Mood: chatty
Now Playing: Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine"
with my life taking on so many new changes, i've decided it's high time my blog reflect this change. so i've decided that, along with recording all my daring and adventurous exploits, i'm going to dedicate my blog to reviewing the books i'm reading. back in the early days of this blog, i would review the movies i'd watched but life and times distracted me from that endeavor and there were simply too many movies to review (some say i have time management issues).
the first book i am to review/recommend is Steve Martin's novella Shopgirl.
i picked it up, admittedly, because i had read interesting reviews of the film they've released based on this book. i found it at McKay's, a local used book store thinking it would be filled with Martin's trademark humor. i've been a long-time fan of Steve Martin, both on screen and off (one particular article about axes i read in the paper once i found especially hysterical) and i assumed the book would be something akin to a Dave Barry book, where you find yourself laughing out loud at least once per page -- if nothing else, i'd have a constant smile while i read the book.
but this was not the case. it was something much, much better. it was soft and gentle. it's humor was subtle and often satirical. it was a book that celebrated melancholiness and explored what it's like to be in a time and place in your life when the job you have has absolutely nothing to do with your passions and what catalysts it takes to break you out of this seemingly inescapable downward spiral and ultimately, what happens when these catalysts enter your life. the title and subject matter will probably attract more women than men (it is something of a romance book), but the heart and soul of this book is universal. it's also exceptionally easy to read and just short enough that one should be able to clip through it in a weekend. the only warning against it i give is there are some, how shall we say, love scenes that i know some people will be a little uncomfortable with. but it's all handled well, in good taste, and is never exceptionally graphic.
the book was so enjoyable i quickly plucked up Steve Martin's follow-up, "The Pleasure Of My Company," which, i assume, will be my next review.