May 22, 2007

Book Review - Late Night Talking

The following is a book review for MotherTalk's Blog Tour.



When I received an invitation to review Leslie Schnur’s new book Late Night Talking, I was very intrigued. As a lot of my friends and readers know, the subject of judging others was a hot topic here on my blog not that long ago. So when I heard that the main character in this book (Jeannie Sterling) was a judgmental behavior cop, I knew I was going to enjoy this read.

The difference between Jeannie and “real life” behavior critics, however, is that you can’t help but love her. She’s coming from a good place in her heart and even learns the hard way that judgmental behavior comes with a price.

Jeannie is a late night talk show host and her program, “Sterling Behavior” deals with pet peeves such as people who leave pee on the toilet seat, litter, cut into the front of a long line, don’t clean up their dog’s poop, and other irritating behaviors.

Quick to chastise such anti-etiquette criminals, Jeannie soon finds that her own behavior (of judging others) has an affect on her relationship with others.

How far will Jeannie go with her policing antics? Will she make the changes she needs to salvage friendships, love and family ties? Or will she decide to give her life a complete overhaul to honor who she is?

Read Late Night Talking to find out.

Check out the the author's bio here and scroll down to see "Milo" the dog, who was the inspiration behind "Mouse" in the book.

Mouse, a Beagle/Basset Hound mix is the exact opposite of Jeannie - mischievous and just plain rotten. He not only eats Jeannie's panties, he buries them in her plants, then digs them up again. Plus, he has a poop fetish and loves to roll around in it. But, he's even more lovable than the main character! And everything that the fictional Mouse does, the real-life Milo has actually done himself.

You'll also discover that Schnur wrote the book based on her own "obsession with rude behavior." Click here to read a hilarious list of her pet peeves.

You can click around her site for in-depth information on the book, excerpts, and questions and answers with the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. When it arrived (hardcover edition at that), the cover design alone had me hooked. It’s so beautiful that I want to leave it on my coffee table even though I’m finished with it.

It is a PERFECT chick lit book to take to the beach or pool this summer. In fact, my only regret is that I read it before my pool opened up because it would've been so fun to read it pool-side.

The book has a lighthearted, airy, fun feel to it that goes perfectly with summer. If the thought of being on a beach, sun beaming down on you, pina colada in hand, waves crashing in front of you, with a light breeze blowing your hair, appeals to you, then I promise you'll love this book. It's the literary equivalent to all of that and more.

If you read it, I'd love to hear your comments! Enjoy! :)

5 comments:

Todd said...

Just wanted to stop by and say that I'm not ignoring you, I swear. As soon as I've got some time, I'll respond to the political stuff.

In the meantime, thanks for the book review. Sounds perfect to take on my trip this fall :)

Anonymous said...

This sounds like one I'll have to check out! I've added it to my wish list at PaperBackSwap.

Thanks for the great review! :)

Young Lady said...

I will definitely keep this one in mind

Pamela said...

oooooo... I could have written that list.

BlondeBlogger said...

~TODD- Don't apologize! Believe me...I know what it's like to get behind on blogging! Besides, the longer you take to respond, the more time I have to rest my brain. Political debate is fun, but I am blonde so it takes a lot of effort to think, lol.

~SUSIE- Let me know what you think. I hope you like it as much as I did! :)

~CHACHA- I think we have similar tastes so I'm betting you'll love it!

~PAMELA- LOL! I know! The author is just as cool as the book! You'd get a kick out of the character's talk show, too.