Wednesday, Apr 15, 2009

Book Review: Five Things I Can’t Live Without

Author:       Holly Shumas

Publisher:    5 Spot/Hachette

ISBN:          978-0-446-699096-8

Website:      www.hollyshumas.com

Type:         Fiction:Chick Lit

Pages:        273 Trade Paperback

Purchase:    $9.75 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The Story

“Nora Bishop is living a life of almosts. She’s almost thirty. Almost committed in her relationship.  Almost employed.   And she’s almostliving her life. Stuck in what she terms her meta-life, she’s thinking and questioning everything to the point of self-sabotage. Then a friend asks Nora to rewrite an Internet dating profile, and the woman with the meta-life discovers her métier. As a Cyrano de Bergerac for the lovelorn, she asks her clients to name the five things they can’t live without. But what are hers? To get answers, Nora will have to stop asking questions. And then do the hardest thing of all: Find herself by losing herself…in real life.“

(Above excerpt is from www.hollyshumas.com)

The Review

I reviewed Holly Shumas’ latest book, Love and Other Natural Disasters earlier this year.  When I received that book for review, I was fortunate enough to also get a copy of Five Things I Can’t Live Without.  Needing some good Chick Lit and wanting to meet my “Just For The Love Of It” Reading Challenge, I decided April would be a great time to read this one. 

This is a story of Nora… who, like many of us women, over-think things.  She over-thinks her job, her love life, and her family life.  She sometimes gets trapped in this thinking and it is definitely her Achilles heel.  I understand this.  I’ve definitely been that way before.  There have been many times that it has just been nearly impossible to “live in the moment.”  As women, I think it is naturally harder for us.  Men, they seem to have an easier time at “just coasting” (as the book says).  But, being on the outside looking in at Nora, I wanted to slap her into sanity… STOP MAKING THINGS MORE DIFFICULT THAN THEY NEED BE!  But, then I thought… WAIT, EASIER SAID THAN DONE!

Nora’s new job as a “Profiler” (aka someone for hire who writes internet dating profiles) brings the reader many characters to enjoy.  Her job was one of my favorite parts of the book.  I also loved the character of Dan, her boyfriend.  Every woman deserves a  Dan!

The book was a quick read and overall enjoyable.  The thing I learned the most from reading it was for me to take my head out of the equation more often!    

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

I’ve been SUPER pampered this year with FUNNY Chick Lit.  Because of that, I think I’m tending towards that genre a bit more than the “standard” Chick Lit.  Although, Chick Lit is my favorite genre and the “non-funny” books are just as important and as the others.  Both of Shumas’ books are well-written and I can easily recall both stories in my mind vividly.  That’s always the sign of a good writer!  But, on the honest side of my review, I have to say that for the genre Fiction:ChickLit, I am going to rate this book a 7 OUT OF 10. 

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