LIZ: BOOK #41

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen

224 pages

Completed 11/16/10

This sad tale of a girl who realizes far-too young her power as a female over men was deep. Cohen's young what-the-hell attitude is both freeing and terrifying at the same time. As her promiscuos ways continue throughout high school and college, the tales - told tastefully, not raunchily as I had expected - grow sadder. Her own self-reflections cannot help but allow the reader to feel for this woman.

With her dysfunctional family proving what could possibly be deemed one of the best memoir-featured ones, Kerry attempts to use her physical beingness as means to escape, but when finding herself in the process, is haunted by what she sees. With actual relationships thrown in along with cross-country moves, this memoir is a must-read.

LIZ: BOOK #38

Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max

416 pages

Completed 10/11/10

The follow-up to Max's successfully hilarious, yet completely chauvinistic, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell," "Assholes Finish First" provides more amusing escapades of Max. One of the rare female fans of Max, I was really looking forward to this book; IHTSBIH literally had me laughing out loud, crying it hurt so badly because the stories were THAT good.

I was curious to see how Max's adventures would change with fame - the answer is that there was less of a chase, and more skanky girls just offering themselves up to him, leading to less amusing endings. Two arrests, and the inevitable lack of amusement about being a man in his thirties chasing barely-legal girls just wasn't as hysterical this time around.

This was a quick read, and somewhat disappointing. Don't get me wrong, there were some laugh-out-loud moments, but not the side-splitting humor I had come to love from Max. I was pleasantly surprised at the end, however, as he revealed another book - perhaps two - will follow next year. Hopeful some more of the hysterical anecdotes will step it up.

LIZ: BOOK #18

Tabloid Love: Looking for Mr. Right in All the Wrong Places by Bridget Harrison

384 pages

Completed 4/13/10

This memoir read like fiction to me - not necessarily the intended effect when reading a memoir. However, see my last post to understand why I needed something a little lighter to read. Gossipy and humorous without reading too much like chick-lit, this account of an English 29 year old's next 5 years in New York City working for a tabloid paper, writing a dating column, and pursuing men of all walks of life, keeps your interest if only for the reason you want to see what happens to Bridget.

Yes, there were a lot of similarities - and references - to Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw, but this was book was more self-discovery than single girl escapades; although there were plenty of those. My biggest complaint about this memoir was how it wrapped up so open-ended.

All in all, Harrison is a talented writer with some unique experiences under her belt. Obviously not a book you'd pick up for substance, but a good beach read nonetheless.