Happy driving

It's good to have something loose, light, and episodic to listen to in the car.  Tina Fey's Bossypants fills the need with humour and honesty.  A string of anecdotes about the comic writer's life, it's the perfect driving companion.  With a denser story, I sometimes concentrate so hard on memorizing the characters' names or plot twists that I miss my turn.  Suddenly I am the outskirts of the city wondering where my library went!

Underneath the jokes about Tina's life, there's a continuing thread of feminism.  Tina was the first female head writer at Saturday Night Live.  She discusses her SNL sketches about Sarah Palin, and how the media reacts to powerful women.  Then she details her life as the boss at the TV show "30 Rock."  She also addresses the being a mom vs. being a worker conundrum.

I wouldn't recommend this for my book club since it's more a series of jokes than a well written story.  However, as a bookcd it made me laugh.  It's HAPPY, so it deserves a spot on this blog (and in your car).

Venice remembered

A friend reminded me of a novel I happily gobbled up a couple of summers ago. I figure any novelist who picks Venice as her locale is inspired to begin with. Sarah Dunant brings the city alive In the Company of the Courtesan. Fiammetta is the determined and clever courtesan of the title, escaping tragedy in Rome in 1527. Her company is Bucino, a devoted and equally intelligent servant. He is also a dwarf deeply in love with his employer. This novel was a one day, no stop, eat toast for dinner summer blowout.