Books Reviews: 5 in 1

Normally, I try to only review one book at a time, but these were both kind of "meh" for me, so I thought I'd do a few quick reviews on one post to help catch up.

Watch Me is Anjelica Huston's autobiography. I picked this up having never known all that much about her and friends said the book was really good. I was consistently surprised at all the people she palled around with, but the book quickly became a laundry list of names and parties filled with people from the 70s that I've never heard of. She talks a great deal about her relationship with Jack Nicholson, but I really kept wondering what on earth was so romantic about them together - it certainly didn't come across as chemistry in the book. Instead of expounding on the deeper meaning behind some of the events in her life, she just kind of runs through it all in a "and then this happened" sort of way. I had to muscle through it. Interesting as her life has been, I was left feeling pretty blah about the book. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

I picked this up randomly hoping for a few laughs, and it sort of filled that need. I Was Told There'd Be Cake is a collection of essays about instances in Sloan Crosley's life. Mostly the stories consist of expounding on seemingly mundane details in a humorous way à la David Sedaris, though instead of the perspective of an older gay man this book is told through the eyes of a thirty something Jewish woman. Several stories involve New York City in interesting way, several mention moments from her teenage years. My personal favorite was The Pony Problem, which is the first essay in the book, and honestly none of the others were as funny to me which made the book seem like it was going down hill - always unfortunate. Also I found it odd that the title phrase is not found in the book anywhere. What's up with that? This book had it's moments, but if you pick it up because you're a Sedaris fan, it will leave you feeling slightly jipped. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I'm sure that I'm going to be burned at the stake for not thinking this book was amazing, but in my defense I feel like I came to the party too late for true love to strike. A Wrinkle In Time is a classic children's series and this is the first book. The story follows some siblings as they search for their incredibly smart dad who's gone missing. Their journey uses mathematics to take them to different dimensions. Maybe I'm just too old and cynical, but I thought this was pretty cheesy. The book wasn't trying to hint at its true purpose - to teach kids that evil is evil and only love can overcome it. I don't know *sigh* I still feel bad that I didn't love it. I tried, I really did. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The Scarlet Letter - Oh my gosh, where do I begin with this book? I generally pride myself on truly enjoying classic novels, and I do technically understand why it is called a classic being a good window into our country's early settlers, but holy cow what a horrible reading experience. I knew the story going into it, and in all honesty the book didn't really expound on the basic theme much. If the book stuck to the actual story, this book would only be a few chapters long and it would save us all a lot of turmoil. I acknowledge what it is and why it is still important in literature, but I just can't stand behind making kids read this. Good grief, those poor high schoolers. No wonder so many of them never want to read a "classic" again. At risk of being labelled an uncultured dunce, all I can really say is ... I've read this. Now I can mark it off the list, lol. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The Wizard of Oz - This was definitely a child's book, which I wasn't quite expecting for some reason. The overall tone is one that really doesn't translate much to adults reading it themselves. I did enjoy the classic (if silly) story, and I'm glad to have it checked off the list of "to read". I'm sure I will read this to my children someday, but it will wait until that day for another go round. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.