Katie edwards

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat is a fun book, and the only reason it's not a four-star book is because the POV switches made it hard to keep track of which Supreme was narrating. The story takes place in small town Southern Indiana (points for name-checking Indy), and follows three best friends back and forth from high school to death's doorstep. Each woman has her own cross to bear, and all three of the story lines are dotted with crazy characters - my favorites were actually dead, the ghosts of Odette's mother and Eleanor Roosevelt. Yes, THE Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a fun, light read, but you might want a crib sheet to keep the Supremes straight.

Really well written, but it's definitely a tear-jerker.

I liked the premise of this book - I mean, why not open a retirement home in India? My problem what that the ensemble of characters was too big. I had Ravi and Dr. Rama mixed up for a long time, and Evelyn and Madge and Muriel all run together. The book didn't give me enough touchstones to distinguish the characters from one another. I kept thinking we would follow the story of one or two characters, and then the story line would switch to someone else. It was too distracting for my tastes.

I love Neil Gaiman's work because I know that he's going to create a world that's slightly unsettling, with terrifying villains. Neverwhere follows Richard Mayhew, from Upper London, on a grand adventure to London Below when he rescues Door, a damsel dealing quite capably with an attempt on her life and the death of her entire family. Once sucked into the chaotic world of London Below, Richard bumbles along, managing to keep himself alive and contribute to Door's quest to find the Angel Islington who knows what happened to her family. Neverwhere is great fun, keeping you on the edge of your seat, because you never know who the grand villain is and where he/she/it will pop up next.

The Year of Less resonated with me tremendously, as I've been on a simple living journey for about a year. Through this book, Cait Flanders illustrates that clutter, debt, and weight gain are all symptoms of unresolved emotions and experiences. Through out her tale, she talks about how she spent money and collected items as a way to try to become the person she thought she should be. So much of our dissatisfaction in life comes back to trying to comfort ourselves with stuff. People say this isn't a how to book, but there is no simple way to break the cycle of buying as a way to soothe the soul. Clutter, simple living - there is no quick fix. It's hard work to understand why these things are in our lives. Flanders does an excellent job of demonstrating how hard it is to make the space that you need. I reccomend this book.

If you're looking for a how-to, step by step, I reccomend you read Becoming Minamalist by Joshua Becker, and Slow by Brooke McAlery. Once you're done with those, come back to this book.