Not Quite the Classics

Colin Mochrie makes me proud to be Canadian.

I finished his book Not Quite the Classics over Canada Day weekend (seems fitting right?) and I fell in love with it.

You want to talk about comical genius? This guy is it. I’ve been watching Mochrie on Whose Line is it Anyway? for as long as I can remember. He pretty much has a direct line to my funny bone. Naturally I was INCREDIBLY jealous when my dad met him last year in Toronto and I didn’t. But, not the point.

I was stoked when I found out Mochrie had a book published, though a little skeptical at the same time. I know the famed comedian as just that, a comedian, not an author. But my undying love for him won out and shit, am I glad it did.

This is not a typical novel. It’s actually a series of short stories with a twist. Mochrie takes the first and last lines of famous classics such as The Great Gatsby, A Tale of Two Cities and Frankenstein and completely makes up the middle, turning them into stories that could clearly only come from his mind.

I laughed, I cried (from laughter), it became a part of me. Every story managed to illicit at least a chuckle from me…most of them got more. I never thought I’d read about the deep thoughts of Wile E. Coyote as he attempted to catch the Road Runner or read The Cat in the Hat as a tale about zombies. I can’t imagine what goes on in Mochrie’s head 24/7 but I’ve been lead to believe it’s pure comic gold.

This is the perfect book for comedy fans. So go read it…like right now.

Attachments

This review is about a month in the making.

Not that I have been thinking about it for that long, I’m just really behind on blogging as it would appear. As it turns out, planning a mass wedding in affiliation with WorldPride Toronto at work takes up a lot of your time…but I digress.

I’ve recently become a pretty big fan of Rainbow Rowell’s books, and after Eleanor & Park and Fangirl I knew I had to read Attachments. Though not nearly as good as the former two, I did enjoy it.

Set just before Y2K, a man is hired to scan his company’s email…and very quickly ends up falling for one of the women in the office, without actually having met her! While this guy’s intentions are totally innocent, I couldn’t help but see the stalker in all of this. There is something to be said for falling first for the mind, and then the physical, but it still felt very weird.

It was a cute read, don’t get me wrong. I totally routed for the characters…I just didn’t route for them to be together. I didn’t feel like they would really have any chemistry…it felt very forced. I guess I was just looking for something more.

That being said, it was a very well-written book and it definitely had its moments that left me laughing hysterically or smiling stupidly. Mostly it was just the couple that I couldn’t get on board with. Forgive me Rainbow Rowell, I still adore you!

I Heart London

SPOILER ALERT!

Well…that’s all folks!

I’m finally finished the I heart series by Lindsay Kelk and I am seriously sad about it. While there is still I heart Christmas, I’m choosing to save that one for a more…well…Christmas-y time of year.

As usual, Kelk impresses me once more with this final chapter of Angela Clark’s journey. This time, she’s headed back to home turf for her mother’s birthday…only to be planning her very own wedding for the same day! What ensues is, of course, pure chaos, hilarity, and romance as Alex and Angela pave their way to matrimony.

I really enjoyed reading about Angela’s adventure back in England. It felt like the perfect way to wrap the series. Making her see how far she’s come, finally getting closure with her cheating ex, having her London and New York life collide…it was all perfect. And now it’s over…*sigh*

Luckily I shouldn’t have to wait until Christmas time to get my Kelk fix again. Her new novel What a Girl Wants (the sequel to About a Girl) comes out in June. I’m super excited about this one, I read About a Girl almost a year ago and have been dying for the next book! What can I say? I’m a tad obsessed. But I firmly believe that everyone should try and find an author, series, genre or anything they like to read. Fortunately, I just happen to have found plenty of those things.

So, here’s to you Kelk! You’ve given me a fantastic series!

I Heart Vegas

SPOILER ALERT!

Swoon! This is definitely my favourite book in the series!

I actually finished this book almost a week ago and I just haven’t found the time to blog about it! But here it goes, this time we find the lovely Angela Clark in the biggest debacle she’s had to face since getting to New York. Deportation. Yes, Angela has received quite the unwanted notice just in time for Christmas.

So what does she do? What any responsible girl would do. She jets off to Sin City with her girlfriends for a weekend full of fashion and missteps that all lead up to one terribly wonderful ending.

I adored this one because it moved at a much faster pace than the last three. It left me dying to keep reading just so I could stay on top of the next twist. Trust me when I say the only reason I put this book down was because I had to go to work. Even then I would sneak a few pages during my lunch break. I was even pretty tempted to read on my commute (of course I didn’t…I still haven’t forgotten about my latest driving incidents).

To avoid repeating myself I’ll simply say this…Kelk has done it again. But this time, what happens in Vegas, doesn’t stay in Vegas.

I Heart Paris

SPOILER ALERT!

Paris holds the key to my heart.

It has ever since I was there four years ago on a school Europe trip. Now I’ve just relived the city through the eyes of Angela Clark in the third book of the I heart series. Once again, fashion and fumbles take over Angela Clark’s life, but this time, she’s in the city of love. Sadly, love seems to be taking a turn for the worse as soon as our lead gets to Paris…and it’s all just downhill from there (true to Mademoiselle Clark’s form). Don’t worry though, the ending will put a giant smile on your face!

Too often in books, I find some characters just don’t get that karma they deserve. The person who gets screwed usually ends up taking the high road with a grand smile and a brief smug comment. I’m so glad Kelk chose to write Angela completely differently. Unfortunately, Angela gets screwed over by quite a few bitchy women on this trip, and I’m am so thrilled to say she gives them all EXACTLY what they deserve. A good slap across the face, ice coffee dumped on a head, and an amazing brawl with Alex’s ex-girlfriend (who thinks she’ll get him back) are the moments I lived for in this book.

Violence is never the answer by the way…but man does it make a good read.

I think I’m running out of creative ways to praise Kelk, I can’t get enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve found a really solid chick-lit author that I can adore every single book (Sarah Dessen anyone?) so I’m thrilled to have found Kelk. Her new novel What a Girl Wants (the sequel to About a Girl which was of course flawless) comes out very soon and I’m itching to get my hands on it. I’ve been waiting since August for this book and thank God the wait is nearly over.

Ladies, I can’t stress enough, if you love, love, fashion and a relatable woman, Kelk’s books are a MUST. I heart Paris absolutely is one of my favourites in this series, but now that I’m off to read about Vegas, who knows what could happen?

I Heart Hollywood

SPOILER ALERT!

Well my friends, spring is in the air and I am finally back on track with my reading list.

Once again, the fabulous Lindsey Kelk has stolen my heart (heh…get it?) with the second book in her ‘I heart’ series. I heart Hollywood has all the humour and charm of the first novel, just way more celebrity and even more fashion to drool over (but never on).

In New York, we watched as Angela dumped her ass-hat of a boyfriend, got a makeover that could have only been provided by the Big Apple and date not one, but TWO gorgeous guys…only to find love with the better of the two in the end. Wrap it all up with her lovely job at a magazine and Miss Clark was nothing short of a Manhattan Cinderella.

So, what could go wrong in LA? Well, despite the makeover, Angela is still Angela and therefore we couldn’t expect a worry-free working vacation where she interviews fellow Brit and MEGA celebrity James Jacobs, could we? Leaving her boyfriend behind in the big city for a week, Angela and best friend (and fashionista extraordinaire) Jenny Lopez set out to to the place where fame and fortune is born. Unfortunately, Angela gets stuck in more than a few sticky situations with her celeb, and what proceeds is a drama-filled, roller-coaster ride of hilarity that can only be pulled off by Angela Clark and her Marc Jacobs bag.

Of course I loved every second of this book, instead of dreaming of New York I was dreaming of Hollywood and what I wouldn’t give to take a little stroll down Rodeo Drive (and maybe max out my credit card). I gotta hand it to Kelk, she makes sure she KNOWS a city before she writes about one. I could all but feel the LA breeze on my face while reading this book. She gets it spot on every time and it makes it that much better of a read. Yes we’re reading about Angela, but we’re also reading about her journey, and it would be an injustice to not have the perfect backdrop for our all-but-perfect heroine.

This one was a lot more fun than the first one, and a LOT more surreal. Just the idea of being swept away by a handsome movie star is too much for me, but Kelk pulls it off in another flawless book. Of course I’m thrilled with the ending of Alex and Angie finally saying the L word to each other…AND IN THE MOST ADORABLE WAY!! These two make me swoon…seriously can Lindsey Kelk write my life? Or maybe I can just get Jenny Lopez to style me…yeah a good outfit makes everything better.

I Heart New York

And I heart YOU Lindsey Kelk!

As some of you might have gathered by now, I adore Lindsey Kelk’s novels. She writes the women I aspire to be. I mean seriously, hot, young woman living in New York, working as a blogger with an incredibly attractive boyfriend (who’s in a BAND!), yeah sign me up!

But it’s so much more than the lifestyle her characters have, it’s their attitudes. They all manage to grab life by the reigns and take control of their destinies. Yes they’ve been screwed over, yes they don’t have it all figured out, but they’re working on it. Especially Angela Clark. Can we just take a minute to appreciate the fact that this woman is basically me!? I mean, cheating boyfriend of ten years aside, I related to this woman in nearly every way. Mostly in her awkwardness. “I may as well have told him I’d carried a watermelon,” I understand Angela…I understand.

Every emotion that Angela had about a situation, I knew I would react the exact same way. Her journey became my journey (and I SO wish it actually was my journey) and I fell in love with the story. Kelk has this brilliant way of giving her characters life. You really believe that this could actually happen, and you really hope it does. Kelk writes what she knows. She knows New York, she knows fashion, she knows love and heartbreak. That’s what makes her stories so great, she’s not faking anything. It all comes from a place of experience.

Really, I could gush about this woman and her writing all day, but I must share my fangirl moment! Lindsey Kelk, my favourite author, tweeted me yesterday! Yes, it’s small andmaybe a little stupid, but I died inside and squealed with delight! She totally made my day! This is my celeb status moment, no one can take this away from me!

But yes, 10/10 for this book. Great start to the series. It’s funny, well-written and just overall a good time. A must read for all you Sex and the City fans out there! Now if you’d all excuse me…I have to start the second book.

The Rosie Project

Guys! I finally finished another book!

I probably use it as an excuse way too much, but school definitely gets in the way of my reading time. Needless to say, it’s been a slow start to the year in terms of my book count. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze in enough time to read a book that EVERYONE needs to read.

The Rosie Project is the first novel by Graeme Simsion and it is to die for! It’s the story of Don Tillman, a man who is a brilliant scientific mind but terribly misguided with social skills. He develops ‘The Wife Project’ in order to find his perfect match, but ends up getting something he never expected, true love with his complete opposite.

This book is very Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory) finds love. It’s genius. Seeing everything through Don’s eyes makes the story that much more endearing. I was laughing out loud when he was trying to pick up on social queues, and for a second you feel badly for laughing until you realize that he probably wouldn’t care. That’s the beauty of The Rosie Project, you understand these characters inside and out, there’s never a question about who they are.

I struggled a little bit with the ending however. Throughout the novel, Rosie is searching for her biological father and the couple end up going on quite the adventure to find him. In the end, you expect to know the father’s identity 100%, but it was only implied. Maybe I’m just picky and need to see in print the exact answer, but it surprised me that Simsion didn’t do just that. We spend this entire book rooting for Rosie to find her father, we go on the journey with her. Don’t we deserve a definitive answer too?

Everything else was pure gold. The characters were interesting and they always had something valid or thought-provoking to say (maybe with the exception of Gene who I just wanted to smack throughout the whole book). Honestly, even as I write this, I’m having trouble finding the words to express the perfection that is this book.

This was a brilliant introduction for Simsion and I hope we see more from him soon. This is not your average love story and I encourage everyone to give it a chance. Like Don, you might be very surprised with how you feel at the end of the journey.

Sleeping Arrangements

Dear Sophie Kinsella, I love you, but this book made me angry.

OK that might be pushing it a little. But I definitely had my frustrations with Sleeping Arrangements. By all accounts it was a fantastic read, but I just felt like the characters did not get the endings they deserved. Not to mention, I was horribly confused about which couple I should be routing for, I felt like I was going against popular opinion the entire time.

All in all this was the perfect guilty pleasure book. Sex, vacation, romance, and definitely some interesting plot twists. Unfortunately after all that, the ending just seemed to fall a little flat. All the characters seemed to be working up to something through the whole novel and then in the end they simply chose to go back to their normal lives. It was so unfitting for these characters that clearly needed a drastic life change.

Perhaps it’s just my own personal frustrations with the characters. I do tend to take these things rather personally. Don’t take this too much to heart if you’re looking to read this book. Honestly Kinsella delivered another great book, I’m truly a huge fan of hers, I just need to get over my issues with Hugh and Claire and all their drama. You should let them speak for yourself.

The Single Girl’s To Do List

Can we just talk about how much I am in love with Lindsey Kelk?

She knows how to write the exact type of woman I want to be, while also making them totally relatable. I want to be them and yet I am them at the same time.

I completely fell in love with this book from the first page. I think I know why too. This book made me seriously question what I want out of life. I am incredibly like Rachel when it comes to wanting to settle down with a guy. I really do want a completely ordinary life…or I did. I did until they started making the “To Do List.” While I don’t necessarily feel that you absolutely HAVE to skydive to be properly single, I understood where the list was coming from. You can’t waste your life trying to make someone else happy and never think of yourself. It’s not healthy and frankly, it’s not fair. If there was one thing I realized with this book, it was to live my own life before going all in on a relationship.

Rachel, her apartment, her job, her friends, her list, her potential suitors, it was all completely perfect. I was squealing with delight and practically yelling all at the same time. Kelk understands each of her characters inside and out and makes sure they all have the ending they deserve. This would be a perfect summer read and one that will definitely fill your heart with joy. If you’re into a girl power romance, this one is most certainly for you.