Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: Books Traveler

Authors you never get tired of reading I love Nora Ephron's essays. And her novel, Heartburn.

A book you bought for the cover, and discovered it was better than you thought Jackie, Janet and Lee by J. Randy Taraborelli. I didn't buy it -- it was a gift from my friend Henry -- but I didn't expect much. Taraborelli can be a  hack. But I loved the cover shot of three white-gloved Bouvier women marching purposefully toward a society photographer. And actually, it was an interesting read. When one reads about JBKO (which I do obsessively), you get a lot about her relationship with the Kennedys. But she was only Jackie Kennedy from 1953 to 1968. She was a Bouvier for all her life. And learning more about her relationship with her sister and (especially) her mother was enlightening.

 

A book that made you laugh and cry, and made you depressed The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I loved our canine narrator, Enzo. He made me laugh and the ending made me cry. And the rather misogynistic and unnecessary subplot about a rape accusation left me depressed. The book didn't need it and would have been better without it.


A book that was a pleasant surprise Kwizgiver has some very good book posts, and she turned me on to the Spellman Saga. It's a series of six very funny detective stories about a family of private investigators. It consistently delighted me.

A book everyone loves that you don’t The DaVinci Code. Hated it. Only finished it because two of my friends raved about it and I thought it simply had to get better.

A book with a great sidekick that you like more than the hero I don't know that I like Hawk better than Spenser, but I like him a lot. You'll find Hawk and Spenser in the Robert B. Parker series, which has been ably taken over by Ace Atkins.

A book that helped you through a difficult time Dance While You Can by Shirley MacLaine. I got it as a gift for my birthday in 1991, but didn't have time to read it at the time. I happened to grab it while my dealing with my father's illness and death, not realizing how much of the book is devoted to her father. The universality of what I was feeling helped. Everyone goes through this, in one form or another. We all had parents, we all have siblings, we all have family stuff.

A book that taught you something valuable JFK: Reckless Youth, by Nigel Hamilton. Lesson: no matter what a life looks like from the outside, you have no idea how it feels on the inside.

A book or series that it took you awhile to get into I got nothing for this. If I don't like the first book I read in a series, I don't stick around.

A fictional character you’d love to have to dinner. Can I invite a couple? I'd like Jo March and her beau, Professor Bhaer. I met them in Little Women. I love them.