The Kari AnnAlysis

Archive for September, 2009

As a fan of the show Sex and the City, when I first saw this book on the shelves, I knew I would like it. As much as I love small town life, I am a sucker for books and tv shows about the sickeningly wealthy. Real Housewives, Laguna Beach and The Hills, NYC Prep… They are all shows I can’t tear myself away from.

This book reminds me a lot of the movie Crash. There are soooo many characters and their lives are all intertwined at some point of the book.

Mindy Gooch, her husband James and son Sam live in the former workers quarters of One Fifth. Mindy is in charge of the board and no one likes her. James is an author, or so he likes to call himself. Mindy on the other hand wishes he’d work. And Sam is a computer genius, which eventually gets him in trouble.

Enid Merle and her nephew Philip live side by side. Enid is an old socialite who writes a column about all of the celebs and high life in the city. Philip is a famous playwright who can’t settle down and thinks a little too much with his “willy” which also gets him in trouble.

Schiffer Diamond is a 40 something actress who has just moved back to the city. She has been on again, off again with Philip since they were young, but is it enough to get serious? Or just another reason to run away?

Annalisa and Paul Rice are new to the city. Paul is in “hedge funds” and Annalisa quit her job as a lawyer in DC to move. They scored a 3 floor apartment and although they’ve had money, now they’re rolling in it. They’re whole lives are about to change.

Oh, and then there’s Lola. A 22 year old who loves her some money. She wants the life in New York more than anything and will do ANYTHING to get her some dough.

If you read this book, you’ll be amazed at how each of these characters end up in the lives of the others. I normally don’t try to write too much about the people in the books. I like for you to be able to meet them yourself. But I think for me to fairly talk about the mixed up world this book shows you,  you need to know them.

This book is everything I imagined and more when it comes to NYC drama. I took some real estate classes and know that co-ops can be very serious business and there’s a lot of rules, but let me tell you, it gets UGLY! During high school and even in college, I always seemed to attract drama. As much as I hate it, it was always with me and my group of friends. I have tried to distance myself from it since. Trying hard to do everything I can to lead a drama-free life. This book gave me anxiety because there is so much drama.

If you’ve seen Sex and the City, you probably know how dirty it is. On TBS, they’ve cleaned it up. On HBO, I saw things I imagine pornos don’t even show. I knew that Bushnell had a sexual side, obvious from Sex and the City. That also weaves itself through this book. Now there are 400+ pages of this book and the sex doesn’t take up a lot of it, but there are some steamy scenes and there are some vulgar scenes.  And she doesn’t use the words “willy” and “doodles” and “vahjayjay”… when they have sex, you get the full picture.

As a blogger, I like how blogging the blogging that took place in this book. There’s a young cat name Thayer who writes for a blog and pretty much just trashes people. He reminds me of Perez (no offense, I’ve been a fan for a few years). Mindy Gooch also starts up a blog to pretty much complain about her life, but it ends up being a hit. I’ve learned that the problems I have faced, many people have faced them and will discuss them if you open the door. I imagine Mindy’s blog being the same way. Oh if only I could get paid to blog!

Money is a huge part of this book. When my parents were married, I’ll be the first to admit I was spoiled. When my parents divorced, I saw first hand how hard it was to raise two kids on a teachers salary. But my mom did it and I think because of that, I am a wise spender. I feel guilty when I buy something for more than $50 and I normally don’t buy things that aren’t on sale. I’ve learned how to buy nice things at a small price and mix and match and get as much use out of them as I can. A quote on the third page of the book stuck with me and I want to share it with you:

“Money wants what it can’t buy. Class and talent. And remember that while there’s a talent for making money, it takes a real talent to know how to spend it.”

I love this quote. It came from a character I didn’t mention before. His name is Billy Litchfield. He is a woman’s best friend. He’s been on the NYC scene for years and while he can teach a woman what to wear, how to act and make her popular (as he does with Annalisa), it may surprise you what Billy does and doesn’t have. I very much agree with Billy on this statement. I may not make a lot of money, but I feel like I spend it wisely.

A recent meme asked what is something you have learned while reading and I didn’t have anything to answer. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction because I live it every day in the newsroom. But in this book, I learned something I missed in debutante classes. When you are at a dinner, it is etiquette to speak to the person on your right during appetizers and spek to the person on your left during dinner. There are rules for everything

Even though I wasn’t fond of Little Miss Lola’s character, she did talk about Billy Joel’s wife at one time in the book. And although things didn’t work between them, I thought it was cool. Katie Lee is from Milton, West Virginia. I always love to read and hear things about WV people … as long as they’re not in a negative light.

The only draw back I had about this book was that it took me FOREVER to read. So I know it was only really a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever. This was a book I picked up from a library sale and the copy I have is over 400 pages and hardback. For some reason, I was intimidated. Doing some work for the wedding also took some time away from reading, but now that I’m done with it, I really liked this book. I give it 4 bookmarks.

Yay! It’s Thursday which means you get into my head with the weekly Booking Through Thursday meme. This week’s question: What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently? (Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

I always go back and look at my “Books” page when I participate in this. And when I got to Killer Cruise, I stopped. This book was fun, cute and it was suspenseful. We all know what it’s like to be a teen in love, but it’s fun to jump into the love life of another teen, especially when she is filthy rich. I mean who gets a cruise for their 16th birthday? Not to mention a cruise where strange things happen and people die. Loved it! Check out my review!

What book did you choose?

So this week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Since I am still a freshman in the book blogging world, I’m still learning about these festivities. I’ve tried to follow along and keep an eye on the site. Today I found a Reading Habits Meme in honor of the week and it will be my first participation in BBAW. It was slated for Tuesday, but better late than never right?

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
*I normally don’t because I don’t want to get my book dirty. But M&Ms are always a clean option!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
*If I see mistakes in books, I’ll mark them. Otherwise … NO WAY!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
*I have a book mark my dad got me. It had a magnet in it so it doesn’t fall out and you can mark which paragraph you were on.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
*I’m more of fiction, but I like autobiographies.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
*I haven’t gotten into audiobooks yet. Since I drive so much, it would take me no time. But I like to hold them,

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?
*I like to read to the end of the chapter, but normally I pick it up whenever I have a second, so I may only be able to read a paragraph or two.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
*I normally make a list in my Blackberry and look them all up at once.

What are you currently reading?
*One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

What is the last book you bought?
*Wicked: Witch and Curse

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?
*One at a time

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read? 
*I get most of my reading done in bed before I go to sleep

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
* I get attached to characters, so I love series books

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
*Jane Eyre, The Historian, The Stephanie Plum Series

How do you organize your books?
*Read books are organized by author. Unread are not organized so it’s a random choice every time.

We all know that I spend as much as I can on books. So much that they are lined up on my shelf begging to be read. While I love shoes, I just can’t make myself spend money on them. I will get something out of a book, I guess I just don’t feel I’ll get as much as out of shoes. So today’s Worldless Wednesday post contains birthday shoes. My mom gets me shoes every year for my birthday and this years winners are:

Yay! Cute, I know! And, being the saver I am, I got them buy 1, get 1 for $10! $40 for two pair of shoes .. YIPEE!

Send me a link with your pics for the week! Oh, and yes, I understand the concept of no words, but I have a hard time keeping quiet in a room by myself. Words are necessary

It’s been a very busy week, so yes, I’m still working on One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell. I’m over halfway through, so hopefully this is the last teaser you’ll have to hear from me on this one. Good things there’s a lot of characters, with lots to say.

Pg 155. ” ‘You already have a job,’ he explained. ‘From now on, your life with your husband is your job.’ He corrected himself. ‘It’s more than a job. It’s a career. your husband makes the money, and you create the life and it’s going to take effort.’”

 

I love this, even though it’s a few more sentences than two , because it shares how I believe people who have money to burn live and think. It’s a completely different world than I live in, but it’s sooo funy to read about a completely different world that is really just a few states and pay checks away!

What are you teasing?