WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Meant to Be by Emily Giffin. The book begins with Joseph S. Kingsley III telling us that he has no real memory of his namesake father, an American hero laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery during a nationally televised funeral when he was just 3 years old. He has grown up with the weight of a country's expectation that he will pick up his late father's mantle and be a hero, too. It's heavy, and he compensates by being physically reckless. The public is obsessed with his romances, especially his relationship with a stunning, super-stylish blonde. Why, she's almost as beautiful as Joe's fashion icon mother!

Sound familiar? Don't be silly! The Kingsleys can't be the Kennedys. The elder Joseph S. Kingsley smoked a pipe and JFK preferred cigars.

Still, Emily Giffin is a very good writer. So far her prose is carrying me past my skepticism about this whole venture.

2. What did you recently finish reading? Golden Girl: The Story of Jessica Savitch by Alanna Nash. In the late-70s, Jessica Savitch was breaking into local news. The ridiculous, rampant sexism she faced inspired the character of Veronica Corningstone in Anchorman. Look at Christina Applegate's hair. Look at her suits. You're looking at Jessica Savitch as she was beside Mort Crimm in Philadelphia. 

Jessica's ambition drove her to NBC where she became a superstar, and promptly imploded. In the space of a year, she broke up with her soul mate, married and divorced, remarried and buried her second husband. Yes, you read that right: All that in 12 months. All that chaos while she worried about maintaining her place in the NBC food chain (even though Connie Chung was nipping at her heels). Soon she would be dead in a tragic car accident.

 

This book is compelling, heartbreaking, and terrifying. Published in 1988, it's also dated. Back then, it was shocking -- shocking, I say! -- that Jessica slept with a black man and palled around with lesbians. An interesting time capsule.

I admired Jessica Savitch. She was a talented broadcaster. Here she was as I remember her, every night. Take a minute to look at this cool, smart and sophisticated woman who stood out among a sea of old white men. RIP, Jessica.

3. What will read next? Time for a mystery.