Rated of 5
by Marjorie H. (Bedford, TX) Stuff and Nonsense
I should have known that a book with the word "Stuff" in the title would be just that - "Stuff." This book goes beyond chick books and fairy tales. It is a quick, shallow, derivative read with characters that you would like to throttle. I laughed out loud when I read that while living in an apartment of a couple (with twins!) the guest wife was having a torrid affair with the host husband. And no one was the wiser. Really? However, the plot thickens when the two lovers run into each other again - 25 years later! - in a Manhattan market! And, goodness, the spark is still there. Imagine that! What WILL it take for these two to get over one another?? The big mystery in the book is the absent Whit - a shallower character yet - if that's possible. SO - I could go on, but why bother. I wouldn't recommend this book - it's silly.
Rated of 5
by Barbara C. (Orchard Park, NY) The Stuff That Never Happened
A really good read that will resonate with older women readers who have lived through the times that shaped Annabelle. I was surprised that I ended up liking it as much as I did as I seemed to know how it would end, but the characters were well defined and their relationships interesting. A good book club choice especially if all ages are represented in the group - lots of interesting discussion, I would think.
Rated of 5
by Linda M. (Three Oaks, MI) Stuff Never Happens
Annabelle married Grant McKay when she was so very young and still had so much to learn about herself and her new husband. But like any journey, the road is fraught with obstacles and detours. Annabelle’s side trip was an extramarital affair that defined both her and Grant’s existence over the next 30 years. Grant’s way of dealing with it was to put his head in the sand like an ostrich pretending that it never happened. For Annabelle, it was an itch that when scratched was never satisfied. This story is told from Annabelle’s perspective and deftly navigates between the past and the present. I confess there were moments when I didn’t particularly like Annabelle and even wanted to throttle Grant a few times but that’s what made this novel work so well. I thought this was a pretty good debut for this new author.
Rated of 5
by Diane D. (Blairstown, NJ) Bumpy Ride
The book held my attention, but it was upsetting at times...probably because the whole sexual revolution thing always bothered me. I think those, who went through that, would be more likely to understand what Annabelle was going through than I was. I could never imagine living in a situation like she was, either. I did like the book, but it had it's ups & downs for me.
Rated of 5
by June A. (Randallstown, Maryland) The Stuff That Never Happened
This is a good read with more depth than I had expected. Great use of humor. I especially liked the views of the different generations of women. Definitely a book for women, probably the "over 40" crowd.
Rated of 5
by La Deana R. (Norman, OK) the stuff that never happened
Loved it. Annabelle is the person you sit next to at the ballgames, watching your kids. She is the mom who remembered to bring cupcakes when you are scrambling to get your kids to school at all. And Annabelle is a woman living in a marriage fractured by her own careless, thoughtless and impetuous affair. I found her character believable as she tries to live her life in spite of her betrayal to her husband. I can empathize with her romanticized version of the man she lost 26 years before.
I waited, spellbound, as she found Jeremiah unexpectedly again and all the repercussions this has on her family once again. This is a true picture of marriage, both good and bad, love in its best and its worst form. I couldn't put it down and would recommend it to anyone (but especially those women of a certain age - like myself - whose past and present don't always seem to line up). Good reading, tell Ms. Dawson to bring us more!
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
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of 5
by Marjorie H. (Bedford, TX) 
of 5
by Barbara C. (Orchard Park, NY) 
of 5
by La Deana R. (Norman, OK) 
