Shaking Off Some of the Dust

Shockingly enough, I am now up to date - chiefly because, since I finished my last book, I've been busy with Commentary. But at Malka Sp's Avi's bar mitzvah, Sarah Sp gave me the latest Scotland Street, and I had to read it in order to pass it on to the next person, Aunt Sarah, so when Huvi came for Shabbos this past Shabbos, I made sure to finish it so I could give it to her, and then I forgot to give it to her, oh well, but it is now finished and I am now going to review it, just a day after finishing :)

So I think I haven't loved the past few 44 Scotland Streets. They are just too much of the same, and I have little patience for all the philosophical digressions. But I have to say, I think this was changed it up a bit. Definitely in respects to Bertie, where he finally gets out from under his mother's thumb, and what a joy it is to be out.  But I thought the other stories were somewhat fresh as well, and the characters themselves mostly refreshingly unphilosophical.  I can't say no digressions, but kept light. It was mostly story. And, though in some cases, the stories had that 44 Scotland St feel where they never really went anywhere, in a few cases, things seem to resolve actually.

So it wasn't too different than usual of course, but it seemed back into a better groove, at least from the way I felt about it.  Here's to continuing to shake things up on Scotland Street.

Verdict: 3.75/5

In Which the Likeability of the Author Matters

A while ago, Dov went to Barnes and Noble randomly and picked up a few titles (not at all my thing of course, I would never waste money on that :)), one of which was a somewhat interesting intro to popular physics book that I think is currently in CL, of which I have read only a small part. The other is Mindy Kaling's memoir (such a serious word, but I think it is the correct one), whose title is (having just looked it up) "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?".  I wouldn't say celebrity comedic memoirs are exactly my usual thing, but I have been known to read the occasional humor book.  And Dov went through this one quite quickly so I assumed I'd be interested :) I finally got around to reading it right after Naomi was born (brought it with me to the hospital, I think I started it there), which means we're talking about six months ago at this point - I think I still remember what I want to say though :)

And that's that I did indeed enjoy the book, and got through it relatively quickly - lots of stops and starts with nursing, but my interest never flagged.  The book was fun and well-written (for the genre).  But was more interesting was how much I actually liked Mindy.  She really seems... "normal".  Now I know that sounds incredibly celebrity-fake-modesty-y, but it's not just her early nerdiness and youthful struggles that humanizes her. She actually seems to have decent values - parents who push their kids (Indians of course :)), good friends she hangs with, a healthy appetite :)... She just seems like a person I would actually like! Which I just don't think I'd say about Tina Fey or Amy Poehler or Ellen Degeneres, even though I find them all very funny.  Not only did Mindy make me enjoy the book, the book actually made me enjoy her show all the more.  Mindy from The Mindy Project seems very much like Mindy from the memoir (which was written before the show, so it's not like she deliberately set out to make herself seem like her character).  Her antics on the show seem much more funny now that I see how they are rooted in the real, and quite likeable, Mindy.

So, anyway, a good, quick, fun read that actually surprised me in how much I enjoyed it :)

Verdict: 4/5