Day Meme - Day Four
Nov. 24th, 2009 11:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottishlassDay four already????
Sooo ... favourite book, eh? I could go with the cliche and say Lord of the Rings but then I would leave out so many other wonderful books and besides ... after recent years ... LOTR HAS become a kind of cliche. *sigh*
A book I really like ... and can read whenever the mood strikes me? Not dependable on season, or events or whatnot? Yup ... Yup ... found one ... one could argue it is not world literature but it is enjoyable and teaches you to cook (Chicken Marsala at least).
Bet Me by Jennifer Cruisie. A boy, a girl and their crazy family and friends and their respective exes ... THAT is the short version.
What I love about this book is that it is NOT the Bridget Jones Diaries reloaded as so many rom-coms of the 1990's and early tens have turned out. Suddenly the shunned but funny (as in skinny authoresses making fun of chubby characters) heroines were two a dozen and most of the times as dumb as Bridget, as obsessed with weight as Bridget and all in all just annoying to boot - as Bridget.
Not so Minerva Dobbs, our heroine. While her family, esp. her mother is obsessed with food and calories, she couldn't care less and the message of the book is if you feel good about yourself and keep yourself healthy (both emotionally as well as physically), then it doesn't matter what size you are to be witty, functional and sexy. While learning all this, Min starts to carry herself differently and loosing a few pounds (mostly of bad mood and bad hair styles) and charms the socks off any man in the book, esp. Calvin Morissey who first comes across as a player but turns out to be a rather dull and keeping it on the safe side of life kind of guy. Sure he bets, but he only takes bets he knows he can win. So the cool player is nothing more than a good looking dude with avoidance issues who, upon meeting Min, develops a strange obsession with donuts, bubble toes and bondage.
What does she have to loose other than making fun of a supposed womanizer and getting even with her despicable, stalkery ex?
What then follows is not only getting even but getting ahead of themselves. Both of them developping a strange obsession for Elvis, in Min's case with The King and her determination to only get back into the dating game if she finds a reincarnation of Elvis Presley and in Calvin's case with Elvis Costello and a fateful repetition of the song SHE. As he is trying to ditch the passes of his ex, beautiful psychotic psychologist Cynthie who is determined to marry Calvin for her newest book and to support her theory of Four Steps to Love, he cannot help but fall for Min - hard.
Fighting their attraction only leads to more chaos and confusion, and even though Min and Cal try to resist, fate, the chaos theory, the butterfly effect and a strange fairy tale theory and an irresistable Chicken Marsala let them both bump into each other over and over again.
David and Cynthie who want their exes back, try to throw a wrench into the works as well by drawing friends and family into the mix. There is a non-wedding with music from Julia Roberts Movies, doughnut seduction, bondage and betrayal, and Calvin and Min are in the center of it.
The story introduces both main protagonists' family and friends, their needs, wants and of course their obsession with eating food or not eating food to be fashionable. Even the background characters are well drawn and either have you in fits of laughter or wanting to bitch slap them.
It is a wonder that both Min and Calvin, coming from such dysfunctional families, still retain not only a sense of humour but also a deep sense of respect, love and a good head for egging each other on.
It is funny, sensitive and desperately romantic story :)
| Day 1 Song |
Day 2 Movie |
Day 3 TV Show |
Day 4 Book |
Day 5 Quote |
| Day 6 Anything |
Day 7 Happy Photo |
Day 8 Sad Photo |
Day 9 My Photo |
Day 10 10 Years Ago |
| Day 11 Recent |
Day 12 Anything |
Day 13 Fiction |
Day 14 Non-fiction |
Day 15 Fanfic |
| Day 16 Sad Song |
Day 17 Art |
Day 18 Anything |
Day 19 Talent |
Day 20 Hobby |
| Day 21 Recipe |
Day 22 Website |
Day 23 Youtube |
Day 24 Anything |
Day 25 Day |
| Day 26 Week |
Day 27 Month |
Day 28 Year |
Day 29 2010 |
Day 30 Anything |
Sooo ... favourite book, eh? I could go with the cliche and say Lord of the Rings but then I would leave out so many other wonderful books and besides ... after recent years ... LOTR HAS become a kind of cliche. *sigh*
A book I really like ... and can read whenever the mood strikes me? Not dependable on season, or events or whatnot? Yup ... Yup ... found one ... one could argue it is not world literature but it is enjoyable and teaches you to cook (Chicken Marsala at least).
Bet Me by Jennifer Cruisie. A boy, a girl and their crazy family and friends and their respective exes ... THAT is the short version. What I love about this book is that it is NOT the Bridget Jones Diaries reloaded as so many rom-coms of the 1990's and early tens have turned out. Suddenly the shunned but funny (as in skinny authoresses making fun of chubby characters) heroines were two a dozen and most of the times as dumb as Bridget, as obsessed with weight as Bridget and all in all just annoying to boot - as Bridget.
Not so Minerva Dobbs, our heroine. While her family, esp. her mother is obsessed with food and calories, she couldn't care less and the message of the book is if you feel good about yourself and keep yourself healthy (both emotionally as well as physically), then it doesn't matter what size you are to be witty, functional and sexy. While learning all this, Min starts to carry herself differently and loosing a few pounds (mostly of bad mood and bad hair styles) and charms the socks off any man in the book, esp. Calvin Morissey who first comes across as a player but turns out to be a rather dull and keeping it on the safe side of life kind of guy. Sure he bets, but he only takes bets he knows he can win. So the cool player is nothing more than a good looking dude with avoidance issues who, upon meeting Min, develops a strange obsession with donuts, bubble toes and bondage.
What does she have to loose other than making fun of a supposed womanizer and getting even with her despicable, stalkery ex?
What then follows is not only getting even but getting ahead of themselves. Both of them developping a strange obsession for Elvis, in Min's case with The King and her determination to only get back into the dating game if she finds a reincarnation of Elvis Presley and in Calvin's case with Elvis Costello and a fateful repetition of the song SHE. As he is trying to ditch the passes of his ex, beautiful psychotic psychologist Cynthie who is determined to marry Calvin for her newest book and to support her theory of Four Steps to Love, he cannot help but fall for Min - hard.
Fighting their attraction only leads to more chaos and confusion, and even though Min and Cal try to resist, fate, the chaos theory, the butterfly effect and a strange fairy tale theory and an irresistable Chicken Marsala let them both bump into each other over and over again.
David and Cynthie who want their exes back, try to throw a wrench into the works as well by drawing friends and family into the mix. There is a non-wedding with music from Julia Roberts Movies, doughnut seduction, bondage and betrayal, and Calvin and Min are in the center of it.
The story introduces both main protagonists' family and friends, their needs, wants and of course their obsession with eating food or not eating food to be fashionable. Even the background characters are well drawn and either have you in fits of laughter or wanting to bitch slap them.
It is a wonder that both Min and Calvin, coming from such dysfunctional families, still retain not only a sense of humour but also a deep sense of respect, love and a good head for egging each other on.
It is funny, sensitive and desperately romantic story :)
