Just finished reading....

Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack

I don't usually read "bestsellers", but for some reason the review I read of this book in the LA Times made me curious, so I checked it out of the library. I kept putting off reading it. I'd pick up other novels by authors I knew, but finally I couldn't put it off any longer. I had to read it, or return it to the library unread.

Well, I'm glad I read it. It's the story of Dora, recently separated from her husband Palmer. She goes into a deep depression, burying herself in books and booze. She leaves the house only to buy more books. She begins a hot-and-heavy fling with one of the booksellers from her favourite bookstore (which sounds marvelous, btw, too bad it doesn't really exist!). He takes her to meet his family, and she discovers that he's really a jerk, but she loves his family. Dora develops a relationship with his mother that makes up for her dysfunctional relationship with her own mother, and she begins to pull herself out of her depression.

I was really drawn into this story, and everytime I was forced to stop reading, I'd have to give myself a little shake in order to bring myself back to reality. Great book! I read it in a day.