunt Helen was also very well done. Even I had not read the book, the movie is wonderful regardless.  It is powerful, deep and a good story of a kid with issues, but who becomes friends with an eccentric bunch that helps Charlie come out of his shell and ‘participate’ in life more.  I loved the quote at the end, which, unfortunately was not in the book, that was from Sam when she came back from the summer program at Penn State. (This isn’t exact but the gist of the quote) I have been out in the world, only for two months, but it’s going to be okay.

Just like the book, though, you are left feeling sad for Charlie and what he’s been through, but you are also hopeful that things are going to be getting better for Charlie.  His year with Patrick and Sam have had him experience so much, as well as seeing how important it is to ‘participate’ in life – to feel ‘infinite.’ And, if you have never been to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I really hope you find one near you and go.  If you are a ‘virgin’ you better learn the Time Warp first!

This book was read for the Reading Outside the Box reading challenge. 

It is for Category 1 - To the Screen.

March Reviews

WOW! How did it get to be March, already?!?!  When did that happen?  I have been so involved with school and schtuff that February got away from me.

Looking forward to everyone's review for this month.  Always on the look-out for new books to read.  Now, I just hope that the library gets in some of the books I want to read so I can get going on my list!

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Once again, in the Linky, put your Name and the # (number) of the Category that the Review fits for this Challenge.


Hope you are enjoying this challenge.  I sure enjoy reading your reviews!

February ROtB Review Link

Hello!  Happy Valentine's Day - Gotta love a holiday that focuses on Chocolate... oh, yeah, and love too!  Personally, I am going for the Love of Chocolate!

The Linky for our February Reviews is posted below!  It's so neat to see what people are reading and how they are fitting it in to the different Categories.

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Once again, in the Linky, put your Name and the # (number) of the Category that the Review fits for this Challenge.

I hope you are enjoying this Challenge to your Reading like I am.  I even got my husband to read my favorite book - Persuasion - and he absolutely LOVED it!  He now understands why I walk around speaking funny after I have read Our Dear Jane!  We will have many great reviews to look at by the end of this month from everyone participating.  I hope you will find new books to read - not only from your choices, but those of others!

Happy Reading!

The Linky will be open until March 6th! Make sure you get your February Reviews in for Credit!

january reviews for Challenge

Hi All! Here is the place to put links to your reviews for Reading Outside the Box Reading Challenge.

When you put your name in the for the Linky, PLEASE put which category you focused on for the review.  I look forward to reading your reviews.  

OH! You can put up more than one review in a month, if you have read a couple of books that fit Outside The Box!

Here's a quick recap of the Categories:

1. To the Screen
2. Another Voice
3. Opposites Attract
4. Five Star Day
5. XyZ pdQ
6. It's My Birthday
7. From One Place
8. It's All about Me
9. Visit an Old Friend
10. Look at the Pretty Pictures
11. She Made Me Do It
12. I Couldn't Help Myself
13. To Be or Not to Be

Remember - the Linky is only open until February 6th!  Don't forget to share the love with others who have posted!

Cheers!