Bold Face Names (1 out of 5 stars)

Shinan Govani/ HarperCollins

Why does everyone think they can write a book? It's simply not true. And this latest offering from the National Post's Shinan Govani is awful. It reeks of desperation. The writing is clunky and trying waaay too hard. I could barely make it through because it kept making me dizzy. Govani seems to think that every single noun ever used must be party to a metaphor, eight adjectives and three adverbs. Oh--and every other word must be changed with a thesaurus. Case in point, "Ravi peered at Rory with Emmy Award-worthy lament. Even though he was emotionally parsimonious by nature, this woman managed to bring out his ostentatious side, feeling-wise." Ugh. So pretentious. I like my writing clear, witty and sharp. You don't need to try so damn hard. If you are--you probably shouldn't have written a book in the first place.

Anywho, the book is about a gossip columnist and there are many references to Canadian celebs and notable people. There is some fun in reading about those but for the most part is becomes tedious rather quickly. All of the pop culture references won't make sense in a year or two and the whole thing comes across as rather glib. I wouldn't bother with this one and hope Mr. Govani sticks to short and sweet newpaper articles.

The Wife's Tale (4 out of 5 stars)

Knopf Canada/ by Lori Lansens

Lori Lansens last book was The Girls, a story about twin girls joined at the head. It was fantastic. So of course, The Wife's Tale was eagerly devoured by me, hoiping and praying for a repeat. Well, it comes close--but doesn't quite make it.

It's the story of Mary Gooch, a morbidly obese woman whose husband "Gooch" disappears on the eve of their twenty-fifth anniversary. Mary goes looking for him and, predictably, has adventures along the way. Mary is a likeable character and her story is quite compelling. I felt for her and cheered her on to a point. But as the novel progressed some things irked me. I was bothered by the fact that Mary was no longer hungry after her hubby left. So she starts losing weight. A little too easy, no? Also, the ending absolutely did not satisfy and I felt like it was a total cop out. Boo Lansens, boo. But the writing is impeccable and the characters interesting so it's still worth a read. But it's no The Girls, sadly.

Where We Have to Go (4 out of 5 stars)

McClelland& Stewart/ by Lauren Kirshner

What a smart and well-written book. Lucy Bloom lives in Toronto (holla!) and she is the only child of a very unhappy couple, Joy and Frank. When they decide to seperate, Lucy's life falls apart and she tries to get her parents back together, get a boyfriend and lose a ton of weight through not eating...ever.

Lucy is a well-developed and portrayed character and although the novel doesn't have any sort of glamorous plotline, it remains highly readable thanks to its supporting cast. The parents are interesting but the character I wish we had learned more about is Lucy's friend Tommy who she ends up stopping contact with. There are a few things about the book that bugged me (including her super-quick recovery of anorexia) but overall this is defeinitely worth picking up. Kirshner is very promising and I look forward to her sophmore creation.

Buy-ology (5 out of 5 stars)

Doubleday/ by Martin Lindstrom

I admittedly have a shopping problem. I shop when I'm bored, happy, or sad. I really hpoed this book would be like some sort of therapy and magically cure me of my craziness. No such luck--but I did learn a whole whack of stuff to spout at my next social gathering.

Did you know that those warning labels on cigrettes actually cause smokers to WANT to light up? And thatproduct placement doesn't work? There are so many interesting things in this book! Basically, this Martin Lindstrom guy ran a three year, seven million dollar neuromarketing study thta looked inside the brains of two thousand volunteers from all over the world as they encountered various ads, logos, commercials, brands and products. I am going to use this info in my media class but I just found it all fascinating. Especially the chapter on if sex actually sells. Highly recommended for those who are interested in media, pop culture...or just shopping.

Now that I look at it, the cover for The Apostle by Brad Thor really doesn't go with this week's girlie novels but what can you do?

And what can you say? Thor always writes pretty much the same story just with different characters. Is it enjoyable? Yes, if you're into political thriller/spy kind of books. Has he done anything new or extraordinary with this new one? Nope. So if you like the Thor, you'll like this one. But aren't you getting bored yet?