Two surprises, a best bet, and a "meh"

It's that time again! That's right...vacation binge reading synopsis time! I have to get down and dirty when writing about the books I read while on vacation because there are so many. Wait, I'm a teacher, so haven't I been on vacation for a month now? Yes, but I mean a family vacation, at a lake, with grandparents and aunts and uncles who share the parenting load so I can binge on books and snacks. This year, being hugely with child, I slept more and read less than usual, which means for once I was the overpacker instead of my husband, having brought nine books and only read four. Here they are, in the order read, with random thoughts attached. Do with them what you will.

I Feel Bad About My Neck, a memoir by Nora Ephron

How have I never read Ephron before? She is HILARIOUS. You know about my love affair with Anne Lamott--Ephron is easily as funny and even more irreverent and self deprecating. For the first few vignettes in this collection of random thoughts on being a woman, I thought maybe I was reading this too young, that I wasn't going to be invested enough in the jokes on neck wattles and face creams. But she also ranges back to her time as a young mother and a struggling writer, both of which I totally get, and taking it all together provides a delicious slice of a woman's life. Totally readable.

The Thirteenth Tale, a novel by Diane Setterfield

I admit, this is a re-read. I found it at my grandma's house and thought it would be a good vacation book. It's an enthralling literary suspense (no, that is not an oxymoron) that I picked up at random a few years ago from the library and I wasn't fully prepared for how good it was or what genre it was or even what era it was taking place in (still a little unsure about that, actually), so I was confused for a good portion of the beginning and needed a refresher. It also has a "Sixth Sense" sort of twist that makes you want to reread and watch for clues the second time around. Highly recommend. The setting of a cold Yorkshire winter was a little incongruous with lounging around a lake, but a good book should take you out of your life, right?

The Next Best Thing, a novel by Jennifer Weiner

She's going downhill. That could be the title of a Jennifer Weiner book, now that I think of it. Her first few were so poignant (while still being total fun and fluff) but now that she's branching away from the fat-single-girl schtick, I think she's losing some steam. This one is about a physically scarred young woman (ok, not so far from fat single girl) who is trying to make it as a screen writer in Hollywood. Maybe I just didn't care enough about the situation. Struggling writers I get but in Hollywood? Nah. I'd skip this beach read and take another one by Diane Setterfield any day. I should check and see if she's written any more...

The Soldier's Wife, historical fiction by Margaret Leroy

This was a surprisingly great book. Even though I am morally opposed to any more books being published with the word "wife" in the title, I chose this one because it's set during the German occupation of the British Channel Island of Guernsey in World War II. That's where the fantastic book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society takes place, which is a fabulous book of fictional letters and unexpected relationships. I wanted to go back to that world and this book did take me there, but with more melancholy than mirth (and a stupider title). Still, I would like to read more by Leroy and would have much more to say about this book if I hadn't prattled on so long already.

One of my favorite things about vacationing with my family is the book envy we all come away with. Since coming home I've started two books: another WWII novel from the library, this one set in Taiwan, and Tiny Beautiful Things, a collection of advice letters by Cheryl Strayed which my cousin was reading at the lake. I also plan to steal The Orchardist  and Maya's Notebook due to watching my mother read them with such pleasure. Oh, the joys of looking forward to a good book.