certain girls

Forty pages from the end of Certain Girls, I started crying.

I don't want to ruin the end for those who may want to read this book -- and I know that lately I've been reading lots of books no one else wants to read -- but there was a twist. An unexpected twist, and not one that ruins a book but one that makes you want more.

And so, I hope there is a third book documenting Cannie Shapiro. I propose this story be five years down the road, and be narrated by Joy.

If it were up to me, this story would end happily.

juillet!

Fact: It’s hard to concentrate on anything in July. Factor in new challenges on the job (woot!) and French classes at the university, and suddenly I seem to have very little time to focus on books…. So little time that I discovered this a couple days ago, and didn’t have time to blog about it.

(Had I had time to blog about it, I think I might have mumbled about the selections being kind of pretentious…. And how most Lost clues can be found through Wikipedia rather than reading all things Catch 22 related…. Then I would have said something about how I love Sawyer and don’t you love the idea of a beautiful man lying stranded on a beach somewhere reading you novels? Even if they are pretentious? And then I would have rolled my eyes at myself and wondered if I had just made a sexist comment. I may have decided yes, but then I may have shrugged and gotten on with it.)

Myth: My hometown is an eight hour drive from Edmonton. In fact, it is closer to nine hours. Eleven if you stop in Calgary to visit old friends and make cooing sounds at and take pictures of their adorable, brilliant child.

How do you get through nine hours of hardcore driving, you ask? Well, first of all, you take time out to explore the gorgeous, gorgeous mountains.

Then, you make sure to pack yourself snacks. I suggest wine gums, because you’ll never eat the whole bag in one sitting. Also, Tim Hortons iced cappuccinos with a shot of hazelnut. Also, music:

1. Breathe, Sia (do not follow this link if you do not want the end of Six Feet Under ruined for you)
2. Take Me Home Country Roads, John Denver
3. Yesterday’s Gone, Bernard Fanning
4. Everyday is a Winding Road, Sheryl Crow
5. Tears Dry on Their Own, Amy Winehouse
6. Foux du fafa, Flight of the Conchords
7. Going Home, MoZella
8. Les Champs-Elysees, Joe Dassin
9. Dreams, The Cranberries
10. If You Were Gay, The Avenue Q Broadway Soundtrack (because singing showtunes keep you awake)
11. If I Ever Leave This World Alive, Flogging Molly

Fact: When iTunes makes suggestions as to what I should by, based on my past purchases, it offers up the Macarena. Yes, you did read that correctly. The Macarena. Ah, Grade 9.

Other news….

• Next book club book is The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
• I saw a man reading a J.D. Robb book on a bench along Rice Howard Way and I had to keep moving so as not to stare at him. (J.D. Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, who clearly writes romance novels. I know this because Nora Roberts was my favourite romance writer throughout high school and university. In her J.D. Robb science fiction form, she is my mom’s favourite writer.)
• A clown said something creepy to me that I will not put in words here. His makeup was melting off his face, too. Keep children away from clowns.
• I do not understand why no performer in the Street Performers Festival is willing to wear shorts that leave anything to the imagination.

Meanwhile, I’m still reading Jennifer Weiner’s latest. Have I ever mentioned she reminds me of a younger, snarkier Judy Blume? Maybe I haven’t because she never really has before…. In Certain Girls (by the way, for all my bragging, the British cover makes no sense, and the North American hardcover art is approximately ten times more appropriate for the story), Weiner flips back and forth between mother and daughter, chapter to chapter.

Joy, 13, is trying to make sense of her mother’s decade-old over-sexed fictionalized account of how she got pregnant, dumped her boyfriend, and somehow lived happily ever after. From snippets of said not-so-fictionalized account, one can see parts of Weiner’s Good in Bed (the prequel to Certain Girls). However, it’s way more over-the-top and the reader can totally see why it brings bile to young Joy’s throat. (It raises a good question -- would Danielle Steele’s daughter want to read the sex lives her mom imagines?)

Joy is trying to figure out where she fits in in this world, and whether anyone wanted her at all. Unbeknownst to her, her mother is struggling with whether or not to have another child. Having another child would mean hiring a surrogate and tons of other drama -- definitely the kind of stuff that will send Joy’s fragile world into a heightened tailspin.

Good summer reading, friends. Good summer reading.

behold!

I feel like I'm ahead of the curve, for once. I'm not, of course. I mean, I'm still me. I think Joan Jett is cool.

(C'mon. You secretly think Joan Jett is cool, too.)

I have a paperback copy of Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls! I know what you're thinking: "But Trish! It's still in hardcover at the local Chapters!"

(Right. You're actually thinking "Who's Jennifer Weiner? Why does Trish insist on writing about brain-draining chick lit?")

(You could also be thinking: "Haven't you already written about this? You bought the book at Heathrow, you think the Brits love books more than we do, yadda yadda yadda....")

Anyway, it's my early weekend, so I'm driving through this updated story on Cannie Shapiro. What I like about Weiner is she writes fairy tales for girls who do not look perfect but who have great humour and big brains. Geez.... I sound like I'm writing a singles ad, eh? (A really, really bad one.)

Okay, here's the opener:

When I was a kid, our small-town paper published wedding announcements, with descriptions of the ceremonies and dresses and pictures of the brides. Two of the disc jockeys on one of the local radio stations would spend Monday morning picking through the photographs and nominating the Bow-Wow Bride, the woman they deemed the ugliest of all the ladies who'd taken their vows in the Philadelphia region over the weekend. The grand prize was a case of Alpo....

I wasn't sure of much back then, but I knew that when--if-- I got married, there was no way I'd put a picture in the paper. I was pretty certain, at thirteen, that I had more in common with the bow-wows than the beautiful brides, and I was positive that the worst thing that could happen to any woman would be winning that contest.

It certainly sets a tone, doesn't it?

Like all so-called chick lit, Weiner's work is escapist stuff. It's happy endings and smirky side-nods at popular culture and great expectations.

I'd argue Weiner is better, though, than peers like Sophie Kinsella or Gemma Townley. Weiner's a smart lady with intelligent jokes to make. And her Cannie Shapiro, for example, is a breath of fresh air compared to, say, Bridget Jones. Cannie takes a moment to feel sorry for herself, yes -- she looks in the mirror and sees a super-sized body where she (like all of us) would rather see a model's body. But she is not obsessed with every single inch of fat, every small or big problem. Cannie slogs through, with charm and grace.

It's a pleasure to read about real-like fictional people. I love sitting back and reading about quirky characteristics, and racing through plots built around the funny ways people interact with each other.

book-keeping

Just a couple quick notes:

• For book-clubbers, I haven't forgotten to send out an e-mail about our date to discuss Douglas Coupland's Hey Nostradamus! Will update y'all this week.
• I've taken a wee break from the Important Male Authors push. Put it to holidaying, put it to my love of Elizabeth Hay. (I love Elizabeth Hay, and despite my possessions purge, I bought another book of hers this weekend. But at the Wee Book Inn, so it was more like I was doing research on how to sell books. Maybe? I also bought Northanger Abbey.) Currently I am reading a book written by a friend, but soon I will get back to men. I'm thinking Atonement....
• I gave away my copy of Anna Karenina. Sorry, friends. But my brother wanted to take a spin at Tolstoy.... And maybe I was never going to finish it. We'll never really know.
• Emily Giffin has a new book on store shelves! I know that liking Emily Giffin is barely half a step up from liking Sophie Kinsella. I accept this about myself.
• I bought Certain Girls while in London. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but was thrilled to have the UK version, which is in paperback already and surprisingly cheaper than the North American hardcover even after doing the math of converting pounds to dollars.
• Have I already mentioned how much I love how Brits love books? I know that's a weird thing to say, but they have book ads everywhere, on billboards and along Tube station walls. Last month, the big push was on to sell Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. It's so weird to be somewhere other than Canada and see Naomi Klein looking so seriously at you, perhaps judging you for caring so much about whether your jeans are stylish or if you have the right shoes....

another heart

Have I mentioned often enough that I love, love, love Jennifer Weiner? She put the first chapter of her next book up on her blog, so thought I'd share.