Take Your Shirt Off and Cry

Nancy Balbirer reflects on her lackluster acting career in NYC and LA, crazed roommates, awful boyfriends, major & minor celebrities, outlawed diet drugs, and bad decisions. Her tales of the 80s and 90s are dated -- many of the celebrities she gossips about are virtually unknown today -- and never rise above a simmering bitterness. Gossip about SNL and Seinfeld is especially boring. She's aiming for "darkly funny" and "searingly honest," but doesn't come close. (And yes, I agree with everyone that "Jane" is Jennifer Aniston.)

When Will There Be Good News?

The third Jackson Brodie novel is a fairly good read, but not nearly as gripping as its predecessors, Case Histories and One Good Turn. The multiple characters and their stories don't tie together with Ms. Atkinson's customary sharpness -- at least one seems pointless -- and Brodie's own dilemma takes such a ridiculous turn as to lose all credibility. As much as I loved and championed the two previous books, I was disappointed by this one. It felt more like the conclusion of a contract than the latest installment of Scotland's most brilliant mystery series since Rankin & Rebus.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society

While many novels have praised the pluck and resiliency of the British during World War II, this story not only addresses the unique situation of the small island of Guernsey, but touches on topics and situations not covered by most authors. My admiration for residents of the United Kingdom has soared even higher after reading this book.

Emotionally Weird

Not as good as Case Histories or One Good Turn, but the attuned reader can see Atkinson evolving toward those masterpieces.

Do-Over!

This is essentially the diary of a middle-aged man in the throes of a mid-life crisis: about to become a father for the fourth time, Robin Hemley copes by repeating difficult childhood and young-adult experiences, hoping for a better outcome the second time around. He attends kindergarten & sixth grade, performs in a Christmas play, re-enrolls in summer camp, renews his honorary membership in a fraternity, revisits the prom, and reconnects with his Japanese exchange-student friend. Although most of the tales are mawkish, the introduction of Emily Jean, a bright and talented orphan under the care of Hemley's former English teacher, provides a touching parallel to his own difficult youth. Unfortunately, her story is the only bright spot in 316 pages of solipsism.

Curse of the Spellmans

The Spellman schtick is losing its luster. The dysfunctional family that was amusing in the first book and somewhat chucklesome in the second is tiresome in this third volume. The mystery Izzy must solve is overshadowed by Spellman family melodrama, and by story's end, the reader is more apt to slap some sense into every character rather than cheer the resolution of a mildly interesting case. Izzy -- whom I suspect is the alter ego of Lisa Lutz -- needs to grow up and move on.

Comfort Food

Gus Simpson is TV's premier chef, but at 50, she's reached her sell-by date (at least in the view of her employer). Forced to shake things up by hosting a new program with a young Latina beauty pageant queen, she finds herself not only re-examining her life as a widow and single mother, but embracing change -- fiscal, emotional and career -- in ways she could have never anticipated.

I read this shortly after the death of my boyfriend, and not only did the theme of a fellow widow ring true with me, but I was reminded of the abiding value of what some deride as "chick lit." It may not be Dostoyevsky, but light and sweet is sometimes just the ticket.