My Life In France - Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme

If you know anything at all about Julia Child, you know she has a distinctive and awesome voice.  In this book, her voice is so clear you can actually hear it when you read - or at least, I can.  As the title indicates, the story is about her life in France, which is where she learned to cook and helped to write Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 & 2.  I love this book, because her voice is so clear and because it's full of the details I love - where they lived, what they ate, who they spent time with, etc.  This book makes me want to live in France - especially France of the 50's.  Julia has a great sense of humor and adventure, and both come through loud and clear.  I actually read this book for the first time after reading Julie & Julia, and I love them both.  The movie is also great - I love Meryl Streep and think her Julia was dead on. 

BossyPants - Tina Fey

**A note before we begin - if you are uncomfortable with laughing so hard that you snort, cry, shoot liquids out your nose, fall on the floor or potentially wet yourself, this is not the book for you.**

I'll just go ahead and say it - Tina Fey is freaking hilarious.  I finished this book in the course of one evening - not unheard of for me, but not exactly common either.  I laughed so hard that I think I may have actually bruised internal organs.  If you love to laugh so hard it hurts, you must read this book.  There are some cuss words, and some pseudo-sexual content (she doesn't describe specific acts or anything like that, but she does make some sexual references). 
The book talks about her life, her family, her work on SNL, impersonating Sarah Palin, her work on 30 Rock and her "beauty tips and secrets".  All in all, a fab read - although the cover freaked me out a little.  I mean, why the giant man arms looking like they belong to you, Tina?  WHY? 

Fly Away Home - Jennifer Weiner

I just re-read this one and reminded myself how much I love it.  To be fair, I pretty well love all of JW's books, but still.
Fly Away Home tells a story that has become all too familiar in recent years - Sylvie, the wife of a powerful NY Senator, who runs her husband's life (keeps track of his schedule, helps him write speeches, waits for his eggs at a buffet) - is completely shattered when it comes out that her husband had an affair with an aide, and then helped said aide get a job afterwards.  The book jumps between chapters told in Sylvie's POV - what does she do now, should she leave her husband, hire a paid assassin? - to chapters told in the POV of one of their two daughters.  Diana is a seemingly perfect woman - ER doctor, avid runner, married with a child - but she's having an affair with her medical intern, because she's desperately lonely and her husband is...well...oblivious.  Lizzie is fresh out of rehab and trying to prove to her family and herself that she can be helpful, responsible, and learn how to live a life free of recreational substances. 
Fly Away Home is touching, hilarious, and all-around amazing.  I don't know a married woman out there who hasn't seen one of those "Senator/Representative/Governor So-and-So has confessed..." stories without trying to put herself in the place of his wife.  This story is fantastic because it tells the other side of the story, the one we never hear. 
This book contains sexual content, swears and some "crude" humor. 

Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner

This is not a new book for me, but an old favorite.  I'm going to review it now because the book's 10th anniversary is coming up, and it seems a good time to celebrate the awesomeness that is Jennifer Weiner and her books.
I actually picked up Good In Bed because I was intrigued by the cover - something that works out for me more often than not, actually - and I'm so glad I did.  Jennifer is hilarious.  I find myself laughing out loud at her books frequently, and Good In Bed was just our first encounter. 
This book tells the story of Cannie, a plus-size writer for a Philadelphia newspaper.  She has a quiet life - a rat terrier, her cozy apartment, her best friend, her Mom and her Mom's dread life partner, Tanya.  She's recently decided to "take a break" from her boyfriend, Bruce.  Then she discovers that Bruce has gotten a job writing for a Cosmo-esque magazine - and of all things, he's writing a sex advice column.  In which he talks about her.  A lot. 
Cannie's journey through this book is full of ups and downs - an encounter with a famous Hollywood star who quickly becomes a good friend, an unexpected pregnancy and the problems arising from it, and making it big.  The book is hilarious, touching and just all-around fantastic.  As you can probably guess, it does contain some sexual content and crude humor, but if you don't mind (or even enjoy!) that kind of thing, you will love, love, love this book.  Buy it now, as well as any other Jennifer Weiner titles on the shelf.  They're all fantastic. 
Oh, and P.S...The last name is pronounced "Why-ner" not "Wee-ner". And if you like this book, follow her on FaceBook.  Her posts make me laugh all the time, and she posts links to her blog, which is also hilarious