Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam

A tale so many can relate to: best friends who went through high school and college together, who are now navigating adult life in their own ways. Sarah comes from wealth and privilege, while Lauren is from a working class suburban family making her way in New York City on her own. They are growing up and slightly apart as their lives diverge into different paths. Sarah is getting married and expecting her first baby; she is following a fairly typical life path. Lauren goes from boyfriend to boyfriend and has no real interest in settling down. She is aware of this and doesn’t mind that this is where she is in life, even with Sarah’s occasional comments on her life choices.  

We read the book through the perspective of each woman and how they view their relationship. The friendship has become a bit distant, but is still comfortable and familiar to both Lauren and Sarah. There is no major conflict in the book as they accept things to be the way they are. At one point, Sarah does express displeasure about a one night stand Lauren has during the bachelorette trip. Even though we know that Sarah is saying this just to be heard, but knows it won’t change Lauren’s mind at all. Eventually, as Lauren sees her friend become a mom she does admit to being wrapped up in her own life.

I enjoyed the intimate look at the thoughts of both characters; the internal dialogue about how they think of each other and what is going on in their lives, even the mundane things. We see that a friendship can last through the years even if it’s not as close as it used to be. This book explores the bonds that are inexplicably set up at a young age and stay intact no matter what.

TL:DR- Was an enjoyable and slightly melancholy read, but I was left wanting more to the story.

Disclosure: I won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway and was asked for my opinion of it in return. This review is based on an advanced reader's edition.

Reviewed by Katie Holland, who is a Chicago based artist, creative mind and bookworm.

Publication Date: June 7, 2016                                                Page Count: 304

ISBN: 0062429930                                                                     Publisher: Ecco

Letters To Wendy's by Joe Wenderoth

Nihilistic weird fiction. Interested? If you’re looking for something to shake up your to-read list, then this is one to consider. I went back and forth between laughing out loud and being completely perplexed. Based on the idea of a person (who seems to be the author’s alter ego) leaving notes in a Wendy’s comment box for a year; and yes, it’s basically as weird as it sounds. Each page is a short poem, thought, or rambling. It’s not as narrative as I had expected and blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction. It felt as if Wenderoth was truly stepping into the character vs. writing about the character. What would the type of person who goes to Wendy’s nearly every day think about? I kept forgetting I wasn’t reading the actual thoughts of this person. A book with this subject matter sounds like it wouldn’t get too deep, but there was interesting commentary about modern “throw-away” culture, Christianity, self medicating with food, the things in life that hold us back, etc. There is also an underlying current that there is no point to any of this, which is the point. Delightful.

TL:DR Need something weird to laugh at, but still make you think? Pick this one up and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Reviewed by Katie Holland, who is a Chicago based artist, creative mind and bookworm.

Publication Date: November 27, 2000                         Page Count: 296

ISBN: 0970367201                                                              Publisher: Wave Books

Real Artists Have Day Jobs: (And Other Awesome Things They Don't Teach You in School) By Sara Benincasa

Ok, let’s get straight to the point here: if you’re a creative of any type and need a laugh so you can stop wallowing in pity about how your own life is going, go read this book ASAP. Sometimes we need a reminder that we’re not the only ones barely treading water. “Real Artists Have Day Jobs” is invigorating and Sara Benincasa speaks from the heart, the gut, the brain, and tells it like it is. She is upfront about being a comedian and author and not in counseling or psychology. This is a book of essays inspired by her personal ups and downs. Amongst other things, she hopes it makes us less lonely. The life of an artist can be lonely.

Early on in the book she gives up this gem: “There is more nobility in hard work than in pure luck (though every artist can use a bit of that). You’ll make better art after a day at the office than you will after a lifetime in an ivory tower.” She gets it. You need to experience life to make art. She understands that you make art because you have to, it needs to get out of you. We get the sense of that through her writing, she NEEDED to write this book.

If you’re making your art on the side in hopes to be a “real” artist one day, she stresses that you already are an artist. If you’re struggling and not fresh out of art school, this book is for you. If you’re fresh out of art school this book is for you too, and pay attention! This shit will come up later in life, but possibly sooner than you realize.

There are 52 essays in this book in which Sara is brutally honest with her embarrassing moments in order to make a point (that we’re all human). She talks about everything from the importance of  getting enough sleep to sex. The power of being a dork to recognizing your personal prejudice and “educate it into nonexistence”. Every essay is important and nicely sums up how we can take care of ourselves and live life (whatever that looks like for you). This book is aimed at creatives, but really anyone can enjoy it because she gives a well rounded look at all aspects of life. Sara Benincasa is funny, raw, and refreshing.

TLDR: If you’re not perfect it’s literally not the end of the world. Be authentic and have a few laughs along the way. Oh, and make some damn art

Reviewed by Katie Holland, who is a Chicago based artist, creative mind and bookworm.

Publication Date: April 26, 2016                             Page Count: 272

ISBN: 0062369814                                                      Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Just Kids by Patti Smith

I always liked Patti Smith.  I remember when I first heard “Pissing in the River” off of the “Times Square” movie soundtrack, and I thought, whoa this woman is edgy and deep.  After having read “Just Kids”, this feeling of like has turned to love and admiration and I now want to be her friend.

Patti Smith is like us.  What I mean by that is that her voice will easily slip inside your head like it’s been there all along.  She’s so open and casual about it that you don’t even have time to think, wow, this person that I know as a music artist is also a damned good writer! because she’s just there, doing her thing, talking to you through the page.  She’s not trying to impress anyone or name drop. She’s just telling you how it was and painting a picture of New York in the 70’s that makes you feel like you are RIGHT THERE.

Speaking of painting, did you know that Patti Smith started out as a fine artist?  Because I didn’t. That is her driving passion, and the music came later.  I would say that “Just Kids” is a book about two artists, Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe.   It’s about best friends who also happened to be lovers.  It’s about being young and living for your art and trying to survive along the way.  Lower Manhattan and the Chelsea Hotel are the backdrops for their work and their lives, as gritty as you can imagine and so full of everything, including a cast of characters that could have only existed in that time period.

These are the cool kids, but they weren’t always cool, not on purpose.  Well maybe Robert was, but Patti just comes off as a slightly awkward small-town girl who has landed in the big city.  Not in a Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm way, in a way that is quite naked, like Mapplethorpe’s photographs.  Naked and raw, but not frightening. She always seems surprised when good things happened to her, which is an endearing trait.  

I was sad when the book ended.  Not just because of what happened but because I was no longer going to have Patti Smith’s words in my head.  I went and looked up interviews with her on YouTube, flipped through pictures, found a documentary on HBO that would give me more of this story (Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, if you are interested in watching, but I recommend reading the book first).  

TL:DR-I highly recommend this book, even if you don’t think you are a Patti Smith fan.  It’s great writing and a rich and colorful story told with honesty and humor and full of detail, in a voice that could be gravelly from too many cigarettes and long conversations deep into the night.   It is New York in all of its gritty glory and the cast of characters from the village to the Chelsea Hotel in one grand, eclectic parade of those living for and by their art.  And it speaks to a deep and undefinable love between two people as they are “growing up” in their young adult years. 

Reviewed by Liz Smith, a social media manager who currently lives in Portland Oregon.  When she's not working, baking, and taking care of her husband and 7 rescue pets, she'd love to be traveling the world.

Publication Date: January 19, 2010                                   Page Count: 304

ISBN: 006621131X                                                                  Publisher: Ecco

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

Translated by Christina MacSweeney

Mixing art and literature, surrealism and reality, this book by Valeria Luiselli will have you devouring every detail of Gustavo “Highway” Sánchez Sánchez’s story. We see into the mind of Highway and how he chooses to interpret his life, and later what the reality truly was. Set in Mexico, we follow Highway as he goes from working in a juice factory to taking courses to become an auctioneer. As his style develops, we start to realize that what value something has can vary, importance is tied to meaning. This is a story about stories. Being inside Highway’s mind is like an oral history that changes details each time it’s told, you start to forget what the original details were, but it doesn’t really matter. With this book, Valeria is challenging art and the ideas of translation, ownership, and value.

As Highway is enjoying some time in Miami after working an auction, he winds up at a contraband memorabilia auction and purchases Marilyn Monroe’s teeth (which of course are fake). After being ashamed of his crooked teeth, these are now his most prized possession and has them immediately implanted to replace his own. An enjoyable part of the book is when he reviews his large collection and chooses to auction off his old teeth at a church to benefit both himself and the church. Each tooth, or lot, is sold using the hyperbolic method and each spiel he gives becomes it’s own short story within the chapter. The Hyperbolic method, which is described as “a fissure in the relationship between style and reality”, is essentially how Highway lives his life. There are a series of odd events, which are very entertaining surprises. These lead up to Highway meeting a writer named Jacobo de Voragine. Highway offers him lodging and an education of the town’s stories in return for him writing the autobiography of his teeth. The last chapter is from Voragine’s view and the distortion of Highway’s reality becomes apparent. Seeing this other side, now we feel equally sad and happy for Highway’s life.

TL:DR- Highway lived life how he auctioned, he wasn’t lying, but he was transcending the truth. A fascinating story intertwining art in a subtle yet prominent way.

Review by Katie Holland, who is a Chicago based artist, creative mind and bookworm.

Publication Date: September 15, 2015                                 Page Count: 195

ISBN: 566894093                                                                        Publisher: Coffeehouse Press