I keep thinking we are further ahead in the week than we really are, but that is what happens when you are hustling long hours, I suppose! I think I’ve mentioned on here that my very (very) slow summer came to an end last week and I’ve hit the ground running with all kinds of new work.
And, just when I was thinking, “Oh, it will slow down…” I get another email. I know all too well that I can push myself over the limit, and I know I absolutely can say no, but right now I feel like I have the opportunity to clean up some financial messes. I did a GREAT job this year of not adding to my credit card debt, and have been able to pay all of my bills, but if I could pay off my old debt, I wouldn’t have to make as much money each month!
So, I’m going to stick things out for as long as I can. I am still trying to make it to yoga and dance almost every day, get sleep, and am trying to get back on a healthy eating regimen so I don’t get run down and sick.
I’m also still making time to read! Reading is not a luxury for me — it’s vital for my mental health, for my creativity and for my career as a writer.
So, I’m happy to report that I just finished reading the latest pick from Blanche’s Book Club: “How Could She” by Lauren Mechlin. Here’s the scoop:
After a devastating break-up with her fiancé, Geraldine is struggling to get her life back on track in Toronto. Her two old friends, Sunny and Rachel, left ages ago for New York, where they’ve landed good jobs, handsome husbands, and unfairly glamorous lives (or at least so it appears to Geraldine). Sick of watching from the sidelines, Geraldine decides to force the universe to give her the big break she knows she deserves, and moves to New York City.
As she zigzags her way through the downtown art scene and rooftop party circuit, she discovers how hard it is to find her footing in a world of influencers and media darlings. Meanwhile, Sunny’s life as an It Girl watercolorist is not nearly as charmed as it seemed to Geraldine from Toronto. And Rachel is trying to keep it together as a new mom, writer, and wife–how is it that she was more confident and successful at twenty-five than in her mid-thirties? Perhaps worst of all, why are Sunny and Rachel–who’ve always been suspicious of each other–suddenly hanging out without Geraldine?
Hilarious and fiercely observed, How Could She is an essential novel of female friendship, an insider’s look into the cutthroat world of New York media–from print to podcasting–and a witty exploration of the ways we can and cannot escape our pasts.
Ugh. I’m not going to go any further before I just didn’t love this book. I really wanted to! Frankly, I was sort of relying on it for entertainment! But I think it was the characters. They seemed sort of bitchy in a non-witty or funny way.
However, I did enjoy the New York scenes and how modern it is — it talks about Trump as President. And I hate admitting this over and over, but I don’t do well with lots of similar characters. It just ain’t for me.
So, I’m sadly not sticking this one on my recommendation list. Points for honesty?
The next book I’m reading is “Girl, Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollis. I’m also heading to the library today to look at audio books… any good ones I should pick up? Let me know!
For more book recommendations, be sure to subscribe to the blog (look to the right) and follow me on Instagram @Orangejulius7– where I share more of my daily life. Live in the Baton Rouge area? I’m teaching a Blogging Boot Camp this September. If you don’t live in Baton Rouge, you can always schedule a Creative Session with me!
The Bitter Lemon 