January 25, 2009 | Books
On the rare Sunday that I actually get a chance to sit down with the newspaper I reach right for the Book section.
Okay, that isn’t exactly true. I always read the Sports section first, but right after that I pick up the book section. See, the Washington Post has this really cool book review insert on Sundays. I think they call it Book World.
Here is the problem: I like the idea of reading book reviews while secretly hating book reviews. 
I feel like reading a long review of a novel before reading the actual book ruins the experience. I don’t even really like reading the book jacket anymore. I want to be surprised as I read. I want the book to tell me the story. I don’t want to know the plot before I even turn the first page.
I am sort of the same way with movies. I almost don’t want to know what they are about.
As a writer I am sometimes asked to do book reviews. I always go out of my way (and this is much more important for fiction, in non-fiction you don’t have as many surprise endings) to not give away too much of the story. Of course my articles end up being pretty amorphous. This is perhaps why I am not asked to do more book reviews.
I don’t know if this is totally normal, or if it is a phase I am going through or if I am just getting old and crotchety. Tell me the truth – does the review ruin the book or movie or are you over there rolling your eyes at me? Or both?
Posted by Goon Squad Sarah @
11:49 am |
![That’s What They Say Every Single [redacted] Day](http://sarahandthegoonsquad.com/wp-content/plugins/ttftitles/cache/b92b5842cda5a4331fd7e7bc355f6fa6.png)
I was at the library this morning and I saw a guy that looked just like Dr. Dre.
I had to fight every urge in my body to not go up to him and ask “Is it Dre? Is it Dre?”
Posted by Goon Squad Sarah @
12:52 pm |
November 12, 2008 | Books
Have you guys read “The White Trash Mom Handbook”? (if you can memorize a lot of words in a row the full title is The White Trash Mom Handbook: Embrace Your Inner Trailerpark, Forget Perfection, Resist Assimilation into the PTA, Stay Sane, and Keep Your Sense of Humor
). I just finished reading it yesterday.
I was going to write a big old review here since I am supposed to be participating in the SV Moms Book Club today but three things happened.
1) I started feeling funny about it since the author, Michelle Lamar, is a friend. (Not that I won’t pimp my friends books, I totally will, but since you may or may not have seen me hanging out with Michelle at BlogHer I thought it would look suspicious.)
2) My stupid router went nuts. I couldn’t get online without having to refresh my ip address every three minutes. After about four hours I decided to move the bookshelf in Ian’s room (the former office that has no computer in it – but has the router that controls the internet for my entire house) while he was sleeping and I unplugged the damn thing right from the wall. Then I plugged it back in.
As you can see, it worked.
3) One section of the book really stuck with me and I want to just talk about that.
Michelle has a section on finding other White Trash moms. Now, keep in mind that she isn’t necessarily 
talking about Brandine. When Michelle says White Trash Mom she just means someone who doesn’t take herself too seriously, a mom that admits she lets her kids watch tv and eat twinkies. A mom that doesn’t claim to be able to work full time, make healthy dinners from scratch every night, volunteer for the homeless shelter and still make it to every soccer game while staying sane.
Moms like us.
She gives a couple examples about how to find other moms at school that might be like minded. (You don’t want to accidentally hook up with one of those perfect moms. Michelle calls them the Muffia. Sure they are the mean girls, but never underestimate the likelihood that one of those women will snap and go postal at Chuck E. Cheese one day. God knows that I fell like killing people every time I go there.) Michelle says to pay attention to the mom’s eyes and listen for a good laugh, but the most important tip is The Lunch or Coffee Test. She says “You can tell a lot about a person by how they treat a waitress or the guy behind the Starbucks counter”.
Isn’t that the truth?
Did you ever notice that people who leave small tips tend to be small minded? People that treat servers/clerks like shit tend to be shitty people themselves. This is also a fabulous dating tip. If you are on a date and the other person is rude to your server, they will be rude to you. In addition, someone will probably spit in your food.
I feel like a wrote a lot to get to this one single point, but it is an important point. Grown-ups know that they should use their manners. I am always amazed when someone who seems normal will bark at a bartender or someone working the drive through.
Here comes a quick rant: Why don’t people say please and thank you when they are in restaurants? Why would you says “Yeah, I’ll have the burger” when you could just as easily say “May I please have a hamburger?” Is that what you teach your kids at home? When someone brings you food or refills your drink say thank you. No, I’ve never worked in the food service industry. It just seems like common sense. They are called manners, people. Use them.
Okay. I’m done. All I’m saying is that a good way to find a good friend is to look for someone who treats other people the way you want to be treated, and Michelle Lamar hit the nail on the head with this one.
The White Trash Mom Handbook is filled with gems like these. It also made me laugh out loud more than once. You know how I love that.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll rant on the section about being forced to “volunteer” at your kid’s school.
Posted by Goon Squad Sarah @
10:40 pm |
Confession #1. Thanks to my cohorts over at MamaPop I am hopelessly addicted to The Twilight Series.
Yes, I am reading young adult fiction. I am reading an entire series of
young adult fiction – and it is about vampires – and I am staying up way to late at night to read these books.
Gabe is never going to let me live this one down.
___
Confession #2. I have an inexplicable craving for Hamburger Helper. The cheeseburger macaroni kind.
Yes, I know it is gross that is why I have included it in my embarrassing confessions post.
Ew. Really gross. Just look at that picture. That could turn people into vegetarians.
(Didn’t work. I’m still craving it. It is as if my body is lacking salt and fat.)
___
Confession #3. Yesterday I had to create a new Yahoo account because when I went to sign up for the Mommy Needs Fantasy Football League Yahoo informed me that I was already participating in the maximum number of leagues allowed.
Who is Yahoo to judge me?
I can handle fantasy football. I don’t have a problem. I can quit anytime I want.
Hmph.
Anyway, I can’t talk. I need to see what Edward and Bella are up to quickly before my next draft starts.
Nobody tell me anything! I just started the second book, New Moon and I don’t want to know anything. I already accidentally found out about Jacob and I wish I didn’t know.
____
Edited to add: I don’t know why they call this stuff Hamburger Helper, it does just fine by itself.
Posted by Goon Squad Sarah @
3:30 pm |
