Taking It Off the Shelf: Home for Christmas

This month I chose to read Home for Christmas by Cally Taylor for my Taking It Off...the Shelf feature. I thought it was fitting since 'tis the season for holiday reads! I received this book after winning a contest earlier in 2013 but held onto it until the Christmas season. To say I was disappointed with this book would be an understatement. I actually toyed with the idea of not finishing it because it was just so blah. I pushed through (by doing some major skim reading) and finished it though. Sigh. Hold onto your horses because this will probably be one of the most negative reviews you've ever see on here!

Here's the synopsis:

Beth Prince has always loved fairytales and now, aged twenty-four, she feels like she's finally on the verge of her own happily ever after. She lives by the seaside, works in the Picturebox - a charming but rundown independent cinema - and has a boyfriend who's so debonair and charming she can't believe her luck!
There's just one problem - none of her boyfriends have ever told her they love her and it doesn't look like Aiden's going to say it any time soon.
Desperate to hear 'I love you' for the first time Beth takes matters into her own hands - and instantly wishes she hadn't. Just when it seems like her luck can't get any worse, bad news arrives in the devilishly handsome shape of Matt Jones. Matt is the regional director of a multiplex cinema and he's determined to get his hands on the Picturebox by Christmas.
Can Beth keep her job, her man and her home or is her romantic-comedy life about to turn into a disaster movie?

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to holiday books is when they're advertised as having something to do with Christmas (like this title and cover) and then they barely touch on the holiday. This book didn't have anything to do with Christmas, other than it being a deadline for Beth to get a new job or leave for Australia with her mom. If Christmas doesn't play into the story in a huge way do not put it in your title. 

I found this novel to be way too predictable. I knew exactly how things would end up as soon as I started the book and the journey to the end of the story was just not exciting. 

Carl, a colleague and former classmate of Beth's, was absolutely horrendous. It made me sad that Beth had to deal with his cruel and constant put downs and she never stood up for herself. This was an obvious example of adult bullying. I also found the final revelation with Carl at the end of the book to be ridiculous and out of the blue. It didn't excuse any of his awful behaviour.

Matt had a loony toons ex-girlfriend and before he realized he had feelings for Beth he considered getting back together with her. He knew she was nutty and was stalking him but he still thought about it. Argh! This made me like him even less than I already did.

Finally, Beth needed to grow a backbone. She did, a bit, by the end of the story but it wasn't enough of a change, in my opinion. I just couldn't connect with her or even get a really good handle on who she was as a person.

So. Home for Christmas was a big fat fail for me. I don't know if my thoughts are common among others who have read it or not but I just didn't like it. I wonder what Cally Taylor's other work is like but I don't know if I'll ever pick one up to find out.

I haven't picked a book for next month because I think I might take a break from this feature. I'm loving it but I'm doing two reread challenges next year and I want to see how I balance those with my other reading before picking another book for this feature.

Taking It Off the Shelf: The Meryl Streep Movie Club

The Meryl Streep Movie Club came out in June of 2012 and I've had it sitting on my shelf since about then. My birthday is in late May so I would have noted that Mia March's debut novel was being released the next month and I earmarked birthday money/gift cards to go towards it. It's taken me forever to get to it (that's the life of a book blogger) but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance. It was an absolutely wonderful read.

Here's the synopsis:

In the bestselling tradition of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club, three women find unexpected answers, happiness, and one another, with Meryl Streep movies as their inspiration.
Two sisters and the cousin they grew up with after a tragedy are summoned home to their family matriarch’s inn on the coast of Maine for a shocking announcement. Suddenly, Isabel, June, and Kat are sharing the attic bedroom – and barely speaking. But when innkeeper Lolly asks them to join her and the guests in the parlor for weekly Movie Night – it’s Meryl Streep month – they find themselves sharing secrets, talking long into the night . . . and questioning everything they thought they knew about life, love, and one another.
Each woman sees her complicated life reflected through the magic of cinema: Isabel's husband is having an affair, and an old pact may keep her from what she wants most . . . June has promised her seven-year-old son that she will somehow find his father, who he’s never known . . . and Kat is ambivalent about accepting her lifelong best friend’s marriage proposal. Through everything, Lolly has always been there for them, and now Isabel, June, Kat – and Meryl – must be there for her. Finding themselves. Finding each other. Finding a happy ending.

Oh, this book. It was so lovely. Just...lovely. I didn't want to stop reading it. There was something about this story that just grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

It should come as no surprise that I was most drawn to the character of Kat. She's twenty five, I'm twenty six. I can identify with her life more readily than the other, wonderful, characters, because we're at a similar stage in our life. And the other characters really were wonderful. I found I enjoyed every one of them and I was invested in every one of their lives. I don't often get that with an ensemble cast (in fact, I try not to read those too much anymore because I find I don't really like them).

If I wanted to get nitpicky, I would say that this novel needs to come with a spoiler warning. The ladies watch several Meryl Streep movies and almost every (if not all of) ending is given away. I wasn't too upset with it since some of the movies that were mentioned I haven't watched yet and probably never will but it was still a little annoying to have the ending of some amazing movies (The Bridges of Madison County, Out of Africa) spoiled for me. And as much as I loved the analyzing of the movies, those were the parts of the book that felt forced. Everything else flowed smoothly and wonderfully but it always halted a bit while they were watching the films.

I found that I really wanted to live in Boothbay Harbor. I love books set in small towns and I find that the ones set in/near Maine seem even more delightful. Someday I'll visit Maine... Anyway, the inn Lolly owns, The Three Captains' Inn, seems fantastic and I would absolutely 100% love to visit Books Brothers, the bookstore June works in. The way March wrote about the town was great and I could almost picture myself in the town while I was reading.

I can't end this post without discussing the romances in this book. Even though there was a hint of an affair in almost all of them, the relationships were all really sweet. Some might say too sweet and too perfect but I think the book needed that. There were so many heavy, family centric issues going on that having happily ever afters in the romance department was almost needed. I'm so happy with the way everything turned out, apart from the obvious tragedy, and that love and family played such an important role in this book.

Even with the little issues I mentioned, I still think Mia March has written an absolutely wonderful novel. I adored The Meryl Streep Movie Club and I think many others would as well. Since it's the season, it could be a great pick for a Christmas gift for your mom, your partner's mom, your grandma, your aunt, your best friend...I really think there's something in it for everyone to enjoy. Besides, who doesn't love Meryl Streep? I cannot wait to read Mia March's second novel, Finding Colin Firth.

Next month I'm going to read Home for Christmas by Cally Taylor. I won it in a contest earlier this year and I've been hanging onto it until this Christmas. I adore Christmas books so I can't wait to dive in!

Taking It Off the Shelf: Comfort Food

For this month's Taking It Off...the Shelf, I chose Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. I read her The Friday Night Knitting Club series ages ago and thought they were great. I think I came to own a copy of this book because I was working at the bookstore and it was a bargain book. 30% off $6 or $7? Sign me up! I don't really know why it had been sitting on my shelf for so long but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. I really liked it!

This is the paperback cover. I actually own
the hardcover but this one's so much prettier!

Here's the synopsis:

Shortly before turning 50, TV cooking show personality Augusta "Gus" Simpson discovers that the network wants to boost her ratings by teaming her with a beautiful, young new co-host. But Gus isn't going without a fight-whether it's off-set with her two demanding daughters, on-camera with the ambitious new diva herself, or after-hours with Oliver, the new culinary producer who's raising Gus's temperature beyond the comfort zone. Now, in pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus might be able to rejuvenate more than just her career.

Normally I don't love books that feature older women and/or moms. This is purely a personality and lifestyle thing. I am young (mid-twenties) and without kids (thank goodness). I also tend not to like it when there are multiple characters that require multiple backstories. This is because I either get confused with all the characters or frustrated because characters aren't getting the time I think they need. Comfort Food had all of these things but Jacobs made it work. I think the multiple characters was fine for me because Gus is still the heart of this novel. Everyone else, as her daughter Sabrina once put it, is in her orbit. I like that Jacobs gave just the right amount of background on each of the secondary characters to let the reader know where they've come from and why they are the way they are without being overwhelming or boring. Each character brought a different flavour (pun intended) to the story and I loved that.

I really liked the cooking show aspect of the story. I'm a sucker for the Food Network (and am sad I don't currently have the channel) so a behind the scenes type story was so much fun. It kind of made me think about what goes into the cooking shows I watch and why I watch the ones I do. Would I have watched Gus' original, taped show? Likely not, but I do love Bake with Anna Olson. Would I have watched the new, live show? Definitely more likely. Not necessarily because it was live but because it just had an entertainment factor that I look for when I watch TV. What kind of Food Network/cooking shows do you like?

Gus made for an great and interesting main character. She seemed perfect but she was as flawed as the rest of us. No one can be perfect so no one wants to read about a perfection. Struggling with turning fifty is, I imagine, an issue that many women face. Gus wonders how she can be so old when she still feels so young (which I think we all feel like at some points in our lives, right?) and is trying to come to terms with her view on herself and how she views her daughters. They're in their mid/late twenties and they aren't her babies anymore. Side note: I loved the daughters, surprise surprise. They added the youth perspective that made this novel so well rounded.

I'm really glad I finally gave Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs a chance. I shouldn't have been surprised that I liked it so much! Since we're inching closer to Christmas, I think this book should be your go to for any of the older women in your life (mom, grandma, aunt, mother in law, etc.). I think they'll love it!

Next month...I think I might pick a newer book because I have a lot of books that I've collected over the past year that I really want to read. I'm thinking either The Meryl Streep Movie Club or All the Summer Girls. 

Taking It Off the Shelf: The Devil Wears Prada

For this month's Taking It Off...the Shelf review, I decided to go with an iconic chick lit novel: The Devil Wears Prada. I've read author Lauren Weisberger's novels before, and enjoyed them, but I had not yet read her debut novel - even though I had seen, and loved, the movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep. I picked this book for the feature because: 1. It's been around for awhile (ten years!) 2. I want to read the sequel. 3. It has been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years (two or three, perhaps.) Last week I finally read it! Warning: this post may be a little more spoilery than usual because I figure anyone reading this post has at least watched the movie. Also, I'm not providing the synopsis (though you can read it here).

I don't often read a book after watching the movie. In fact, I can only think of two instances where this has happened over the past several years. Once with The Nanny Diaries (I thought the movie was cute after randomly finding it on TV one day and decided to read the book since there was a sequel coming out...I enjoyed all three) and now, with The Devil Wears Prada. I'm a book lover (duh) and I like being able to have my own images in my head before seeing what Hollywood thought of the story. I also like having all the information since adaptations (have to) cut out a lot of details.

The Devil Wears Prada was originally published in 2003 and I missed the boat on it as I was still in high school - not quite the target demographic, not yet anyway. Fast forward three years and the movie is released - starring one of my favourite actresses. I watched it, loved it, bought it. The years passed and I still didn't read the novel. My mom even gave me a copy of it. Then news broke of the sequel, Revenge Wears Prada, and I knew I would have to finally read the first book. I was worried because I liked the movie so much and I hadn't really heard amazing things abut the novel. I was only sort of liking the book for about three quarters of the way through but then it picked up and I ended up really enjoying it.

I think my problem has nothing to do with the story itself and almost everything to do with the fact that I already basically knew what would happen because of the movie. There were a few differences between the book and the movie in the beginning but not many. It was slow going as I was reading about Andy getting used to Runway, the Clackers, and her evil boss, Miranda. But once things started moving (just before Andy has to go to Paris, I think), I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This was really only the last quarter of the book but it was enough to bump up my overall opinion of the novel.

I want to highlight some differences between the book and movie, for those who may have only seen the film. Some are minor, some are not:

• Name changes: Andy's boyfriend is Nate in the movie but Alex in the book. Sexy author Christian (played by Simon Baker in the movie) has the last name Collinsworth in the book but Thompson in the movie.
• Character Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci, is way different in the book (louder and more flamboyant) and also has a much smaller role than in the movie.
• Speaking of Christian, things are much different with him in the movie. I prefer the book version. And, while Simon Baker is attractive, he seems too old to play the character.
• In the book, Andy's friend Lily has a huge story arc that is one of the reasons Andy leaves Paris. I couldn't even remember who played Lily in the movie. The arc is a good one and is, I think, one reason why some may say the book is a bit darker than the movie.
• Replacing Lily's story in the movie is the changes Miranda orchestrates and reveals in Paris (the one that screws over Nigel). This story doesn't exist in the book.
• It seems like they bumped up the ages of Andy and her friends, as well as altered the jobs they had. In the book they're straight out of college, 23, and all in entry level jobs. Alex is a teacher but Nate is a chef. Lily in the book is a masters student, in the movie she's a gallery owner. And they seem to be in their mid-twenties instead of early twenties.

I'm glad I finally gave the book a chance. The Devil Wears Prada was enjoyable and had a good story. I tried really hard not to let the movie alter what I thought but I know it affected my judgement, especially at the beginning. One thing this did teach me is that I'm definitely a read-the-book-before-the-movie kind of girl. I can't wait to read Revenge Wears Prada!

So what's up next for Off the Shelf? I think I'll probably read Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. I think it's fitting since October is Thanksgiving in Canada and that means lots of comfort food!

Taking it Off the Shelf: By Invitation Only

This month I chose a book that I had bought...sometime. I'm honestly not sure when I picked up By Invitation Only by Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis. Two years ago? Who knows. All I know is that I thought the cover was pretty and it sounded like a cute read. It turned out to be an alright book...I didn't love it but it grew on me the more I read.

Here's the synopsis:

Toni Fratelli has a busy summer ahead.
After several setbacks in Manhattan force her to move home to East Hampton, her To Do list is full. She has to help her father run his popular Italian restaurant.  Start up her own catering company.  And plan, cater, and be the Maid of Honor at her best friend’s wedding on the beach.
Unfortunately for Toni, the groom’s mother is a competitive New York socialite who’ll stop at nothing to make sure her son doesn’t marry a local girl – especially on the family’s Southampton estate. The biggest caterer in the Hamptons is trying to run her fledgling business out of town.  And worse than anything, Toni seems to be losing her best friend to a circle of snooty bridesmaids.  Everything might be tolerable – if her dad could just stop treating her as if she was seventeen again.
At least Toni finds love.  When she meets a sexy surfer named Chris, it quickly turns into the most romantic summer fling of her life.  But there’s more to Chris than his vintage Mustang and used guitar … and he’s not sure Toni’s going to like the truth.  Before the end of the summer she’ll be forced to face her hopes – and fears – as trying to forgive becomes her biggest challenge yet.

I really disliked the book to start with but, like I said, it grew on me. (This is the reason I have such a hard time setting down books...what if it gets better??) My first, and biggest complaint is that there were too many characters. We got introduced to so many people to start off with that I wasn't sure who was who and who was important. It didn't help that Didi calls Hudson Sonny (Hudson and her son), Toni calls Layla Sully (Sullivan is her last name), and Chris's friends call him Johnson (absolutely no idea why). I also felt that it flipped back and forth between characters too much and the flow was all off. The chapters were too short and snapshot like and it didn't seem like a lot is happening.

I also found that the story relied too heavily on missed chances before Chris and Toni finally get together - Chris didn't see Toni's picture in the newspaper that the fisherman were using to wrap their fish or Toni didn't notice the Mustang with the surfboard when she went to an antique show. Why would they be paying attention to these things? It just seemed really silly.

Finally, I had a bit of an issue with Toni's disorder that she doesn't recognize faces (prosopagnosia) unless she knows someone well. I'm sure it exists but it seems way too easy to dismiss why she didn't recognize Chris at first. It could have been easy enough for her to recognize him but not be able to place him. She hit her head, after all. He still could have lied and said that no, he didn't recognize her because he doesn't want her to because he was so rude.

The book finally grabbed me at about halfway through. I didn't dislike it, necessarily, but all of the above issues really got on my nerves. I'm not sure what changed but I ended up enjoying myself for the second half of the book. Maybe it's because I got the hang of the characters or maybe I was just really invested in Toni's story. Either way, I was looking forward to a happy ending for everyone in the book. Well, almost everyone. There was one woman who totally got what she deserved...in an interesting and totally surprising way (and I'm not yet sure if that's a good thing or if it took away from the other stories).

By Invitation Only by Jodi Della Femina and Sheri McInnis wasn't a bad read but it wasn't great one. I think it's a nice summer book but it's definitely best to read it in September because the book takes place over a full summer. I still have a full weekend of summer left (true summer before school starts for some people and everyone's back at work) but I'm already feeling sad that it's coming to a close. The book didn't really help! I still think it's a nice escapist read and think others could really enjoy it.

As for next month's pick...I'm not entirely sure which one I'll read. It might be Comfort Food or maybe The Romantics (and then I'll finally watch the movie!) or it might even be The Devil Wears Prada (nope, I've never actually read it!). It could also be something completely different and summery if I'm not ready to let this season go!

A New Feature: Taking It Off...the Shelf

Truth: A lot of us book bloggers have a ton of books. Truth: I honestly don't think I can read all of the books I own. Not unless I win the lottery. Enter my new feature: Taking It Off...the Shelf. I have quite a few books that I've been meaning to read (some of them for almost five years) so I've decided to read one book off my shelves (the ones in the above picture) every month. It's not a huge commitment and I'm hoping I can read more than one, but it's a start.

First up, a book I bought when I was still working at the bookstore...in October 2009. Yeah.

Here's what Beginner's Greek is all about:

Is love at first sight possible or just an old-fashioned romantic idea? And what if, to further complicate things, you meet the love of your life and then lose her phone number? Then what if, after the impossible happens and you find her again, she's now about to marry a roguish lothario who is also your best friend? The complications don't end there for Peter Russell, the winning hero of James Collins' charming, generous, and romantic first novel. Part modern-day Jane Austen, part Tom Wolfe,is a romantic comedy of the highest order, with characters who are perfectly, charmingly real as they swerve and stumble from fairy tale to social satire and back again.

I'm hoping I can get my review up at the end of the month. Wish me luck!

Happy reading :)