Bookworm

I Just Can't Read This Book

At the public library I saw that Jacqueline Mitchard had written a sequel to her novel The Deep End of the Ocean.  I decided to borrow the sequel and also the first novel, with which I was familiar, but hadn't read. 

I brought the first novel to work to read on my lunch break and realized that I simply cannot make myself read this book.  Spoiler alert for anyone who requires it. . . . . . . . the subject of the book is the kidnapping and eventual return of the protagonist's little boy. 

I feel I'm a relatively well-adjusted person and parent, but I do worry about keeping my little girl safe.  I feel that reading this book, even though it's fictional, would simply unhealthily feed those worries.  Does anyone else feel this way? 

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

I recently read The Way Life Should Be and enjoyed it.  The protagonist is a single woman in her early thirties trying to find her place in the world.  Initially, I thought it might have too much of a cookie cutter chick lit vibe, but moving the character to Maine kicked it into a different gear.  Angela has been engaged with her grandmother's Italian cooking her entire life and has a talent for cooking and baking, which helps to propel her into her new life away from New York City.  This cooking thread was the backbone of the novel.