How To Be Single

I just finished reading this book by Liz Tuccillo. She co-authored the book He's Just Not That Into You with Greg Behrendt which some women have dubbed The Dating Bible (and which is in production of becoming a movie, apparently). I have to say that I do own that book and after reading it, things started to make a lot more sense and I stopped taking crap from guys. But that's another post for another day.

How To Be Single. I had seen this book many months ago and picked it up but never bought it. Even though it seemed like a good read and not your typical chic-lit book (sassy is not chic-lit), I just didn't want to read it because of the title. There, I said it. I don't want to know how to be single. I've been single for a long time. I know how to be single and it sucks (sometimes). I'll admit, the not having to check in on anyone and having the freedom to do what I want, when I want without the need to think of my boyfriend first, is kind of liberating. But the flip-side is that I don't have a guy that I can kiss when I feel like it. There is always a down side to that bright side.

But I digress.

I didn't get this book at first because I didn't want to read a book that would give me advice on how to do this (be single) accordingly. But when I finally picked it up, I had a hard time putting it down. Before I get into the story, I need to say that Liz Tuccillo is a fantastic writer. It makes complete sense that she was an executive story editor for HBO's Sex and the City. The book felt like it could have been a complete season of Sex and the City. It was witty and funny and clever and heart-wrenching and joyous all at the same time. As soon as I turned over the last page, my immediate thought was that I would read that book again sometime soon. And I don't do that. Especially with the looming pile of books that seems to never end.

Again, I digress.

Tuccillo had some interesting research to be done for this book and she was able to travel around the world to get the information that she needed ... mainly, how women coped with being single in different countries in the world.

The narrator of the book, Julie, embarks on a similar journey while she leaves her four friends in New York to deal with how to be single in their own lives. Before Julie takes this trip, she and her friends go out to try and get Georgia's mind off the fact that her husband had left her for a younger Brazilian tango dancer. She pulls in reinforcements (her other 3 friends) to help Georgia have fun. This night is something of an epiphany to Julie. Here she is, sitting with her beautiful and successful late 30-something friends, and they are all alone. And she doesn't know why. The night ends with a trip to the hospital and it's there that she meets two Parisian women who give her some insight as to how women from other parts of the world deal with their relationships (or lack thereof) in much different ways. This is where her idea of traveling to interview single women is born. Throughout her travels, she comes to some insights of her own as her friends do the same back home. Her four friends were only acquaintances with eachother, their tie being Julie, but by the end of the book they are friends who have been there for each other and not only for a good time.

This story celebrates friendship and heartache -- heartache that is necessary to see what you have when you have it (and what you deserve and shouldn't settle for) and friendship to see you through it. It teaches us that no matter what life throws at us, or no matter how despondent our situation may seem, there is always love to be had, you are not alone, and miracles do happen.

The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth

The Will of Wisteria was released either late summer or early fall last year but I recently picked it up as a Christmas gift for myself and saved it as my first book of 2008. I was completely surprised when I began the book, having just returned from Charleston, to find out that it was set it...yep, Charleston, SC. With my mind fresh with historical and visual details of the city, I just lost myself in the story.

Set in Charleston, SC, the book follows a year long journey of four self-absorbed and somewhat estranged siblings of the Wilcott. The story begins on the eve of the reading of their father's will as they discover that their inheritance is not going to be as easy to come by as they thought. Demanded to quit their jobs and use their talents to perform pro bono work for a year prior to receiving their inheritance has left them shocked, paranoid, and in disbelief. Determined not to let the other win, they each set out on a very special journey.

Hildreth has the most amazing way of grabbing you and her writing is just so darn smooth. She has really started to develop as a wonderful writer and this book really shows off her talent. I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what else she cooks up in the future.

Flies on the Butter by Denise Hildreth

Having loved the Savannah series, I recently picked up this new offering by Hildreth. This book starts off running as we follow the main character, Rose, as she travels back to her home South Carolina. As a lobbyist in Washington D.C, Rose is well-put together and a woman of strong opinions. While this story takes place over the entire car ride to South Carolina and a series of flashbacks, we find Rose transported back to where she came from as memories from her childhood are dredged up as well as issues concerning her marriage. As the story continues, Rose embarks not only on a journey home but a journey to rediscover herself again. Hildreth writes at the end of the book that she hoped that the reader's own memories would surface while reading. Boy, did they ever. I could picture clearly my grandmother's house, smell her cooking, and visit with my grandfather on the front porch ..if only in my mind. It was with a sigh and a few tears that I finished the last few pages. While I did shed a few tears, they were not sad ones but ones of thankfulness that I was able to be transported back to my memories so easily.