'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)' Audiobook Review

Audiobook:  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
Ready by: Mindy Kaling
Genre: Comic Essays, Memoir

I don't normally do memoirs or these collection of comic essays but after reading Tina Fey's book, which I found laugh-out-loud funny, I took a chance.

With very little payoff.

On the good side, it's short. Only about 4 discs that I got through quickly. Mindy's essays are quick, many in list form, and you get a very vague and abstract sense of her life, her career and her obsession with having health benefits. And she's really riding off her new-found fame, name-checking her cool friends and showcasing her very single-girl-in-the-city conversational style. ("Be cool, okay?")

If you watch her show, The Mindy Project, you'll hear a lot of the same material that is in this book; she loves rom coms, wants to be happily married with kids, doesn't believe in one-night-stands. But because she's reading it herself, you get to hear her intention behind sentences (sarcasm!) and her famous pals come on to read a few lines, too.

Overall, not many laugh-out-loud moments, as I was hoping. I nodded a few times in agreement. And enjoyed her diatribe on the modern-day romantic comedy and where did that genre go. But, in the end, it made me think I was just a weekend of solitude away from producing my own book of humorous essays about my own life -- and thinking they would be just as funny, or maybe funnier. And thinking "this is easy," is a good indication that the book wasn't so great.

Grade: Yellow Light

'French Women for All Season' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: French Women for All Seasons by Mireille Guiliano
Read by: Mireille Guiliano
Genre: Memoir / Self-help

I'll admit it. After finishing French Women Don't Get Fat I missed Mireille's common sense wisdom, anecdotes about growing up in the French countryside and her accent. So, I was delighted to find my little library had her sequel.

Listening to her thoughts about eating in season and for pleasure was such a relaxing way to spend my commute.

Sure, some of her advice is a little crazy or not at all based in reality. Her most outlandish story is about savoring one banana. Eating it for dessert ... on a dainty plate ... with a knife and fork ... and being too full/satisfied to eat the whole thing. So the second half goes into the fridge for later. Huh?

And I do so wish I had a weekly farmer's market to go to, packed with goodies from a large assortment of farms. I don't. And certainly not in walking or peddling distance. But I do agree with her about eating seasonally and locally. And I'm really trying to cultivate my eating pleasures and compensating when I've over indulged. Really! I'm trying!

Awww, Mireille! I miss her already.

Grade: Green Light

'Made By Hand' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World by Mark Frauenfelder
Ready by: Kirby Heyborne
Genre: Memoir/How To

I'm all for making by hand, so I thought this audiobook might be stuffed with fun ideas and tips.

Nope. It wasn't bad but without illustrations, it was hard to follow what was being talked about. Clearly, it's aimed at geeky men who like to tweak their iPods and soup-up hybrid cars. I do not fall in this category.

I might even question the wisdom of such a book to BE in audio, at all. I can't imagine building a guitar using a cigar box without some visual cues.

Grade: Red Light

'French Women Don't Get Fat' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano
Read By: Mireille Guiliano
Genre: Diet / Memoir

I've already mentioned my Francophile-ness. And a place where women eat bread, cheese and yogurt and manage to stay thin is someplace I want to be. Plus, it's the new year, so it's time to examine my diet. I checked it out.

This book is half diet tips and half memoir. The harrowing tale of teenage Mireille who spends a year in a Boston suburb eating brownies, gains 20lbs and is told by her father "you look like a sack of potatoes" when she gets off the boat. The family doctor, known as Dr. Miracle, puts her on a diet (leek soup!) and explains to her the habits most French women have cultivated to stay slim -- despite all the bread and cheese. Oui!

Then, the time-worn secrets of French women are revealed in chapters of tips and practical stories. Most are common sense, some are just great to consider or be reminded of, including: all things in moderation, eat real food, keep track of your pleasures and compensate for them, and being active.

The main theory is centered around the concept that French women spend time thinking about their next fresh, delicious meal -- good food is a passion. While American women obsess over food they can't eat and eating meals that are quick, nearby and warm. Taste or quality? No time. It's a theory I believe is mostly true. It's not easy to get fresh, quality produce and we are less equipped to cook it given our busy schedules and low confidence in the kitchen. (Or am I just speaking for myself?)

Mireille lives in New York and Paris -- so her tips are more appropriate for city gals. She talks about the fresh market in Union Square, walking to work and taking the stairs in her apartment building. Suburban girls are on our own to figure out parallels.

The audiobook is read by Mireille in a charming French accent that I enjoyed mimicking on my drive. She's talked to many women about her dieting tips, views on life and passions -- and she's very good at it, persuasive. I'd like to turn her on every few months and be reminded to eat more like a French women.

Grade: Green Light

'Cleaving' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Cleaving by Julie Powell
Read by: Julie Powell
Genre: Memoir

I listened to Julie & Julia and utterly enjoyed Julie's journey and honesty (and, yes, her creative use of curse words). So I picked up Cleaving, preparing myself for sickening descriptions of butchering. I was NOT prepared (and this isn’t a spoiler) that she’s cheating on her husband. (!) That sweet man who got her blogging and changed her life. Honestly, it took me days to overcome feelings of betrayal. Julie!! Julie!! Why!!

 But once I did, the audiobook went like this: 

Part 1: Where Julie learns the art of butchering, which conveniently lends itself to about 200 metaphors of heartbreak, breakups and separating from your husband and lover. “Sometimes separating meat from bone isn't clean, you leave a lot of meat destroyed” (I paraphrased). At first I was like, "Cleaving"! I get it! Then, she started to hit me over the head with it, like maybe we didn’t pick up on the analogies. I get it, Julie. Geez. 

Part 2: Where Julie wanders around the world and loses focus. “What was this memoir about?” She’s in Argentina eating alone in restaurants, watching the first snowfall.  She's in Ukraine with a 22-year-old girl hitching a ride with a man who makes sausages. And in Tanzania drinking blood and getting accosted by a large cook. All while pining for sweet Eric and dirty D. There is some butchering, she sees animals killed and cut up. But really, it’s just a lesson in you can’t run away from some problems. 

Part 3: Where Julie goes home and realizes that everything is still pretty much the same, except maybe her outlook. And she has to come to terms with it and get over it.

Overall, Part 1 and 3 were a candid journey of self-discovery and knowing thy self. Part 2 (the actual journey) I could have done without. 

Grade: Greenlight

'Blood, Bones and Butter' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
Read by: Gabrielle Hamilton
Genre: Memoir

I was turned off by "blood" in the title, but the subhead made me wonder "what made her so reluctant?" And who wouldn't want to get some insider tips from a recognized chef. So, I checked it out.

I never got my answer about the "reluctant" part, but enjoyed hearing about Gabrielle's twisty-turny life very much. And the blood was minimal.

Gabrielle runs a pretty successful small restaurant in the East Village and has for several years. The restuarant business in NYC is cut-throat, so anyone who manages to stay open and profitable in that business, has my admiration. And her journey to Prune includes underaged waitressing (drugs), line-cooking, high-society catering and even chefing at an upstate camp.

So what I didn't understand is how Gabrielle considered herself reluctant. She's in a kitchen or restaurant starting at 14, when she's left to fend for herself after her parent's divorced. If she was so reluctant, she should have taken up teaching math or selling shoes. 

The Italian husband was a storyline I wasn't expecting, but one I enjoyed following. The chapters in Italy visiting family were rich with flavor.

The book is read by Gabrielle and, while her voice stays in this clear, this-is-how-it-went-down directness, it was missing some natural inflection. Even books read by actors show some emotion. But Gabrielle is utterly unapologetic, even when relying some dark days. And her impression of her husband deep Italian accent is comic.

Grade: Greenlight

'The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British' Audiobook Review

Audiobook: The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British by Sarah Lyall
Read by: Cassandra Campbell
Genre: Memoir (Cultural Anthropology?)

My first love is British culture, from Mr. Darcy, Lucy Honeychurch and Prince William and Jamie Oliver. I love British literature, culture and lifestyle. London is one of my favorite cities and I used to dream about marrying a man with a British accent. So this book's little dive into British-isms sounded like fun -- a good way to indulge my anglo-love.

Not so much! It was such a nasty look into this group of people I turned it off after disc two so I'd be able to watch Downton Abbey without wincing!

The author, a journalist married to Brit and now living in London, is clearly unimpressed by the British way of life and its people. In fact, I'd say she hates them. I'm not even sure why she's married to one.

I only got through a few chapters which included demystifying sex (Brit men are bad in bed because they were harassed by their male prep school teachers), politics (all women-hating, foul-mouthed drunks) and drinking (the way to meet your soulmate is to be completely blitzed at a pub) -- wow. She's inspecting the people around her like something she found on her shoe. I turned it off. Too mean.

Grade: Red Light

'Bringing Up Bebe' Audiobook Review

Bringing Up Bebe

Audiobook: Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
Ready by: Abby Craden
Genre: Memoir

I’ve been curious about the book ever since its release but decided I missed the boat, since my kids were already past toddlerhood. But to satisfy my occasional Francophile itch (my copy of Amalie is MIA) I grabbed the audiobook from the library and popped it in. And I’m happy I did.

My conclusion: Parisian mothers don’t have it all worked out (glad to affirm that we’re all floundering) but they view some parenting concepts in much different ways.

For instance, they embrace day care – mostly because it’s government subsidized and the care givers are practically pediatricians. They often say “the perfect mother doesn’t exist.” And they don’t believe in over-scheduling children but allowing them freedom to discover, or “awaken.” Independent play is hugely important. Their kids sleep through the night at 3 months (mine did too) and are good eaters – though I suspect the latter is due to those excellent day care chefs.

Parisians seemed to have figure out how to stay true to themselves and not fold into the “I am a mother now” trap that I’ve seen some women do. And going back to work is the norm in Paris (though, it IS the most expensive city in Europe). The author gave an example that, at dinner parties, if a stranger knew she had kids, they’d still ask “what do you do?” Where here, it’s always assumed I stay home with the kids. Always.

Lastly, I've always fantasied about raising kids in a different country, so hearing Pamela's experience let me live vicariously. There are plenty ups and downs of Americans raising little Parisians.

Overall, I’m glad I heard this book after a few years of parenting experience, because, pre-kids, I might not have fully understood what was wise and what was plain unrealistic.

I wonder if there’s a raising kids in Spain book, too?